Novare Res Bier Café

I've been meaning to write up something about Novare Res for awhile now. Its been up for a few weeks now and the buzz had really circulated around southern Maine and possibly into neighboring northern New England states. It truly is an amazing addition to an already vibrant beer community here in Portland.

Last week we had our third meeting of the Maine Beer Writer's Guild at Novare Res. Eric Michaud, the owner, was beyond generous about letting us beer-nerd-it-up at his establishment. He really treated us well and shared some amazing beers with us, including a couple bottles of De Struise Earth Monk and Taras Boulba. That was awesome.

Novare Res is an homage to Eric's love of great beer. The place itself reminds me of a European cafe. Its dark, brick filled and slightly cavernous. The two large rooms that make up the place really produce a relaxing atmosphere. There are big tables and benches (not to mention some pretty sweet church pews) along with the large brick bar in one and  big leather couches in front of a fire place and some recently installed dart boards in the other. There is plenty of room for a lot of people to be comfortable. Now that its summertime Novare Res' deck is also getting a ton of use. 

Currently Novare Res is pouring 25 different beers and should have a beer engine up and running soon. They also have 200+ bottles. If you are ambitious enough you can pay a $20 deposit and get a card with a rather extensive checklist of beers on it. Finish them all and get a 20-oz. glass chalice of your own that will be housed in a pretty sweet little "room". I am told you'll get 20-oz. pours for the price of 16 oz. ones. Considering the beer that Novare Res has on tap, thats a pretty good deal!

If you get hungry drinking all those great beers you can order up cheese and meat plates that are perfect accompaniments. They aren't too big and won't fill you up but they'll definitely keep you going.

It also looks like Novare Res will be hosting some brewery events soon. The site's "events" section mentions Dogfish Head, Allagash and Rogue (hell yeah, some West coast action here in Maine) with more details to come. 

Overall, Novare Res has filled a niche very well here in Portland. The Belgian slant and the focus on hard to find beers with a definite attempt to educate the masses on what constitutes good beer is certainly refreshing. 

Cheers Eric! Thanks for hosting us and thanks for making a lot of happy beer drinkers even happier here in Maine!

www.novareresbiercafe.com

Prost! International Tap House is now open!

Prost! is open! I was driving by yesterday and was kind of shocked to see people going inside. I guess they had a "soft opening" (industry term for a bunch of people getting drunk) on Friday night.

I paid Prost! a visit because I really wanted to see how they crammed those 100 taps behind their relatively small bar. Oh, and I also wanted to see what they had on tap, how much beer costs and if the staff actually had to wear Oktoberfest-ey costumes.

Prost! had 70 or so of their 100 beer lines up and running. I was told that their "soft opening" killed quite a few kegs. The place is nice inside and pretty cozy. Lots of shiny new wood and LOTS of shiny new taphandles! They had quite a few Belgians on tap which I found surprising and they had NO Miller, Coors or Bud on tap. That REALLY surprised me. Oh and yes, the staff were in costume.

I had a Chambly Noire from Unibroue up in Quebec. They had three of their beers on tap. Prices for the most part are decent, some are higher and some are lower than Novare Res and GLB. A couple of surprises were Weyerbacher Hops Infusion and Aventinus. Overall they have a shit ton of beer on tap and everything is fresh right now. 

My only complaint is that the place doesn't have much personality (yet?). It seems like the owners didn't show a lot of love when they re-did the place, but more just wanted to open a bar with a slightly gimmicky German theme with more beers on tap than any other bar in Maine. Don't get me wrong, it looks nice and new but it just lacks a certain persona that the GLB and Novare Res both have. But what it lacks in character it does make up with selection. Lets hope quality AND quantity go together at Prost! for a long time to come.

10 Great Places to Get a Beer in Portland (Maine)

Duckfat - Our own tiny slice of Belgium here in Portland. Located on Middle St., Duckfat has some artery clogging items on their menu that are absolutely amazing. We're talking duck confit, poutine (fries with cheese and gravy) and of course their famous Belgian fries (yes they are cooked in duck fat) that you can order up with an assortment of special dips including truffle ketchup as well as curry mayo. Compliment your food with a glass of Allagash or Chimay.

Binga's Wingas - Want to wash down your ridiculously hot hot wings with a big glass of Geary's Pale Ale? Go to Binga's on Congress. With a ton of different wing options from plain to Chernobyl, as well as a pretty respectable tap selection, Binga's is a great place for comfort food and drink. Check out the beer specials online and go when the good stuff is cheap!

Bull Feeney's - Did you know that John "Bull" Feeney and John Ford (the man who directed "The Quiet Man" and "How Green is my Valley") are one in the same? Our famed Irish pub on Fore St. is a great place to get an imperial (20 oz.) pint of Guinness among quite a few local offerings as well.

Brian Boru - Look for the red building on Center St. with the huge Guinness toucan mural on the side and that is Brian Boru's. Named for the famed Irish king, Boru's is a great little pub with a vibrant atmosphere especially when they've got live Irish music on Sundays. Slainte!

