Location: Portland
Top Things to do in Portland
Top 10 Breweries in Portland, Maine (ME)
From ornate mansions to ocean views, this charming city - the largest in Maine - will enchant you. Saunter down the brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets of the revitalized Old Port District, where you can browse through bookstores, explore craft shops and eat to your heart's content. Visit the Portland Head Light, which dates back to 1791, and is the oldest lighthouse still in continuous use in the U.S. The great poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is the city's native son, and you can visit his childhood home, the Wadsworth-Longfellow House. With kids in hand, enjoy the highly interactive Children's Museum of Maine. And then go next door to the calmer Portland Museum of Art, a small, but eclectic museum with Impressionist works, Maine landscapes by Homer and Wyeth and other collections. Land or sea is an option here, so if you're tired of the street life, take one of the popular scenic cruises or whale watches, or hop on a ferry to the islands in Casco Bay. At the end of the day, and without kids in hand, unwind and rest your tired feet at one of the city's brewpubs.
Restaurants in Portland
1. Allagash Brewery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,137 reviews
We are currently open for tastings and sell plenty of year-round and brewery-only beer to go. We are not currently booking brewery tours, but we have a food truck onsite featuring lobster rolls and other tasty treats for you to make a day of it. So if you're in the area, stop by and say hello! Allagash Brewing Company strives to make the best Belgian-inspired beer in the world. Founded in Portland, Maine, the brewery loves giving back to the community—and state—that has supported it since 1995. In 2019 the brewery became a Certified B Corp and Allagash founder Rob Tod won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional. Allagash currently stands as one of the 50 largest craft breweries in the U.S. (by sales volume) and has earned a spot on Maine’s Best Places to Work list for seven years running. Allagash is distributed in: CA, CT, DC, DE, GA, IL (Chicagoland only), MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT, and WI.
Reviewed By PowPow29 - West Hartford, United States
My friends and I booked the Saturday 1:00pm tour. (Book your tickets ahead of time; they fill up!) We had a great time sampling different beers and learning about the history of the brewery. We stayed afterwards to enjoy the beautiful weather, our favorite beers, and a quick bite at the food truck (Bite into Maine) that parks right outside. They have an outstanding lobster grilled cheese.
2. Shipyard Brewing Company
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 483 reviews
Shipyard Brewing Company is a family owned brewery - rooted in tradition and brimming with innovation. Our award-winning beer is handcrafted by our team of brewers who learned their art from world-renowned master brewer, Alan Pugsley. We are committed to cultivating a new generation of creative, passionate brewers. Our team is constantly exploring innovative and diverse styles of beer through our pilot system at our Portland brewery and our 7-barrel system at Federal Jack's Brew Pub in Kennebunk Harbor. Established in 1994, this family-run brewery set up shop in what was once a maritime foundry on the waterfront of Portland. Starting with our flagship Export Ale, we've produced over 65 handcrafted, traditional beers in the heart of this vibrant Maine community.
Reviewed By Bob1775 - Houston, United States
Located on Portland’s East End this is a neat brewery located in an old building that used to manufacture railroad rails. They have about 10 beers on tap and they are numbered. If you want to try a beer flight you read the beer description and write on a chalkboard what number you want to try under each flight glass hole on your paddle....an ingenious idea. The Export was my favorite and I was told that was their original beer. I don’t think they have food here as we brought pizza in from Micucci’s.....see my review. They have great service and a really friendly atmosphere....they also have board games you can play. They have a gift area where you can buy brewery swag. The restrooms are large and clean. They are building a “brewtel” next door which will be a very convenient place to stay so you can drink all the beer you want and don’t have to worry about getting home or to your hotel.
3. Geary Brewing Company
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Please check our website for most up-to-date information regarding our hours and events. We are currently only open for packaged beer sales. Geary Brewing Company is a dynamic Portland brewery with an important history in both the craft beer world and the state of Maine. Incorporated in 1983, Geary Brewing is New England's First Craft Brewery in the post prohibition era and holds federal craft brewing license #13. This innovative brewery started a craft beer movement when it poured its flagship beer, Geary's Pale Ale, in the winter of 1986 and since then has developed an extensive line of heritage beers brewed in open fermentation. Today, the revitalization of Geary Brewing brings a new line of true-to-style contemporary beers brewed in closed fermentation and available in 16 oz. cans. In the newly renovated tasting room, guests can sample and purchase the beers they love in the packages they prefer as well as join a complimentary tour of the historic brew house.
