Sea Dog Tavern and Grill, Topsham

Our second stop on Sunday July 24 was in Topsham, Maine at Sea Dog Brewery Co. This place sits right on the edge of the Androscoggin River in a beautiful location.

Lise and I really like their Sunfish.

You can visit the Sea Dog Brewing Company Topsham location at 1 Bowdoin Mill Island #100, Topsham, Maine 04086

Phone 207-725-0162

Hours:

Sunday 10AM-1AM

Monday 11:30AM-1AM

Tuesday 11:30AM-1AM

Wednesday 11:30AM-1AM

Thursday 11:30AM-1AM

Friday 11:30AM-1AM

Saturday 11:30AM-1AM

Oxbow, Newcastle

One of our favorite things to do with our Maine Beer Trail checklist is to pick an out of the way brewery, set the gps and go for a ride. We always end seeing some beautiful Maine scenery and traveling back roads that we otherwise would have ignored. On Sunday July 24, 2016 that is exactly what Lise and I did. Our destination on this day was Oxbow in Newcastle, Maine.
The ride north from Portland on Route 1 is very nice and scenic. When we got to Wiscasset, we took a left and the ride got even better. I'll just post one picture so that you will have still have a reason to take this ride. Go for a ride though. You won't be disappointed.
Here is the Damariscotta River in Newcastle:

After winding down a country road (and driving right by it the first time), we arrived at our destination.

This place was really cool. It is in a nice, quiet country location tucked into the woods. There were games and tables set up round the few buildings that make up this brewery and tasting room. Walking across a deck full of tables, we entered the simple yet beautiful tasting room. I didn't ask but, it looked like it had been built by hand with wood directly from this site.

The atmosphere was very relaxing as we ordered our flight and made our way to a table made from a wooden barrel set on end.

If you haven't noticed yet, I like the local beers with a healthy dose of hops. Lise isn't crazy about the heavy hop taste. She is coming around though!

Lise enjoyed the Farmhouse 38 while my favorite was the Farmhouse Pale Ale. Here is a picture of the Farmhouse 38:

Leaving Newcastle, we headed for Topsham, Maine for another beer adventure that I will tell you about on another day. But, as we were driving along, we passed right through Cowshit Corner.

You just can't make this stuff up.

You can visit the Oxbow Newcastle Brewery at 274 Jones Woods Rd., Newcastle, Maine 05443

Phone 207-315-5962

Tasting Room Hours:

Sunday Noon-7PM

Monday Noon-7PM

Tuesday Noon-7PM

Wednesday Noon-7PM

Thursday Noon-7PM

Friday Noon-9PM

Saturday Noon-9PM

Sebago Brewing Co Kennebunk

After leaving Federal Jack's, Lise and I had one more stop to make on our way out of Kennebunk, Maine. Heading north on Route 1, we came to Sebago Brewing Co.

Several Sebago Brewing Co's can be found around southern Maine. The interesting thing about these establishments is they are mostly the same...on purpose. They are located mostly in newer retail focused neighborhoods and have a very chain like feel. Once you enter the building, you could be in just about any newer chain personality-less bar/restaurant.
Don't get me wrong. They do make several fine beers that are delicious and well worth your time. I just find it interesting that they seem to strive for blandness when choosing a location.
I did find this cool sign, though:

Lise and I were in agreement that the Frye's Leap IPA was our favorite.

You can visit the Sebego Kennebunk Brewpub at  65 Portland Rd., Kennebunk, Maine 04043

Phone 207-985-9855

Hours 

Sunday 11AM-10PM

Monday 11AM-10PM

Tuesday 11AM-10PM

Wednesday 11AM-Midnight

Thursday 11AM-Midnight

Friday 11AM-Midnight

Saturday 11AM-Midnight

Federal Jack's

After leaving Hidden Cove Brewing Co on Saturday July 23, 2016, Lise and I headed north for historic Kennebunk, Maine. Kennebunk is home to one of Maine's first Brew Pubs, Federal Jack's. This is where one of my favorite local beers, Shipyard was invented.

If we weren't in the neighborhood already, we probably would have waited until Fall to go here. It is located in a beautiful setting on the Kennebunk River. Kennebunk is a very pretty and popular small coastal town in Maine and congests quite easily during tourist season (also known as summer). Traffic can make this a bit of a challenge to get to and when you do arrive, you have the challenge of parking. 

Shipyard Summer Ale is a great choice for this time of year. Lise and I both chose the Seadog Sunfish which is my favorite summer beer of the last couple of years.

You can visit Federal Jack's Restaurant and Brew Pub at 8 Western Ave. Kennebunk, Maine 04043

Phone 207-967-4322

Hours

Sunday 11AM-1AM

Monday 11AM-1AM

Tuesday 11AM-1AM

Wednesday 11AM-1AM

Thursday 11AM-1AM

Friday 11AM-1AM

Saturday 11AM-1AM

Hidden Cove Brewing Co

On Saturday July 23, 2016, Lise and I headed to Wells, ME and Hidden Cove Brewing Co. The breweries that only feature a tasting room can be a little harder to find than a full Brew Pub. but this one was pretty easy to locate as it is on the main road off of Route 1 heading to Wells Beach.

 We entered a cozy and comfortable air conditioned tasting room with a chalkboard listing the beverages available for sampling. Attached to the main tasting room was a storage room filled with wooden barrels to help with the atmosphere:

Lise enjoyed the Kali Jalapeno Apricot Ale while my favorite was the Patroon IPA.

You can visit Hidden Cove Brewing Company at 73 Mile Rd., Wells, Maine 04090

Phone 207-646-0228

Tasting Room Hours:

Sunday Noon-7PM

Monday Noon-7PM

Tuesday Noon-7PM

Wednesday Noon-7PM

Thursday Noon-7PM

Friday Noon-7PM

Saturday Noon-7PM

Lone Pine Brewing Co.

So, we found Lone Pine Brewing Co. sort of by accident. Located at the very bottom of Munjoy Hill in a neighborhood with several other really cool breweries, we were looking for some place else (which happens to be right across the street) and found this place on Friday July 22, 2016. This is where we picked up our newest version of the checklist which is why we will start with this simple but comfortable tasting room.

Both Lise and I found the Maine Maple Sundae to be our favorite.

 You can visit Lone Pine Brewery at 219 Anderson Street, Portland, Maine 04101

Phone 207-468-4554

Hours are:

Sunday Noon-7PM

Monday 2PM-9PM

Tuesday closed

Wednesday closed

Thursday 2PM-9PM

Friday Noon-9PM

Saturday Noon-9PM

Welcome to our Maine Beer Trail Diary

Welcome to Lise and Rob's Excellent Maine Beer Trail Adventure! I had never heard of the Maine Beer Trail checklist until last April when Lise' daughter and son-in-law gave me one in a birthday card for my birthday. Since then Lise and I have travelled all over this beautiful State of Maine trying out some of the fantastic locally brewed beer. Before we could complete the checklist however, a new one came out!
That is where the idea for this blog came from...the new checklist. We are going to to do our best to visit them all and we consider this site as a sort of diary of our adventures. We may or may not write a paragraph or two of our experiences at these establishments but, we will at least take a picture or two and tell you what our favorite beer is at each place. Please remember that we are not critics, just fans.
Feel free to follow along!