Portland, Maine Advice

Lawson & Alchemist are exclusive to vermont.

 

No one really knows for sure what the new BB location is going to look like crowd wise since last weekend was the grand opening. Should at least be comparable to what they drew before moving.

 

Send them to the Bier Cellar on Forest Ave. Their website is kept up to date with what they have available and the staff is very helpful.

 

Foundation won't have Piph cans until June 30. You'd have to call and ask if they have any left over from the 26th. Highly doubtful. And like others have eluded to, I don't think anyone can tell you if there will be lines at the breweries. It's always a crap shoot. Best bet is to send them to bottle shops.

 

It's tough to get the best NE hops in a "relatively painless" way.

As someone above suggested, you can go to Bier Cellar and pick up some MBC. They may or may not have some of MBC's better hoppy beers. They can ask staff for recommendations, but your friend is very unlikely to score any of the "big name" beers you're looking for - you'll have to be open to lesser-hyped breweries.

I'd bet if they went to BB 45 minutes after opening they could get a good supply of Substance without a huge wait in line, but it would probably require a pretty precise arrival time. Even better if they can do it on a Friday instead of a Saturday.

 

Just to note, the Alchemist is also available in PA, at least in Philadelphia; and I believe Lawson will be soon as well. There's not much of it, and thus the price is WAY jacked up ($16/can for Heady), but it's still available sometimes. Good thing I just bought some at City Market in South Burlington, VT for $3.25 a can!

I should also note that no one but the final retailer is making any extra money on that - there might be extra cost being passed on for shipping, but the distributor isn't taking more than their usual percentage, it's just gouging due to demand.

 

no Heady is NOT legally available in PA. Their site shows the only places that the brewery provides Heady topper to.
http://alchemistbeer.com/buy/
You may be seeing it for sale in PA but that is on the black market.
However SOS is currently also available in CT not only in VT.

 

Heading to Portland next weekend, what should I expect re: getting Substance cans on a Saturday? Do they usually last most of the afternoon or are they basically gone with the line/within 45 mins of opening as you suggested?

 

If you want substance, you should be in line before opening. Since substance is allocated all through the week, the number of subby cans available on saturdays is very limited.

 

Gotcha, thanks!

 

RSVP is right down the street from Bier Cellar and is bigger, has more stuff and gets the same stuff. I'd hit that place up too. Plus there are two bottle shops by the water in Old Port that have good stuff too. All of those stops should be painless for your friend if waiting at Foundation or BB is a hassle.

 

The bottle shop in the old port is pretty painful, especially now during tourist season. Essentially, good luck finding parking. Stick with Bier Cellar or RSVP.

 

I usually visit in November but I was up there a few weeks ago and parking was fine. I guess it explodes after Memorial Day though, huh?

 

You know you could have him stop in Tullys in Wells if they want to stop by Ogunquit and Kennebunkport. The wife would probably like visiting those towns.

 

Here's hoping the increased capacity at the new facility will help mitigate the scarcity.

 

Substance isn't worth waiting in line for IMO. Its nothing exceptional. Especially if that time could be spent acquiring some world class Allagash sours.

 

Or going to Oxbow.

 

Agreed. Oxbow on saturday and Allagash on sunday before heading home are the two brewery stops I am making on my trip to Portland this weekend. Too much other stuff to do in that city to spend time waiting in line in an industrial park.