My visit to Lewiston reminded me not only that Maine is a pretty large state, but that the highway infrastructure is all coastal in nature. Lewiston is a little over 100 miles as the crow flies from my place, but the options for getting there are basically (a) 3 hours and 180 miles via divided highway (with tolls), or (b) 3 hours and 20 minutes and 140 miles via various NH and ME back roads. Of course, I took the latter, and had a reasonably nice drive and saved a bit of gas, but it’s also what led to a drive down Route 202 just north of Gray, ME in the small town of New Gloucester. There, I encountered a fairly new output of the regional brewpub chain Brickyard Hollow (the original is in Yarmouth, ME’s “Brick Hollow” neighborhood, hence the name). While not needing lunch at that point, I made it a point to return via the same route a few days later and try them out.
On the inside, Brickyard Hollow has got your classic brewpub vibe going on: concrete floors, a central bar, a bunch of tables for guests, and a raised area for the occasional live music. While a bit austere at the moment, the staff is quite welcoming, so I found myself sitting at the main bar looking over the beer and food menus.
For a beer, I decided for one of their Opus special series beers, this one being a classic American Pale Ale. Back when I was starting out with craft beer, American Pale Ales were pretty much the beer that everyone was brewing, back in the days before IPAs, double IPAs, and various other hop-bombed beers. The Opus #8 turned out to be quite an enjoyable, classic Pale Ale. And, while I was enjoying my beer and looking over the menu, the bartender asked me what had me driving through New Gloucester on a Sunday afternoon, and when I mentioned “Robotics judging”, everyone in the bar was surprisingly amped up about it; apparently people actually like to see their students learning STEM. So that was a nice bonus.
The food menu at Brickyard Hollow is basically your classic pub fare, with the welcome additions of a few grain bowls and salads. But the main feature on the menu is a selection of smash burgers, and I opted for their Brew and Bite Burger, two smash patties topped with melted cheddar cheese, bacon, jalapeno, onion crisps, lettuce, and BBQ sauce served on a toasted brioche bun. While slightly messy with the barbecue sauce, this was a good overall burger, with a particularly good sear on the beef and some nice toasting on the bun. For a side, I chose “cole slaw”, which turned out to be a surprisingly good kale-base cole slaw, which was a nice bonus.
Overall, I really liked Brickyard Hollow. Good beer, great burgers, and friendly staff. I’d love to check out one of their other locations on another trip through the region.
