Warning: Portland Lager is long gone, so you can’t buy it anymore. At least not the Portland Lager from Coastal Brewing that I came to know and love in the eighties. While I’m thinking about it, though, I wanted to jot down some thoughts about this wonderful Vienna Lager that I used to enjoy by the case.
Portland Lager was a contact brew made at FX Matt in Utica New York, but the company was headquartered in Portland, Maine. It was a malty Vienna lager not all that dissimilar from Samuel Adams Boston lager, which was also a contract brew at the time. I remember to this day talking with the owner as he told me about his battles to export his beer to Japan, where tariffs added about $100 to the price of a case of his beer while the tariff on Japanese beers coming into America was about 10 cents. I also remember you could mail in Portland Lager bottlecaps to the company and they would send you back free coasters. Such fun.
A beer I loved in the early days of craft brewing that is now sorely missed. You can see the six-pack holder posted on the wall of my beer cave circa 1987 or 1988. Those were the days......
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft