Twice in a Lifetime: Magdalen Islands Redux - Part Trois (feat. Toolin' 'round Portland and thereabouts)

OK, so I decided to add a third part to the story since we hit up so many places in Portland on the way back from our Canadian jaunt. It's always a pleasure to visit Maine's hippest town, and it seems as though every time we return, there's more to see and do. So, here's part three (or technically "part two" of part two, since I originally intended this to be written in two parts). But enough with the confusing episodes. Let's get on to it, shall we?

Our first stop of the day in Portland was a familiar one. We'd first visited Lone Pine during our Drinksgiving 2016 adventure. Back then, they were the new kid on the block. Since then, they'd grown quite a bit. Once we got settled in, I decided I was thirsty for hops. Ultimately, I went with
Brightside IPA, it's best-selling beer, knowing that I had it during our previous visit and feeling it wasn't a standout. Well, either they improved on the recipe or my tastebuds changed, because this time it was quite enjoyable. Brightside balances a subtle malt character with smooth, clean bitterness and layers of citrus zest, tropical fruit, and pine.

I also had to get a pour of Chris Farley-wine, a 12% barleywine-style ale that, if one drinks too much of it, he or she will be living in a van down by the river! I shared this one with the group, because we still had a long way to go before the end of the day.

Right around the corner and back behind Lone Pine is Goodfire, an up-and-coming brewery in Portland touting the latest in hazy IPA technology. Back in the summer of 2019, I was still gobbling up juice bombs like they were going out of style. Ironically, the style has since worn out its welcome with me and my palate. Sorry to beat a dead horse, but even though I'll still enjoy one from time to time, I'll take a solid West Coast IPA any day. 

With that said, Goodfire seems to brew a respectable version of the NEIPA. I'd even go on record and say that I prefer their beers over the ones I've had at Bissell Brothers, which I find to be largely overrated. But let's not go down that slippery slope. Let's talk about Goodfire. First up was a NEIPA called Prime. Featuring Citra and Amarillo hops, this soft, somewhat dry IPA is perhaps Goodfire's all-day drinker. The brewery's debut can release, Prime has quickly become a staple of Portland's burgeoning craft beer scene, and its no wonder why.

I was beckoned by Prime to stay on the NEIPA path, so for my next beer I settled on CMYK, a generously hopped with NEIPA featuring Comet, Simcoe and Galaxy as well as malted spelt, a common grain along with oats and wheat used in hazy IPAs. Peppery with hints of citrus zest, pine, and tropical fruit, this one was pretty similar to Prime. The beer takes its name from the four basic colors used for printing color images: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. I suppose it's an apt name for a hazy IPA, because with CMYK, the colors get darker as you blend them together.

What if Q-Bert was a snail and his grid was a hop flame?

I was pretty hazed out after those two beers, so I decided to switch gears and go with a Pilsner. Their There They’re is Czech-style pilsner featuring a small portion of malted spelt in the grist and a blend of noble hops including Saaz, Spalt Select, and Saphir. Dry and effervescent with floral and bready notes, this beer offered a nice change of pace. I also appreciated the name of this beer, as so many people can't seem to grasp the difference between these three simple words. Brewslut and I are proud officers of the Central PA chapter of the Grammar Police, so we both got a chuckle out of this one. Perhaps Goodfire can release a beer named "To Two Too" and feature two elephants each wearing a tutu. Perhaps not. The general consensus was that Goodfire was more than good, and we all enjoyed our visit there. But it was time to steer the ship elsewhere.

After our visit to Goodfire, Brewslut and I ducked into Urban Farm Fermentory on the way back to the car to kick back a few samples of kombucha and pick up a couple of jars to bring home. We really like the vibe of this place, and they're churning out some tasty, forward-thinking kombucha, cider, mead and eccentric hybrid concoctions that we really like. Founded in 2010, Urban Farm was the first craft beverage maker to set up shop in Portland's East Bayside industrial area, which is fast becoming the city's most recognized brewery cluster. This area also includes Rising Tide, Lone Pine, Oxbow, Goodfire, and others as well as a variety of other establishments slinging artisan coffee, distilled spirits, and more. After our quick drive-by, we regrouped with the others down the street at another new-to-us brewery.

Urban Farm. Photo courtesy of wescover.com.

Founded in 2013, Austin Street is one of the Portland breweries that had eluded us prior to this trip. Whether they weren't open at the time or we just couldn't squeeze it in to our agenda, for whatever reason we'd yet to visit this brewery. Originally, they were located catty-corner from Allagash on Industrial Way (more on that area in a bit). They've since expanded to add a location on Fox Street, right next door to Rising Tide in the East Bayside Industrial area. The new space boasts an additional brewhouse as well as a modern tasting room and adjoining patio. It reminded me of an upscale bistro along the beach in northern California. We also got to catch up with our long-time friend, Vikki, who had moved to Portland several years ago with her boyfriend, Bill. The two now work in the cannabis industry (hey, it's legal in Maine)!

