The Perfect Weekend in Portland, ME for Outdoorsy Craft Beer Lovers
This post is sponsored by Visit Portland — the official site for the Greater Portland region of Maine.
Did you know: Greater Portland has the highest rate of breweries per capita than any other city in the country! Outside of the obvious craft beer pull, Portland has been on our bucket list for a while. Lobster rolls, lighthouses, outdoor adventures... What more could we ask for?
We spent a long weekend in Portland and outlined where you should stay, drink, hike, and more to have the perfect weekend in Portland, Maine.
WHERE TO STAY
Walking the cobblestone streets in downtown Portland to explore different shops, restaurants, and pubs each day was one of the highlights of our trip. The Old Port neighborhood provides you easy access to anything you'll ever need (including being able to walk to a handful of breweries) — and that's exactly where we recommend you stay.
We stayed in a stunning urban home by The Docent’s Collection (formerly 121 Middle), and it did not disappoint. The stunning open-concept space had a full kitchen, a cozy living room, and a comfortable king-sized bed in the bedroom. The check-in was fully digital, which meant we could pop right into our room with a digital key and watch any of our streaming services on the smart TVs.
The location was perfect — tucked away on Middle Street, it offered easy access to coffee shops, art museums, and seafood galore.
WHERE TO DRINK
When in Portland, there is no lack of places to grab a high-quality craft beer. We had a blast brewery hopping, and we wanted to highlight some of our favorite breweries (and beer bars!) in a few of the beer-centric neighborhoods, as well as the other breweries you can knock out during your trip.
Downtown & East End
Belleflower Brewing: This stunning taproom had it all: clean beers, a large outdoor patio space, and a food truck! Belleflower focuses on brewing small-batch beers with local ingredients, and we just loved this spot.
Novare Res Bier Cafe: This was one place that was highly recommended to us by a handful of folks (not just Maine locals), and they did not disappoint. This spot is tucked away in a little alley in downtown Portland, and it boasts 33+ brews on tap, over 400 different bottles of beer, and also has some incredible food. They have a large outdoor space, as well as a more intimate indoor bar.
Oxbow Brewing: Oxbow was recommended to us by our pals over at Allagash — both breweries were partnering on "Saison Day" when we popped by. Which, lucky for us: we love saisons (and all things funky, really), which made this spot really special. Oxbow specializes in farmhouse ales, and their space really reflects that. It's decorated head-to-toe in murals, surrounded by barrels, and we got to sip on our brews while listening to some live tunes. 10/10 would recommend.
Portland Beer Hub: This cozy bottle shop sits in the heart of downtown, and the staff's friendly nature made us instantly feel welcome in Portland. This is a great spot to grab a four-pack or a special bottle to-go.
Shipyard Brewing Company: We honestly didn't know what to expect when we entered Shipyard, but we had so much fun learning all about the history of the brand. This tasting room not only has 20+ beers on tap (including brews from its sister brand, Sea Dog), but it also has some tasty bar food available. They have a wildly impressive merch section — don't sleep on taking some of their root beer to go, either!
Breweries we didn't get to during our trip:
Industrial Way
Allagash Brewing: One of our favorite stops of the trip was Allagash Brewing. Y'all have likely had an Allagash White Ale before, but the variety of high-quality Belgian-inspired beers Allagash has on tap is incredible. Their entire staff was so welcoming, they have a ton of outdoor seating available in their beer garden, and we genuinely loved every beer we tried. Oh, and make sure you grab a lobster roll at Bite Into Maine while you're there!
Definitive Brewing: Across the street from Allagash is Definitive Brewing — a beautiful, open taproom with boozy ice cream, sours, and IPAs-galore. It's a great addition to your brewery-hopping agenda.
Geary Brewing: Geary Brewing was New England's first craft brewery! They started brewing back in 1983, and Geary's Pale Ale lived up to the hype. While this is one of the smaller taprooms we visited, the brewhouse is incredible. We were able to check out their open fermentation tanks, the bottling line, and more during our tour, and it was an extremely memorable experience.
Breweries we didn't get to during our trip:
Miscellaneous:
Maine Beer Co.: Every single beertender told us we needed to hit Maine Beer Co. while we were in town. While it's not in Portland, per se, it's only 20 minutes away from the airport, so we decided to hit it on our last day in town. This space was absolutely one of the most gorgeous taprooms we've ever been in. It has tons of plants, natural light, and a tree fountain smack-dab in the middle of everything. You can even see the brewhouse through giant glass windows in the taproom. Their menu was heavy on the IPA side, and each beer we tried was clean and crushable. Whew. What a spot!
Additional spots we'd like to hit on our next trip:
WHERE TO HIKE
Our ideal travel weekend includes kicking off each day with a scenic hike. We are called "Work For Your Beer" after all! Getting outdoors in Bend is a no-brainer. Below are the two hikes we did while in town, plus a third that we were hoping to complete (but, unfortunately, it downpoured our last day in town ).
Mackworth Island Hiking Trail
Did you know that Maine has a fairy island? And that you can take a lovely stroll all around the island spotting little fairy homes? What a treat! This was definitely an "easy" hike, but it was just so beautiful and quirky — we'd highly recommend checking it out.
View the trail on AllTrails here.
Fort Williams Park Loop
Okay, to be fair, this isn't really a "hike" — but I'm adding it in because everyone will tell you that you need to see at least one lighthouse when you're in Maine, and if you can pair a nice little stroll with, why not, right?
View the trail on AllTrails here.
Prout's Neck Cliff Walk
If you're looking for a longer, more moderate hike, check out Scarborough Beach State Park and knock out this 5.8-mile out-and-back trail. The water views are gorgeous, and you'll definitely get a bit of a workout with this one.
View the trail on AllTrails here.
Cheers to exploring Portland, Maine!
We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to explore this outdoorsy, craft beer-infused town. HUGE thank you to Visit Portland for having us out — we will definitely be back.
Have any suggestions for our next trip? Shoot us a message at cheers@workforyourbeer.com if you have any ideas, and be sure to tag us at @workforyourbeer if you swing by any of these spots during your next visit to Portland!