Month: May 2013

The Liberal Cup and Run of the Mill Public House

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The Liberal Cup and Run of the Mill Public House are combined in this blog because they are another of Maine’s incestuous brew pubs.  I had no idea on these two were basically the same until I was told by a truly independent brewer. I must say that the fact that these are owned by the same people and carry the same beer was a bit disappointing. They both had so much character and charm that I wanted to see them show that in their beer selection.

The Liberal Cup is located on the main street in Hallowell, Maine. The town has so much character and looks like a fall back to the 1800’s. The brew pub sits in an old rowhouse surrounded by local restaurants and shops.  The feeling within the pub is homey and makes me nostalgic for my times in Old Town Alexandria.  The atmosphere is so homey in fact that you can imagine sitting inside on a cold day with the snow falling outside while having a rich, dark porter.

The Run of the Mill Public House is also located in a historic building but in Saco, Maine which is much closer to Portland.  Here the brew pub is located  in an old mill house.  The atmosphere is still charming, but not so much so as at The Liberal Cup.  In both locations, staff and patrons seemed friendly, making the place even more enjoyable.  Next to the Run of the Mill is a small university so I imagine that during the school year the place is hopping with local college kids.

While the locations are unique, the beers unfortunately are not.   The best beer of the lot was the Bug Zapper Super Lager. I am generally not a lager fan and I really wanted to like the other beers, especially the for Richer or Poorter and the Ex-Wife Extra Bitter. By far, these beers had the most creative names of the Maine breweries I visited and I always like to give extra points for creativity.  However, I didn’t find that the tastes stood up to the creative names.

Sampler at the Run of the Mill Public House What was on tap at the Run of the Mill Public House Sampling Notes from Run of the Mill Public House Finished sampler at Run of the Mill Public House Run of the Mill Public House Run of the Mill Public House Hallowell, Maine Hallowell, Maine The Liberal Cup Tasting Menu at The Liberal Cup Atmosphere at The Liberal Cup Tasting at The Liberal Cup Tasting finished at The Liberal Cup

Gritty McDuff’s– Freeport and Downtown Portland

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Next on the list is Gritty McDuff’s.  We stopped first at the Freeport location.  The atmosphere here reminded me of a crab house. I liked the long tables with minimal decoration and simplistic style.  However, I would really suggest the downtown location if you want to get a great atmosphere.

The downtown location is apparently the original. It sits in an older 1800’s rowhouse in on historic Fore St. in Portland. If you have read my blog, you know I am originally from the DC area.  This location reminded me of the pubs and restaurants in Old Town Alexandria, which gave me a nostalgic feeling.   It was also a Saturday night when we visited and it was packed with people and a local band.  This location felt more like part of the community than the Freeport location.

As for the beers at Gritty McDuff’s, they are adequate.  Nothing particular stood out to me. I enjoyed an IPA at the downtown location but was not overly impressed by the taste or amount of hoppiness.  The atmosphere really made this location for me. I would recommend that you stop by the downtown location on a busy night for the atmosphere and not necessarily the beer.

Sampler at Gritty McDuff's Freeport location Finished sampler at Gritty McDuff's Freeport location Gritty McDuff's Freeport location Gritty McDuff's Downtown Portland location

Sea Dog Brew Pub

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Let’s start our Maine adventure with a trip to Sea Dog Brew Pub in South Portland.  We started here because it is literally 5 minutes from the Portland Airport and I had read reports that the food was quite good.  The location is very convenient and roomy.

I am not a big fan of the fruit beers but I do like the Sea Dog Raspberry Wheat and Blueberry Wheat.  I find them a bit too sweet for drinking more than one, but I do think they are great summer beers, especially for those who are not big beer fans. One member of our group enjoyed the blueberry wheat even though she generally hates beer.  The other Sea Dog brews are adequate and generally true to the type. One of our group got a bourbon barreled ale that was quite good.

The food at the brew pub complements the beer and is a bit better than standard pub fare. I would highly recommend stopping at one of the three Maine Sea Dog Brew Pub locations for a lunch or quick dinner.  I was impressed by the variety and types of foods available on the menu. You can easily find something for everyone, including several traditional Maine and vegetarian options.

We actually ended up visiting this location twice. The second time in order to get that elusive Maine Craft Beer Trail signature. During this visit, we arrived later in the evening, about 10:30 pm.  There were quite a few people there on a Saturday night and it seemed to have a laid back, friendly atmosphere. Therefore, I would also recommend this location for a late night cocktail.

Now for the disappointing news about Sea Dog, Shipyard, Belfast, and several other Maine breweries— they are all incestuously related.  Sea Dog is brewed by Shipyard at their Portland brewery, as is Belfast. In fact, when I emailed Belfast to see if they did any brewery tours I was told to go to Shipyard in Portland as the beer was brewed there anyway. After learning this, I realized that many of the beers I sampled through the state were actually the same beers with different names or served on tasting trays of several breweries. I had to wonder why the names were repeating and why they tasted so much the same. For me, this ruined the craft beer experience. At what point do you brew so many beers by so many sister companies that you are no longer a craft brewery?

Sampler at Sea Dog Brew Pub South Portland, ME Bourbon barrel brewed ale at Sea Dog Brew Pub Completed sampler at Sea Dog Brew Pub

Maine– The Wine and Beer Trails

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Well after a bit of a lapse, I am back with new tales to tell.  This series will take us to Maine. I had hoped for a week of outdoor activities and wildlife adventures but the weather did not cooperate– the temperature hovered around 50 degrees, which would have been bearable had it not also rained constantly.  Therefore, my outdoor adventure turned into an indoor one and I decided to make the most of my time in a state with several wineries and breweries. 

A word to the wise– before you start hitting the wineries and breweries find yourself a copy of the Wine Trail of Maine and/or the Beer Trail of Maine brochures.  Both of these brochures provide very useful information about the locations and hours of the wineries and breweries in Maine.  In addition, you can get your brochures checked off at each winery or brewery to get a free gift.  If you are going to visit, you might as well get some free swag, right?

Attached to this blog is the picture of the hat I got for visiting 6 wineries.  This was a great gift because you can get this at any winery after you get your sixth stamp.  The beer trail gives a hat for 5 and a t-shirt for 10. You get a prize pack if you can hit all of them. I managed to get in 10 (well really 11 because I got the brochure late). You have to send away for the shirt so I will be interested to see what I get in the mail in a few weeks. 

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be highlighting the breweries and wineries I visited while in the area.  For some like Sea Dog and Gritty McDuff’s, I actually hit two locations or two times so I will just combine those in the same post. 

This should be a good series as I was impressed by many of Maine’s breweries. The wineries were not as impressive but still a good place to spend time on a cold, rainy Maine day.