Beer in Portsmouth and Portland? My Bread and Butter!
Recently, my friends Chuck S. and Anne S. planned a nice weekend for themselves in Portland to take in some scenery, dining, shopping….and uh, oh…some beer joints.
This last item on their itinerary caused some wheels to start turning….notably, Mr. Third Wheel — that would be me (I can play third wheel, fifth wheel and can even maybe max out as a seventh wheel, with the best of them!) — was now entertaining the idea of joining them.
Chuck seemed to think it would be a great idea to have this beer novice in tow as he and Anne made their way through Portland Maine.
I hemmed, I hawed….for a couple weeks really.
I finally decided I had to be a part of some beer research in the greater Portland area. I kept my decision to myself, opting to join Chuck and Anne midway through their Saturday. I figured giving them much of the first day to travel without a third wheel was the least I could do. 
I started my day by opting to check out Portsmouth New Hampshire on my way up the coast. I have been here a handful of times, but never with checking out some beer as a major reason. I walked through the streets, upset with the nice weather and my bad timing, which created a long line at some places that I would have checked out (Portsmouth Brewery, Gaslight Co.).
I opted for Ri Ra, an Irish place right at the juncture of many of the streets in the center. Very nice place, roomy, but kind of lacking a warmth you might get from a cozier spot.
First decision? A man needs to have a beverage while perusing a lunch menu – right? I examined the beers on tap, which, in general, seemed to be a little “safe”, not venturing too far from mainstream selections.
For my first beer, I decided to check out the Switchback Ale (from Vermont), which was nice, but nothing to beg for a second pint. It was cold, and it was served promptly, so no real complaint with the Switchback…I just would decide to move on.
Time to check out the menu.
I dialed in on the sandwiches. Trying to expand my horizons a bit, I passed over what I would normally get and I jumped on the Guinness Short Rib Melt.
It was served with nice thin onion rings, a side of horseradish sauce and the skinniest pickle I have ever seen! Hey, it IS an Irish place, maybe small/skinny pickles are the norm…
The sauce was very mild, which may be fine for some, but I looked forward to the sharpness a horseradish can provide. The short rib chunks were decent, on the tender side, but the flavor didn’t sing much. The size of the sandwich was my only major complaint — it is served on something resembling a “slider” bun.
I would give the onion rings a thumbs up, beer selection thumb sideways and the sandwich a thumbs down after thinking long and hard about it. In general, like the pickle, this stop was a little too skinny on taste for me.
During my trip to Ri Ra, I “checked in” on Facebook. No sooner had I put the cell phone down that my friend Sally responded to the post that her and her husband Digger were right down the street and would buy me a beer if I happened to find them. So, off to the bottom floor bar at the Gaslight I went. Enjoyed a black and blue (Guinness and Blueberry beer) with them and chatted up all things Woburn, York Maine and Yeungling. Lots of laughs in a quick visit with them! Hope to have a beer again with them sometime — but off I went — directing the truck north up the coast.
Next stop was a quick side trip to pick up something I would likely need sometime around midnight. Thinking a (quite a) few beers will be in my future, I imagine a bite of some yummy bread might be a good midnight snack. This required a stop at When Pigs Fly Bread Company in Kittery Maine. This regular spot provides me a real problem — making a decision. I usually choose a savory bread and a sweet choice as well. This enables one to have bread for a meal followed by the oh-so-loved dessert known as …more bread.
I grabbed a loaf of sicilian green olive and hot cherry pepper and a loaf of banana cashew turtle. Because I had planned ahead, I packed all the essentials….clothes, toiletries and of course, a stick of butter. The stick of butter now had it’s pairing for sometime around midnight in Portland Maine.
Back on the road, I zipped to a beer bar recommended by a guy I follow on Twitter – Brian — you can follow him at @SeacoastBevLab ! His first recommendation was the Dancing Bear — so I did set the GPS for the Dancing Bear and made my way to a parking spot near the bar. It was at this juncture that I received a text from Chuck and Anne (who still did not know if I remained back in Woburn or decided to join them). “Will be at the Dancing Bear in three minutes” was the message — which I found kind of creepy — were they tailing me? Was I being punked, Maine-craft-beer style? It actually turned out to be a coincidence -
So, the secret was out — Mr. Third Wheel was in da house! Well, in da Bar!
Chuck and Anne joined me a few minutes after I bellied up to the bar.
Now, the only issue with these places that have +50 bars on tap is making a decision. Hey! I used to have trouble at the 99 deciding between Blue Moon and Killian’s…..wow….the OLD Beer Days….
