Next week I'm going to Maine for a family vacation and should have some time to visit a brewery or two, some bars/brewpubs and some beer stores. I'll be staying a few days in: Portland, Millenrocket, Lubec, and Bar Harbor. What places should I check out? Also, I'm not that familiar with Maine beer, being from Wisconsin. If I go to a beer store what beers or breweries should I check out. Thanks!
gritty's has a brew pub in portland as does shipyard and i think gearys and sea dog has a brew pub in south portland these are some of maines most popular breweries and they make great beer.
I live just outside of Portland what kind of beer do you like? I would skip going to the brewpubs and go to a place like the Great Lost Bear. Lots of local beers on tap and you can easily get samples of the 69 beers on draft including usually like 4-5 Allagash beers. If you looking for a good beer bar Novare Res is in the old port, great beer and they are having multiple beer events next week including a Smutty nose tap takeover. These are my go to places in Portland. if you are headed up or down route 1 stop in at Marshal Wharf in Belfast. My favorite brewery, you can get growlers or just have some samples great beer. BM if you have specific questions always glad to help a fellow traveler, recently spent a long stint in the Midwest and lived in WI for 7 months
I'm actually going to maine for a week in july and this lost bear sounds great. Definitely going to be checking it out. thanks for the info.
I would ignore this advice as these are some of the worst Maine made beers and besides you can find them anywhere in the state (plus there aren't Shipyard or Geary's brewpubs in Portland). The one exception to try might be Geary's which I have a special place in my heart for. Definitely check out the Great Lost Bear if you want to sample a large variety of quality Maine beers (you can also sample Shipyard, Gritty's, etc here but don't say I didn't warn you). Anything from Allagash, Maine Beer Co, Rising Tide or Marshall Wharf will be outstanding. Definitely take advantage in Portland because once you get up to Millinocket and Lubec you won't have many options besides BMC.
Someone should really make a sticky for this type of post haha... Quick list for Portland: Bars with good beer - Novare Res, Mama's Crowbar (cash only) Restaurants with good beer & food - Great Lost Bear, Nosh, Duckfat (Sebago Brewing Co is worth a look too) Beer stores - Bier Cellar, Downeast Beverage, RSVP Breweries to visit for a tour - Allagash, Maine Beer Co Growler fills - Rising Tide
