Yankee Brew News Archive

Brewpub Review: The Bier Haus

Originally Published: 06/96

By: Mark Hall

With the advent of the many new brewpubs in the U.S. and New England and their brewing of many different and new styles of beer, it's endearing to see someone sticking to tradition. In this case, it's the Bier Haus in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Opened in September of last year, the Bier Haus has stuck to its roots as three of the five yearly offerings (Bier Haus Alt, Continental Gold (Kolsch), and Bavarian Wheat) are German-style beers. With one of the owners (Karen Baker) born and raised in Munich, Germany it's not hard to understand why.

Located just off Exit 11 on the Everett Turnpike (Route 93) in Merrimack, the Bier Haus is on the site of a former restaurant that had been open for approximately ten years. According to head brewer/co-owner Phil Markowski, the site became available last April when the original restaurant closed.

"We were specifically looking in Southern New Hampshire," he recalled, "as we thought it was an area that needed an additional brewpub, as well as support another. Although Stark Mill was up and running in Manchester, we considered that market as well. The site in Merrimack became available, plus there was a restaurant already in place. It pretty much fit what we wanted," he concluded, "and there were few alterations that needed to be made".

Markowski told me that the previous restaurant opened in the early 1980s and the owners remodeled it in 1987 to "look like a Friday's" by putting in a lot of wood, big phone booth, etc. There is a sunken area in the middle of the restaurant which was previously used for seating, but has now become home to the miller and brewing equipment.

Two of the three owners (plus one silent partner) have beer/brewing backgrounds with Phil being one of the original partners/head brewer of the New England Brewing Company in Connecticut. He worked in electrical engineering and did brewing at home, but left in 1989 to get into brewing full-time. He loves beer and has a great passion for/interest in its origins and history, and has made it a point to travel around the world to research styles and reproduce them over here. His brother has a company (Small World Adventures) that markets beer tours to brewing hot spots that have included England, Czechoslovakia, and most recently Germany.

The other two owners are Karen and Murray Baker. Karen left Germany in her late teens and in addition to spending time at the Bier Haus, operates a homebrew supply store in Woburn, Massachusetts. Murray's background was chemical sales, but he now devotes his energies full time to the Bier Haus.

After taking over late last spring, they spent June through August remodeling the 260 seat restaurant. When you look at it from the outside it looks like a "typical restaurant", but inside it's a different story as you'll be surprised at its present set-up. The first thing to strike you is the sunken floor in the middle which houses the miller and brewing equipment. It was previously used for additional seating, but looks like it was made especially for the brewing equipment. You could actually say the restaurant is split into two parts as there is a back room which is used for additional seating when needed (usually on weekends).

The front room contains the bar on the left with the sunken floor to the right. The new "bar top" seating overlooking the brewing equipment was installed giving people an excellent view of the miller, mash tun, and copper. For safety reasons, people are not seated in that area during brewing. Various pictures, flags, and brewery advertisements adorn the walls plus there is a big glass case against the back wall containing a superb bottle and stein collection, with the majority being German beers. Additionally there is a humongous TV for those who wish to catch up on various sporting events.

The Mug Club presently numbers over 100 and those who show up on Sunday-Tuesday can enjoy their brews at discount prices. Customers patronizing the bar on this day were able to sample seven different offerings, including year-rounders Continental Gold, Bavarian Wheat, Merrimack Pale Ale, Granite State Stout, Bier Haus Alt, plus two specials including Kaisers Golden Munich Lager, and last but not least Chocolate Cherry Porter. This was so good it reminded me of eating a chocolate covered cherry. If so inclined, you can try the Brewmaster's Sampler which includes a 5 oz. taste of each beer on tap that day.

Coming up for St. Patty's Day and the month of April were an Irish red ale and a bock. One of my favorites was the stout, which is described as "a richly roasted dark ale brewed with seven varieties of malted barley giving it a smooth, creamy, and distinctive coffee-like flavor". Including the five year-rounders and specials, Phil expects to brew 30(!) different beers this year.

He uses a 15 Barrel Liquid Assets system which he customized himself with a few of his own features. Specifically, he uses a steam fired system to heat the beer, which is basically steam fed into a jacket around the copper. According to Phil, "it's a more gentle way of applying heat, giving the copper a lower surface temperature thereby lowering the caramelization and colorization of the beer". Additionally, he has a higher draw off point in the copper so as to have less solids transferred in the wort. He uses all German yeast which he receives from Weihenstephan University located just outside Munich.

The seven fermenters, bright beer, and serving tanks are directly below in the basement. Although they have capacity to serve more than seven beers at a time, Phil would like to keep it at seven to insure "good selection, maintain quality, and allow proper preparation of the beer." From start to finish, their brews travel about 80 feet, so I'm sure it stays continuously fresh!

Their menu is described as "basic American Pub Fare" and specific sandwiches/entrees were created with the idea of matching beer to food. For example, Phil says the bratwurst or knockwurst sandwich goes great with his Bavarian Wheat. In addition to sandwiches, there are soups, chili, salads, pasta, burgers, and a great set of entrees including baked scrod, wiener schnitzel, and baby back ribs.

If you can't finish your food, you can always take home a doggie bag and a 64 ounce Growler of your favorite beer to wash it down. Growlers are $8 each for the first purchase and $6 per refill. Additionally, they use a hair dryer to shrink the plastic seal around the cap.

If you're looking for entertainment, there is a DJ on Thursday, local bands every Friday and Saturday nights, and a Jazz Brunch on Sunday. The food is good, the beer is great, and the set-up is very atypical. It's worth a visit!

The Bier Haus is located at 4 Continental Boulevard, in Merrimack, New Hampshire. Call (603) 424-0888.

Photo caption:

The 15-barrel Bier Haus system is steam-fired, which lowers the caramelization of the wort used to create the pub's distinctive pale German lagers.

Pull quote:

With one of the owners born and raised in Munich, it's not hard to understand why Bier Haus focuses on German-style beers.