Sebago Brewing Company - Two words, "Single Batch". Sebago has really done a great job brewing up some beers that stray far from their usual suspects. If only they'd brew the Full Throttle Double IPA again! Right now they've got a bourbon barrel-aged barleywine that is excellent.

Rosie's - Esquire magazine recently nominated Rosie's as one of the "Best Bars in America". Located on the cobblestone part of Fore St., Rosie's is one of the most comfortable places in town to have a pint. A great place to play some darts and grab a bite to eat. Try the Hooker Blonde or the Hooker Brown, both are house beers brewed especially for Rosie's by Gritty's down the street.

Gritty's - Maine's Original Brewpub brews up its own beers in a tiny brewery located downstairs. Right on Fore St. it can't be missed. Brewer Ben Low has been brewing up some specialty brews lately, check out the Smoked Bruin (a brown ale brewed with smoked malt).

Three Dollar Dewey's - Dewey's has been in the Old Port for almost 30 years. Its was opened by beer lover and later beer author, Alan Eames (known as the "Indiana Jones of Beer" due to his anthropological interests in ancient beers and brewing). Alan sadly passed away last year but his legacy lives on. Dewey's has close to 40 taps and a great atmosphere for having some pints with some friends. When you go, be sure to read the sign about the origin of the bar's name.

Novare Res Bier Cafe - Portland's newest spot for great beer. Novare Res, which takes its name from the Latin for "to start a revolution", is located where Black Tie Bistro used to be (off Exchange St.). A very inviting European-style drinking establishment, Novare Res has 25 taps, a beer engine serving cask beer and over 225 bottles. You simply can not have a bad beer here even if you tried. Drink all the beers on offer and earn a chalice to call your own...

Great Lost Bear - The GLB was once called The Grizzly Bear. Due to a name dispute with a far away pizza chain, the Great Lost Bear was born. The GLB has more Maine brewed beers on tap than any other place in the state. They've also added some beer engines pouring cask beers, are up to 6 Belgians on tap and are also getting some pretty hard to find kegs (I see that they'll be tapping a keg of Hitachino from Japan soon). Combine their great beer selection with their Thursday night "Showcases" and their "Buck off Belgians" nights and you really can't ask for a better place to grab a great beer. The Great Lost Bear is constantly named among the best places to have a beer in the US!

What's on tap at Novare Res?

GO HERE

Novare Res Opens Today at 4pm!

The taps will start flowing at 4pm today! Don't miss your chance to say that you had one of the first beers ever poured at what should be a great beer bar here in Portland. If you can't make it down today, Friday will be the grand opening. Cheers!

The Inn on Peaks Island

Jereme from ThinkBeer, Luke from BlogAboutBeer, Me and Chris Sweet from Ale Street News (photo by Jason from BeerBloggers)

This past Wednesday the Maine Beer Writers' Guild held its second meeting at the Inn on Peaks out on Peaks Island. 

The Inn on Peaks is owned by the Shipyard Brewery and you really can not ask for a more picturesque place to have a pub. Peaks Island is only a few miles off shore but provides a nice relaxing atmosphere. Thankfully the weather cooperated and the $7.75 ferry ride over was quite nice (made even nicer by some "boat beers"). The ride itself is just long enough to enjoy a good beer. A nice pre-cursor to the night ahead.

The Pub at the Inn on Peaks actually has a 15 gallon brewing system. Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to see it (and I couldn't find any pictures online). From what I've heard, beer is brewed at the Shipyard Brewery in town and then shipped over for fermentation. I could be wrong so please feel free to correct me if you know more.

Beer highlights of the night were definitely the Casco Bay Red on cask and Old Thumper (too bad it wasn't on cask...maybe next time!). The Inn is a very casual and relaxing place to have a beer and the view of the Portland skyline from across the water is amazing on a nice evening. 

If you've never been out to Peaks Island or you've never had a beer at the Inn, definitely try and make it happen this summer. If you're coming from "away", the inn has 6 rooms available and all of them are pretty plush.

Thanks goes out to Tami from Shipyard for making things possible and to the Inn at Peaks for hosting us! Cheers!

BREWERY (well, its not really a brewery) FACTS:

Name: The Inn on Peaks (owned by Shipyard Brewery)

Location: Peaks Island, Maine, USA

Novare Res Bier Café Update

Open, open, open, open...

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Novare Res is opening this week! Beers should begin pouring either Tuesday or Wednesday, May 20-21st with the big opening on Friday the 23rd!

Portland Beer Bars Update v.3.0

One more update...

Novare Res Bier Café - (188 Middle St.)

Open and awesome.

Prost! International Taphouse - (446 Fore St.)

Open, go HERE!

Pannepot Café 

It appears that this project is on hold. I don't know anything more at this time. Pray to the Belgian Beer Gods that this happens sometime in the future...

Pannepot Cafe to open in Portland this April...let the countdown begin!

UPDATED HERE!