Ebenezer's Restaurant & Pub

nickd717

California

4.95/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$$

Well, I hate to be a bandwagon jumper here, but damn, Ebenezer's is awesome. Stopped by on a Monday night in early June, which ended up being good timing since this place apparently gets packed during peak season. This place really is in the middle of nowhere. It's on the edge of a golf course outside a tiny town in the lake region of Maine. If you haven't been to this area, it's worth it even without Ebenezer's. Ebenezer's, though, can be a beer experience unlike any other.

Make sure to get in touch with Chris before you go, and also make sure they won't be closed. Chris is about as interesting of a guy as you'll meet in the beer world. He's got all kinds of stories and opinions about beer and everything else. He's also extremely generous - he shared several awesome and rare beers with my fiance and me free of charge. We sat around for awhile after they closed just shooting the shit and drinking excellent beer. We also got to take a look at his cellar, which is absolutely mind-blowing.

Besides the "VIP treatment" however, the standard tap and bottle selections are excellent. Prices can seem a little high, but they're really not when you consider what you're getting. I had a Pannepot Wild, a Brooklyn Dark Matter, a Cantillon Vigneronne, and a couple others. Like Chris himself said, it may not be the absolute rarest draft list in the world, but if you can't find enough amazing beers to drink here, you need to check yourself into the mental institution. I got the impression that if super-rare is what you're looking for, Chris can definitely hook you up. In general though, it seems that he's not trying to cater to the "ticker" crowd.

Finally, the food is awesome. The lobster roll was one of the best I had in Maine, the Ruger burger, fries, and calamari special were all excellent. Chris also gave us a cheese and beer pairing that was incredible.

At best, Ebenezer's is going to be flat-out one of the greatest beer experiences you've ever had. At worst, you're going to sit in a bar in one of the most scenic parts of the country, eat great food, and drink world class beer. If that doesn't do it for you, just admit it, guy: you probably don't like beer.

06-16-2010 19:08:49 | More by nickd717

BeTheBall

Massachusetts

4.83/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Went there this past weekend from souht of Boston for my birthday. Got there first for lunch on Saturday. The place is filled with great beer paraphenalia, and loved that! Small but cozy bar with maybe 10 seats, a few tables in the bar area, and a larger room with more tables for larger parties, looking out on a Donald Ross course!
It was kind of slow, so my wife and I sat at the bar. Had very helpful and attentive service from the waitress/bartender upon arrival; she made us feel right at home. Chris, the owner was also around, and I had told him a week before I was coming, so he guessed correctly and we talked lots about his place, beer, and life. I drank a couple of Belgian ales and ate the Killer Chicken sandwich for lunch. Great sandwich, and great beer. I was extremely fortunate to also get a tour of Chri's cellar, which was a humbling and incredible experience. I can't imagine that there is anywhere in the world quite like it. All I can say is WOW!
Took a few hour break and returned for dinner, and more drinks. Drank a couple of bottles of Schneider Aventinus from 2007 and 2008 that were amazing, along with a couple of Belgians that were very good. I had the Sausage Fest for dinner and was very pleased. It was tasty and huge, a perfect coimbination. Later in the evening as the place thinned out a little and it was just the two waitresses/bartenders running the whole place, frankly it wasn't easy to get their attention at the bar seats, but I would go back in a heartbeat.
We drove 3.5 hours each way basically to go to a pub, and I am very, very happy that I did it. I honestly can't wait to do it again. I loved everything about the place; well the service toward the end could have been better, but it didn't spoil the experience.
I highly suggest getting to Ebenezer's, a must, must journey for any serious beer lover. We also stayed the night at the Old Saco Inn, which was lovely and also very pleasant. Thanks Chris!