We only had time for one beer, so I went with something different: Bennu, a black IPA brewed with roasted coconuts. Hopped with Cashmere and Simcoe and featuring 75 pounds of toasted coconut, the aroma is dominated by coconut with just a hint of fleshy tree fruit and some citrus. And with that, it was time to move on. 

After an enjoyable visit at Austin Street, we headed back to Industrial Way to check out Definitive, which is situated in the same complex as Goodfire and Battery Steele. Inside, it's kind of dark with lots of black walls, white trim, and neon lighting. It reminded me of the basement of a fraternity, for some strange reason. We decided the beer garden out back was more of our speed. 

I was delighted to find a "peach" beer on tap. Peels & Pits is a collaboration with Bier Cellar brewed in celebration of their 7-years anniversary. The beer itself is an IPA made with copious amounts of tangerines and peaches as well as a hint of lactose. Reminiscent of a glass of orange juice, this beer comes across like a mimosa with a pleasant peachy finish. 

For my follow-up, I decided to stick with fruit. Portals (Mango & Vanilla), is the second release in Definitive's "kettle sour with vanilla" series. Boasting an insane amount of mango purée and vanilla beans, this beer is slightly sweet and with a dash of tartness and finishes with a lush vanilla note. All in all, two solid offerings from this new up-and-coming Portland brewery. 

Of course, no visit to Portland would be complete without a stop at Allagash. We've visited many times in the past, had taken the tour, seen the coolship, and enjoyed rare beers in the exclusive VIP lounge. Ultimately, this would be a quick visit to pick up some bottles and merch... and also drop off some beers for the good folks at the brewery. I don't think I'd hesitate to place Allagash in my Top 10 breweries in the country. Its White, a hazy Belgian-style wheat beer, is kind of like the "Spotted Cow" of Maine, and accounts for somewhere around 70% of the brewery's sales. But Allagash is so much more than this beer. Its barrel-aging program is one of the most mature, diverse I've come across in our travels. Just setting foot inside the barrel room and taking a whiff of the surrounding air is something I can still trigger in my olfactory memory.

During our visit, I sampled Tiny House, a diminutive 3.4% ABV dry-hopped "house beer." This small beer actually reveals quite a bit of flavor including hints of melon, grapefruit, and subtle malt notes. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I also got to sample Martin Road, a new sweet stout aged in bourbon and Maine-grown oak barrels. This one was quite roasty with touches of oak and coffee.

We headed back across the street to check out yet another newish brewery, Battery Steele, which is situated on Industrial Road in the same development as Definitive and Goodfire. This spot seems to be Portland's incubator for start-up breweries. The brewery takes its name from a U.S. military fort on Portland's Peaks Island, which is located in Casco Bay. Some more useless trivia for you: the fort is named for Harry Lee Steele, a Coast Artillery officer during World War I. From its inception in 2017, the brewery began in an old barn in South Portland and eventually found its home at Industrial Way.

The beer menu was, as expected, heavy on the IPAs, so I decided to try one. Ascent, an IPA hopped with Topaz, Mosaic and Simcoe, was pretty solid and in line with lots of the other NEIPAs I tried during our visit. Portland seems to have dialed in its own variation on the theme.

After Battery Steele, it was time to hit the rickety road and head out of Portland. The adventure was quickly coming to an end. Honestly, after subjecting my liver to two weeks of intense drinking, I was ready to get home and sleep in my own bed.

Still, there was one place that we were all anticipating with much anxiousness (actually two, but more on that shortly). We'd been to Barreled Souls in Saco, ME, on one previous occasion, but it was during my blogging hiatus, so unfortunately I never committed our visit to "digital paper." I did, however, remember that it was an awesome brewery with a penchant for bold sour ales and behemoth barrel-aged creations. We were all pretty excited to get back here and dig in to the draft list, which featured an eclectic assortment of 23-odd beers.

With so many interesting - and high gravity - beers available, I decided that a sampler flight was in order. Here's the low-down on the line-up:

• Maple Pour Over - oatmeal stout brewed with coffee and Maple syrup
• Ginger Molasses Dark Matter - Dark Matter variant brewed with fresh molasses and ginger
• Rye Barrel-aged Soul of a Lion - Soul Of A Lion English-style barleywine aged for 14 months in a Hillrock Rye barrel. Brewed in collaboration with Aslin Brewing based out of VA. 
• Booker's Bourbon Barrel Aged Nocturnem Milkshake - white stout brewed with cacao nibs, almonds, vanilla, and marshmallow fluff and aged for 11 months in Booker's Bourbon barrels. Brewed in Collaboration with Nocturnem Draft Haus in Bangor, ME. 

Oddly enough, the only beer that didn't jive with me was the Ginger Molasses Dark Matter. I love both ginger and, especially, molasses, but the combination of the two blended into this imperial stout just didn't work for me. The Booker's BBA Nocturnem Milkshake, on the other hand, was an utterly decadent stout with everything thrown in except the kitchen sink. It was easily one of Pleeps' favorite beers of the trip. I mean, of course it was!

We'd visited our next - and final - stop of the day, Earth Eagle, on numerous occasions over the last few years. As a matter of fact, this Portsmouth, NH-based brewery is probably one of the most eclectic breweries I've ever encountered in our travels. They definitely brew some oddball stuff, and you can oftentimes find upwards of three different Gruits (ancient ales brewed with herbs, botanicals, and other ingredients in place of hops) on tap. Here's a small sampling of beers we've tried at Earth Eagle in the past: a curried pumpkin porter with rum-soaked coconut; a bourbon barrel-aged old ale brewed with maple syrup and Chaga mushrooms; and a black gruit with horehound, star anise, sweet fern and coltsfoot. I don't even know what the hell horehound and colts foot is... but I drank the beer anyway. (Editor's note: the former is an aromatic herb of the mint family, while the latter is a plant in the daisy family. Both are native to Europe and Asia.) 

This time, the beer list was a bit more tame. After perusing the available 8 or 9 beers on tap, I settled on Litha, a strawberry blonde ale with Kveik yeast. Over the last two years, many breweries began experimenting with this Norwegian yeast strain, which ferments at extremely high temperatures and produces tropical flavors reminiscent of pineapple.  

Speaking of Kveik yeast, my next beer, What the Fuggle, was a pale ale also featuring Kveik yeast and, presumably, Fuggles hops. Fuggles once was one of my favorite hop varieties back when I was a noob, and I still get kind of excited when I see a beer brewed with this antiquated hop varietal of British descent. While these two beers were fine, I missed the weird, off-the-wall stuff this time around. It's one of Earth Eagle's hallmarks and certainly the one aspect I appreciate most about the brewery. Still, it was a pleasure to get back to this place that we only get to visit sporadically. 

And that, my friends, is it. 

Or is it? 

Actually, there's still the first half of the story to reveal. Tune in next time as we explore everything the Magdalen Islands have to offer. Until next time, here's a weird suit of armor...

Twice in a Lifetime: Magdalen Islands Redux - Part Deux (feat. Moncton, Canada Day & our descent back into 'Murica)

Editor's Note: I decided to begin with the second half of our trip to Canada and New England rather than from the beginning for many reasons, one of which is simply because I remember more about that part of the trip. The other reason is because I never started a blog at the end before. So that's kind of cool, right? Part 1 will be coming in a few weeks. Enjoy!

Once we departed the islands, it was a full-on "Beer-a-Palooza." I always enjoy visiting breweries I know absolutely nothing about, and we were about to hit several. Our first stop after getting off the ferry and onto the mainland was Bogside, which is situated in Montague, PE. The name of the brewery is derived from the historic local name for the neighbourhood along the north side of the Montague River. Once an industrial area along the waterfront and railway tracks, Bogside is known as a place for curious souls to explore... like we Pour Travelers!

I decided to try my luck with North Lake Lager, a German-style Pilsner. I'll admit I wasn't expecting much, but this beer checked off all of the boxes with regard to things I love about pilsners. Crisp and refreshing? Check. Grassy with a slight mineral quality? Indeed. A hint of citrusy hops? You bet! Overall, this was a textbook example of the style, so naturally I enjoyed it immensely. This turned out to be a relatively quick stop, so I was only able to enjoy this single beer. I'm glad it was a great one!

Up next was Copper Bottom, just a hop, skip and jump away from Bogside in Montague. PEI's first craft brewery, Copper Bottom is situated on a fairly steep hill and overlooks the beautiful Montague River. This was also a one-and-done deal, so I played it safe and ordered a pour of Broadside, a West Coast-inspired American Pale Ale with a clean, citrus finish and touch of pine.

We also decided to grab a bite to eat since they had handpies. A local delicacy, a handpie is a savory, hand-held pie featuring half a pound of locally sourced meat and vegetables. Copper Bottom offers a rotating selection of these delicious little crusty delights. Brewslut and I each enjoyed the Chicken Pot Pie handpie, and it was delicious! Some of the gang also enjoyed hand-shucked local oysters. It was a pleasant day, so we decided to sit on the deck overlooking the river.

