Great Lost Bear

September 1, 2008
While this place didn’t completely knock my socks off, it was cozy, and had some nice local beers on tap and cask. The waitresses were cute and friendly, the wings I ordered weren’t that good. It was all and all a good experience.

August 4, 2008
Awesome from What I recall being there a couple summers back.

July 3, 2008 [ Updated September 5, 2008 ]
Definitely a must in Portland, a great selection of American beer, a good number of them are local. What’s particularly nice about this place is that you can try a selection of samplers, which definitely makes for more tastings. The service there was very good, possibly could have been quicker, but our waitress was very friendly. The food is also fairly good in there, nothing out of this world (well I say that, what I had was not out of this world). A really good beer bar that I would heartily recommend to anyone visiting Portland.

June 18, 2008
Dark, characterful place conducive to friendly conversation and beer geekery. Nice emphasis on Maine micros and locals. Not all the draught pours were spot-on but they trysome cask options are available and it might help to ask how fresh they are. The ability to sample makes the experience a lot of fun. A must-visit if spending time in the Portland area if for no other reason than to get a whack of experience drinking standard session ales from this gorgeous state.

June 16, 2008
The Great Lost Bear is a big bar with a gloomy, dark athmosphere, a little light from the outside wouldn’t hurt. They have a lot of taps available, mostly Maine micro-brews, I had Allagash Curieux on tap there, which was a nice experience, but aside Allagash, Maine micro-brews are average and most of the beer menu was the same than my first visit three years ago. The service was ok. The place is ok, but I’ve seen a lot of better beer bars than this one.

June 8, 2008
Pretty solid bar. Stopped in during the early afternoon so it was pretty empty. Fairly divey atmosphere, but rather comfortable. Solid local selection, lots of decent taps and four casks. The Allagash Four on cask was killer. A fair percentage of the beers were of the boring variety, but you can blame that on the pedestrian summer beers that the local breweries put out. Still, not bad, and it was right down the street from the Thai place where I stopped for lunch so it ended up being convenient, although it won’t be for anyone that goes right into Old Port.

June 1, 2008
Visited Memorial Day weekend. I try to get to this place when I am staying at Old Orchard Beach. Lots of great beers on tap... I was particularly fond of the Belgians that they had. Food was good, but nothing special. Waitstaff were friendly, but not that knowledgeable about the beers that they were serving. This is probably my favorite beer bar on the East coast.

May 22, 2008
Nice place with a ton of local beers from Miane on tap. Nice place with friendly service. Food was adequate, but nothing special.

May 20, 2008
Établissement visité le dimanche 18 mai vers 12h. Ambiance: Les murs sont innondés de vieux cadres. L’intérieur est sombre. Présence d’une terasse. Service: Correct sans plus. Sélection: Plus de 50 fûts, Maine surtout et quelques belges. Nourriture: Disponible mais rien pris. (94e rating d’établissement)

May 5, 2008 [ Updated May 8, 2008 ]
This place is great. Our bartender could not have been any better. Tons of local brews on tap (4 casks going strong), 8 Belgian drafts (served in the proper glass), tasty pub food ( I’ve never seen spanikopita in a beer bar before). I could make this place home if I lived closer. The only negative is the parking, you will have hunt around to find any.