My wife and I took the kids on a coastal car car ride last weekend, it’s an opportune time as businesses are opening back up for the season and tourist season isn’t in full swing yet. We made a morning run to Owls Head for the lighthouse and transportation museum and then headed back up Route 1 which turns out to be a nice brewery crawl if that’s your thing.

Rock Harbor Pub and Brewery is on Main Street in Rockland, I wrote about them earlier in the week, it’s a good place to grab a lunch and round of samplers before moving farther up the coast.

Rock Harbor Pub and Brewery

About 30 minutes north of Rock Harbor in Lincolnville is The Lobster Pound which is home to Andy’s Brewpub, I visited them last summer for a lobster roll and a pint, check them out for seafood or pub fare and of course Andrews Brewing Company beer.

Lobster Pound and Andy’s Brew Pub

20 or so minutes north of Lincolnville is Belfast and no stop to Belfast is complete without visiting Marshall Wharf tasting room for samples and growlers or 3 Tides restaurant for Marshall Wharf beers and a bite to eat.

Marshall Wharf Brewery and tasting room

From here I start heading toward Bangor which brings me past Penobscot Bay Brewery/Winterport Winery then Geaghan Brothers Brewing, Seadog Brewing Company and then in Downtown Bangor you have Nocurnem Draft Haus. If you’ve sampled your way this far and still feel ambition, you are less than 20 minutes from Orono where you can visit Black Bear and Orono Brewing Company.

There are a lot of options for craft beer daytrips in Maine and they can be customized to fit your ambitions, whether you have a full day designated driver on board and you want to maximize your brewery stops or you just want to hit a few plus some local attractions in between. Carla Lauter aka The Beer Babe has been taking some cool day trips including Midcoast Maine, Western Maine, Freeport/Brunswick area and Freeport by rail, check out her adventures for some inspiration and then grab a map and plot a course.

Cheers,

Chaddah