Alisson’s is the kind of place you’re just as likely to find a salty local fisherman as you are a tourist in from Quebec. The bar and restaurant in Kennebunkport’s Dock Square has long been a watering hole for locals and a go-to for visitors seeking authentic fare and atmosphere. It’s the kind of balance you don’t find in many coastal Maine towns.

Unsurprisingly, the beer selection has traditionally rested on stuff you can purchase by the 30-rack, but under Ashley Padget, that's changed. The bar has been in her family since 1973, but a few years ago (with the help of current kitchen manager Mike Morneault), Padget discovered the diverse Maine beer scene. For her, the conversion of the taps into a more craft-centric, non-yellow-water-with-booze lineup made sense. Federal Jack’s, the birthplace of Shipyard, is just across the river. But Fed’s doesn’t do guest taps, and there isn’t really anywhere else in town to find a diversity of Maine beer. Now Alisson’s has just reopened after a brief period of renovation with a new state-of-the-art draft system and more rotating taps than ever before. Padget and I sat down to talk about the process of transition, and whether those fisherman dig IPA.