Staying in Maine: Nov. 7-9

Well start with Maine Beer Co. in Freeport with to many good beers to list here but Lunch and Another One are two that are hard to beat. I don't think Dinner is supposed to be back until Dec.

 

Portland is only 20 mins south, and there you will find Allagash, Bissell Bros, Foundation, Austin St, Rising Tide, and Bunker. The Bier Cellar and RSVP have good craft beer selections. Novare Res is one of the best pubs in town. If you want to go 20 mins north, Ebenezer's Pub and Brewery is in Brunswick. It's not the original, but still good.

 

Novare Res in Portland is worth checking out any given day. They happen to a Wild Beer Event on Saturday Nov. 8th. They had some great beers on tap last year.

 

If going to Ebenezer's it's also worth an extra 40 minute drive north east to Oxbow in New Castle.

 

In'finiti Fermentation & Distillation and The King's Head are also right near Novare and are also worth checking out.

 

In Portland, in the East End area you'll find within a 5 minute walk of each other Urban Farm Fermentory (the have some really good ciders, for a change of pace). Around the corner you'll find Rising Tide, Bunker Brewery, and Maine Craft Distillery.

Duck Fat is solid for dinner in downtown Portland. And certainly second Novare Res.

 

Here's something I wrote up for the southern Maine area on another thread:

Breweries [Allagash and MBC are a given]

• Oxbow - My favorite brewery in the state, currently ~1.25hrs outside of Portland. All the great places around Portland-proper will at least have their flagship FPA on tap. Their Freestyle series and Oxtoberfest may be on tap around the time you come into town. They're also opening a tap/barrel room @ 75 Washington Street in Portland that will hopefully be open by then.
• Foundation - Located in the same industrial park as Allagash alongside Austin Street and Bissell Brothers. Make your rounds to everyone on this street and you'll have an awesome afternoon/evening.
• Bissell Brothers - Their Substance IPA is amazing, on par with some of the best IPAs in the nation. Their second canned beer, a hoppy blonde ale called Baby Genius, actually releases today. Cans only available at the brewery Thurs-Sat and distributed to very few accounts [Bier Cellar, RSVP, Maine Beer and Wine, Old Port Spirits and Cigars, maybe Craft Beer Cellar?]
• Rising Tide - Located in the burgeoning area of Portland lovingly referred to as "Yeast Bayside" alongside Bunker Brewing, Urban Farm Fermentory and my personal favorite coffee roasters Tandem. They put on a great tour.
• Bunker Brewing- See above.
• Gneiss - New kids on the block, great stuff coming from these guys. They have a new Dunkelweizen, Gabbro, and Weizenbock, Tweiss, that are both really awesome. Their berliner weisse's seem to be the only thing you can get on tap around town.
• In'Finiti - Worth the visit for the architectural design of their restaurant, brewery and distillery. Gorgeous space and great drinks.
• Banded Horn - Relative newcomers in Biddeford that I fully expect to explode anytime soon. Owner is the former headbrewer from Sixpoint.
• Marshall Wharf - Awesome brewpub on the coast in Belfast, worth the trip if you have the time. You may find their 16oz cans in the better bottle shops around Portland, currently you'll only find their brown ale, Phil Brown, on the shelves. If they're around at the time check out their Can't Dog DIPA, Illegal Ale-ian Agave Kolsch or Sexy Chaos their Imperial Stout aged with vanilla beans and oak -- all in cans.