Our next stop was a renowned beer bar in Charlottetown called Hopyard. Touting a motto of "Beer, Food & Vinyl," nobody had to twist my arm to check out this place.  Hopyard curates the most comprehensive collection of craft beer on PEI and gives preference to independent breweries in the Maritimes and across North America. They also have a few bins of records that you can spin during your visit or purchase to take home. I browsed for a bit and picked out something cool, but I can't remember what it was.

Beer-wise, it was nice to see our friend Greg Nash represented on the tap list with his Unfiltered Brewing's Riddle of Steel. This bright and juicy is a hopped-up West Coast meets NEIPA hybrid. Hazy but "bitter as fuck" in the finish (Greg would probably say that), this was another fine beer in a long list of world-class IPAs. We got to meet Greg on our last trip to Canada, and the guy is a hoot. He's also a craft beer legend in Canada (and among our Team D(r)INK comrades). If you ever find yourself in Halifax, NS, do yourself a favor and stop in for a visit.

Up next was a stop by the Craft Beer Corner, which is essentially a taproom for Charlottetown's own Upstreet Brewing. First up was a pour of Rhuby Social, a spiced Witbier brewed with strawberry and rhubarb. Tart and refreshing with a tropical flair and hint of salt, this one was pretty tasty. 

I also tried Orange Mandarin Gose, listed as an "Artist Residency Beer." Apparently, some guy named Peter Christenson helped brew this 4% ABV tart ale with mandarin oranges. Unfortunately, I vaguely remember this place, so details are spotty. 

One thing I do remember, however, is CHICKEN CHIPS! See?

I was obsessed with chicken chips on this trip.

And, of course, Dildo Brewing Company... AND Museum. Man, I NEED to get there some day. Maybe next time we can squeeze it into the itinerary. I'm sure it would be a stimulating visit.

...AND museum.

We closed out the day with an epic beer tasting back at Greg's house, with plenty of his Canadian friends in attendance. One of the local beers we sampled was Hopfenweiss by CAVOK (pronounced CAV'-oh-KAY'). It was kind of a hoppy Hefeweisen, and it was pretty tasty. We actually got to meet the two owners/brewers (Serge 1 and Serge 2) at our tasting, as well as a veritable "Who's Who" of the Moncton beer scene. We also sampled a few beers from Dieppe's own O'Creek Brewing, including Coffee Island, an imperial stout with cold brew coffee added, and Route 117, a NEIPA boasting tropical notes of pineapple and mango as well as peach. We also got to meet the brewer and owner of O'Creek, Patrice, who brought along a ton of his beer. I also had the opportunity to sample countless other Canadian beers from breweries all over the country, including Roof Hound (Digsby, NS), Brasserie Dunham (Dunham, Quebec), Lunn's Mill (Lawrencetown, NS), Bellwoods (Tornoto, ON), and Tatamagouche (Tatamagouche, NS), among many others. It was one of the most epic bottles shares - with the smallest group to boot - I've ever attended. Cheers again to Greg for hosting these two amazing beer gatherings! 

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Once again, we found ourselves in Canada on Canada Day, eh! Like five years, we got to celebrate with our friends from the Great White North on the day the Constitution Act of 1867 went into effect. This Act united the three separate colonies of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into what is now simply called Canada. Makes sense, right? And what better way to celebrate than to hang out in the rain at a pop-up beer garden before going to see a free April Wine concert in Moncton? Answer... there's none better way! 

We kicked off the cold, dreary day at Le BarBu, the aforementioned pop-up beer garden in Dieppe, Moncton's neighboring town. It's basically the same town, but Moncton is just way more fun to say, so from here on our let's just call it Moncton. Ok? Ok.  Basically, Le BarBu is a bar inside a shipping container that offers a European beer garden experience. Seriously. That's even what their Facebook page insists.

If my memory serves me correctly, the first beer I had was Patagonia Pale Ale from Graystone Brewing, based out of Fredericton, NB. This beer, a light-bodied pale ale with a tropical hop character, seemed to be an appropriate beer with which to usher in Canada Day. I asked one of the bartenders how I get one of those cool little Canadian flags, and she just gave one to me. So I had a little flag to wear and wave around on Canada Day. Beauty, eh? 

The April Wine show was pretty enjoyable. Sadly, I wasn't familiar with more than a handful of this classic Canadian band's catalog. I was, however, surprised when they whipped out a sweet version of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," which I later discovered they'd covered on one of their albums. Ricky would have loved this show because they also played "I Like to Rock," even though he thinks it's a Rush song. 

