Cape Cod Brewing Company

We visited Cape Cod Beer last month with Sam, her boyfriend Dustin, and our friend Andrea. We had been there before, but it had been quite some time.

 They opened in 2004. We were there a few years ago and they have expanded their tasting area since then. They produced about 5,000 barrels in 2012.

 

 They have 4 year round beers. The Red, Porter, IPA, and Beach Blonde Ale, as well as a few seasonals.

 

 

There are 3 bar area’s and 2 tasting area’s. It was a little confusing when we walked in because it was busy and there were a lot of people around. You also walk into the gift shop area. Eventually we figured out we could go into the back area and order samples there and sit at a picnic table.

 

 

When we were their they had 8 beers on tap. You can get five 3oz samples for $5.

 

 

They give you these little coins when you pay, so each time you want a sample you go back up and get a nice cold pour.

 

Beach Blonde Ale
Mark, Megan, Andrea, and Sam all liked this beer. It was very light with a hint of fruit. Dustin thought it tasted like a Coors. This is the only beer Andrea liked, she usually drinks just Bud Light.

 

Andrea and Megan

 

Harvest
Megan thought this had a good flavor with a slight spice. Mark thought it was a little light for a harvest but liked it. Sam and Andrea both thought it was too flavorful for them. Dustin would drink a pint of this but wouldn’t search it out.

 

 

Dunkel Weizen
Spicy, reminded Megan of Christmas, maybe nutmeg or spruce tips.

 

Red
Mark liked it, a fairly typical Red. Megan actually liked it and she is usually not a fan of Reds.

 

 

Farmhouse Saison
Mark, Megan and Dustin all liked it. Light, flavorful, good saison. Sam thought the flavor was slightly weird.

 

Dustin, deep in thought, thinking about the beer

 

Porter
Megan liked it, good flavor, not too heavy. Sam actually liked it. She got a maple syrup taste first. She thought it taste better than it looked, she liked the flavor but it wasn’t familiar to her.

 

Pale Ale
Dustin said ‘not bad’ but it had a weird after taste. Sam was not a fan.

 

above the tasting room

 

IPA
Hoppy, fairly straightforward ipa, good taste.

 

Back room where we were sitting

 

There were kids running around and being a little noisy. It was kind of distracting and annoying. Not the breweries fault, the parents weren’t paying attention. As we mentioned, it was a rainy day on the Cape so people were looking for something indoors to do.

 

 

The have a food truck outside during the summer months. It is run by local teenagers, who were looking for a job before they started the food truck. It was not open when we visited, but we heard good things about it.

 

Funny shirt

 

Good plan

 

They have a big gift shop with all kinds of merchandise.

 

Want to visit? Retail Hours:

Weekdays (M- F): 10am to 6pm
Saturdays:  11 am to 3 pm
Sundays: CLOSED
Guided Tours: Once daily at 11am

Please note that they stop selling samples about  30 minutes prior to close and stop selling pints about 15 minutes prior to close.

Tributary Brewing Company, Kittery, ME

Tributary Brewing Company just opened at the beginning of September 2014. This brewery has been eagerly anticipated in the Seacoast region. The company is owned by a husband and wife team,  Galen and Tod Mott, that’s why everyone is so excited about this brewery.

 

Sheila, Jim and Mark

 

Mark’s parents were up to visit and we were out and about, so we decided to stop in a Tributary and try some beers.

 

Our tasting:

Pumpkin Ale
Earthy taste with pumpkin spices but not too strong.

 

our tray of three flights (Sheila and Jim shared)

 

Oatmeal Stout
Nice smell – stouty caramel. A smooth beer with a good taste. Sheila doesn’t normally like dark beers but she actually liked this one.

 

Sheila enjoying the Oatmeal Stout

 

Pale Ale
Good pale ale, subtle taste, smooth, a slightly fruity/ melony taste. It was dry hopped with citra and a few others, maybe that is the ‘little extra taste’.

 

Mark and Megan enjoying their beer.

 

Hop Harvest
Hoppy but balanced flavor. Mark was excited to try this wet hopped beer, and was happy, a good flavorful beer. Sheila liked it too.

 

Jim making sure Sheila took it easy.

 

One of bartenders came over to check on us to see if everything was good. We were able to ask a few questions at that point, which was perfect because it was Galen, one of the co-owners.

 

a more serious picture of Mark and Megan

 

 

We got our sample flights at the bar, but went over to sit on a church pew and a few chairs around a coffee table.

 

 

They also have 3 picnic tables set up on the other side.

 

 

The bar can seat about 8 people.

 

Brewery dog and some comfy chairs.

 

They have a setup which is becoming common among micro brews. A cool atmosphere with plenty of seating where you can go and drink some good beer.

 

 

They have plenty of parking, and the Belle’s on Wheels food truck sets up every other weekend if you want to grab some food, you can bring it into the brewery if you want. They also have live music most weekends.

