Sometimes you drive from Bangor to Portland for beer

Sunday was a family day, a trip to Freeport spurred on by my son’s need for a new winter coat and some new pants, L.L.Bean and Carters were the destinations, but for the Lothian family a trip south always includes craft beer.

To clarify, the kids don’t get any craft beer and the parents don’t do much drinking but it’s in the mix.

Freeport was a success, in early and out quickly with everything my oldest needed for the impending cold weather and a couple bonus bargains for my wife, and we were off to Portland for lunch.

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My Wife’s status update from Salvage BBQ

My wife hadn’t been to Salvage BBQ yet, so we had to remedy this situation with a “Cow and Pig platter” with a side of hush puppies and potato wedges and some mac and cheese for the boys. Jess chose a Prairie Artisan Ales Cherry Funk to accompany her BBQ and I had a Bunker Brewing Bunktoberfest. If you haven’t been to Salvage I highly recommend it, we left full and happy, ready to begin our whirlwind tour of Portland.

Stop #2 was Trader Joes, a normal stop when we’re in town but this time it was more to walk off some of the BBQ we had just consumed than to shop, but we still left with two bags and maybe a couple beers as well.

Stop #3 was Rising Tide Brewing Company, my buddy Norman Miller, Author of “Beer Lover’s New England” was in town to sign his new book “Boston Beer: A history of brewing in the hub”. My wife and I sampled a couple beers we hadn’t had before, Wet, a wet hopped “pilsen-ale” and Aramada, an American brown ale, both were excellent and after a short discussion we landed on a growler fill of Armada to take home. You would think our boys would be bored hanging out in a brewery tasting room while mom and dad sampled beers but you’d be wrong, another visitor brought along a puppy and I would argue that my boys had more fun than we did.

From here Stops #4, 5, 6 and 7 were all shops in the Old Port, the most notable being Sherman’s Books to visit Josh Christie, Author of “Maine Beer: Brewing in Vacationland”, who showed me a copy of his next book that hasn’t been released yet “The Handbook of Porters & Stouts: The Ultimate, Complete and Definitive Guide” that was co-authored by Chad Polenz, it was merely a glance but it’s a gorgeous book and I look forward to reading it.

Stop #8 was Bard Coffee, we wanted a coffee anyway but the sign out front hooked us for sure, Nitrogen-Infused cold-brew, it was as magical as it sounds, I would drink this every day.IMG_3767

Stop #9 was The Bier Cellar before heading north, I was specifically looking for a growler of Foundation Brewing Company beer because I wasn’t able to make it over to One Industrial but they didn’t have any so I grabbed a six-pack of Notch Brewing and a couple singles I haven’t had.

A whirlwind for sure, in and out of Portland in 3 hours.

That wasn’t our last stop though, a quick pop off in Brunswick to fill a growler and pick up a new growlerette at Lively Brewing was in order.

We pulled in the driveway at 5:30pm, opened the front door to be welcomed to the smell of chili that had been bubbling away in the crockpot all day. 9.5 hours from the time we left the front door to the time we parked the car for the day, 4 hours of that was driving. My son got his winter clothes, my wife a few new items as well, my youngest got to chase a puppy around, Mom and Dad have a fridge full of beer and we all got to spend a day together. Craft beer can fit into a family day.

Cheers

Chaddah

The haul

The haul

Chad Lothian

About Chad Lothian

Chad Lothian lives in Old Town, Maine. He is a craft beer enthusiast and homebrewer. Chad has travelled to brewpubs, breweries and brewfests all over New England.