We were in the home stretch almost ready to claim our prize and revel in our bragging rights. Our tattered, well-worn beer trail map held together with generous amounts of packaging tape, has only TWO blank spaces left. We planned to finish our visits in the spring but then the world paused.

No stamps from Penobscot Bay Brewery or Sheepscot Valley Brewing Company to add an air of finality to our three year adventure. Both breweries are in the mid-coast. Both are just out of reach for now.

Things have slowly started re-opening with precautions in place to keep COVID in check so I’m confident we’ll be back on the trail soon. For now, here is a highlight of a few of the breweries we visited over the last year.

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The Bag and Kettle. Sugarloaf Mountain, 21 Village West, Carrabassett Valley. This restaurant is located at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain ski resort. While we’re not skiers, we are craft beer lovers so we headed up to the area for a hike followed by a stop into the pub for lunch and beers. It was off-season so not crowded during our visit. I ordered their blueberry ale. I always enjoy a good blueberry craft beer. Their Maine Potato Ale sounds intriguing too.

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Bath Brewing Company. 141 Front Street, Bath, Maine. We stopped into this brewery after a hike at the Josephine Newman Wildlife Sanctuary. The visit coincided with their year anniversary and while we didn’t stay for the live music we did enjoy some delicious food and craft beer. They had a milk stout on the menu which made my husband happy. Our friend ordered the tasting flight which is always a great way to explore the beer options at a craft brewery.

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Baxter Brewing Co. 130 Mill Street, Lewiston, Maine. This well established brewery is located in a converted mill space. True to my love of sours, I tried their Blueberry Tart while my husband had a tasting flight. An impressive wrought iron gate marks the entrance and the repurposed space has a warm industrial vibe. They also have a full bar menu. We opted for their beer brined chicken wings on our visit.

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Brewery Extrava. 66 Cove Street, Portland, ME 04101. This newer brewery was one of our last stops before the pandemic hit and our in-person brewery visits went on hiatus.  They have a spacious, comfortable tasting room and some great Belgian style beers. I enjoy Belgian beers so really loved the options from this brewery. We’ve also ordered via curbside pickup which is a great alternative to in person visits.

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Brickyard Hollow. 236 Main St, Yarmouth, Maine. We visited this brewery’s Yarmouth location recently. It was a wonderful experience. They have an outside dining area making physically distancing easy. They also have a full food and drink menu. It was a warm summer night so I opted for a margarita but my husband enjoyed one of their Brickyard Hollow brews. They have a nice variety of darker beers.  If you’re looking for an appetizer, I recommend the beer battered cheese curds. They also have a location in Freeport.

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Nonesuch River Brewing. 201 Gorham Road, Scarborough, Maine. This brewery is a full service restaurant with an inviting open space and a beautiful vaulted ceiling.  It’s a little more elegant than most of the breweries that we visit. We’ve been to this location a few times. My husband tried a tasting flight on our most recent stop.

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I’m hopeful we’ll make it to our final two breweries at some point this summer.

Although, so many new breweries have opened since we started this adventure that our beer trail map has quickly become outdated. We may need to add a blank page to keep the fun going.

Have you visited any of the breweries on the Maine beer trail?

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