Best Breweries in Portland Maine
Portland, Maine is a beautiful coastal city with plenty of things to do. One of the best ways to spend a day there is by enjoying some great beer at the best breweries in Portland.
For beer lovers and craft beer enthusiasts, there are few places better than the local breweries in Portland. Not only are the beers some of the best in Maine, but each has a unique location that makes for great tourist attractions.
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Below are seven of the best breweries in Portland Maine for beer lovers to visit. Each one offers something a little different.
Table of Contents
Allagash Brewing Company
Allagash Brewing Company is a popular craft brewery. Founded in 1995 by Rob Tod, the brewery quickly became known for its bold and innovative beers. Today, Allagash continues to lead the way in brewing innovation, with a lineup that includes more than 20 beers in various styles.
Recommended brews
The brewery’s flagship product is ‘Allagash White’, which has won numerous awards including gold at the World Beer Cup. It is easily one of the best breweries in Portland. We are so happy Allagash has re-opened for in person gatherings!
Outside of the flagship ‘Allagash White’, try their 9% Belgian Tripel. Although the ABV may be high, this beer is fruity, smooth, and sweet.
To those that venture into sour beers, ‘My One & Only’ is a great beer for sour advocates! With hints of berries, raspberry, and a tart finish, this sour will surely make your taste buds pucker!
Reason to love
Allagash brewery is definitely a must start for a brewery crawl of Industrial Way. With a variety of great beer, there is a beer for everyone!
Lone Pine Brewing Company
Another local brewery to stop at when visiting Portland is Lone Pine Brewing Company. This small brewery has two great locations, one located in downtown Portland and the other in Gorham.
Founded in 2016 by Tom Madden and John Paul, Lone Pine has quickly become known for its innovative and boundary-breaking beers. From dark and bold ales to refreshing lagers, Lone Pine offers something for every taste.
Brews to try
Their signature brew series is their ‘Holy Donut’. Be sure to grab a Holy Donut variety to taste and take home!
With their ever changing tap list, it becomes quite easy to ‘Untap’ a unique beer with each visit.
My first experience with Lone Pine was with their flagship pale ale, ‘Portland Pale Ale’. Light, hoppy, and clean, this pale ale serves as a great refresher after a long day of work or relaxing on a summer day!
Gorham location
To those that are willing to take the short ride out of downtown Portland, I highly recommend visiting Lone Pine’s Gorham location! With a brand new tasting room and expanded outdoor seating, there is something for everyone at this tasting room and you can beat the crowds!
Although the downtown Portland brewery location has a great outdoor venue on the hill, it can get quite busy on nice weather days and weekends. At the Gorham location, we had the whole tasting room to ourselves and intimate one on one conversations with our bartender.
Plus, as an added perk, the Gorham location has a full size changing table around for family’s looking to get some greater Portland breweries in!
Between their variety of beers, great merchandise, excellent ambience, and elaborate tasting room, Lone Pine Brewing Company Gorham location on the Maine Beer Trail makes the short drive outside of downtown Portland worth it.
Mast Landing Brewing Company
Next on my list of greater Portland breweries would be Mast Landing Brewing Company, located in Westbrook. It is located only a short distance from Lone Pine Brewing Company’s location in Gorham.
During the cooler New England months, Mast Landing is the perfect getaway for a milk stout or any of their other nitro stouts.
My favorite milk stout would be ‘Gunner’s Daughter with Coffee’. This dark, chocolate beer is great for coffee enthusiasts and boasts a high 4.16 average rating on Untappd.
Sour beer fans can also enjoy some of Mast Landing’s sour ales. Pictured below is their ‘All The Way Up: Pomegranate and Peach’. Boasting another high average Untappd rating of 3.91, this sour ale has noticeable flavor profiles of fruity, peachy, and sour.
Foundation Brewing Company
Another brewery that can be found on Industrial Way is Foundation Brewing Company. Being one of the larger tasting rooms on Industrial Way, there is a beer for every avid beer drinker at Foundation.
