Cheers to Portland Beer Week!
November means that it is time for Portland Beer Week! We love this celebration of all things beer, in which breweries and venues create fun ways to explore different angles of this industry. Here is a preview of just some of the great events on tap during the week.
Now in its seventh year, Portland Beer Week has become a can’t miss week of celebration for Maine beer enthusiasts.
Based on a series of events celebrating all things beer, it’s a great time for the local craft brewing industry as well as local businesses in general.
Many businesses create special events to be a part of the week. Below you will find a list of the Maine Brew Bus events during Portland Beer Week.
Want it all on one page, along with our scheduled tours for the week? Here is a PDF version for download.
This is just some of the happenings, to see all of the amazing events during the week please visit www.portlandbeerweek.org
Tuesday, November 6th
Maine Beer Campaign Party
All Day
We have partnered once again with Slab Sicilian Street Food to present our annual Election Night tap takeover event on Tuesday, November 7th. This event will showcase over 20 different breweries featured on our tours.
From open to close guests at Slab will be able to choose their favorite beer from the selections available, each grouping representing a different tour on The Maine Brew Bus. Every beer that day will have special pricing, $6 for a 12-ounce pour size. This is a pay-as-you-go event.
Each brewery will only have one sixtel available for sale on that day, and if that keg runs out first in their tour group then that brewery wins that group. If a keg does not run out, then the brewery who sells the most pours out of our their group will win.
Winners from each tour group will later become a Featured Brewery of the Week at Slab, a special week of their own with three draft lines available. The announcement of the tour group winners will be made at 9pm.
[More info – Facebook Event Page]
Wed, November 7th and Thu, November 8th
Coffee and Donuts…and Beer!
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
There is an undeniable connection between coffee and donuts. And also one that exists between coffee and beer. And more and more, there is one between baked goods and beer.
Join The Maine Brew Bus on a special walking tour to explore this tasty connection, presented in partnership with Bard Coffee, The Holy Donut, and Gritty’s.
We will first stop by Bard Coffee for a coffee relationship discussion and a special tasting. Then we will go behind-the-scenes at The Holy Donut to learn about their business growth, and how they produce such amazing and tasty treats.
Our last stop with by Gritty McDuff’s brewpub. Celebrating their 30th year in business, this company has some amazing beers for us to try.
And there will be a common thread between all of our locations. Take the tour and taste this for yourself!
[More info – Facebook Event Page]
Book Coffee and Donuts…and Beer! now
Friday, November 9th
Curling and Brew Tour
10:00 am – 1:45 pm
First debuted during Portland Beer Week, our popular Curling and Brew Tour with the Pine Tree Curling Club is back!
This tour was recently written about in the Bangor Daily News as a fun way to learn a new skill this winter.
Curling is easy to learn for people of all ages and athletic abilities. Not only is curling fun, but it is also a very social sport.
Bring a group of your friends to play or get together with a team of new friends.
We will all meet at the William B. Troubh Ice Arena in Portland where we will start with an intro to the sport and then head to the ice to curl with the group and some of the club members.
After curling, we will visit two different breweries in the Greater Portland Area. We will be offering this tour with these stops on the following dates:
After the second brewery, we will bring you back to the Ice Arena so you can continue your exploration of lively Portland.
Time to slide and ride with our Curling and Brew tour!
Sunday. November 11th
Zymurgy Home Brew Tour
10:30 am – 2:30 pm
Presenting our annual Zymurgy Home Brew Tour with the Portland Mashing Maineiacs homebrew club.
There are nearly 7.000 breweries now in the US, and 130 of them are in Maine. On average at least two breweries open every month in this state.
Did you ever wonder where all of these new brewers are coming from? Look no further than the homebrew underground., and we will take you there on this special tour.
Join our special guest guide, Gregg Carine, as we travel to visit three local home brewers who will open up their residential breweries for us. We’ll see their operations, and learn more about their inspiration for brewing quality beer.
This tour is your chance to meet up-and-coming brewers, some of whom are straddling the line between professional and amateur. Pick their brains, learn their stories, and examine their set-ups. We will find out how our hosts got started and what it is that drives them to produce their own beer for a limited audience.
COST: $45/person (ticket price includes a hearty snack as well as a tasting glass, which you get to keep at the end of the tour)
[More info – Facebook Event Page]
Book Zymurgy Home Brew Tour online now!
Other Portland Beer Week Events We Love
It’s always a super busy week, just check out the full schedule.
Watch for our team in attendance at these other great #207beerweek events (and probably more):
- Sunday 11/4
- 3-5pm – Freshman Orientation at Bayside Bowl (13 breweries who opened in Maine during the last year pouring under one roof)
- 3-6pm – Can Jamboree! at Bunker Brewing (A benefit food drive sponsored by the United States Bartenders’ Guild to benefit Wayside Food Programs)
- Monday 11/5
- 6-9pm – Pro-Am at Salvage BBQ (Home Brewers paired with a dozen local breweries in a blind vote)
- 5-9pm – Portland Brewers Night at Great Lost Bear (Special pricing on special beers from 16 city breweries)
- Tuesday 11/6
- 5-9pm – Election Night BBQ at Rising Tide (Beer, BBQ Pig, and More)
- 7-10pm – Election Night Bingo with Foundation Brewing Company at Arcadia National Bar
- Wednesday 11/7
- 5-8pm – Diamondback and Bissell Brothers Takeover at Highroller Lobster Co. (Beers from Baltimore come to the Old Port)
- 6-10pm – Definitive Takes Over the Mezzanine at Bayside Bowl (East Bayside beers over the Bayside Bowl lanes)
- Thursday 11/8 5-10pm
- 6-10pm – Super Secret Mast Landing Hootenanny at MAPS (Not sure what is happening, but sounds like fun…)
- 7-11pm – Battle of the Brewery Bands at Portland House of Music (Local breweries with employee house bands playing covers and originals)
- Friday 11/9
- 5pm-1am – Mason’s Tap Takeover at Nosh (Our friends from the north pour their beers for the night)
- 4pm-1am – Everybody Loves the Sunshine at Novare Res (Seven Lawson’s Finest Liquids beers that have never before been available in Maine!)
- Saturday 11/10
- 12pm-1am – Where The Wild Biers Are at Novare Res (a ridiculous list of wild beers with foraged foods and game meats)
- 1-5pm – Winter Session 2018 at Brick South/Thompson’s Point (the Maine Brewers’ Guild International Beer Festival featuring )