We hung out in the beer garden the entire time because, well, they had a pretty killer lineup of local Canadian craft beer. During the show, we enjoyed a beer from Tide & Boar called Millions of Peaches, which is described as a "sour sundae ale" brewed with fuzzy peach candy, milk sugar, and flaked and malted oats, then conditioned on peach puree and vanilla beans. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We also enjoyed another Tide & Boar offering called Sour Otis, a raspberry and hibiscus Berliner Weisse. I remember this one being much thicker than a traditional Berliner Weisse, and it certainly was heavy on the raspberry. I recall it being more like liquid sorbet.

After the show, Deuane, Greg, Brewslut and I decided to hit up Gahan House, essentially a taproom for PEI Brewing Company. I settled on Snowbird Juicy IPA from its "After Hours" small batch series. Turns out this beer has since graduated to a Gahan-branded beer in its own right. Essentially a NEIPA, this one was soft and juicy with a tropical fruit character. I also enjoyed the Margarita Gose, a very tasty sour, salty gose with lots of juicy citrus notes. 

We made our way back to Greg's after rocking out in the appropriate Canuck style with April Wine. And thus ends another fine Canadian adventure. Now, it was time for our descent back into 'Murica for further drinking shenanigans at a host of new-to-us places we'd yet to visit. 

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First up was a stop at Mason's, a brewpub overlooking the Penobscot River, appropriated situated in the town of Brewer, ME. The name Mason’s is a nod to John Mason, an explorer who mapped and discovered the early waterways in this region of Maine. In 1622, Mason and fellow explorer Sir Fernando Gorges were granted the territory between the Merrimack and Kennebec rivers, which was known as the Province of Maine. There's more to the story, of course, but that's probably enough to satisfy your curiosity without diving too deep into the geography of it all.

Beer-wise, the draft list was rife with lots of interesting stuff, most notably a bevy of IPAs and other similar hoppy ales. I was immediately drawn to a beer named Hipster Apocalypse, a NEIPA with a fitting name. Since all the cool kids are drinking "haze brah" beers these days, the clever name wasn't lost on me. Regardless, we all got a chuckle out of this beer's clever name. This one was one of the rare enjoyable NEIPAs I've come across in the last year. This one wasn't quite so "haze brah," actually. It was also insanely quaffable at a mere 5.7%. Brewed to showcase the relatively new hop variety, Idaho 7, Hipster Apocalypse displays a dank, piney nose with strong tangerine attributes.

I also enjoyed a pour of Coffee Stout, which was pretty tasty. Of course, I couldn't locate any fun details about this beer on the Interwebs, so let's just leave it at that.

Their beer label artwork is pretty badass. I should have snagged a few cans to bring back home, but I unfortunately didn't get to fully enjoy this place because I was in the midst of a hotel booking debacle between Priceline and PayPal. Long story short, I tried unsuccessfully to book three hotels for that evening in Maine through Priceline. However, they actually (or supposedly) had taken the money from my PayPal account. When the rooms weren't verified, I tried again, and they took the same amount of money AGAIN, but still we had no room confirmation. Needless to say I was fuming.

Still, I managed to pull my shit together and enjoy the two beers I tried here. Meanwhile, the weather had been cooperating, so we decided to sit in the outside patio area. This of course was just before the shit went down with the Battle of Priceline and Paypal.

After my slightly nerve-racking experience at Mason's, we headed across the river to nearby Bangor, ME, to hit up a few places. First on the agenda was 2 Feet, a tiny 2-barrel brewery on Columbia Street.

Inside, 2 Feet is a ragtag little place that immediately reminded me of The North in Endicott, NY. The beer list was pretty scant, with about 6 or so offerings. I opted for a beer called Maine Morning, a blonde ale brewed with maple and coffee. This one was pretty solid and my favorite of the three beers I sampled.

Meanwhile, we camped out at a round table in the corner near the front window. I liked the vibe of this place, and the young guy behind the bar was friendly and talkative. There was only one other patron during our visit, an older lady, who hung out at the bar and seemed to know the bartender. The bar itself was pretty cool and appeared to be constructed of barrel staves.

The next beer I tried was Borscht Weisse, a sour ale brewed with beets that turned out to be the talk of the table. I don't think I've ever come across a beer as "cheesy" as this one. It was like liquid Limburger, as pungent and stinky as any funky cheese I'd ever encountered before or since. As for the name "borscht," I always thought it was some kind of German meat. Turns out it's a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with a Ukrainian variation of the soup made with beetroots, which give the dish its distinctive red color. However, this beer was waaaay more cheesy than beet-y. Go figure.

