Yankee Brew News Archive

Pub Review: The Horseshoe Pub

Originally Published: 06/97

By: Chris Houston

"What'll you have to drink?"

Faced with this question at the Horseshoe Pub in Hudson, Massachusetts, one may experience a momentary loss of words. There are 50 beers on tap, not to mention 75 more in bottles. From nearby Lowell's Mill City IPA to a Belhaven Scottish Ale, to the pub's latest addition - North Country Fat Beer Stout - there's always a vast array of craft-brewed tasties for the discerning beer drinker.

When Nick Pizzimento took over the Horseshoe Pub from his father in 1991, there were three beers on tap: Miller Genuine Draft, Sam Adams Lager and Moosehead.

Now, with only six years under his belt as owner/manager, and a virtual forest of taps behind the bar, Pizzimento constantly rotates a stock of craft-brewed beers from New England and beyond.

"I didn't know much about it," Pizzimento says, referring to the booming craft-brew sensation. "People were coming in and asking if we had a Bass Ale or a Guinness Stout, so I told them that I'd see what we could do."

At a beer tasting in 1992, Pizzimento met representatives from East Coast Distributors who "came in and hooked up a bunch of different stuff to let us try it out."

In rapid succession the Horseshoe went from a five- to a 10- to a 24-tap system. According to Pizzimento, the response has been "amazing."

"It went well for us," he says. "We decided to build another cooler out back and added 26 more taps to make a total of 50."

Pizzimento says that the key to serving a variety of fresh, quality beers is having a clean system. Line hygiene if you will. The lines are cleaned every other week, and there are bi-weekly soakings of the spouts and other affected parts.

"You can tell when a line's not clean," he says. "(The beer) doesn't have that clean taste to it."

Everything on draft is served with 75% nitrogen and 25% CO2. "It's all Guinness gas," says Pizzimento, who credits his system with getting more beer out of the keg, as well as providing a thicker, creamier head. He feels that this is a necessity when dealing with such high quality products.

"No one is drinking your basic Bud anymore - we sell it - but not a lot of it," he says. The Horseshoe no longer carries mass-produced domestics on tap. "The lightest beer we have on tap is the Warsteiner, which is a German pilsner. I usually try to get people who are just getting into it to start with that."

Locally brewed beers in the Horseshoe's repertoire are from Pilgrim, Wachusett, Sam Adams, Harpoon, Concord Junction, Berkshire, Shipyard, Mill City and Smuttynose breweries, to name a few.

And like many of his customers, Nick Pizzimento isn't afraid to try something new.

"There's always new stuff," he says. "We're always rotating, so there's never the same product. If we run out of Guinness and you like stouts, you can have a Fat Beer. If we're out of that you can have a Murphy's. We always have something."

In fact, the Horseshoe Pub is geared towards introducing the masses to the joys of craft-brewed beer. A sampler (four five-ounce glasses) costs $4.25. There are also a variety of glass sizes for the discerning drinker: 10-ounce, 16-ounce and 20-ounce imperial pints.

If you're feeling adventurous, or particularly ambitious, the 'Shoe also offers a "Beer Safari." Patrons are given a beer card and can choose from a list of "over 100 different species" of drafts and bottles, "for the taste buds to explore."

Successful completion of 25 will get you a free lunch or dinner. Fifty will get you a T-shirt. Seventy-five means free appetizers for you and 20 friends, and 100 will get you a much-coveted personalized Horseshoe Pub beer mug.

When all that safariing gets you hungry, the Horseshoe offers traditional pub fare, such as appetizers, burgers, steak, fish and a variety of sandwiches. All of these are served in this circa 1832 house which has natural wood decor, wide beam rafters and an open air loft that looks down on a dance floor. When the weather is nice, you can move outside to the patio (capacity 75-100) with 30 beers available on tap.

The Horseshoe's menu will soon include an entire section on "beer itself," explaining the different styles - ales, porters, stouts and the like - in a user-friendly way.

Some of the most recognizable names, Sam Adams, Pete's and Bass, aren't offered on tap, a decision Pizzimento feels encourages experimentation with more obscure but equally delicious brews.

"I decided to stop selling (them) on tap. We carry their seasonals, but not their basics. If someone says they want a Pete's or a Bass, I say 'why don't you try a Berkshire of a Fuller's or something different?'"

Proudly on display over the main entrance is a plaque from England's Old Speckled Hen. It states that the Horseshoe Pub was the first establishment in the United States to pour the English brew from its taps. The Horseshoe has a close relationship with "the Hen," having been interviewed by them several times on BBC.

"They think that everyone in the States is like a Norm on 'Cheers,'" Pizzimento says with a grin when discussing the BBC interview.

"I've never been to England," he adds, "but people often tell me that this is an English-style pub." Perhaps that is in deference to the frequent live entertainment: acoustic music on Thursdays and Fridays, a DJ on Saturdays. Or maybe it's the tradition of holiday events, like the "Twelve Beers of Christmas" (last year it was actually the 17 beers of Christmas), where tickets are sold for a festive tasting of holiday brew, with several guest speakers from participating breweries in attendance.

The only shortcoming Pizzimento can admit to is not being open often enough (they're closed on Sundays), but he notes that this policy is currently under consideration for a change. "I took the chance, and it has paid off for us," he says of the Pub's six-year transformation. "When the phone is ringing every day for directions from all over, it's nice."

If you'd like to save yourself a dime, and you want to visit Nick and his 50 friends, these directions should suffice: Take Interstate 495 to exit 26, Route 62 east, follow about two miles to the center of Hudson. Go through the rotary and take a right onto Market Street, then a left onto South Street. The Horseshoe Pub is immediately on your right, at 29 South St.

Call (508) 568-1265. Email: theshoe@ultranet.com. Home page: http://www.horseshoepub.com.