One brown ale that I truly love from Foundation would be their ‘Coffee Burnside’. A spin off of Foundation’s ‘Burnside brown ale’, this ale is a light beer with subtle hints of coffee.
To those who like hoppy beers, I would recommend the double IPA, ‘Vroom Vroom’. This double IPA boasts an average score of 3.9 and got a personal rating of 4.25. This fruity, citrusy beer is perfect for sitting at the outside picnic tables on a hot summer day.
If you are looking for one of the heaviest beers on the Maine Beer Trail and around Industrial Way, don’t be shy and take a stab at trying the ‘Dark Omen’. This imperial stout has a high average rating of 4.22 and strong tastes of bourbon. Definitely a sweet beer if barrel aged bourbon is your cup of tea!
Austin Street Brewery
Austin Street Brewery was founded in 2013 by friends Jake Austin and Will Fisher. Jake and Will shared a passion for craft beers. After several years of brewing at home, they decided to take the plunge and open their first location on Industrial Way in Portland, Maine in early 2014.
The two now utilize 160 barrels for fermentation between their two locations. Jake and Will continue to own 100% of their company and are insistent on doing so to maintain their creative roots and create the best beers possible for their customers.
If you like a wide variety of beers, Austin Street is definitely a place to check out. They carry beers from stouts to IPAs to pale ales to Whitbiers and more.
‘Patina Pale’ is one of their most popular beers and has an average rating of 3.83 on Untappd. Their milk stout, ‘Six Grain Variation’, has an average rating of 4.3, making it their highest rated beer thus far.
Battery Steele Brewing Company
Battery Steele is one of the few breweries located at Industrial Way in Portland. This brewing company started as just an idea in a barn in South Portland and has continued to expand their craft beer legacy at Industrial Way.
Battery Steele was founded by Shane Noble and Jacob Condon whom share over 25 years of collective experience in the brewing industry. The two are constantly rotating through new concepts, variations, and ingredients. Not only are they providing something new for the community, but they continue to challenge themselves in the craft beer industry.
Battery Steele carries a wide variety of beers including hoppy beers, stouts, sours, and more. Their most popular beer, ‘Flume’, is a double/imperial IPA with notes of tropical fruit, pine, and citrus while maintaining a clean, malt profile.
Definitive Brewing Company
The last Portland brewery in the Industrial Way brewery scene would be Definitive Brewing Company.
Boasting a large tasting room and extensive outdoor space, Definitive is a must stop for beer enthusiasts who like beer of all kinds. From sour beers to hazy IPAs to pastry stouts, there is a beer for everyone!
‘Sensitive Ears’ is one of my favorite pale ales that are offered around Industrial Way and in Portland Maine. This pale ale is smooth and sweet, and washes down easily after a long brewery crawl or hard day of work.
Other craft beer favorites from Definitive include their ‘Sun Belt Shake’, a double milkshake IPA and their ‘Double Stuffed’, a double pastry stout. Their ‘Double Stuffed’ pastry stout is one of my few five star ratings on Untappd and has excellent flavor profiles of creamy, sweet, milk, and of course, coffee.
For any beer lovers out there, Portland Maine is a definitely a spot you should consider visiting if taking a trip to Maine. While there are plenty of other breweries within Portland, the seven listed above have been our favorites thus far.
FAQs
There are currently 18 breweries in Portland, Maine. This number is sure to grow in the coming years, as the craft beer industry continues to boom.
Yes, Portland Maine is known for its beer. The city has a number of breweries and brewpubs, and is often referred to as the “beer capital of Maine”.
Portland, Maine has the most breweries of any town in Maine. There are currently 18 breweries in Portland, and more are planned to open in the near future. Portland’s breweries produce a wide variety of beers, from traditional lagers and ales to experimental brews made with unusual ingredients.
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