The resolution these places offer is give you an opportunity to order a flight of beers — a sample, served on a beer paddle. That was the route I took, ordering some ambers, some IPA’s and a brown ale.
I found the Sebago Runabout, North Coast Red Seal and Rogue Yellow Snow to be average, kind of allowing my taste buds to sleepwalk through the first few samples. What’s the tip people always give you…Don’t eat yellow snow? Yeh – I wouldn’t drink it either! 
It turned out that the last two choices were good ones as they served as a good way to wake up the taste buds. The Jockamo IPA and Turbodog Brown Ale both made the beer flight worth it! I also loved that I ended on a high, tasty note. Food? Wasn’t gonna bother mentioning, I mean, you are here for the beer right? Well, let me ask you this – does the following item look like something out of a kitchen or possibly something found at the bottom of a swimming pool?
Yeh — I thought so — I don’t even remember what the sauce was. But I tried to dress this baby up! This WAS a boneless finger, jerk style. Well, I look at it this way…I was wrong to leave the beer only diet. It was a sign…”drink more beer”
After the trip to the Bear, I went to check in at my hotel while the lovebirds (Chuck and Anne) went to a light dinner down near their hotel.
My hotel was the Eastland Park Hotel – not a bad place at all — running about $60 on priceline (included the fees and taxes). People online claimed the bathroom was small — and it was — but if that is the biggest complaint, I think the place has served as a decent place to rest your head…and of course, your butter.
While waiting to resume my third wheel duties, I ventured out to Gritty McDuff’s Portland Brew Pub. They have their own brews and I decided to sample a few while waiting for my partners in crime.
I spent an hour or more at Gritty’s – I decided to try three different brews.
I chose a Red Claws first — a nice, mild amber ale — this provided no surprises to my palate. Batting second, a “Pub Style”, which is described as a Pale Ale with a nice hop finish — it was nice, but again, a little lighter on the hops than what I have been enjoying of late. Last up at Grittys was an “21″ IPA — which was very tasty — I could get used to the “21″ —
Grittys is worth a visit — no idea what the food is like here. Beer WAS food for this portion of the trip.
Met up with Chuck and Anne and we went to what was going to be the last place scheduled on this trip — a beer nirvana of sorts — a place that both Chuck and I had been recommended to visit. The place is Novare Res Bier Cafe — a place, we found, as dark and comforting as the stouts we were about to let splash down our throats!
When coming to places like this, you think to yourself, why do I drink average beer? Why do I settle? Be Picky! Demand the best of your beer, and the rest of your life will fall in place (ok, ok, I am overdoing it here, but I’m leaving that in!).
Lots of choices at this place, on draught (draft?) and in the bottle. Lots of hard to find beer here.
First off for me was a Beer Geek Breakfast Stout – from Germany – very tasty! This was a great experiment because I don’t usually get too excited about stouts, but I decided to try this after I sampled a taste provided by the bartender. He couldn’t have been more attentive and helpful with the beer offerings.
I decided the night had to start coming to a close, which meant I had to start thinking about leaving — but such good beer here! Ok Ok – one more I decided, and offered a taste of Marshall Wharf’s Russian Imperial Stout — I was sold — I KNEW this would be my beer dessert, of sorts. Rich, Dark and Tasty!
I savored the last of the beer and possibly the last of the night with Chuck and Anne – a few more sips and I would be on my way back uptown to my hotel.
I finished this tasty one and decided this dark, great chapter had to come to a close. Cheers to Novare Res Bief Cafe!!!
Off I went, making my way along Commercial Street, passing many places that could have put an exclamation mark on the night — But I was good — I was responsible….
Until — I saw Three Dollar Dewey’s — a place recommended to me by my friend Sally and her husband Digger. I decided this was “beer karma” — a sort of excuse to have another “last one” –
I think I promised to have some sort of Cherry Bomb (Guinness and Cherry Wheat?), but decided to grab something “hoppier” to end the night – Victory Hop Devil – a recent offering in the beer tasting I had with friends.
I closed the night by walking (straight) back to the hotel, fully knowing my friends — bread and butter — were waiting for me.
I decided two small slices of olive/hot pepper with butter would do the trick –
The bread was delicious, as always, and offered my belly something that didn’t have a hoppiness component.
And so, the quick shot up the coast to Portland came to a close with a restful sleep and a uneventful ride back to Woburn in the morning.
All and all, Portland’s beer scene proved to be well worth the trip — something like this is fast becoming my “bread and butter”!