04-08-2013 15:08:05 | More by BeTheBall

klc17111

Pennsylvania

4.98/5  rDev +4.2%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $

My Husband and I, after years of discussing going to Lovell to experience Ebenezer's, finally went in February 2013. We frequented this Pub 3 out of 4 nights...What can I say but we felt like we were visiting family every time we walked in! The last night we walked in the door and the waitress even said -"YEAY! they are here!" How many places make you feel like that? Beer Selection was amazing- I found the owners, Chris and Jen, to be friendly and helpful. We even were invited to the "basement" for a tour of the rare beers- which was in itself amazing. Chris is the most knowledgable beer head i ever met! Food was excellent... never disappointed. We even had "our seats" at the end of the bar. We will definitely be back .. make sure you visit this Pub in the most beautiful setting...Backwoods Maine .. the way Life should be!

03-19-2013 16:34:40 | More by klc17111

handpullme

Pennsylvania

4.98/5  rDev +4.2%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$$

My wife Karen and I made the pilgrimage from Pennsylvania to Lovell, Maine last week, with the main reason being to visit Ebenezer's obviously. There's not a lot else in Lovell really, other than the typical gorgeous scenery you expect to find in Maine. It was well worth the trip. We went to Ebenezer's 3 of the 4 nights we were there, with one much needed dry night that involved no alcohol. The beer selection is amazing, and even if you're an experienced Belgian drinker, you're likely to find at least a few on tap you've never had. As for the bottles, basically if there's something you'd like to try, just ask Chris or Jen and there's a good chance they'll have it. I was thrilled to finally be able to try Portsmouth's Kate the Great the first night we were there. Chris also gave us a tour of the beer cellar, which was worth the trip by itself. The owner of the #1 beer bar in the world giving us a personal tour...definitely cool. I had an incredible beer on tap called "My Blueberry Nightmare", an Italian blueberry sour stout (more sour than stout) that went down way too easily for something that was 11% and $10/glass. In addition to the beer, the food is absolutely top-notch. The first night, I had by far the best coconut shrimp dish I've ever had, and Karen had an excellent pizza that was obviously hand-tossed. Our second night, she had a cheesesteak she says is the best she's ever had, which is impressive considering we usually make several trips to Philadelphia per year. Overall, just an amazing experience that I hope to repeat someday.

02-27-2013 01:51:13 | More by handpullme

ThePorterSorter

New York

5/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I visited Ebenezer's pub in the middle of the week during winter (...yeah it's closed week days during winter months). However, Chris, who just happened to be there for a quick photo shoot, shakes my hand and starts pouring free beers for myself and the photographer. After an hour drinking/conversing about beer, Chris's ridiculous draught list, and the bar's incredibly rare bottles (2004 Damon or a Geuze van't kasteel anybody?), I get an invite into his private cellar for the purpose of mule-ing some bottles to VT for Shaun Hill (my next stop - and yes, they were successfully delivered). Even though I only spent an hour at this bar, I got the most fulfilling bar experience I could ever expect. The fridge is packed with insane choices and the draught list is both experimental and well curated. I would have loved to try the food, but that can wait until I return this summer.
Make the trip out to Lovell, it's a different world of beer and I'm certain you'll be a customer for life.

02-07-2013 22:52:45 | More by ThePorterSorter

jderosia603

New Hampshire

4.7/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Had lunch and a few beers here on vacation a few weeks ago. The drive there was definitely worth it. The draft list was incredible and I had the opportunity to try some unbelievable beers you'd never find anywhere else. Our food was really good as well. Overall, a great experience that definitely lived up to the "best beer bar in America" accolades.

