I know there are numerous breweries in Maine, but which ones are the must visits? Coming to York Beach in a couple weeks and would like to squeeze in a couple of brewery visits if time allows.
If you go up to Portland then definitely check out Rising Tide. The place isn't much to look at but the people there are really cool and give a good tour. Allagash is in the area as well. If you have time for a drive way up the coast then Oxbow is a must do. The tour I did at Maine Beer was terrible, but that was at their old location and they may have improved things at their new location in Freeport. If you are driving into Maine, Smuttynose is right over the border in NH.
Oxbow and Allagash are fantastic breweries but a bit of a drive from York Beach. The good news is that 10 minutes south of York Beach (in Kittery) are the two best restaurants for great food AND great beer in all of Maine: When Pigs Fly and The Black Birch. Portsmouth Brewery (in NH) is only 15 minutes south of York Beach. Cheers!
Do yourself a favor and visit Blue Lobster in Hampton,NH and there is a new beer bar called WHYM and then Smuttynose right close by as well...in southern Maine you have Black Birch and When Pigs Fly that have great draft lists in the York area. Funky Bow just opened in Lyman which is about 30min north of York (havent had their beer yet though?)... and as stated if your heading North, Allagash has a new tasting room and is well worth the trip for a couple coolships and some house beer and you can stop at the Bier Cellar while in town ! Oxbow is about another hour north of Allagash, but a nice little roadtrip and you can score some Glidden Point oysters up in Newcastle as well.
Nice post, lukaduke! I did a post last year that's still fairly accurate. Look for "visiting Portland? Some ideas" for some info on maine breweries. Allagash (Portland, ME): book free tour online in advance Oxbow (Newcastle, ME): buy some growlers and a bottle of barrel aged FPA Rising Tide (Portland, ME): great food trucks around at the brewery. Walking distance to tandem coffee and Bunker Brewing. Maine Beer Co (Freeport, ME): haven't been up to their new spot yet. Hoppy beers. Drive a bit north to the center of Freeport to walk and shop. If you're traveling further north, or have more time, there are other great breweries around. If you're coming through Portsmouth, you may want to check out Portsmouth brewpub or Blue Lobster (been hearing wonderful things on em.)
Lots of options North and South. There are several options in the Portsmouth area as mentioned Portsmouth Brewery and also downtown is Earth Eagle Brewery, which always has some interesting stuff on tap. Ten minutes south is Smuttynose and Throwback Brewery and another five minutes south is Blue Lobster. Also, if you want someone else to do the driving for you, both Portsmouth and Portland have "Beer Buses" on the weekends that do brewery tours. Portland is the Maine Brew Bus and Portsmouth is Granite State Growler Tours.
Definitely When Pigs Fly and Black Birch. Easy drive from York Beach. Allagash and Rising Tide are great breweries and only about 40 miles from York Beach. Oxbow is also great, but is about a two hour trip. I live in York and would be happy to show you around.
Anyone have info on Bunker Brewing? Can't find a website just a blog. Do they do growler fills, bottles? I NEED some of the coffee IPA in my life after sampling it at ACBF .
They also have one of the coolest tasting rooms I've ever visited--very tiny old industrial building, standing room only, but pints and samplers served in mason jars, plus a new deck, I believe. That coffee IPA was fantastic--had it with brunch while I was up there a few weeks ago, and it was perfect for the occasion. Bunker is also a stone's throw from Rising Tide, so very easy to hit them both. As the OP, I'd say one option is head to Portland for some great brewers, but plan to make a day of it: check out some of the breweries mentioned, as well as some of the great bars (Novare Res being tops) and restaurants. Very close to York, though, as people have mentioned is Portsmouth, NH, which has a great beer and dining scene as well, and is a bit easier to take in an afternoon. Definitely hit the Portsmouth Brewery downtown, as well as Earth Eagle a block over for some very unusual gruits and ales. If you do the Smuttynose tour first (reserve a spot online, Fri/Sat only), then you usually (always?) get a voucher for a pint at Portsmouth Brewery. I also really love both Throwback (specializing in locally-based beers, I'm especially a fan of some of their one-offs and stouts) and Blue Lobster (specializing in hoppy pale ales, IPAs, etc), both of which are a short drive down the road. Either way, if you head north or south from York, you're bound to find some excellent beer without too much trouble.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!! Will def be checking out as many of them as possible and will report back later next week when I get back.
