2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Lively Brewing Company, Brunswick, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #27)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Lively Brewing Company, Brunswick, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #27) (recovered post) The 27th brewery visited during our cross-country beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Ebenezers Brew Pub & Lively Brewing Company in Brunswick Maine. After a full day of sampling and driving around Portland, we headded back north and decided to stop at one more brewery along the route. Ebenezers is a well known taphouse with a reputation for having unique and hard to find Eurpoean beers, so we wanted to check them out since they also brew their own beers. The brewing production is along the back of the building, next to the bar/taproom area. As it was early in the evening, we didn’t have any issues getting a table. We ordered up some samples of their beers and chatted with the server a bit about their facility and brewing. They were happy to find out we were coming up from Portland and decided to give them a try, as they are sort of left out of the Portland scene. Their food menus looked pretty decent, and their beer list was extensive beyond their own drafts. We ordered up …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Foundation Brewing Company, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #26)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Foundation Brewing Company, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #26) (recovered post) The 26th brewery visited during our cross-country beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Foundation Brewing Company in Portland Maine. This was the fifth and final brewery in Portland that we stopped at on the 3rd. It’s across the street from Allagash Brewing and gets a lot of the overflow and beer fans either before or after their visit across the way. They only had three beers available when we stopped by, and they don’t offer any food so we ordered up and hung out for a few minutes. As you can see, they do have a patio area that’s dog friendly and typically busy during the summertime. The employee working the bar was interested in what we thought of their beers and the brewing scene as we had experienced it. The range of nano-to-full scale breweries with support for all of them is a great thing to experience. We overheard some conversation about their expansion and desire to distribute/can/bottle their beers more than they had at that point. The few that we tried were interesting, focusing on wild-fermentation and …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Austin Street Brewery, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #25)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Austin Street Brewery, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #25) (recovered post) The 25th brewery visited during our cross-country beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Austin Street Brewery in Portland Maine. This is a nano-brewery with a 10 barrel system located in an industrial park, basically across the street from Allagash Brewing. Their beers change pretty quickly, and they only have a few on draft at any time. The brewers, who started out as home brewers, are there most days so you can chat with them about the beers they make and get a quick tour. The taproom/bar is at the front of the brewing space, it’s got only a few seats and primarily has outdoor seating. We only learned about this brewery from the information sheets we got at Allagash regarding a festival that was happening later in July, so we were happy to stop by and give them a try. The one thing that we noticed is that people would stop at Allagash across the street before coming here, then stop here for additional beers. It’s a great way to get overflow business and acknowledgement from beer lovers, to …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #24)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #24) (recovered post) The 24th brewery visited during our cross-country beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Allagash Brewing Company in Portland Maine. After lunch, and a few breweries in downtown Portland, we drove out to the west end of town where Allagash is located. It wasn’t terribly hard to find, it’s in a large industrial complex with a few other smaller nano-breweries located towards the entrance to the complex. This was one of the top breweries that we visited on the roadtrip, and one with some of the highest expectations that were all met and exceeded. As you can see from the photos, the brewery has a large parking lot and during peek visiting seasons (summer time), they have someone outfront to greet you. We didn’t know what to expect, I thought it was the valet or something, but it’s someone to help with the explaining how their taproom works and what you’ll find inside. They also offered parking suggestions when the lot gets full, which it almost was when we arrived. The taproom is spacious, lots of tables and a large …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Gritty McDuffs Brewing Company, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #23)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Gritty McDuffs, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #23) (recovered post) The 23rd brewery visited during our cross-country beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Gritty McDuffs in Portland Maine. This is one of three locations for this restaurant/brewpub located in Maine. This particiular one is located in the heart of historic downtown Portland, not far from the waterfront. Parking was available a block or so away in a public garage, on-street parking is a challenge in this part of downtown. As you can see, it’s a bit rustic and has a local vibe to the establishment. We were there shortly after the lunch rush, so we didn’t have a wait to get a table. The back of the restaurant area looks out over the waterfront, so check out that part when looking for a table. We ordered a sampler of their beers (as shown below), with eight beers (two on cask) and once guest cider. While we had higher expectations of the beer, being that there is a lot of competition in this area, we were not really blown away with what was served. When we asked the server who brought …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #22)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland, ME (July 3rd, Brewery Stop #22) The 22nd brewery visited during our cross-country beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Shipyard Brewing Company in Portland Maine. We made our way down the coast to Portland and did a little site seeing and then grabbed a bite to eat at a great restaurant near the main historic area of town. We decided to stop at a few breweries in this part of town first before exploring out into the suburbs. Shipyard is one of the larger production facilities in Portland and they have a great selection of beers. The brewery has a large swag and merchandise area, tasting room, and provides brewery tours year round. They don’t have any food on site and the tasters are done in large groups for FREE. Yes, you read that correctly, FREE. Not many breweries do this, and it’s a great way to gain loyal customers. There is truly nothing better than “free as in beer”. The tasting area is like a small bar with just a few seats and mostly standing room only. We were able to sample some of their beers …

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