During a trip to Maine, we looked for a craft brewery in Bangor near our motel and decided to check out 2 Feet Brewing, 80 Columbia St., Downtown. We found it on a street parallel to Main Street. There’s a parking lot across the street as well as on-street parking.
The brewpub has a narrow storefront with a few patio sets outside. It was a dark and cool night with no one outside and it took a minute or so to determine where the door is. Their sign is round and mounted perpendicular to the building. Once inside we were warmly welcomed and found a cozy atmosphere.
The tap room is in an old building and has some exposed beams and a tin ceiling. Some of the furnishings were re-purposed from an area restaurant that had closed. It had a nice, friendly vibe.
Bar made with barrel staves at 2 Feet Brewing
The Beer at 2 Feet Brewing
They had six beers on tap when we visited. The two brewers like to experiment and it shows. The selections were: Barn Burner with roasted jalapeno and ghost pepper Saison; Harvest Ale, a wet hopped pale ale, Lil’ Unfortunate IPA made with Belma Hops; Machon, an Irish Red with Saffron; Pop Goes the Weasel, an amber ale with Mulberry; Highland Breeze, Scottish with mint.
A five ounce sample is $2, a pint $5. They offered flights of three beers for $5, or six for $8. Growlers are $9.50 for 32 oz. and $19 for 64 oz. Definitely one of the most reasonably priced breweries we’ve come across.
We ordered the flight of six so we could sample each beer. We looked over the menu that they labeled as finger foods, although a few require silverware. Pretzels are always calling to us so we ordered the Spent Grain pretzels served with Raye’s mustard, a product of Maine, and great beer cheese, only $5. We added an order of Siamese Devils – a plate of six curried deviled eggs topped with pickled ginger, only $3.75. We’d never had such an appetizer so thought we’d try them.
The deviled eggs, served on a chilled plate, appeared moments later. The beer and pretzels weren’t far behind. The beer cheese was served in a handled ramekin with a metal insert and had been heated up in an oven, not a microwave. We were hungry after our four hour drive and they looked so appetizing, we ate them before I thought to take a photo.
The pretzels didn’t disappoint, but my husband love, love, loved the eggs. He likes to cook and try new things. Now he is planning to make some the next time we have a family gathering.
We enjoyed each of the beers. Each was interesting in it’s own way. The Pop Goes the Weasel and the Highland Breeze were the most intriguing in flavor. We like hoppy IPA’s so the Lil’ Unfortunate was less hoppy to our palates. Still good.
More on the Menu at 2 Feet Brewing
For those who prefer wine, 2 Feet offers a selection from Maine wineries. It also offers wine spirits, mead, cider, soda, and coffee. They make their food onsite and their menu includes wings, Maine lobster rangoon, cheese and onion enchiladas, stuffed mushrooms, and a Maine lobster pot pie. They also have dessert of the day. It was hard to ignore a sumptuous cake under glass behind the bar, but we did.
If you visit 2 Feet’s Facebook page, you will get an idea of the delectable cakes and food that is served there.
2 Feet Brewing and the Bangor Area Beer Trail
The jacket of the menu of 2 Feet included a copy of a brochure and map that the owners created to guide beer lovers to other area breweries and brew houses. After studying the map we realized that there was a brew house we weren’t aware of, just one street over and within walking distance.
It was still early in the evening. As they served food, too, we decided to go there for dinner and check out their beer list. This was an adventure as we aren’t into bar hopping. We took a photo of the cook/co-owner Nit-Noi Ricker and the bartender, before we left 2 Feet.
We went for the beer, but found a whole lot more: great food, great prices, and friendly welcoming folks. We’ll be back.
See another of our stops on the Maine Beer Trail here.
Keeping track of your craft beer adventures
The Maine Brewers Guild distributes a free Maine Beer Trail brochure. You can either download one from their website or pick up a hard copy at member breweries. Get rewarded for visiting breweries if you have a brewery staff member checkoff, sign and date the brochure when you visit. You can earn a hat, t-shirt, or a prize pack, if you visit 10 or more breweries.
If you want to keep more detailed records of where you went and what beer you enjoyed, you might like Keeping Up with Craft Beers: A Journal for Your Tasting Adventures. You can list up to 100 beers, as well as list breweries and brew pubs you liked as well as beer festivals.
I prefer writing in a journal to digital notes. I worked on the journal after I realized that the breweries often add to and change their beer offerings. It was becoming a challenge to remember which ones I like and those that I don’t. We just dropped into a brewery that we hadn’t visited in about a year and I pulled out my journal and consulted my notes before ordering. My notes helped me avoid ordering a beer I didn’t care for and getting one I hadn’t tried before that I enjoyed very much.
