While surfing the web for stories about beer and Maine, I came across a nice write up on my new hometown on a site called beerfestivals.org. As I’ve said before, when I moved here I was not expecting Portland to be the beer city that it is. BF.org offers a little history lesson in just how it got to be the beer destination it is today:
If you love beer, you’re probably familiar with Portland, Oregon. But it may surprise you that America’s original Portland, in Maine, is a top beer destination in its own right. This old port city of 60,000 turns out an amazing quantity, and variety, of good beer.
Portland’s evolution into a beer Mecca began in 1980, when Alan Eames, who later won fame as a beer historian, opened Three Dollar Dewey’s (241 Commercial Street). While its name comes from the favors offered by Klondike prostitutes, its atmosphere is reminiscent of Britain, not the Yukon. According to a Portland beer writer, Eames’s pub “educated an entire generation of beer drinkers.” Having discovered a world beyond mass-market lagers, they were ready when craft brewing came to Maine.
The pub is large and roomy, with brick walls, wooden floors, and low ceilings. It’s full of long wooden tables where locals meet and visitors relax after shopping or a harbor cruise. The three-sided bar in back is perfect for reading the paper and munching popcorn while enjoying one of the three dozen beers on tap. Most are brewed by New England micros, but there’s also a good selection from the British Isles, including an “Irish Blacklist” of combination drinks made with stout.
I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never actually been in Three Dollar Dewey’s. For some reason I’ve always just walked by on my way to other Old Port destinations. I will have to correct that oversight the next time I’m downtown. The article goes on to mention such other Portland beer stalwarts as Gritty McDuff’s and the Stone Coast Brewing. And, of course, what description of Portland Maine would be complete without a mention of our nationally acclaimed beer destination, The Great Lost Bear?
Overall, this was a very nice little write up. I might have added mention of the Sebago Brew Pub as well, it certainly hits most of the highlights. Plan your own trip up here and see for yourself. And if you’re looking for a beer festival near you, be sure to browse over to BeerFestivals.org.