The Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Taprooms in Bar Harbor
Swimming, boating, and hiking all lead to one thing, a desire to drink fresh craft beer. We think anyway. Check out these breweries in/near Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.
Written by CraftJack | Updated | 4 min read
Several hours north of Portland, and even further from Boston, is one of Maine's most picturesque seaside towns, Bar Harbor. Downtown is chock full of great restaurants, taverns, and shops. All in all, Bar Harbor is a great place to get away to. Just don't forget to bring home a gift.
Atlantic Brewing Company
15 Knox Road, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 | (207) 288-2337
Atlantic Brewing Company is set back away from Downtown and situated on a 10 acre farm. They serve BBQ on-site (Mainely Meat Barbeque), offer brewery tours, and have a tasting room where you can down some ABC brews to go with your plate of beer brats and cole slaw. We recommend the Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.
Atlantic Brewing Company (Midtown)
52 Cottage Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 | (207) 288-2337
Opening a second location downtown seems like a no-brainer for the Atlantic Brewing Company. This tasting room produces small batch beers from not only Atlantic Brewing, but also in collaboration with other Maine brewers as well as nationally & internationally. Grab a beer tasting flight to match with your burgers and pub fare, or, take home a growler to go.
ABC Midtown is a short walk to Agamont Park and the Town Pier.
Bar Harbor Beer Works is a local brewery with an outstanding roof deck, along with covered patio. Across from the Village Green, at the corner of Main and Firefly, is a brewpub done right. The food options range from standard pub grub: burgers, pizza, and nachos, all the way to fresh lobster. Is there fresher lobster than Bar Harbor? We don't know ...
The plus side, beyond the location, is the live music Thursdays and the 4-6pm weekday Happy Hour and the 45 beers on tap that are $2 off. The downside of BHBW is that it closes for the season. And by season, we mean November through April. Maine seasons are long.
The small-batch beers brewed out of the One Off Pub is the money ticket, though sometimes your craft beer will be part of a one-keg wonder. Beyond those, you can get an Allagash White, Maine Beer Company's Lunch, or several different brews from Westbrook's Mast Landing Brewing Company.
Beer Lover's New England: Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Beer Bars
By Norman Miller - A must read for New Englanders looking to broaden their knowledge of the local craft beer scene. A great gift for a craft beer lover.
Buy NowFogtown Brewing Company (Bar Harbor)
33 Cottage Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 | (207) 370-0845
Fogtown Brewing out of Ellsworth recently opened up their second taproom on Cottage Street in Downtown Bar Harbor. With highly rated beers and excellent customer service, Fogtown is a must stop on any Bar Harbor / Maine Brew Tour. A few Disco Eclipses and you'll be dancing in the streets. Maybe.
Jack Russell's Steakhouse and Bar Harbor Brewery
102 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 | (207) 288-5214
Jack Russell's Steakhouse is one of the rare steakhouses where it's more than acceptable to order the seafood. Coastal Maine dining can enable that option. If this were Oklahoma, things might be different.
House-brewed beer, wine, and specialty cocktails and mixed drinks are all available to wash down that 20oz Medium Rare Ribeye you excitedly ordered. But let's face it, you're here for the fresh beer more than their Stud Burger, right?
If so, you can't go wrong with the Precipice Pale Ale, the Bar Harbor Gold, or Jack Russell's Best Brown. And if you're flying solo, Maverick, give us a call, we'll be your steak wingman anytime!
Other Craft Breweries near Bar Harbor, ME
Just a short drive down the highway from Bar Harbor are three other small microbreweries & taprooms.
Airline Brewing Company (Ellsworth)
173 Main Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605 | (207) 412-0045
A New England brewery in the shape of a classic English Pub. And the pub fare and beer styles are on point. Brown Porters, Oatmeal Stouts, and Scottish Exports for craft brews. A crock of chowder, cottage pies, deviled eggs, and of course, bangers and mash, round out the menu. You can get 5oz, 10oz, 16oz pours while dining and take home Howlers & Growlers alongside your doggybag.
The Whiskey Menu is quite extensive for a brewpub. And, the cider cellar is a nice touch. Filled with offerings from local cideries around New England, you'd be hard-pressed to find one you didn't enjoy. Gosh, that was a bad pun.
Fogtown Brewing Company (Ellsworth)
25 Pine Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605 | (207) 370-0845
Outdoor beer garden. Brick oven pizza. Delicious beer. These are just three of the reasons why you should visit Ellsworth, Maine. The fourth is that it is home to The Telephone Museum. Forget Acadia, take us back to the good ol' days before smartphones dominated everyone's social interaction. Take us back to the time when the bartender had to pick up the rotary phone just to call you a cab home.
Fogtown is hosting the Fogtown Winter Marketplace, an event that will bring local artists & artisans together to get some exposure and sell their goods while the public enjoys warm pizza and some mulled cider. What's better than that?
Strong Brewing Company
7 Rope Ferry Road, Sedgwick, ME 04676 | (207) 359-8722
Strong Brewing Company. It's not even meant to be powerful marketing, but it is. It's the last name of the owners: The Strongs. Just dynamite work there, folks. Strong Brewing is a small brewery with medium distribution and large flavor. Their 7% abv Black Velvet Stout and their Soulpatch Porter bring out the earth and vibrance of their local Maine ingredients. Covering the beer style landscape are brown ales, IPAs, and other lagers that Strong brews.
Sedgwick isn't the brewing mecca of Portland to the South, but it doesn't need to be. It just needs Strong Brewing. Give it a visit sometime and take away some cans to go.
If your prefer a Bar Harbor Winery/Vineyard
A few minutes outside of town is Bar Harbor Cellars. Because why wouldn't Mt. Desert Island have a winery on it?
Bar Harbor Cellars
Route 3, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 | (207) 288-3907
Bar Harbor Cellars is a companion to the Atlantic Brewing Company and only 5 minutes down the road at Sweet Pea Farm. In business since 2003, they feature a lineup of white wines, reds, and other fruit-based varietals. In the steal of a lifetime, $6 will get you a sample flight of six wines.
There is a picnic area, a bocce court, and a chocolate room on-site, so the question remains, can we live there?