New Hampshire

[jlttb]

Along the lines of our Vermont thread, I'm probably going to spend a week in New Hampshire in August and I'm looking for beer spots. I've seen Portsmouth Brewery mentioned in a few places, and on the Vermont thread newportstorm mentioned the Seven Barrel Brewpub in Lebanon, but other than those the beer scene seems quieter than in Vermont. Any suggestions?

[chazwicke]

I've been to both Portsmouth and Seven Barrel. Also Martha's. (In Nashua I think.) I've been to maybe one or two others. Both Maine and Vermont have way better selections.

[brewmonkey]

Where abouts on LI are you from?

I grew up in North Babylon & Garden City. Still have family out in Massapequa and Lindenhurst.

[newportstorm]

Where abouts are you going to be in NH? They have some very good beer but the spots are pretty spread out. Check BeerFly:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beerfly/list?path=%2Fbeerfly%2Flist&sort=name&name=&city=&s_id=NH&c_id=&zip=&area=&submit=+search+&brewery=Y&brewpub=Y&bar=Y

*Smuttynose Brewing Co. is in an industrial park but is worth stopping by for Smutty IPA, Big A IPA and whatever else might be pouring in the draft room/gift shop. Can be found on draft all over Portsmouth - stop by Gary's Beverage and definitely take home some IPA and Big A IPA.

*RedHook's Portsmouth facility is impressive. I think tours are $1 and include a sample glass and beer tasting. The attached Publick House is a modern-looking ski lodge. Decent food, fresh beer. Worth a trip.

*Plenty of good beer bars in Portsmouth area:
-Coat of Arms: British place with cask ales - very smoky, though.
-Blue Mermaid: small place with just a few stools in the bar area (there is a separate restaurant) but they make the most of their beer selection.
-Barley Pub (Dover, NH): very nice selection of brew here. Locals bar, not fancy in the least, no food that I know of, cash only
-Muddy River Smokehouse: BBQ, good beer, oh yeah!

*Martha's Exchange (Nashua): yet to go but I've heard good things about some of the brew

*Milly's Tavern (Manchester): I went a few years back when it was Stark Mill Brewery. Nothing special, imo. I wouldn't bother.

*If you head north to the White Mountains there are a few places of interest:
-Franconia Notch Brewing: very small brewery but the guy is passionate about his beer. Makes a few flagship beers (Grail Pale Ale, River Driver Ale) and some specials (DBock, a few cask, etc.). Guy brews, kegs, bottles and distributes all his beer himself in his minivan. Whew! Call first to make sure someone is around to fill your growlers.
-Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery (North Conway) - another good place to grab some BBQ and fresh beer.
-Woodstock Inn & Brewery: set amongst lots of tourist attractions (The Flume, Lost River, Clark's Trading Post, Loon Mountain). Drink lots of fresh beer (Pemi Pale Ale and Pig's Ear Brown are tasty) and feel free to grab a room at the Inn if you imbibe too much.

A few other good spots just across the border in Massachusetts as well (The Tap, Brewery Exchange, etc.). Lemme know if you need any help. Have fun.

Cheers!

p.s whoops! Tuckerman Brewing is available in bottles all over and on draft in the Conway area. Pale Ale is nice. If you see the Headwall Alt on tap anywhere, don't pass it up! Never had it myself - it's limited to draft-only. Definitely something you won't see often.

[jlttb]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
Where abouts on LI are you from?

I grew up in North Babylon & Garden City. Still have family out in Massapequa and Lindenhurst.

I'm in Babylon, right in the midst of all your spots! And Stony Brook U before that.
Babylon has a few good pubs (Post Office, Mary Carrolls, Argyle Grille, Joe Michaels), but for fresh microbrew I'll go to Black Forest Brew House, Southampton Publick, or John Harvard's. And of course I used to go to Long Island Brewing in Jericho and James Bay (or whatever it was called) in Port Jeff. I miss them!
I also stop by the wineries when I can, but it's a longer trip.

[jlttb]

Originally posted by newportstorm
Where abouts are you going to be in NH? They have some very good beer but the spots are pretty spread out.

*If you head north to the White Mountains there are a few places of interest:
-Franconia Notch Brewing: very small brewery but the guy is passionate about his beer. Makes a few flagship beers (Grail Pale Ale, River Driver Ale) and some specials (DBock, a few cask, etc.). Guy brews, kegs, bottles and distributes all his beer himself in his minivan. Whew! Call first to make sure someone is around to fill your growlers.
-Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery (North Conway) - another good place to grab some BBQ and fresh beer.
-Woodstock Inn & Brewery: set amongst lots of tourist attractions (The Flume, Lost River, Clark's Trading Post, Loon Mountain). Drink lots of fresh beer (Pemi Pale Ale and Pig's Ear Brown are tasty) and feel free to grab a room at the Inn if you imbibe too much.


Awesome - thanks alot!
I'm really just planning a quick getaway with my wife and two kids while we have a chance, so we're flexible. My wife had picked out the Franconia Notch area and 'discovered' Woodstock Inn on the web this morning!
I told my wife that for me, a vacation was any place with "a hotel, a science museum, and a brewpub," and fortunately she and the kids seem okay with that. We did Vermont a year ago (Montshire Science Museum (http://www.montshire.net/) is excellent, by the way, and only a couple miles from Jasper Murdoch's Ale House (http://www.norwichinn.com/)) so we're moving one state over this time.

[newportstorm]

Sounds good. I've eaten lunch at Woodstock Station a couple of times but never really hung out or stayed at the Inn. Only had the Pemi Pale, Pig's Ear Brown and Red Rack. I hear they have a decent stout as well. That whole area of NH is beautiful - lots to do as well - or nothing at all, which can be nice. If you're into light to moderate hiking, I really enjoy Lost River: http://www.findlostriver.com/

Actually the best hike is outside the main gates so I believe it's free. Can be a bit strenuous as you do a little boulder scrambling but it's worth it.

Franconia Notch Brewing doesn't get wide distribution (even in NH) so I try to find some when I'm in the area. Not sure if the bottles are available yet but I'd toss a couple of sterile growlers in your trunk and hope to catch the brewer at work. Should be on draft in the area though - a nearby place (The Clam?) usually has a couple styles flowing. Enjoy.

Cheers!

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by jlttb
I'm in Babylon, right in the midst of all your spots! And Stony Brook U before that.
Babylon has a few good pubs (Post Office, Mary Carrolls, Argyle Grille, Joe Michaels), but for fresh microbrew I'll go to Black Forest Brew House, Southampton Publick, or John Harvard's. And of course I used to go to Long Island Brewing in Jericho and James Bay (or whatever it was called) in Port Jeff. I miss them!
I also stop by the wineries when I can, but it's a longer trip.

Sometimes it is truly a small world. I lived right down off of Hwy 231 and used to go bowling over at Babylon Bowl on Sunrise Hwy.

[jlttb]

Hey, we're back, and had a great time. Thanks, everyone for the recommendations!

The Woodstock Inn (http://www.woodstockinnnh.com/) was terrific: a nice country inn, with a big, fun restaurant and, a really good brewpub! At Woodstock, we enjoyed the: Pemi Pale Ale, Old Man Oatmeal Stout, Pig's Ear Brown Ale, and Red Rack Ale, all for three nights in a row.

Then we drove north, through Franconia Notch State Park and up to Littleton to Franconia Notch Brewing Co. (http://www.4front.com/brewery/main.html). We got owner/brewer John Wolfenberger on the phone, and he was nice enough to invite us in for a quick tasting while he and a friend loaded up a truck for a party. We tasted the Grail Pale Ale, which was terrific, and bought growlers of that, the River Driver ale, a malty amber, and a Double Bock, which we haven't even tasted yet.

The next day, we headed to Conway in search of Tuckerman Brewing Company (http://www.tuckermanbrewing.com/index.html), which we eventually found on a small light industrial road just around the bend from the center of town.
The place was vast compared to Franconia Notch Brewing, but though the loading dock was open, it took us a while to find anyone inside. Eventually we found a friendly guy who explained that the brewery had just moved from smaller quarters and wasn't reopened for visitors yet (maybe September). He did recommend a couple of places to get Tuckerman beer, though he noted that supply was limited due to the move. We eventually found the Tuckerman Pale Ale in a supermarket in Portsmouth. It's a clean ale with nice hop aroma.

We thought there was a brewery at Castle In The Clouds, according to a pamphlet we had from the New Hampshire Craft Brewers (http://www.nhcraftbrewers.org/), but it turned out we were a couple years late. Still, it was a beautiful place, but a letdown on the beer side.

So we pressed on to Portsmouth, and found ourselves at the Portsmouth Brewery (http://www.portsmouthbrewery.com/), a busy restaurant/brewpub downtown. Here, we got the best 'sampler' serving I've had at any brewpub --a paddle of ten good-sized glasses of everything on their menu--for $5.50! (I think...)

The ten beers included three from their sister brewery, Smuttynose Brewing Company (http://www.smuttynose.com/), and in rough order from best to worst, they were:
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog--great balance
Black Cat Stout--loaded with roasted barley
Blueberry Ale-- surprisingly good for a fruity beer
Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale
IPA -- very hoppy -- not a favorite of my wife's
Smuttynose Portsmouth Lager
Cream Ale
Weizenheimer
British Mild (my wife: "like soy sauce")
Leffe Blonde
Good food too, and we got a deal on t-shirts.

In between we explored Franconia Notch with the kids, swam, hit the McAuliffe Planetarium and went whale watching off Porstmouth. We'll have to hit the other brewpubs next time!

[chazwicke]

Sounds like a fine trip. NH is a beautiful state as are it's neighbors Maine and Vermont.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by jlttb
We thought there was a brewery at Castle In The Clouds, according to a pamphlet we had from the New Hampshire Craft Brewers (http://www.nhcraftbrewers.org/), but it turned out we were a couple years late. Still, it was a beautiful place, but a letdown on the beer side.

Yes, Castle Springs Brewing Co. (brewers of the Lucknow line of beers) closed in Feb 2002 (?). They made some great beer - a nice Porter, IPA and clean German lager, among others. I spoke with the brewer, Paul Davis, just before they closed up shop. He has moved on to brew at Troutbrook Brewing in CT - maker of the Thomas Hooker line of beers - awesome stuff you should seek out if you pass through the area. Lucknow did not shut down the brewery for a lack of quality beer, believe me.

You can still find a stray keg of the Lucknow Ye Olde Chucklehead Barleywine around the state. The Barley Pub in Dover has poured at least two of them this year - this place also has poured vintage kegs of Smuttynose Big Beers.

One of my favorite (free) hiking spots is just around the corner from Castle in the Clouds - called Bald Knob. A little strenuous - takes about an hour with a frickin' fantastic view of the northeast corner of the Lakes Region, including a view of the Castle off to the right. Next time...

Cheers!

[jlttb]

On the tour of Castle in the Clouds, I definitely spotted a couple other guys in brewing hats and t-shirts with the same confused look as me: "What? There's no beer?!"

[newportstorm]

Either the NH Craft Brewers Association doesn't have the money to print new brochures or they don't have the time to go and round up all the old ones - probably a bit of both.

BTW, was Nutfield still listed? I believe they are purely a beer marketing co. now as all the beer is brewed at Shipyard.

Cheers!