 

We will definitely be back, and we are excited to see what else will be coming out from this brewery.

 

Check them out on Facebook, their website isn’t up and running yet.

Want to visit?
Hours of Operation:

Wed – Sat: 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Sun: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

 

 

Hermit Woods Winery, Meredith, NH

Hermit Woods Winery is a small boutique winery located in Meredith, New Hampshire. We visited with Megan’s sisters Heather and Sam; Sam’s boyfriend Dustin and our friend Bre. We had a good feeling when we entered the winery, as well as when we left. Sometimes when we visit wineries, due to us being fairly young, we are not taken seriously. We are often greeted with a feeling of “why are you here,” or no greeting. This is not across the board, but often. We often end up surprising them with our questions and comments…
At Hermit Woods they were nice right from the beginning, greeting us when we walked in. There were 6 of us (between ages 22-30) and they were truly excited to share their story and information with us.

 

We had a choice of a large glass or a smaller glass, with a minor price difference. The larger glass enabled you to try the Premium wines. Between all of us, we were able to try each wine.  They make plenty of traditional wines but also have plenty of unique and non-traditional wines. They use locally grown fruits like peaches and Maine blueberries to make some of their more unique wines.

 

We were served by Ken at the bar, and he is also their head wine maker. He was obviously very knowledgeable, but also very friendly and willing to share his knowledge with us.

 

 

2013 Lake House White
Listed as a dry wine, but still surprised Mark that it was dry because it is made from local, organic whole peaches, quince, and rosehips. No grapes are used at all.

 

2013 Kiwi
Heather thought it was a little sour. This wine is made from locally grown kiwi berries. These are not the type of kiwi’s you by at the store.

 

2013 Harvest Apple Wine
This wine is made from fresh pressed, local cider. Heather liked the smell.

 

 

2013 Knot Mead
A varietal, dry, traditional mead made from raw, unfiltered, honey sourced from Japanese Knot Weed Flowers
Good flavor, not overly sweet like some meads are. The Japanese Knot Weed is an invasive flower, in case you were wondering, and bee’s love it.

 

2013 Three-Honey Wine
Three separate, raw, unfiltered, wildflower honeys are blended together to make this wine
All locally sourced honey, of course. The 2011 won Gold at the Colorado Mead Cup.

 

 

 

2013 Petite Blue
There is an entire pound of blueberries in each bottle! They are wild Maine blueberries. It is a dry wine, but tasty. This was aged in different oak barrel’s for extra flavor. Recommended for people who don’t enjoy red wine. This was Megan’s 2nd favorite.

 

 

2013 Chuck’s Peach Folly
Sweet, light taste. It smelled a little funny but everyone liked it. It was Heather’s favorite, and Megan’s 3rd favorite. Made from whole, locally sourced peaches.

 

Heirloom Crabapple
15% abv, made with 95% Adobgo? crabapples and 5% blueberries. Sweet and a little tart. This is their best selling wine and Megan’s favorite. In the 1800’s people used adobgo crabapples to make hard cider.

 

2013 Deep Blue
18% but still sweet, really good. It is made from a port base. Only a small, half bottle, with a pound of blueberries in this small bottle.

 

 

Sammies favorite wines were Deep Blue, Peach Folly, Heirloom Crabapple, and Petite Blue. They were the somewhat sweeter wines here.

 

Dustin liked most of the wines because they weren’t overly sweet.

 

 

 

Want to visit?
Visiting Hours:

Monday – Thursday 1:00 to 5:30
Friday 12:00 – 6:00
Saturday 11:00 – 6:00
Sunday 11:00 – 5:00

The Bear Brew Pub

Megan and Amanda

The Bear Brew Pub is in located in Orono, ME. Orono is a small city in mid Maine, mostly known for being home to the University of Maine. We went out to dinner while visiting Amanda and James who live a few towns over. We had read a few reviews that said it was more of a college bar, beer and pizza, makes sense. We enjoyed it, wasn’t that crowded when we were there, and the beer was good as well as their pizza.

 

We decided to sit upstairs on the deck which was nice. Sometimes they have special events up there, they were doing a wine tasting the next day.

 

 

 

 

The Beers

 

 

Gearhead Red – ABV – 4.5%
Megan and Mark both liked it, and Megan isn’t usually a Red fan. James liked it as well, he thinks it’s hard to find a good red, and this one is.

 

Pirate Pale Ale
More malty than hoppy, smooth, a little unexpected but good.

 

 

Blueberry
Good blueberry smell. Too strong a blueberry taste for Megan, but authentic. Mark liked the blueberry taste.

 

Liquid Sunshine – ABV – 5.1%
A good hefeweizen. Amanda thought it was really bright. Mark liked it as well, a good, mild flavor, not overbearing.

 

moustache face

Demon Stout  – ABV – 5.1%
James says ‘Now that’s a stout’. Amanda thought it smelled like coffee, lighter than Megan was expecting, especially with the name demon.

 

 

 

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Martini

 

They are well known for their brick oven pizza’s, so we decided to try them.

 

Heavy Veggie Pizza

 Red sauce, mozzarella, broccoli, roasted red pepper, red onion, roasted garlic and homemade pesto.

 

Italian Pizza

 Red sauce, mozzarella, homemade pesto, roma tomato, prosciutto and fried eggplant.

 

Bear Brew Pizza

 This is Mark’s type of pizza. Red sauce, mozzarella and Gouda cheese, hamburger, bacon and BBQ sauce.

 

James ordered a steak and sweet potato fries

 

 

our hosts for the weekend, and our dinner dates. James and Amanda

Mark

 

Mark had a feeling there was something worth looking into. At brewpubs you tend to get less information about the business from waitresses. We looked on the website, but there is no real info about the business or the history, so he did a little digging. Tim Gallon and friend Matt Haskell were working at Bear Brew Pub while in college at U of Maine. The owner, Milos Blagojavic, was ready to sell and Matt and Tim bought the business. They took over Bear Brew Pub in 2002. They learned to brew and run the business while working there. Eventually, Tim decided he needed more space and equipment if he wanted to establish a serious brewery. Tim sold his share of the business to Matt and established Black Bear Brewery right across the street. This is what made Mark suspicious, very similar names for 2 breweries in a fairly small town in northern Maine. Then, in early 2010, Jim Bence bought Bear Brew Pub from Matt and renovated and revived the Bear Brew Pub.

 

 

Kitchen Hours

Monday-Sunday  3pm-10pm

Brick Oven Pizza available Wednesday-Saturday until bar closes.

 

Bar Hours

Sunday-Thursday 3pm-11pm

Friday and Saturday 3pm-1am

Oak Pond Brewing Company, Skowhegan ME

Before we continue on with this post, we want to remind you of the importance of each and every brewery, winery, distillery or cider house we visit. We created this goal just over a year and a half ago, to visit all of the breweries and wineries in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. We wanted to try every creative drop that was offered, and learn about each place. Every place has a different story, and maybe a different method or way of doing things. We enjoy learning about the establishments, as well as trying at each one. We could go to the store, and buy a six pack of most, or a bomber of others. We could go to craft beer bars and try them all. Instead, we want to know the story as well as try everything!

 

Another stop on our trip up through Maine. A little off the main highway, and north of Portland closer to Bangor.  A little off the beaten path.

From their website: Oak Pond Brewery (OPB) opened in 1996 as the first brewery in 115 years in Skowhegan,Maine. The brewhouse, a 14 barrel system from Prince Edward Island, Canada, is housed in a converted chicken barn on Oak Pond Road. In 2003, Don and Nancy Chandler of Canaan became the new owners of the microbrewery, which is now family owned and operated.

 

 

Unlike many microbreweries, OPB produces aged lagers as well as ales. These beers are classic old world styles using only the purist ingredients; two row malted barley, imported and American hops, ale and lager yeast strains, and well water.

 

 

Tanks in the brewery

 

Dooryard Ale
Light, creamy good tasting ale.

 

Somerset Lager
Pilsner, Mark thought better than the average. Made with Noble Saaz Hops.

White Fox Ale
Refreshing IPA, not overbearing, more of an English style IPA.

 

Octoberfest
A malty lager with slight caramel taste. Traditional german style beer for year round enjoyment.

 

 

Laughing Loon – Summer Seasonal
Dunkel style, chocolate malt with Bavarian Hops. Our favorite, we bought 2 bottles at the brewery.

 

Nut Brown Ale
Toasted coffee, creamy.

More tanks

 

If you havern’t heard of this brewery before, it’s probably because they only distribute within a 15 miles radius.  They distribute themselves because the cost of working with distributors is too high. Unfortunately, that is the only thing we learned from visiting them. We were in and out within 20 minutes. It seemed like we were taking the guy working away from what he was suppose to be doing. We tried to ask questions and engage with him, but he didn’t seem to want to. It seemed like we were disturbing him from the moment we walked in, even though it was within their tasting and visiting hours. From looking at the website, it is a husband and wife team running the brewery, a family owned brewery, so maybe the person we dealt with was their son- we just know it was not either of them. If you are in the area, it is worth stopping by. The beer was good all around, just maybe don’t expect to be there too long.

 

Hats and t-shirts for sale

 

Hours
Monday thru Friday 3:00pm – 5:30pm
Saturdays from 12:30pm – 5:30pm
or by appointment

As always, check their website or Facebook for the most up to date information.

 

 

Other Places Nearby:

Tree Spirits Winery and Distillery, Oakland, ME

Dragonfly Farm and Winery, Stetson, ME

The Liberal Cup Public House, Hallowell, ME