BeerBloggers.com

In my web wanderings this weekend, I came across an interesting series of Portland bar reviews entitled 1:00 a.m. Curfew on the MaineToday.com website. For those not familiar with the bar scene here, the title is a reference to closing time for Portland bars. John Everett takes an in-depth look at some two dozen Portland bars and pubs over the course of what I assume to be a six month internship. John’s series ended with his departure from Blethen Maine (the publishing company) in mid-June, but his body of work provides a great introduction to a number of Portland night spots, such as:

Novare Res is a great idea. The deck is beautiful and the location is tucked away, which helps keep the ‘riffraff out,’ as Michaud says. The beer selection is astounding, and truly encapsulates every different type of brew you can think of. But Novare Res still has some kinks to work out…

and

The crowd is for the most part straight off work, and unlike many post-workday bars, Andy’s lacks any noticeable filth factor. It is well-lit, clean and carries a warm atmosphere that immediately induces comfort. The two TVs were tuned to ESPN, but this is no sports bar, as the talking heads of “Around the Horn” were uniformly ignored.

John is looking at the overall bar experience rather than just the beer selection, but I found his writing to be funny and most of his opinions spot on. I’m not entirely sure how he managed to skip Great Lost Bear, especially given that he ventured as far from the Old Port as CJ’s Place, but he did manage to visit a wide variety of venues. I’ve only been to maybe a third of the establishments he covered, so I’ve now got a new checklist of places to check out during upcoming weekends out. Thanks, John, for a great look at some good bars in our little city. Best of luck in your future endeavors.