I couldn't leave without at least trying a beer named Riker. Permission to drink freely, captain. Sorry, but I'm a huge Star Trek: TNG fan. This was almost like an imperial English Bitter, weighing in at a whopping 7.2% ABV. This bitter was so heavy that I had to lean onto the table after taking a few sips. (Dan will appreciate that inside joke.) Meanwhile, Pleeps was having a grand time playing Barrel of Monkeys with Brewslut.

Up next was Orono, a short walk from 2 Feet. Originally situated in the town of Orono, ME, we actually visited the Bangor taproom. Located in a restored historical building in downtown Bangor that previously housed Bangor Cigar Manufacturers, this cozy satellite tasting room features upwards of fourteen Orono beers on tap. 

Brewslut and I decided to try just about everything, so we opted for two separate sampler flights. We ended up sampling ten different beers, lots of them IPAs. Here's the lowdown:

• Feelin' It IPA - Juicy and tropical IPA thanks to intense dry-hopping with Citra, El Dorado, Mosaic, and experimental hop HBC 692. Brewed to celebrate a decade of live music at Bangor Waterfront. 
• Bog Monster DIPA - Tropical-forward DIPA double dry-hopped with Mosaic, Simcoe, Galaxy and a heavy dose of lupulin powder. Brewed with Maine-grown grains to support the Orono Bog Boardwalk. 
• Tubular IPA - Triple dry-hopped and juicy IPA featuring tropical, stone fruit, red berry, and tangerine flavors. Hopped with Galaxy, El Dorado, Citra, and Topaz.
• The Way Life Should Be IPA - Juicy IPA brewed with Maine-grown grains and triple dry-hopped with massive amounts of Galaxy, Mosaic, Ella, Citra, El Dorado, and Vic Secret. In collaboration with L.L. Bean.
• Tiger Style Fierce Pale Ale - Massively dry-hopped pale ale with Citra and El Dorado.
• Hazelnut Coffee Elwood Brown Ale - Roasted malts and hazelnut Carrabassett Coffee beans blend together to provide a rich, nutty flavor and deep coffee aroma.
• Gonzo Gose - Persian lime and blueberry Gose with Himalayan pink salt brewed in collaboration with Novare Res, one of my favorite beer bars in Portland, ME. 
• Fruity Kettle Sour (Raspberry / Peach) - Kettle sour with peach and raspberry additions and lacto cultures from our friends at Kennebec Cheesery. Yaaaay peach! 
• Clemens Cove Cherry Saison - A blend of two different saisons each fermented with multiple farmhouse yeast strains and Brett C. The base beers were blended together in stainless steel and aged on sweet cherries before being blended with a portion of fresh Gose. The bright cherry flavor is balanced with light tartness and a hint of Brett. 
• Striar Mill - Russian Imperial Stout aged in American oak bourbon barrels to unlock rich layers of decadent dark-roasted malt and toasted oak flavors. 

There's a lot to soak in with that lot. We obviously weren't messing around at this place. Unfortunately, it was sampler overload: good for Untappd check-ins, but bad for my limited memory. I do remember really liking this place, and it was probably my favorite brewery of the day. While we did sample a ton of different IPAs, I remember liking the other styles more, especially the brown ale, gose, and RIS. Good stuff across the board, though. 

Up next was another Bangor taproom of an Orono-based brewery called Black Bear. A small, family owned brewery and tap room, Black Bear began operating in 2008 on a 10-barrel brewhouse and eventually opened a small taproom in 2013. The brewery currently distributes its beers across Maine. The taproom also hosts live local music regularly, so bonus points there.

This turned out to be a quick one-and-done stop for us. Not only were we getting a little fatigued, but the beers were fairly pedestrian overall. The place itself is a cozy little cabin-esque brewpub in the heart of Bangor. And who doesn't love a cute little bear?

I opted for a Pail Ale, described as a hoppy American pale ale. One of its core year-round beers, it's a throwback to simpler times in American craft brewing that hearkens back to the days when Cascade and Centennial hops were all the rage. This was drinkable but ultimately not memorable. Thankfully, we had about a two-hour break before our last stop of the day to recover a bit. 

We ended the day about 80 miles southwest of Bangor at The Liberal Cup Public House & Brewery in Hallowell, ME. Fortunately, we arrived about five minutes before the kitchen closed. Brewslut and I were famished because we skipped dinner at the last place we'd visited. This place is about as old-school as it gets, people. They offer a rotating tap selection of 6 house beers including a cask-conditioned offering and a craft guest tap. Beers are served in British, or imperial, pint glasses, which means you get twenty-ounces of beer rather than a mere sixteen. 

