trip to maine need help

Novare Res in Portland is phenomenal, but can get crowded. You also need to hit the breweries, though (distro isn't likely to happen)... the good thing is that Allagash is about 15 minutes from Old Port, and Austin St, Foundation, and Bissell Brothers are literally across the street. Get to Allagash at noon, and then when the others open at 1:00 you're in good shape. Liquid Riot (used to be In'finiti) is also in Old Port and is a good spot for a few beers in the afternoon.

I'd also suggest hitting Deciduous and Tributary in NH if you've got the time; they're only about a half hour south.

Lobster roll-wise, I really enjoy the Lobster Shack at Two Lights; all lobster meat with mayo on the side, nothing added. Good stuff. It's (again) 15ish minutes from Old Port. I also strongly recommend Central Provisions on Fore St. for dinner if you like sharing small plates.

 

Clam Shack in Kennebunkport is the best lobster roll ever made. Next town over from Ogunquit.

Tully's in Wells is a good beer store, but the standard is Bier Cellar in Portland. They'll get Bissell, Austin Street, Foundation on occasion, as well as other really great options. I'd suggest joining their mailing list. They e-mail deals and deliveries.

 

Check out the Oarweed restaurant in Perkins Cove in Ogunquit for lunch or dinner. One of the best views in town and great seafood. Barnacle Billy's across the street is where to go for fried seafood.

Deciduous might be a little off the beaten path. Both Tributary and Stoneface are easily accessible off major highways. Portsmouth Brewing and Earth Eagle are both in downtown Portsmouth.

 

Your times are a little off. Allagash opens at 10:30. Bissell Bros opens up at 12:00. Foundation opens at 12:00 on Friday/Saturday and 3:00 on Thursdays. Austin St is open at 12:00 on Saturday and 3:00 (sometimes 2:00) on Friday.

The only place with a line is Bissell Brothers unless Foundation has an Epiphany can release, then they will have a line too. So your best bet is to hit Allagash first, then go line up at Bissell. Last weekend I went to Bissell at 11:50 and was out the door by 12:30. Then you can hit Foundation and Austin St, if they are open depending on the day you go. They also have some killer food trucks right outside of Bissell so you can enjoy some great food and beers together.

I will second the suggestion to hit Stoneface in NH on the way up. It's like 4 miles off rt 95.

 

Wells is

 

For So Maine and Portsmouth get off 95 and check out downtown Portsmouth. Earth Eagle might still have ancestral IPA on. Portsmouth Brewery is always great. Hit up Craft Beer Cellar on Islington St. They should have in some Crowlers from Garrison City Brewing. Get Mosaic or Citra Pale ale and thank me later. If you can get to stoneface from the back roads do it as their IPA is great. Beware of Rt4/16 though especially anytime after 3PM or Friday at all. Will be a stand still friggin nightmare. In Kbunk/Ogunquit there are basically hardly an options. Especially OG, really just a somewhat snooty highly touristy town. Even worse then York where my place is. As you heard Tully's is great for cans/bottles. Given them a call and they might be able to help out. Tributary is pretty good too but they need to get more styles out there. The recent RYE IPA was a major let down.

Portland you have plenty of Bars and places to eat. I used to love Novar but I think it has gone down hill. We had awful service on a slow day the last two times I went there. Waiting 20 minutes on the deck for a beer and almost an hour for a cheese and meat plate that never came is ridiculous. Won't be going back there for quite some time. Too bad since this was one of our stops on my bachelor party and my wife and I always liked stopping in. Infinit/Liquid Riot has some pretty good beers. Ironically another place where we have been treated shitty. Stopped in the day after our wedding on our way to Bar Harbor for our "mini moon" before the real deal. Pats game was on and the guys are the bar made snooty comments about football and our interest. When the game ended they put up the projector screen or what ever it was on immediately. We asked if we could watch a little bit of the next game sice we were grabbing some food and and a few fills for the trip. He made snarky comments to the other people about how lame football was and general sports comments. Refused to put any games on. This was made to us the day after out wedding, middle of the afternoon, no one else complaining or watching. I get it, I grew up going to hardcore shows and skateboarding and were kinda spiteful assholes. But we liked sports and in all reality, 10 years ago we probably would have dragged you out and had some words. You work at a fucking bar, grow up dick. Horrible establishment but some pretty good beer coming out of it. But I digress... Duck fat is always a nice option. Again check out Allagash early then hit up Bissel, Foundation, Austin. You wont go home sad. Good luck and if you have any questions BM me.

 

We went to Maine just 2 weeks ago and our stops were - Oxbow, Allagash, Bissell, Foundation, no Austin St bc they were closed on a Friday when we were there.
We hit Maine Beer Co and Barrelled souls on a separate day. Rising Tide might be a good stop also.

 

I didn't notice anyone mentioning Barreled Souls in Saco. Worth a visit. Also, there is a craft beer cellar in the old port that had Substance and Baby genius cans when I was there the last week of July. Nice deck and decent food at the Dry Dock across the street. MBC is only a bit north of Portland in Freeport (lots of shopping, etc. in town too).

And if in Saco, Banded Horn is just south in Biddeford.

 

^ this man knows what's up. Barreled Souls was a pleasant surprise. I had never heard of them, GF liked them, we went, great atmosphere and great beer.

 

Looks like someone mentioned Barreled souls as I was typing.

 

Definitely great place!

