Rising Tide Brewing - Portland, ME

A nice surprise brewery was Rising Tide Brewing in Portland.  Located in a plaza next, I was very happy we stopped.  It is really just a small table to sample beers and purchase cans if you'd like.  Nice big open view of the entire brewery process. 

 The worker pouring samples was really nice and since we were the only ones there we got to find out a lot about the brewery, what they make, etc. For 4$ you get 4 samples. We had the Maine Island Trail Ale Session, Zepyhr IPA, Daymark Pale Ale, and the Hefe.  All were solid, but the Session was outstanding and still ranks in my top 3 for sessions..focusing on the Citra and Simcoe hops.  We grabbed 3 four packs for the road once it got crowded and the guy even said the cans were fresher then the kegs he was pouring from, mmmm fresh beer.

If you can't make it to the brewery be sure to pick some up around town, won't be sorry! www.risingtidebrewing.com/

Maine Beer Company - Freeport, ME

I must start off by saying this was by far one of my best brewery visits ever! About 20 minutes north of Portland is Maine Beer Company. I have had plenty of their beers in the past, most notably Lunch and loved them all! Except in Buffalo we are getting most their beers...not so fresh. So I was ecstatic to get to go right the source.  Of course I came just days after Dinner had tapped out sadly.

We arrived around 1:30 on a Tuesday..place was pretty dead.  Not tons of seating but a decent amount of picnic tables.  Just like their bottles labels, the room just felt empty but very clean.  We ordered two samplers with all 8 beers they had on tap. Before I go into beer by beer I will say this is probably the overall best sampler I have ever had because the worst beer was better than most beers I've ever had.
Peeper was light and had a good hop flavor to it.
A tiny beautiful something was missing a little something, pun intended, for me.  It just didn't blow me away like I hoped it would.

Mean Old Tom is just a great stout.
Weez was great.
Another One IPA was great..I wanted another one.
Red Wheelbarrow was one of the best red ales maybe the best I've ever had.
Lunch..speaks for itself fantastic.
Mo is a great great Pale ale.

To make things even better, I went to buy bottles since they sell them in house and Lunch was dated THAT day. Along with half the other beers..bottled THAT day..I find that very impressive.  I picked up a case worth of beer and we were on our way.

I will say sadly Lunch was not as great as I hoped once we got home and had it in the bottle.  I would say maybe the fact it sit in my car made it bad, but the other beers were just as good as I remembered.  I won't whine about it because Lunch is always solid, maybe just a bad batch or who knows?

I will say that if I ever go back to that area, I will drive an hour out of my way to come back here.  The whole place just feels clean, fresh and the beer is incredible.  Do yourself a favor and go visit them if you are within an hour or so from the brewery..you won't regret it! www.mainebeercompany.com/

Sebago Brewing - Portland, ME

Within a few blocks of Shipyard is Sebago Brewing. Now this is not the headquarters, it is an offsite location for the brewery located on the first floor of a hotel.  It was a very spacious location with lots of seating for food.  We sat at the bar, and the place was dead being it was a Monday around 2.

As always we tried a sampler. You can see the list below of the beers. We all agreed the Simmer Down Summer Ale was probably the best..very light and crisp and tasty for a session.  The IPA and stout would have been by 2 next favorites. 

We didn't eat here and just sipped on the brews so not much else to discuss here.  Beers weren't bad, bartender was very nice and if you're in downtown Portland or outside the city stop at one of their locations. More info..sebagobrewing.com/

Shipyard Brewing Co - Portland, ME

Our first day in Portland, ME we checked out lighthouses, had some lobster rolls and walked on over to the Shipyard Brewing Co located right in downtown Portland.  Upon entering, you see a giant gift shop with all sorts of goodies.  Then in the next room is a screening room. This is the room where you sit and watch a virtual tour video for about 10 minutes. After you do this..you get to drink for free!! These tours are once an hour at the top of the hour.

The guide gave us samples of all 10 beers that were pouring. He would explain each beer, then give you a small sample.  I myself was never a big Shipyard fan but hey some of them were quite tasty! I would say they make fruity beers..which isn't typically my thing...better than mostly any other brewery.  Their IPA and Black IPA was pretty good too.

They allowed for a bottling view and short tour after the tasting which we opted out of and just browsed the gift shop.  All really nice people, tasty free beer and all under 30 minutes. Highly recommended! Check out their site for detials...shipyard.com/

Rocky Coast Brewing - Ogunquit, ME

Our last stop up the coast was at Rocky Coast Brewing which is attached to Post Road Tavern Restaurant.  I believe they refer to this whole place as PRTRCB. 

The place was pretty dead for a Sunday afternoon.  They have about 3-6 beers on tap written on a chalkboard along with the food specials.

I had the Double IPA and a BBQ platter for dinner.  The beer was nothing special, but WOW the BBQ was fantastic.  It didn't have an over the top BBQ flavor and all the meat just flaked off.  I couldn't finish and had leftovers later on that were good all over again!

If you like craft beer and BBQ and you're near here, GO to this place.  It is also just a minute from the beach which we walked on after this huge dinner.  Check them out for hours and menus..http://www.postroadtavern.com/