- Morning Bus Tour
- Special Brewery Access
- Ages 21+ only
- 3 Hours
Be among the early birds to check out three trendsetting breweries located in lively Portland locations. This all-beer morning tour visits three breweries in the Greater Portland area.
Quick Details
Pickup & Drop-off Location: Portland Beer Hub
We will start in East Bayside, the mecca for all things brewing, distilling, and winemaking in Portland, Maine. Our first stop is Blue Lobster Urban Winery where we will taste while we learn from the finest winemakers in town.
From there, a quick jaunt will get us to Apres for samples of flavorful hard seltzers and alcoholic apple ciders.
We’ll travel by bus to Bunker Brewing Co. to enjoy cold beers inside their spacious tasting room and outside patio!
At the end of the tour, we’ll be dropping you back at Portland Beer Hub, which is a terrific place to head from to check out the rest of what Portland has to offer.
When you think about how wine is packaged, you typically think of glass bottles. But what if a local company could take exceptional wine and then package it into convenient kegs and cans? Blue Lobster Wine Company was founded in Portland by Chris Gamble, and he works with wine producers from around the world to source a collection of great tasting wines, including reds, whites, and rosés. In their East Bayside tasting room we will learn about the selection methods, the cellaring process, barrel-aging, as well as blending before packaging.
Après is a cidery and dedicated hard seltzer and cider producer that offers the most unique social drinking adventure in Portland. They launched in the summer of 2021 by co-owners Ryan Houghton from the Hop Yard and real estate professional Michael Cardente. They brought on Ian Goering, the former head brewer at Tributary Brewing in Kittery, to head up the production at Après. Extensive renovations to the industrial building allowed for their production area that includes a 15-barrel brewing operation and a barrel-aging room for their cider. They also have a newly created event space to supplement their c0zy 80-seat tasting room with an outdoor seating area.
Originally based in a tiny, brick-walled former scrapyard building in East Bayside, Bunker Brewing Company has moved to a much larger former warehouse on the West side of town. Their creative brewers make a rotating assortment of ales and lagers, making this the perfect stop during which to ask the question, “What’s the difference between an ale and a lager?” Enjoy their spacious tasting room and outside patio while pondering that important question over a well-crafted Bunker beer.
This afternoon tour is a look at many different craft alcohol products that are being made here in the city of Portland.
We will start in East Bayside, the mecca for all things brewing and distilling in Portland, Maine. Our first stop is Après. We will sample flavorful hard seltzers and alcoholic apple ciders.
From there, a quick jaunt will get us to Three of Strong Spirits for spirit tastings and to learn about their fascination with taking their time to create high-quality rums.
Pallets cleansed with rum, we’ll travel by bus into the heart of Portland’s Old Port visiting Shipyard Brewing Company for a selections of seltzers and beers that are only produced and served at this location in Portland!
At the end of the tour, we’ll be dropping you back at Portland Beer Hub, which is a terrific place to head from to check out the rest of what Portland has to offer.
After working in the retail side of beer for over a decade, Tom Madden decided that the time was right to break into producing his own beer. A long-time home brewer and Certified Cicerone, he reconnected with his longtime friend John Paul who had been working in the music industry in California. Together, they opened Lone Pine in March of 2016 in a former countertop production space in Portland’s East Bayside and quickly enjoyed tremendous success and popularity. In 2018, Lone Pine moved their brewery into the former Sebago Brewing brewing facility in Gorham which has increased their production volume by ten-fold. They have also opened a spacious new tasting room at the new site allowing them to also expand their barrel program.
Three of Strong opened in Portland’s lively East Bayside neighborhood in July of 2019. Founded by financial and investment manager Sam Pierce and beverage industry attorney David McConnell, their 6,200 square foot tasting room is also their distillation workshop. This allows them to showcase small-batch rums that are distilled with 100% organic cane syrup, pure Sebago Lake water, and yeast. Distiller Graham Hamblett was previously the master distiller at Dogfish Head Distilling Co. in Delaware. Find out the historical origin of their unique company name as you enjoy rum-based cocktails in Maine’s newest distillery.
Founded in 1994, Shipyard is one the largest breweries in the State of Maine. The legendary partnership of Fred Forsley and Alan Pugsley of Shipyard Brewing, is not one to look past. Starting in Kennebunk as Federal Jack’s Brew Pub, Shipyard made their way to Portland in 1994 after they grew out of their space only a year later. Even now, with new breweries opening up all over Portland, they continue to be a huge player in Portland’s craft beer industry today.
Drink
Generous portions of alcohol products made at each different location are included in the tour price.
Food
A light local snack will be provided to each guest on the bus during the tour.
Schedule
Every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 1:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Other days may be available for private tour bookings based on availability.
Plan to arrive at the meeting location no later than 15 minutes before tour start time for check-in and to ensure a timely departure for all.
Inclusions/Exclusions
The live guided tour, safe transportation, reserved access at each location, alcohol samples, a local snack, and staff gratuities at each partner stop.
It does not include any gratuities for the driver and guide (unless chartered as a private tour).
Please note that tour stops may change without notice due to events and the availability of staff at each venue.