This weekend, SWMBO and I are headed up to Portsmouth, NH to visit Smuttynose Brewing (her idea, I'm a lucky guy!). I think we'll be checking out the tour and, at some point a little later in the day, heading over to the Portsmouth Brewing Company for some lunch.
Anyone out there have any recommendations for other things to see and do while up in the area for the afternoon?
Kittery Trading Post is just over the state line, and is a pretty cool place to check out. It's like LL Bean, but... different.
A few miles down Route 1 is Seabrook... land of cigarettes, tattoos, fireworks, and liquor. There's a great cigar shop down there,
Two Guys, next to The Honey Dew coffee shop, if you like cigars.
If you're willing to drive 55 minutes north of downtown Portsmouth, you can be in downtown Portland, sampling brews at Gritty McDuff's brewpub in the Old Port, or Sebago's new brewpub (no brewing on premises any more, but still) a few blocks away, or maybe tour Shipyard's brewery, basically across the street from there, or see if Allagash and/or Geary's and/or Maine Beer Co. and/or Rising Tide and/or Bull Jagger are doing tours, all clustered together across town.
If you do come to Portland, skip the GPS directions to take exit 44 and instead take exit 45 to save a buck on tolls.
Edit: You can tour all of Portland's breweries in one stop of you swing by
The Great Lost Bear or Novare Res Bier Café.
Edit 2: Doh! I almost forgot - there's a LHBS right around the corner from Portsmouth Brewery,
A&G Homebrew Supply
Edit 2.5: It's worth noting that these are cold-weather suggestions. During warmer months, the Strawbery Banke Museum is great, as is the SoWa Open Market, as is The Players' Ring (a tiny theater), as is just sitting on a bench in Prescott Park and watching the boats go in and out. Friendly Toast is a fun and kitchy restaurant, and if you're on a motorcycle, parking in front of Breaking New Grounds and sipping a coffee seems to be mandatory.
