There's a lot brewing in Portland, ME, in every sense of the word! We spent a day exploring that fine city, which is fairly well bursting with foodie goodness. Regular readers of this blog know that we love Portland, whether as a destination or just passing through en route up the coast.  

There are, at my last count, eight brewers in Portland, plus a meadmaker, a distiller, coffee roasters, the fish markets, locavore dining and drinking, and more. Shown here is Pizza Pie on the Fly. Ryan tows that brick oven around and makes incredible handmade pizzas while you watch. I tried the butternut squash with dates for a fall treat, and really enjoyed it.

Ryan was making his pizzas in front of Rising Tide Brewing, one of several artisans who now call the East Bayside neighborhood home. Rising Tide makes a range of acclaimed ales that are readily found in Maine and not so readily outside the Pine Tree State. There's another good reason to visit Portland!

Down the road (but still in what they call yEast Bayside) is this week's Best of Show: the wacky wonderful mad scientist world of Eli Cayer's visionary Urban Farm Fermentory. The UFF ferments things - all sorts of things. They brew hard cider (including barrel aged and hopped cider) and kombucha in a variety of flavors, and vinegar and soon dairy products. I don't know if they do or will do pickles or sauerkraut; I didn't think to ask during my head-spinning tour with the knowledgeable and energetic Neil Spillane. The photo at the top of the page is part of the UFF "lab" of new fermenting fluids.

After exploring yEast Bayside, I trekked across town (and got lost en route to) to Industrial Way, home to several brewers both large and small (Allagash, DL Geary, Maine Brewing Company, and Bull Jagger Brewing), plus New England Distilling. The latter was one of my primary objectives for this expedition. Here's NED's still.

NED makes Ingenium Gin, a rich sipping gin that fascinates me - you can read about it at the link above. They also make rum and there is an exciting rye whiskey on the way. Here is Tim opening up a cask of rum for testing. I got a sample, and I have to say I am eager to see the finished product, even if I have to wait another year for it!