01-20-2013 12:39:17 | More by jderosia603

bgfresh

4/5  rDev -16.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

A friend at work showed me an article in Beer Connoisseur Magazine. My wife is from Portland, ME and returns every year. So, I talked her in to making the trip from OOB to Lovell. The place had a very good feel. However, I think our waitress was a manager. She ripped into 3 employees 10 feet from our table for several minutes. I was not impressed as it was inappropriate to treat the girls like that. At the very least, take them in the back where customers cannot see that. Also, their website advertised Black Albert and Chimay Doree. I really wanted to try them as I'm a huge fan of Chimay and Black Albert was brewed specifically for Ebenezer's. I was disappointed that my first two orders were unavailable. In fact, the wait staff manager stated that she had never heard of Chimay Doree. She did suggest the sister beer of Black Albert, Out Black. It was very good and a great recommendation. Next year we are going to the sister pub, Lion's Pride. Overall, I would definitely go back and recommend to anyone. I ate the Chimay Burger and it was incredible.

11-10-2012 03:01:28 | More by bgfresh

Archemedies

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Finally made my way up to Ebenezers over the weekend. What a place. Literally in backwoods Maine, but certainly not in the boonies. It is next to golf course after all!

Not a lot of people there when I stopped by, but there were license plates from all over New England here. There was indoor and outdoor seating, and a lot of spent bottles and beer related things all over the bar. It really had a nice atmosphere considering how far out in the woods it was. It was also a beautiful fall day out, which added to the experience.

A lot of nice rare and hard to find beers on tap, and an impressive bottle list. Also some good one offs were on tap as well. Mostly imports. I bet on special events and occasions the draft lift here is insane. Even though its was a normal day there was some real nice stuff on draft. The highlight was probably the Pannepot Wild.

The service was alright. The waitress didn't talk much, but was friendly. She was flakey at some points, and prompt at other times. I bet if the owners were there the service would have been more stellar, but they can't be there everyday. The food was pretty good too.

Overall, this place was a real treat and I am glad I went.

09-25-2012 00:24:46 | More by Archemedies

ATLbeerDog

Georgia

4.73/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

There are plenty of great reasons Ebenezer’s is the number 1 beer bar in the world. First is the owners Chris and Jen run the place like a Swiss watch. I was there from a Wednesday to a Sunday during the 8th Annual Belgium Beerfest. Chris is a great guy, full of life, with a passion for great craft beer. Jen is as nice as they come and runs the service staff to perfection. Kudos to Maryanne and the entire staff. The location is part of the allure. A huge seating area and an outdoors that is located right on a golf course makes for the perfect place to have a few beers. Another great reason for Ebenezer’s success is the food. Chris is a world class chef and every dish, meal after meal was solid and top notch. I was made to feel at home and it was obvious I was appreciated and welcomed. Those attributes are important to me and Ebenezer’s does it right. I will be back as it is only short 20 hour drive from Atlanta. Rock on Eb’s!

09-05-2012 01:30:03 | More by ATLbeerDog

jbertsch

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev -15.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Drove the 35 minutes from North Conway, NH to go here. Worth the trip, for sure.

The place looks unassuming, located on a golf course. Wasn't even sure if I walked in the correct door. Anyway, my wife and I made our way to the bar area which is very small. I like beer bars to have a significantly sized bar area....it should be the focal point. No big deal though. We were able to get one of the 2 high-top tables in the bar area.

Selection is probably about 40 or so taps...big focus on Belgians and other imports. There were only a few domestics on tap. I had fun trying some of the hard-to-find imports. There was no Black Albert available. But I had Wild Pannepot, Omnipollo Mazarin, and Cuvee Angelique. All were enjoyable. Even though the Wild Pannepot was not what I expected, it was still tasty in it's own way.

Food was good. We had sausages (blood sausage was damn good), chicken that was tender as hell (they sous vide'd it), tasty steak tips, and french onion soup. All good stuff.

We peppered our waitress about some of the beers we were curious about and she was knowledgeable enough to help us. We understand it's hard to keep up and know absolutely everything about every beer on tap.

Didn't dabble in the bottle list but they had plenty of Cantillon for $40+, and lots of other treats.

Definitely recommend going here if you're within relative-easy driving distance. It's just a tad pricey, but for once in a while - it's passable.

09-04-2012 15:53:49 | More by jbertsch