One Day in Maine – Scavenger Hunt in Portland

Our one-day trip to Maine was a summer vacation for the two of us, but as noted in the lead-off post it did have several underlying purposes. We had several missions on the trip, and something specific at each location. We didn’t complete our Portland mission. We were unable to find a Riesling wine made in Maine, but we did accomplish the other items, including having beers at Sebago, getting a birthday present for my Dad, exploring more of the Old Port area and otherwise enjoying our time in the shops and on the streets with all the tourists.

I’ve done a little research on the wine and it turns out that at least two Maine wineries do make a Riesling making my search pretty specific. Cellar Door is one of them and their Viognier was a bottle I brought home to try. It appears I can order their wines online and may just do that to get some of the Riesling in hand to finish my Summer of Riesling party. Bar Harbor Winery is the other Maine producer of Riesling, but as far as I can tell I’d have to go there, or near, to get it.

Portland’s Old Port area spreads out over a tightly packed set of streets adjacent to the ferry terminal and fish docks. We’ve been in the area several times for a ferry trip to Peak’s Island so we had some expectations from poking around on those trips. I made the wine the primary task and we set out to Maine Beer & Beverage to see what we could find. We did find a number of wines made in Maine with a significant number of ciders and meads in the mix. The majority of the wines are fruit based or made from hybrid grapes, which is not surprising at all given the climate. Unfortunately many of the bottles lookws like they might have been there some time and I wasn’t that interested in taking much chance on styles I hadn’t come for. I did pickup a bottle of Kenebec Hard Cider (Winthrop, ME) which I look forward to trying soon.

Maine Beer & Beverage is a store within a store, inside the Public Market House, and to get there you have to pass the cheese cases, including one with just cheese from Maine in it. The Buy Local sticker in the inside of that case pretty much sums up our plan for the day. We didn’t buy any cheese on the count of the huge breakfast and the day still being early.

From there we walked back down to Fore Street and wandered in and out of shops. We checked out Cool As a Moose, Life is Good, City Beverage, Maine’s Pantry and several others. We also walked out towards the docks and checked out the wares at the Harbor Fish Market.

Our last retail stop was at Downeast Beverage where I found the Cellar Door Viognier which is made in Lincolnville, ME. We also picked up a bottle of blueberry soda and some local pickles. The blueberry soda was pretty damned interesting. I’ve had peach, grape and cherry sodas from the South that really make the fruit flavors sing, and I’d say that Bar Harbor Soda got the same punch of out the berries for this soda. It was refreshing on a rapidly warming day, and so Maine!

The fresh fish at the Harbor Fish Market looked like it would be well worth the trip!

Our final stop in Portland was intended to be a relaxing one, and one with a bit of refreshment available. Sebago Brewing just recently moved to the corner of Fore and Franklin with floor to ceiling windows on both sides of the corner, and seasonal outdoor seating. It is a beautiful space with lots of light and will likely quickly become a pretty popular space. We decided on the beer sampler and some pub pretzels for what would be lunch on our already food-filled day.

Our beer sample included the Hefeweizen, Saddleback Golden Ale, Frye’s Leap IPA, Runabout Red, Boathouse Brown, and the Lake Trout Stout.

Our favorites were the Frye’s Leap IPA and the Lake Trout Stout. I’ve enjoyed IPA several times before and really was taken again with the huge and pleasing hop aromas of this beer. Margot gave the stout the once over as is typical these days. Both of us found lots of chocolate and roasted nut aromas and flavors.

I spotted a huge jug on the back bar with what looked like and drink being made. It turned out to be a watermelon sangria, which Margot ordered to give it a refreshment test on a warm summer day. Margot told me that it was sweet, but not sickeningly so, with flavors of clove. She added that the chunks of watermelon were very tasty and overall the drink was very refreshing.

I finished with the Grand Cru, a blend of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Full Throttle Double IPA, Barleywine, and fresh Frye's Leap IPA, which is served in one size and in a tulip type glass. The nose is huge on this beer with fruit, baked goods and spices. In the mouth it is moderately malty, hoppy and just a bit sweet. Some coconut tumbled through in a few of my sips. I almost ordered a growler to go, but remembered I needed to save my $$ for my remaining missions!

In my next post I will share the blueberry search from the North Berwick Farmer’s Market.

Cheers!

Jason

Seven Barrel Brewery & Brewpub – Lebanon, NH

Check out my friend Meghan's Kerrygold giveaway at Travel Wine & Dine Kerrygold Giveaway for a great chance to wine some great products.

Margot enjoyed beers and food at Seven Barrel Brewery in Lebanon, NH about 10 years ago, but we’ll be damned if we can remember what trip we were on. But we remember being there, and have told at least a few people about it since.

As we were cruising home from Montreal last weekend, the need for lunch arose. We were making great time and Margot agreed to make for Lebanon with the Kid Rock blaring. I knew where we were going to go and certainly hoped they were open when we arrived. It was a warm spring day in Lebanon and the area right around the interstate exit was made busy because it is seeing a good deal of road work. Not the prettiest sight, but what can you do? And as hope Sven Barrel was open.

We were greeted right away and sat at one of the old style wood booths in the main dining area. Jameson, our server, was enthusiastically telling several other patrons about their beers when we were seated. I heard something about two season beers and my interest was again peaked.

