Restaurant
Unclaimed profileNovare Res Bier Cafe
Portland, ME · $$
Inebrious
Beverage Program Score
The editorial take
A beer-first program with 33+ rotating taps and a 170+ bottle list sorted by fermentation style, from Belgian lambic and farmhouse ales to German weizenbock and American double IPA. Wine runs white, red, rosé, orange, sparkling, plus meads and fruit wines, mostly $12 a glass. Spirits pour neat or on rocks only, 1.5 oz, with Islay scotch, agave, amari, and local Maine bottlings. Cocktails are frozen slushies and one canned mai tai.
- What should I order?
- Start with a draught pour of Russian River Pliny the Elder at $9.50 or Westmalle Duo at $11.50, then move to the bottle list for Tilquin Oude Gueuze à l’Ancienne at $22. If you want something other than beer, the PEPP Grüner Veltliner is $12 a glass and the Lagavulin 16 is a $20 neat pour.
- Who will enjoy this place?
- Beer drinkers who read bottle lists by fermentation style and want Belgian lambic, farmhouse ales, and German wheat beers in one place. Also useful for a group where one person wants a $12 glass of wine, another a $10 mezcal pour, and someone else a $6 non-alcoholic slushie.
- What should I expect to spend?
- Draught beer runs $8 to $11.50 a pour and bottles $7 to $70 depending on size and rarity. Wine is $12 a glass or $40 a 750ml bottle, specialty pours $9 to $14. Spirits are $5 to $20 per 1.5 oz. Cocktail slushies are $12 to $14, the canned Kowloon Mai Tai $10, and non-alcoholic slushies $6.
- What makes the beverage program distinctive?
- A 170+ bottle beer list organized by style — Mixed-Fermentation Specialty Ales, Modern Farmhouse Ales, Spontaneously Fermented Ales, Flemish Ales, Belgian Dark Ales, American Ales — alongside 33+ rotating taps. The wine list extends past standard categories into meads and fruit wines, and the spirits list pours neat or on rocks only, with no mixers or fruit.
Beverage categories
We only score what a venue sets out to do. Categories a venue doesn't attempt are left unscored rather than penalized.
Cocktails
The cocktail side is a frozen slushie format plus one canned option. Three slushies are listed — Frozen Classic Margarita, Hot Girl Summer, and Patio Punch — built on tequila, vodka, and rum respectively, and the Kowloon Mai Tai arrives canned from a Massachusetts restaurant.
Menu strengths
- — Three frozen slushie cocktails with distinct spirit bases: tequila, Polish potato vodka, and Puerto Rican rum.
Standout selections
- — Frozen Classic Margarita, $14, with El Jimador Blanco tequila, organic lime juice, organic raw cane sugar simple syrup, and a blood orange garnish.
- — Hot Girl Summer, $14, combining Luksusowa Polish Potato Vodka, Aperol, and Natalie's organic strawberry lemonade.
- — Patio Punch, $12, with Don Q Puerto Rican Rum, lemon juice, lime juice, and strawberry.
Pricing: Slushies $12-$14; Kowloon Mai Tai $10 for 12 oz at 7.9% ABV
Wine
The list covers white, red, rosé, orange, sparkling, and specialty categories with by-glass and by-bottle pricing. It reaches beyond standard wine into meads and fruit wines, and includes organic and local options such as the Oyster River Misty Spritz from Warren, Maine.
Menu strengths
- — White, red, rosé, orange, sparkling, and specialty categories are all represented with by-glass and by-bottle pricing.
- — Meads and fruit wines sit alongside the standard list, including Bluet Maine Wild Blueberry Sparkling Wine and Dansk Mjød meads.
- — Named producers span Austria, Burgundy, Marlborough, Puglia, Mendoza, Provence, and Chile's Itata Valley.
Standout selections
- — PEPP Grüner Veltliner from Niederosterreich, $12 a glass or $40 a bottle, bright and youthful with apricot and green apple.
- — El Mai Vino Amber de Chile, $14, an orange wine from the Itata Valley with high skin contact and vibrant melon and apricot.
- — Oyster River Misty Spritz, $9, a canned white wine spritzer in the pet-nat piquette style, organic and made in Maine.
- — VRAC Rosé from Provence, $12 or $40, a Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan blend with fresh strawberry, citrus, and minerality.
Pricing: White and red $12 per glass or $40 per 750ml bottle; specialty wines $9-$14 per serving
Beer
The core of the program: 33+ rotating draught taps and a 170+ bottle list organized by style, from Mixed-Fermentation Specialty Ales and Spontaneously Fermented Ales to Belgian Dark Ales and American Ales. Rare European imports, particularly Belgian lambics and farmhouse ales, anchor the deep end.
Menu strengths
- — 33+ rotating taps pouring local, European, and North American beers, with a Featured Cans and Bottles section on the draught menu.
- — A 170+ bottle list sorted by fermentation and style, running from lambic and farmhouse ales to Flemish and Belgian dark ales.
- — Rare and hard-to-find European imports, with Belgian lambics and farmhouse ales as the deepest pocket.
Standout selections
- — Tilquin Oude Gueuze à l’Ancienne, $22 or $40, a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year lambic from Cantillon, Girardin, Lindemans, and Boon.
- — Westmalle Duo (ATP), $11.50, an abbey golden ale blending 60% Westmalle Tripel with 40% Westmalle Extra in small batches for special accounts.
- — Dupont Saison Dupont, $11, the dry, hoppy, spicy benchmark of the Belgian farmhouse style.
- — Russian River Supplication, $10, a fruited mixed-fermentation brown ale aged in Pinot Noir barrels with sour cherries.
Pricing: Draught $8-$11.50 per pour; bottles $7-$70 depending on size and rarity
Nonalcoholic
Non-alcoholic drinking gets its own frozen options rather than a token soda. The draught menu lists a Virgin Margarita and a Strawberry Lemonade slushie at $6 each, and the food menu covers sodas, juices, sparkling water, hop water, and a non-alcoholic frozen lemonade.
Menu strengths
- — Two non-alcoholic frozen slushies at $6 each, alongside sodas, juices, sparkling water, and hop water.
Standout selections
- — Virgin Margarita, $6, with organic lime juice and organic raw cane sugar simple syrup for the margarita taste without alcohol.
- — Strawberry Lemonade, $6, a frozen organic lemonade with strawberry juice from Natalie's Orchid Island.
- — Hop Water Seltzer, $6, Orono Citra Hop Water.
Pricing: Non-alcoholic slushies $6 each
Spirits
A broad list spanning whiskey, bourbon, scotch, agave spirits, amaro and digestifs, and vodka, all poured as 1.5 oz servings neat or on rocks with no mixers and no fruit.
Menu strengths
- — Whiskey coverage runs from Islay and Highland scotch to Irish, American single malt, and Kentucky bourbon.
- — Amaro and digestifs include Fernet-Branca, Amaro Dell'etna, Amaro Montenegro, Strega, Italicus, and Chartreuse Green.
- — Every pour is 1.5 oz, neat or on rocks only, with no mixers and no fruit.
Standout selections
- — Lagavulin 16 Year Single Malt, $20, the intense peat and thick smoke of Islay.
- — Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon, $16, with honey, citrus, and warming spice.
- — Chartreuse Green, $16, the French herbal liqueur built on 130 plants, bark, roots, spices, and flowers.
- — Liquid Riot Fernet Michaud, $8, a Maine fernet with delicate minty notes and an understated bite.
Pricing: $5-$20 per 1.5 oz pour
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