Trip Diary – Day 3 – Kennebunk & Boston

Following an epic 8km jog round Portland it was sadly time to depart and leave all our new buddies. The next stop on our trip was Federal Jacks – the original home of Shipyard Brewery, before we were whisked off to Boston for the evening.

Kennebunk Port

Nestled on the edge of Walker’s Point, the Bush compound really is a sight for sore eyes. The summer home of 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, it looks out into the Atlantic Ocean in southern Maine.

This place really is laidback. I instantly felt relaxed; however this was probably because our driver asked if he should lock the car door to protect our valuables because “no-one ever does that here”…..wow.

If there’s was one place I’d loved to have spent more time strolling around, then this definitely was it. By having a mini tour at the beginning of the day with Shipyard leader Fred Forsely, we really got to see the essence of where Shipyard began.

Federal Jacks

Overlooking the Kennebunk River, “Jacks” is the birthplace of Shipyard beer which is fitting because it was built on a site where the town’s historic 19^th century shipyards built schooners. Federal Jack was the name of one of the most famous ships to grace the yard and is the one that it the main feature of the Shipyard logo. Interestingly, we found out on our tour that Federal Jack who appears on the brew pub and restaurant’s logo is actually a lady in HR’s dad who they employed fifteen years after taking the photo!

The brew pub itself was packed to the rafters with people of all ages, predominantly families who were enjoying the Maine lobster aka “labstah” as the locals call it. Beer wise, we indulged in a float with over twelve beers, yes twelve – which provided a great talking point with favourites heavily debated on our table. The best one by far seemed to be the Shipyard Cask Conditioned Export – hands down.

The brewery although small, was a haven of activity. This seven barrel brewery ran by head brewer, Mike Haley is a tight ship (pardon the pun) with the system using glycol-cooled lines to maintain the temperature so all the beers served at Jacks are the exact same temperature as they are stored.

Boston Night Out

Our first night out in Boston saw us venturing into the first bar we stumbled upon – Donovan’s, which on first sight seemed weird…but often these are the bars that turn into the best places right?

We met a great range of people in that bar, including our new buddy Jimmy who treated us to a drink after winning on the horses! However, it was our new buddies Jenny and Payton who have officially taken the title of the ‘friendliest people I’ve ever met’. Seriously these guys are cool. Not only did they give a mini tour of Boston the following day, they even stored our bloody luggage for us and dropped us off at the airport! Seriously great human beings.

I’m gagging to get back to Boston to take in more sights and of course more bars. Also, now I understand why Cheers was there – these people know how to drink and are the friendliest folk I’ve ever encountered.

Stoddard’s Fine Food & Ale House offered a great selection of ales and we had the most epic range of appetizers to share between us; including an ale tinged cheese fondue and spicy chicken wings that were to die for. The atmosphere was as buzzing as expected from a bar in Boston on a Friday, after all the city was named one of America’s drunkest cities in 2011 a title I feel they must still retain!