As we got to talking to Jameson we relate the laugh about our prior visit, our love of craft beers and of course ordered the sample paddle. I had a driver so I could dig in. The paddle is made for 6, their usual offering, but there were two more that would be included to celebrate spring. The lineup ended up being Maibock, Marzen, Queeche Cream Ale, Ice Rock Canadian, New Dublin Brown, The Red #7, Champion Reserve IPA, R.I.P. Stout. Quite a selection indeed!

We ordered lunch and I set about snapping some photos (I asked if I could, which a typically do) of signs and beer serving area. Jameson asked if I wanted to see the small brewing setup in the front of the building and I said sure! I got a several nice pics of a rustic, small batch and fully functional all-grain brewing setup.

( Right from the tap! )

( Ode to the R.I.P )

( Copper brew kettle. )

( Malted grains ready to go. )

( Celebrating 17 Years! )

Back at the table I continued tasting beers and picking out all the different flavors and textures present. Both the Maibock and Marzen felt like they might have had some honey influence, but that could also be grains, malt or hops giving us something different. I enjoyed both and can see how celebrating beer with spring is as old of a custom as it is.

The New Dublin Brown went great with my Cock-a-Leekie pie (chicken, leeks, root veg topped with pastry) and all of the earthy flavors in it. Definitely one of my favorites.

I love a good IPA and the Champion Reserve is no slouch. Lots of hops (as advertised) with citrus coated grains in the middle through the finish. Very refreshing and one I would definitely go for again. The malt and hops are there in the Red #7, but not in an epic struggle for your taste buds. The pine in the finish was slightly mentholating. The Queeche Cream Ale would be best with a lemon slice, and the Ice Rock Canadian was well balanced and refreshing, just not very notable for me. The last one of the beers was the R.I.P Stout, named for its roots from a Rich Imperial Porter recipe. It was black with a healthy balance of chocolate and coffee aromas/flavors, a certain degree of earthiness and lingering finish. I really enjoyed this beer as well. Margot (the stout expert) took a sip and gave it a thumbs up as well.

Margot was ooohing and ahhhing over her Pastrami Reuben and onion rings, the latter of which were good with several of the beers. All of the food was hot, prepared exceptionally and came from a menu that we would recommend trying many things from. The beers were a great bookend to our weekend and a great way to stir up some old memories. Can’t beat that!

Cheers!

Jason

Kate the Great Day, Portsmouth NH

( Kate The Great, Russian Imperial Stout )

We continue Beer Week with a guest post from a local NH beer blogger. Take it away Brian!

Hey there! I'm Brian from Seacoast Beverage Lab (www.SeacoastBeverageLab.com), a beer blog I write based in Portsmouth, NH. I come in peace and not to convert you all to beer drinkers but to cross interests and learn from you as well as you hopefully open your minds to trying some great beer. Jason and I have been talking back and forth and I asked him to write a post about wine to my beer drinking readers, introducing them (and me) to the world of wine. I hope you stop by for a good read. I am always open for comments and suggested. Below is post about one of the biggest days of the year involving beer and it happens in my town. Kate the Great Day. Enjoy!

( No, it's not the American Idol concert. It's for beer! )

One day a year, Portsmouth NH turns into a madhouse. Not it’s not the time the Tall Ships dock in town, or the first day the decks are open, it’s all about beer. I am of course talking about Kate the Great, a Russian Imperial Stout brewed by Tod Mott at the Portsmouth Brewery. Why would people go nuts over a beer on one day out of 365? Long story....

For starters and probably the most obvious, the beer is really good. I can attest that it is the best beer I have had. Now I haven’t been exposed to many of the world’s unique beers but I know a good beer when I taste one. Next is the hype. Beer Advocate, a magazine focused on reviewing and reporting on beer, in 2006 or 7 rated this beer as the #1 beer in the US and the 2nd most sought after in the world. This of course gets people to literally fly in when Kate is released. The beer is only brewed once a year for no reason other than the hype (I believe). There are so many other great beers that the Portsmouth Brewery has that they want to keep the taps rotating in and out with everything from their Milk Stout, Dirty Blonde, Wheat Wine, Saison, Winter Rye, Wild Thang and their ridiculously hoppy and good 5C’s IPA, and many many more.

( Ahh, the food & beverage bloggers workspace! )

I had the opportunity to be in the thick of it this year for Kate Day as their official live blogger. In previous years people would line up as early as 12am to have the chance at purchasing 1 or 2 of the 900 available bottles. This year the game changed as they released 10,000 scratch tickets at $2 a piece with a chance to win one of 900 bottles. The beer community was a little shaken up, but it didn’t stop the hype. 12am on the dot, 2 people were in line waiting to be the first to taste Kate the Great from the taps. By 9am there were about 200 people in line and when the doors opened at 1130, the lined wrapped around the street and into the public garage, a real sight to see.

Talking to people trying it for the first time, the response is identical, they love this beer. Some people take it more serious than others, but those willing to make the trip have a story to tell. It truly is a great beer and a beer event worth getting up crazy early to go to.

( Getting ready to pour the new batch. )

( A hopping bar in the middle of the day! )

As a wanna-be wine drinker, I wonder to myself what is the Kate the Great of the Wine community? Do you all take wine as seriously as beer drinkers? I am as far from a snob as possible but I take great pride and appreciation in the work that goes behind a great beer. What makes wine so “great”?

Check out my live coverage of this year’s Kate the Great day here: http://seacoastbeveragelab.com/kate-day-2011-live-blog/

Thanks for reading wine drinkers!!

Cheers,

Brian