Beer-wise, I decided to go with something called Lemon-Lime Bug Lager, a variation on one of its regular beers, Bug Lager. For whatever reason, I was pretty certain that I wouldn't like the beer. Turns out I was wrong. It was a pretty crisp, refreshing lager-meets-Sprite concoction that somehow worked for me at that particular time and place. Go figure. I asked why it was named "Bug" Lager, and our server told me, but I forget her answer. Perhaps it sounded like "Bud" i.e. Budweiser. That actually sounds right. If I'm wrong, that's what I'm going with. Final answer, Regis. 

I don't even remember what I got for dinner, but it definitely did its job. Our waitress here was really fun and the beer was solid, especially for such an old-school place. Liberal Cup definitely screams mid-90's English-style brewpub, but it seems like they are still delivering the goods. Actually, it opened in 2000 but the vibe is definitely old school... and I dig!

So, this brings us to the end of part 1 of part 2... or something like that. Tune in next time as we tool around one of my favorite East Coast towns - Portland, ME - as we complete the final leg of this epic two-week trek. Until next time...

Top 10 new-to-us breweries of 2019

As an addendum to our 2019 blog portfolio, we'd like to offer a quick recap of what we feel are the best new-to-us breweries we visited last year. While there's no specific equation in determining the final Top 10 list, we did take the following into consideration: beer quality, atmosphere, service, gut instinct, and general awesomeness. With that said, we present to you the Pour Travelers’ Top 10 New Breweries Visited in 2019 (in alphabetical order).

1. Beer Tree – Port Crane, NY – First visited in May 2019

Situated about 15 minutes NE of Binghamton, NY, Beer Tree is a farm brewery highlighting beer brewed with local ingredients and hops sourced from the neighboring Willet Hop & Grain. This place is sure to become a favorite stop on our annual Memorial Day Weekend Trail trip. Highlights include Morning Timber - Blueberry, a breakfast stout brewed with coffee and wood-fire evaporated maple syrup conditioned on blueberries, and Slightly Fuzzy, a crazy-good mixed fermentation ale conditioned on strawberries, rhubarb and limes. We can't wait to get back there in May!

2. Cinderlands – Pittsburgh, PA – First visited in August 2019

We liked this place so much that we visited its main brewery and smaller Lawrenceville taproom, both of which are within about 7 blocks of each other. A new kid in town (opened in December 2017), Cinderlands has been blowing shit up ever since with its diverse array of beer styles. Highlights include Full Squish, a hazy golden IPA boasting a huge pineapple aroma and notes of juicy tangerine and dried mango, which turned out to be my favorite IPA of the trip. Pancake Galaxy - Banana Chocolate Chip was also a standout. This creamy, rich, tangy, and fruity hybrid IPA is heavy on maple, cocoa, and cinnamon, flavors you're more inclined to find in a stout.

3. Demented – Middlesex, NJ – First visited in February 2019

I regret to inform everyone that this place is permanently closed. Damn, another good one bites the dust. Perhaps it was because they don't brew hazy-friggin'-IPAs. Everything I sampled here was pretty bangin', and its beers ran the gamut of an English Mild with coffee to a Flanders red aged in Cabernet barrels to a rye barrel-aged barleywine. I was really looking forward to getting back here in 2020. Seriously, this one makes me feel like a sad panda. Kudos if you got to enjoy this place while it lasted. RIP Demented!

4. Ethereal – Lexington, KY – First visited in November 2019

The breweries we experienced in Kentucky exceeded our expectations, and sitting atop of the list is Lexington's Ethereal. It's a shame to think that we might not have even stopped in Lexington had it not been for the need of a quick bathroom break. My personal highlight of Drinksgiving 2019 was one of its beers called Breakfast Baba Yaga, a Russian Imperial Stout brewed with maple syrup and local espresso from Nate's Coffee. This beer was off-the-charts good, and this beer alone solidified Ethereal's spot on our Top 10 list for 2019.

5. Madtree – Cincinnati, OH – First visited in December 2019

Founded in 2013, MadTree is an up-and-coming midwest production brewery with quite an impressive facility and tasting room. I was pretty bowled over by the size and scope of the brewery, with its spacious tasting room featuring a massive bar, merch shop, and plenty of seating. The place is decorated to create the environment of a lush green, forest. The beers were solid, too. Everything from a peach Berliner Weisse to a S'More Stout to a collaboration IPA were enjoyable.

6. New England Brewing – Woodbridge, CT – First visited in March 2019

I didn't even have to think twice about including this place on my list. While all the hipsters with questionable palates are busy hunting for cans of Tree House and Trillium, this place is a true oasis of New England-style beers. I mean, the name of the place is New England Brewing! Seriously, I'd drink a Fuzzy Baby Ducks or G-Bot over one of the aforementioned breweries' beers in a heartbeat. And Mexican Cake Imperial Stout Trooper on tap? Yes please! This beer was an absolute joy to drink and stands up to the best of the best such as Westbrook Mexican Cake, Perennial Abraxas, and Cigar City Hunahpu's. It was so great to finally get to this place after enjoying its beers for many years.

7. Pen Druid – Sperryville, VA – First visited in March 2019

Pen Druid borrows its moniker from an old family farm situated on the Thornton River in Rappahannock County, just a few miles downstream from the brewery. This tiny brewery operates using a 10bbl wood-fired (yes, you read correctly: WOOD FIRED!) brewery, employs coolships, and is all about spontaneous fermentation, barrel aging, and bottle conditioning. It's one of those places that's known for its unique flavors derived from microflora, house cultures, and other little critters roaming around the brewery that aren't visible to the naked eye. I simply can't wait to get back here to dig into more of their beers!

8. Shy Bear – Lewistown, PA – First visited in August 2019

We first sampled Shy Bear's beer at the Selinsgrove "Hops, Vines & Wines" festival in 2018 and were pretty impressed. It was a long time coming, but we finally made the trek off the beaten path to Lewistown, PA, this past August. The beers were routinely solid, and the presentation of the sampler flight was memorable. But what surprised us most was the food, which was upscale and well-executed, especially for the brewery's locale. Factor in a sweet beer garden-esque outdoor music venue, and you've got a winning combination. I look forward to our return visit!

9. Urban Artifact – Cincinnati, OH – First visited in December 2019

Our first true taste of Cincinnati, Urban Artifact celebrates "wild culture" by focusing on sour and wild beers for the most discerning palates. The building itself is quite impressive and features a taproom built into the lower level of the historic St Patrick’s church in Cincinnati's Northside neighborhood. The brewery, on the other hand, resides in the old gymnasium building just behind the church. The beers we sampled, which were primarily labeled as "midwest fruit tarts," were all world class. Pachycephalosaurus, an oak-aged ale featuring marionberries and a blend of wild-caught cultures curated to highlight the terroir of the Ohio River Valley, was arguably my favorite. Seek out any of its beers and I doubt you'll be disappointed.

10. West Sixth – Lexington, KY – First visited in November 2019

This was the brewery that set off the "five-hour piss break" that because a jaunt around Lexington, KY, during Drinksgiving 2019. Our first brewery visit of the trip, West Sixth's German Chocolate Snake Cake set the bar ridiculously high for breweries to come, and turned out to be my second favorite beer of the trip by such a minuscule margin that I'd almost call it the "co-best beer of the trip." This place has a pretty legit barrel-aging program, and everything we had here was top-notch.

Once again, this year's list proved to be a difficult undertaking. Here are a few "honorable mentions" that came oh-so-close to making the final ten.

Bradley Brew Project – Bradley Beach, NJ – First visited in February 2019

One of the stand-outs of our weekend trip to Jersey, I was first struck by the distinct West Coast vibe of this place which, appropriately enough, is located in a beach town. Our favorite beer was Sí Monster, a Mexican-style lager brewed with sea salt, lime peel and agave. Delicious and refreshing!

Screamin' Hill – Cream Ridge, NJ – First visited in February 2019

This tiny but rustic farmhouse brewery is nestled on a back road in the small town of Cream Ridge, about 30 miles west of Asbury Park. When we arrived, I was immediately struck by its simple charm and cool logo, a screaming owl in flight. I really enjoyed the Barn Burnin' Ale, an amber rye ale brewed with smoked applewood chips boasting a smokey-sweet flavor and touch of caramel apple in the finish. I liked the brewery logo so much that I bought a shirt... something I rarely do these days!

Against the Grain – Louisville, KY – First visited in November 2019

The only Louisville-based brewery I'd been familiar with prior to our Drinksgiving trip, Against the Grain is the kind of brewery every major city needs. Perhaps most well-known for Bo & Luke, an Imperial Smoked Porter (so right there, bonus points for not only the style but also its name, which is a nod to The Dukes of Hazzard), Against the Grain takes experimentalism to new heights. Take its experiments with Ambruana wood, which is derived from a deciduous tree indigenous to the forests of South America. The wood itself lends a unique woody aroma and spicy kick to the beers with which it comes into contact. We also had a blast hanging out in the bottle shop with a pair of chatty employees. More bonus points!

So, just how many "new-to-us" breweries did we visit in 2019?

79

Not quite as impressive as last year's total of 110. This year's total includes the new Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House in Baltimore, which I visited sans Pleeps and Brewslut (so it wasn't eligible... otherwise it definitely would have made the cut), as well as Strange Roots, which is basically just a re-brand of Draai Laag.

We look forward to continuing our tradition in 2020. Thanks for reading! Until next time...