4. Rising Tide Brewing Company
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 153 reviews
Rising Tide Brewing Company is an independent, family-owned brewery that anchors Portland, Maine’s vibrant East Bayside neighborhood. We are guided by creative flavors, quality, consistency, community, and a love of all things outdoors. Rising Tide supports our farmers, using local ingredients in every beer.
Reviewed By shayshay70209 - New Castle, United States
This was an amaizing place to go with kids and dogs! Our little pup was welcomed in and was alowwed to come to our table with us! There is a playgound neer for kids to play on and a large feild! The pizza is awesome and the blueberry and rootbeer local made sodas were delish! There was alot of cool t-shirts in the gift shop, and they sell beer for you to bring home to family! It was an awesome experience and I would love to go back!!!
5. Foundation Brewing Company
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 59 reviews
Reviewed By eirmcentee - Woodbridge, United States
Stopped in here on a Saturday night to grab a beer with some girlfriends and it was awesome! Everything was outdoors, socially distanced tables, clean, etc. I had the rotating sour and it was great!
6. Lone Pine Brewing Company
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 32 reviews
Reviewed By McGyversDad
We stopped in and was pleasantly surprised the Maple Sunday brown ale was available for purchase, where it came out on Maine Maple Sunday weekend last year. With many social events being curtailed, I was glad to be able to bring home this as well as trying their always delicious Holy Donut beer creation.
7. Bunker Brewing Company
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
Reviewed By karmakollector - St. Helena, United States
Out of the 14-15 breweries we hit at the Portland area, we spent more time at Bunker than any other location (and it was one of only a handful that we ended up hitting twice), for a few reasons: 1) The location is a little "off the beaten path" -- it's somewhat close to Bissell Brothers, but it's not in the "brewery cluster" industrial parks over by Allagash or Oxbow, so there's a lot less foot traffic (and perhaps less brewery tour buses, as well?) This means it was never crazy crowded! 2) The beers are good -- while none of them are exceptionally "unique", they have good examples of a variety of styles, including IPA (of course), Czech-style pilsner, baltic porter, imperial stout, and more. (My favorites were the pils, porter, and stout) 3) Fun activities to do while hanging out: cornhole (several breweries had this, but others were sometimes too busy to get a chance to play) and ping-pong (didn't see any other place that offered this option)
8. Austin Street Brewery
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 32 reviews
Austin Street Brewery is a 10 barrel brewery, situated in one of Portland's brewery hot spots.
Reviewed By NHjo - Saco, United States
Note that there are two Austin Street Brewery tasting rooms in Portland -- this one on Industrial Drive, which is a few miles outside the downtown district and is a tasting room only, and the actual brewery and tasting room on Fox Street in downtown Portland. The Fox Street location needs its own TripAdvisor page because people are confusing the two. Anyway, we stopped by the Industrial Way tasting room and got the Walcott, which is one of my favorite smoked brown ales, and the Obsolete Vernacular, a sour blonde ale with fruit that was so good that we took a four-pack home. The tasting room is small and plain, especially compared to its neighbor Allagash, but it's comfortable and has a few tables and chairs, along with a patio with the usual cornhole, etc. Austin Street is one of the best breweries in Portland.
9. Bissell Brothers
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 115 reviews
Reviewed By RitaC321 - Vernon, United States
We stopped here at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon. The line was long but not into the tasting room. The beer was worth the trip. And it costs much less at the brewery than in the stores in northern Connecticut. The building is very cool - an old railroad car repair station - great to see old buildings being re-purposed for breweries, wineries, apartments, restaurants, etc. You can bring your own food or buy something at the little restaurant next door (might even be connected, not sure).
10. Battery Steele Brewing
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 19 reviews
Reviewed By denisev358 - Harrisburg, United States
This is a great business idea, there were 3 breweries in the same location so you can easily walk around to them and then one across the street, Alagash. So, it is truly a great experience to hit several breweries at once. All the IPA’s here seemed to be very citrus hazy which was a hit for my husband but I was wishing for a west coast version!
