The Maine Switch, one of Portland’s weekly news magazines, has published a short but informative review of Prost! entitled German Flavor. Avery Yale Kamila was quite taken with Portland’s newest beer bar and had a lengthy interview with Alex Keuhling, the marketing director. Kamila’s review highlights
the diverse beer selection, which [Keuhling] had the pleasure of choosing. Most of the Maine microbrews are included in the line-up along with beers sure to please connoisseurs, such as Gulden Draak ($7.50), Cherish Raspberry ($9.75) and Piraat ($8.75). A skull and crossbones on the menu warns patrons when a beer’s alcohol content rises above 6%.
Accompanying these potent drinks is a decent menu filled with pub standards. In addition to the sausages (you can get two with sauerkraut and mustard for $10.25), you’ll find things like rotisserie turkey wraps ($9.75), Berlin burgers ($8.25), shepherd’s pie ($9.75) and veggie spatzle ($9.75).
Having been in three or four times now myself, including just two days ago for our June MBWG meeting, I think Kamila’s optimism is deserved. Their draught selection is impressive, though they’ve shown some growing pains in trying to keep the list current with what is actually available in the cooler. Trying to keep 100 beers on tap without resorting to the usual macro-brewed suspects is a lofty goal, and I applaud them for trying.
The food is pretty good, though I can’t speak to the German authenticity as I’ve only had their Buffalo chicken wrap (sorry, it’s a weakness I have). The wait staff is friendly and attentive, and draughts are served pretty quickly, even on busy weekends. I’m not sure how long it will take for the novelty of the dirndls to wear off, but none of the guys I saw in the bar were complaining in the mean time.
Prost! is not without room for improvement, however. Aside from the aforementioned frequency of hearing “sorry, we’re out of that” from the bartender, the adjoining Onyx can be a bit of distraction from the laid back, upscale beer bar feel I think they’re going for. The sound check coming from the band playing later that night made conversation very difficult at the back of the bar, and on the Saturday night I was there several weeks ago, the dance music from the DJ had the same effect. One other oddity that comes to mind is the glassware. A German beer bar with no steins or weizen glasses? What’s up with that?
I like some of the events they’ve had or are planning, too. In addition to weekly beer classes, pictured above (which Luke and I have hosted twice now), there is a boot union (think mug club), and a dollar off beers from gold medal winning countries during the Olympics. That last one is a bit gimmicky, but it’ll certainly have me rooting extra hard for Belgian athletes of all varieties. Any chance Justine will come out of retirement to defend her tennis gold?
Overall I think that Prost! is a welcome addition to the Portland beer scene. It offers something a little different than the other Portland beer destinations. If they can avoid the problems Digger’s had on Wharf Street, sort out their inventory issues, and keep their beers turning over quickly enough to not go bad in the taps, I can see them sticking around for a while.
