Three Dollar Deweys

Gavage

New Jersey

4.01/5  rDev +10.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This place has a large bar with all tap beers right next to the bar for easy identification - no beer list needed. The place is large and open with long family style tables. Free popcorn is offered and there is plenty on the floor so watch your step. Younger crowds frequent this place, as I noticed several college aged kids sitting at the bar doing shots and beers.

Nice variety of beers on tap from Allagash, Casco, Sebago, Shipyard, Gritty's, along with some others like SNPA and Paulaner. The few beers I had over two different sessions in the place were of good quality and fresh.

Did not have any food, and most people seemed to be drinking and enjoying the free popcorn. The bartenders were quick to refill your pint, and were joking with most customers. Definitely worth a stop but don't expect a nice atmosphere or quiet crowd.

06-22-2005 11:23:48 | More by Gavage

francisweizen

Australia

4.3/5  rDev +18.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

One of my favorites in Portland. The atmosphere is good, but not killer with a big room as you enter leading you to a long bar with many, many taps. The tap selection is probably the best or biggest in the city with many (30+?) taps of local Maine brews, other NE micros, and perhaps just a few macros. Quality of my brews was good, and service was fast and friendly. Just another quality stop in this local beer heaven. Another great experience. This is located close to the water, and very close to Brian Boru and the 2 brewpubs as well. Central as all get out!

03-16-2005 20:33:13 | More by francisweizen

Hibernator

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Three Dollar Deweys has always been a must stop for me when visiting Portland and this past weekend was no exception. All of the variables (atmosphere, service & selection) at this place make for a great bar.

The vibe is very casual and laid back. Customers and staff are unpretentious. This is a good sized place with wooden floors and wooden benches for seating. There is also a bar in the back as well. A popcorn machine emanates the smell of fresh popcorn in the air. Customers can help themselves to free popcorn as they wait for food or throw back a few pints.

As for the beer selection, there are about 38 drafts and around 35 bottle selections. The bottle options are more diverse and interesting, but either way provides you with some great Maine beer options. Bottle highlights include Allagash Dubbel & Grand Cru, Shipyard Blue Fin Stout & Joshua Chamberlin, Bar Harbor Peach Ale and Cadillac Mountain Stout. The Cadillac Mountain Stout I had was delicious.

Prices are really good at $3.75 - $4.25 a pint. They also offer daily beer pint specials for $2.50. A cool option if you are looking to try different beers is the four 4 oz samples for $4. Service was friendly and attentive. Three Dollar Deweys offer a lengthy pub style menu featuring pizza, nachos, sandwiches, salads, chili, etc.

I would say this place is a must when in the area. It's easy to locate in the Old Port and never lets me down.

02-21-2005 15:34:12 | More by Hibernator

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4

Ah, the famous $3 Dewey's. As others have said, this is a bar for some serious drinking. The room is pretty sparse on decor (wood and brick), with a lot of open space for standing room only nights, and with picnic tables if you can get one. There is a popcorn machine dispensing free popcorn, copious amounts of which end up on the wood floor. Not the most refined atmosphere, but if you are pubcrawling, it is just what the doctor ordered.

The bar has about 35 taps with a good variety of Maine beers on tap and a few others (e.g., Hoegaarden) and in bottles (incl. for example Cadillac Mtn. Stout). They also have a full bar with single malt scotch, etc., available. There were seats at only a small section of the bar (perhaps there are more bar seats during less busy hours?) I thought the bartenders did a decent job keeping up with the large and rowdy crowd.

I have not tried the food, but a friend tells me it is decent.

If you are in Portland near the waterfront, stop in Dewey's for a pint or two. A good beer drinking pub.

11-07-2003 05:29:06 | More by UncleJimbo

Jason

Massachusetts

3.43/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $

Wow! What a dive this place is … I love it. Just make sure it is the last place you hit during a crawl, it loud and trashy with stale popcorn all over the floor and nice comfy pick-nick tables to spill you beer all over. A solid list of beers … Cadillac Mountain Stout for about $5 a pop, then the usual line up of Maine beer, the rest of New England and imports as well. All competitively priced and served in plain pint tumblers.

Oddly I felt like I was one of the older guys here with the college type crowd going at it all night long.