Restaurants and bars

• Pai Men Miyake - Ramen bar with great beer and sake selection. My go to for a dinner of appetizers and beers with out-of-towners. They should have a few Oxbow bottles on hand if you don't want to wander up to Newcastle, ME and their tasting room isn't open yet.
• Outliers - Awesome rrestaurant tucked away on the west end of Portland. Great looking space with awesome tap list.
• Eventide - Oyster Bar with a twist. Pricier side and usually pretty packed, but on many national lists for best restaurant. May be easier to get into in October.
• Duckfat - Mob scene with tourists and locals alike. Small tap list but curated quite well. Fries fried in duck fat. Yes! May be easier to get into in October.
• Ebeneezers + Ebeneezers BrewPub - The original pub in middle of nowhere, Lovell, ME is 2.5hrs outside of Portland but routinely makes the 'Best Beer Bar in the World' lists year after year. Plead for a tour of their cellar and piss your pants at what they have. Recently tapped brewpub in Brunswick is much easier to get to and well worth the slight detour off 295 if you're headed north.
• Novare Res Bier Cafe - Other places in Portland have more taps (Great Lost Bear, Three Dollar Deweys, Jimmy the Greeks) but none come close on quality. Great deck and awesome bottle selection [e.g. Cantillon!]
• When Pigs Fly Pizza - If you're driving you should definitely hit this place up if you're driving into the state around lunch/dinner time. Great tap list right across the border from NH.

BYOB - Yes you heard that right

• Schulte and Herr - Awesome tiny little german restaurant, amazing brunch. Last I knew they were BYOB but you may want to call and double check.
• The Well @ Jordan's Farm - Closed for the season I believe.
• Fishermen's Grill - Block or so from one of the larger beer stores, RSVP, so you can grab a some goodies and eat some of the freshest fried seafood around and it's much more affordable than the the higher-end fare you'll find on the rest of the Portland peninsula.

 

OP - If you're headed to/through Portland, then this list above is an Awesome blueprint. Just hit as many of these as possible. Only a couple additions:

• If you try Duckfat (which you should definitely attempt), pop into East Ender next door. Great tap list.
• If you hit Pai Men Miyake (a 100% must hit), check the tap list at LFK next door. Usually solid.
• If you do Novare Res (another must), stop at The Thirsty Pig across the Street... Good shot at Bissell on tap

And if you're staying in Freeport, then a trek to Oxbow is now more like 45-50min. Highly highly recommended.

 

This thread is really making me want to go back to Portland soon...

 

Great list but Lovell is only maybe 1 hour and change from Portland

 

Derp, I meant 1.5hrs, not 2.5. Well worth the trip regardless.

 

What are the lines for cans like at Bissell Brothers on a Saturday? I might be in Portland the same weekend as the OP (11/7 - 11/9). The BB website says they start selling cans at 1:00 pm sharp, but do people get there at 12:00 (or earlier) and wait for an hour (or more)? It looks like the cans are gone in an hour or so. Obviously there are no guarantees, but how soon is too late to get there with the (reasonable likliehood) of leaving with beer.

 

I think everyone has the place covered. If you are in Portland go visit the Bier Cellar downtown. Excellent selection of local Maine and New England beers and very knowledgeable staff! Enjoy!

 

Thanks - I'll be sure to hit Bier Cellar. I think I'm staying next door. Still, I was wondering specifically about Bissell Brothers Brewery. No idea what to expect. Is it a Treehouse type spot with 50 people in line before they open?

 

I haven't been over to stand in line at the tasting room since mid August but back then you did have to be in line before on-sale started if you wanted the full allotment. I imagine it's dwindled at least a little bit but they definitely still sell through their daily inventory within a few hours.

 

I recently went to Bissell on a Saturday and got in line about 10 - 15 minutes before they opened. There were maybe 10 people in line. Probably took about 15 minutes to get our cans after they opened. It seemed key to be in line before opening, as the line grew quickly and the beers ran out quickly. If you want to play it safe and get there earlier, note that Foundation Brewing next door opens at noon on Saturdays (worth visiting either way). You can have samples there and keep an eye on the line at Bissell. Demand could be higher any given week depending on which beers are available. Check out Allagash and Austin Street while you're there, too.

 

There aren’t any hotels next /near to Bier Cellar (299 Forest Ave.). There are hotels next /near to Craft Beer Cellar (111 Commercial St.).

 

Thanks for the clarification. Confusing names. Way too similar. I'll make sure to stop by the "right" one, aka "Bier" cellar.