 

My wife and I enjoy Ogunquit and use it as a base of ops many times - lots of good recommendations already. Make sure to walk the Marginal Way to Perkins Cove, assuming time allows, where there are the two great lunch options are at the end of the walk - Oarweed and Barnacle Billy's (awesome onion rings). Not so much for beer, but good vittles. It's not really far from Ogunquit to Portland or Portsmouth, NH. If you are on Rt.1 just past the Kittery Trading post - When Pigs Fly usually has an excellent tap list and you can buy great artisan bread reasonably priced at their bakery next door. Menu is a bit eclectic (I don't recommend the squid...), but they make good pizza and charcuterie. We get off at the slab at the big traffic circle in Portsmouth and pretty much use Route 1 from there - we are rarely in a rush and there's only so much driving on the slab I can stand anyway.

Lobster roll - it is controversial (maybe moreso than beer) and depends on how you like 'em, but we like the Beach Plum in Portsmouth. We'll drive the hour and a half or so on a weekend just to have theirs. Expensive but one of those things where cost is not a factor.

Smuttynose's new digs are also awesome - just don't go on a Tuesday as the restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. Tributary in Kittery is a nice stop, but I think only open Friday and Saturday. Both a bit off the beaten path, but not difficult to find. Portsmouth is also a great walking town once you figure out where stuff is - if you can find Portsmouth Brewing Co you are pretty much in the middle of it all. Can park and spend the whole day easily. Earth Eagle - worth finding.

In my opinion, don't waste time at SoMe brewing even if you drive right by it...unworthy IMHO.

We spent two days in Portland recently. Hit Allagash (twice), Bissell, Foundation, Austin Street. (I'd highly recommend skipping Geary's - just sayin'...). Oxbow in Portland is really hard to find (we circled around it for a LONG time and parking is a bitch), but worthy. Rising Tide was just plain fun and the beer wasn't bad either. Sleeper pick - Bunker Brewing is close to Oxbow and Rising Tide and I thought their Pilsner was outstanding. Sebago - it's OK. We skipped Shipyard...haven't had anything of theirs I like, so no loss. There are also two distilleries (at least) if you are into that scene. We drove to the industrial park where Allagash, Bissell, Foundation, and Austin Street are - did that bunch. Bissell can be a mess depending on what's going on - if it's nice the outdoor seating makes it easier, but despite the reviews the tasting room and sales area are tiny, crowded, and can be aggravating. Bissell and Foundation aren't set up really well for handling crowds - Allagash much better just because they are bigger, Austin Street - wasn't terribly impressed, but it's behind the other two and quiet.

You can easily spend the day in Portland (Old Port) - parking garage, wonderful walking city (as is Portsmouth), if you can't find some place to eat you aren't looking. Hit the rest of the breweries on a separate day and still had time to walk around town again, but I believe you could hit all the brew spots on one day (unless the intent is to sit there and drink a while) and still walk around town enjoyably (and let the effects of all the wonderful beers wear off).

If you hit the Portland industrial park on the Saturday, don't discount the food trucks for a great lunch. One of the best things we ate on our two weeks in Maine came from the Japanese food truck at Bissell/Foundation - some savory pancake thing that was totally amazing. They rotate, but our friends at Allagash told us they are all excellent.

If you go from Ogunquit to Portland on Rt. 1, Maine Beer Co is on the way. Normally a fan, but last visit the customer service was pretty poor - maybe it was an off day, but we were not pleased with the service and vibe on that particular day.

Check your distances and times - we managed to go past Barreled Souls two or three times and they were not open. Tully's in Wells - it's a good store, but it seemed to us the selection has decreased some since our first visit years ago, or we've become more discriminating in what we look for. Speaking of which, traffic could be an issue depending - Kittery Trading Post when you go from Portsmouth north and LL Bean in Freeport - neither an issue if you stay on the highway, but can be annoying if using Rt. 1.

This helps a lot, and if you just go to the Places tab here you can get more Maine places:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/place/list/?city=Portland&c_id=US&s_id=ME

 

Are there any breweries farther north? Bangor or Bar Harbor?

 

I was in Portland last weekend and had a great time. If you do hit Bissell/Foundation/Allagash, don't sleep on Austin Street. They had a Double Dry Hopped Patina Pale Ale that was phenomenal. That beer was as good or better than anything at Bissell in my opinion.

 

People have pretty much covered the best spots in Portland. In Ogunquit, check out Cornerstone. They have a great beer list (tap and bottles). http://www.cornerstoneogt.com/

You might also want to check out some other recent threads on similar topics:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/southern-maine-beer-stops.328560/#post-4011179

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...and-me-and-portsmouth-nh.325268/#post-3979861

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/maine-beer-suggestions.327090/#post-3996970

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/breweries-near-kennebunk.323974/#post-3972623

 

Once you head north there isn't too much. Marshal Wharf, Bar Harbor Brewing, Atlantic Brewing(Bar Harbor) But some fun spots to get beers up there.

 

They are side by side and Allagash is across the street...when in Rome and all that. That "Big 4" is all on one corner of Industrial Way. Unless Allagash is doing a release, it's usually pretty much walk right in and the tour is pretty good. Bissell can be a madhouse, as can Rising Tide, but not waiting in line for hours (at least it wasn't both days we were there).

Just saying - if you don't get Allagash where you live, be a shame to miss it.

Easy to map this out too - grab the Maine Brewers Guild passport thing - GPS or Smartphone away and you can easily hit all the worthy Portland brewers in a day. I doubt you can spend a day AT the Industrial Way cluster unless you just plan to sit and drink all day - BB and Foundation are tiny, Austin Street smaller still. Rising Tide, Bunker, Oxbow - fifteen minute drive if that.

 

Just curious - have you been to Conerstone recently? I thought their beer list was a little less robust than it was when we first went there a few years ago - we were there about six weeks ago.