11-04-2003 20:29:28 | More by Jason

Thrasher

Oregon

3.58/5  rDev -1.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4

A great location on Commercial Street allows for a well-deserved break in touring through Old Port and the waterfront during the day. Also a welcome reprieve from the nearby college bars and dance clubs if you're crawling through the area at night. Lots of taps so there's plenty to drink. You're not gonna find that elusive limited-edition one-time-only super-beer that you've been hearing rumors about, but there'll be something to keep you happy. Every beer costs more than $3 so don't be fooled. Atmosphere is roomy, almost needlessly so. There's a big chasm between the bar and the rest of the place, with no tables or anything. A little strange but that's ok. Vibe is fine, nothing great. Last time I sat down to a Neil Young song on the stereo, followed immediately by the Jayhawks. I smiled at my good fortune, but of course they immediately switched it to some whiny nü-metal. I finished the pint and split.

09-08-2003 18:31:47 | More by Thrasher

ecoboy

Rhode Island

3.95/5  rDev +8.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4

Warning and/or bonus #1: A question about 3 Dollar Dewey's name will get you a rather naughty answer. The best beer selection in the tourist-oriented Old Port section of Portland. A necessary visit in the BA crawl through that neighborhood. You may not get something you've never had before, but the full page of choices should bring a smile.

Warning and/or bonus #2: unlike Sebago and Great Lost Bear, you can smoke in 3 Dollar Dewey's. One big room sort of feels like four with some waitress stands, the free popcorn machine and a couple of brick wall segmenting the place, and your choice or stools, benches, booths or chairs to sit on.

Many draft lines, and many bottle choices with about the best European list in the county. The only place in Portland I could find Hacker-Schorr and Paulaner if that gives any info. Unlike the Great Lost Bear, which will have 3 or 4 of a specific Maine brewery's styles, 3 Dollar Dewey's might have just one or two.

Every bartender or waitress I have ever had was nimble and attentive, but they may not be terribly beer-educated. They may have a great beer list, but they also serve a full food menu, and are not a church of beer so much as a good pub. that said, the food is pretty darned good: they make some mean soups and have a fairly extensive group of vegetarian choices.

Warning and/or bonus #3: Use of $3 Dewey's as a pick-up bar on Fridays after work seems to crop up pretty frequently.

08-01-2003 16:57:27 | More by ecoboy

Longstaff

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4

I've been to this beer bar in the old port 3 times now, and each time I go, I become more fond of the place. Even though there is usually a considerable amount of people, there always seems to be plenty of space to stand around or to sit even on a Friday night. The beer selection is very good with about 25 taps of mostly Maine micros and the bottle selection is also very nice with Cadillac Mtn. Stout available for about $5+ for the 22oz. bomber. Last time I visited, there was a good mix of 25-40 y.o. people, so I didn't feel quite as old as I did at some of the bars in the area. Free salty popcorn and great music playin in the background is also a plus.

07-07-2003 10:21:40 | More by Longstaff

bennybrew

Maine

3.7/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5

being right in the old port helps dewey's a lot i think. they don't rival the great lost bear in quality or selection but being in the old port goes a long way for this bar. nice long tables like at freeport gritty's and a decent selection of micros on tap and in bottle. old post and beam construction with huge beams.

smoking allowed.

didn't try any food excpet for the free popcorn.

04-09-2003 22:42:23 | More by bennybrew

slander

New York

3.73/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4

um..... $1 lookie, $2 feelie, $3 dewey. I just wanted to get that out of the way. Okay, listen up, it's not the GLB, not on a good day, but nothing up there is and it is very conveniently located in the Old Port section of Portland and that's a big plus if you've just done lunch at Gritty's or Sebago and you're looking to stumble down the street for a beerbar to have a few in or if you're just mulling around the Old Port area for the day.
The food is good. Standard pub fare for the most part, but good. And I've never had a problem with the service.
Big popcorn machine = woof a basket or two. It's free and it's sustenance. Thye've got big windows that look out towards the water but it's still kind of dim in there, curious.
About 3 dozen taps, a decent mix of Maine and New England beers and English beers and macros. They've also got an adequate bottled beer list. Look, they've got no casks and it's quite likely that you are not going to find the beer that you've been hunting, hoping and praying to find on tap but you can get a decent brew here. Part of my yearly ritual here is a black & blue or two. Big wooden tables,... It's a comfortable joint, I've got no complaints.

03-03-2003 16:37:14 | More by slander