Baxter Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Lewiston

Their beer is great.....

Visited here last Saturday afternoon (12/3) and found the place about half-full with people dining. There was room at the bar for myself and 2 guests, but apparently we picked the wrong side as we were quickly asked to move to the complete opposite side, no big deal, we just didn't see open stools over there. Once sat, the 3 of us were given 1 drink menu and 1 food menu. When asked what we wanted to drink, I had to ask for a drink menu myself as the only one was being shared by my company. So they bring us an additional drink menu, but for reasons unknown, take away our food menu. We also at this point asked about beer flight options. We were told no flights are available, as they did not have enough flight glasses for us. Less than half the tables were occupied and there was still plenty of room at the bar. But not enough flight glasses.... Ok. We order a regular size beer each. When those were brought, we were asked if we would like to order any food. We had to remind them that they took away our only food menu when they brought the 2nd beer menu. We got the food menus back and ordered some apps..The artichoke dip and a soft pretzel specifically, and those were both fantastic! We did order another round each, as the beer list had quite a few different things that all read as tasty. I only had time for my 2, and payed my tab. I didn't catch it at the time (and in hindsight feel silly about it), but the bartender failed to return my debit card when I signed the receipt! I had to return back to the restaurant from the parking lot to get my damn card back!

Very weird experience that afternoon, and in complete contrast to a prior visit in time myself, and what other people I know who have been there had experienced.

Like I started with though, their beer is great. The "Icestorm of '98" had an awesome citrus haze to it, and the "Firestack IPA" kinda had an amber thing going with Mosaic hops. I'm also a fan of their "Coastal Haze" IPA, and am suddenly thankful I can find that retailed in a lot of...

On my way up to Northern Maine, the wife and I decided to make a quick pitstop to get some beer from Baxter and also to check out the brewery. Having never been there, we weren't too sure as to what to expect but upon arriving in Lewiston, finding the place was pretty easy.

It is located in a giant industrial complex, which formerly was used as a mill I believe and there's parking to be found in their private lot (free) or public lot (pay). We parked in the former of the two and walked over. While the taproom is underwhelming in size, they do have six beers on tap that you can try. Their flagship Stowaway IPA is definitely available but they also have a few exclusives that they're piloting as well.

We were able to sample their Hops Del Fuego, a smoked IPA and their Cthulu Rising which is brewed with oyster shells and is a black IPA with some pretty good depth of flavor. We picked up three six-packs from there and some glassware. Speaking of which, I'm a huge fan of their glassware. Their beer glasses look exactly like cans which is pretty original and fun and their logo on there is great. Quality stuff.

Also available are shirts and various other things but we settled for a fresh pretzel and their mustard which was both affordable and great. Lastly, I was able to put a pin of my hometown on their map.

The guy behind the counter was both friendly and knowledgeable and the beer was great. So whether you want to sample or buy beer, or get some glassware or t-shirts, I highly recommend you check...

Stopped by on Friday night about 5:00p for beers and a bite to eat. Place was not busy; plenty of seats and we waited to to be served. And waited and waited; we asked the girl who seated us if we could get some beers and she said she would tell our waitress. Waited awhile and finally our waitress showed. She took our orders for beer and we said we would order after we receiving the beers. Waited again and finally one of the two requested beers arrived, the other would be brought shortly. WE ordered and waited for the other beer and waited....We saw our waitress chatting and hanging with other guests but not bringing our last beer or our food. Finally, she brought the beer and we waited and waited for our food. Beers were very good, food was good except the fries were cold! No one ever asked how the meal was or if we wanted another beer. we waited and waited for the bill; finally she brought the bill, never asked about our meal; we left cash and got out as soon as we could! Would never go back to eat; terrible service and no one cared. Will continue to try the beer, store...