We took advantage of a beautiful day to poke about the incredibly scenic byways of the Boothbay region of midcoast Maine.

Boothbay Harbor is  about 10 miles south of Route 1 just over the bridge from Wiscasset, and it is the primary destination for most tourists, with good reason. It is beautiful, and in the summer it is full of shopping and dining.

We explored all afternoon, starting on the eastern Linekin/Rines Wharf side of the peninsula and finishing at sunset at the Cape Newagen boat landing on the Southport Island side. At every turn there was another gorgeous vista worthy of a calendar. The roads wind left and right, up and down, and you never know what you'll see next, but you know it's worth the trip. 

Best of Show goes to the Boothbay Craft Brewery, led by founder/brewer Win Mitchell. Win's an industrious fellow, but he took a few moments to describe his beers and his mission, and to show us his beautiful new Watershed Tavern, attached to the brewery and due to open in the spring.

Boothbay Craft Brewery is all about "imperial attitude" and celebrating the craft brew movement exploding all over New England. I bought a growler of the flagship 633 Pale Ale and a "grumbler" of the stout. Both of these will be featured in the Beer and Food Pairings section of this site.

We get up to the Boothbay Region a lot, so we will be sure to visit the Watershed Tavern when it opens in the spring!