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New England Beers
I'm on vacation with family in New Hampshire, so I've been able to try some New England beers I haven't before. Got a variety pack of Shipyard, with Brewer's Brown ale, Export ale, and Pumpkinhead. they're all fairly good, but not over the top amazing. The pumpkinhead you can taste the pumpkin and some spices. Also had a couple Tuckerman's Alts, which were left in the house we're renting. They were good, but the Tuckerman's Pale ale wasn't. It was also past it's date by a couple months which might explain that.
On tap I've had a Pig's Ear brown, which was good. And an Ipa which I can't remember who made it, either Tuckerman or Smuttynose, which was pretty good, not too bitter. I like ipa's to have more hop flavor than hop bitterness. I had a beer called Batch 19, a pre prohibition lager. It was good, the first time I've had one of that style, found out afterwards it is made by Coors.
any others I should be looking for?
I like Magic Hat (Vermont) and Geary's (Maine). All their brew are usually pretty good.
I rarely buy beers in NH, so not sure what or where you have the ability to shop. NH is tax free on liquors, so they usually have large state liquor stores and beer gets lost in the thought for volume stores.
If you do find a place with decent variety, I would look for Cisco from nantucket. Big ol whale on the bottle. They have an all summits IPA that is fantastic. Also Pretty Things is owned by Dan Paquette, who formerly ran Concord Brewing, he makes some outstanding stuff contract brewing out of Holyoke and now Somerville. And if you can find Element there- buy it. Dark Matter and Red Giant, he is a nanobrewer and makes some intensely good beer.
If you can find Opa Opa, most of their beer sucks, but their IPA is like a DIPA jammed into a single. Huge on malt, and a nice aroma, clocks in on the IBUs too. Geary's is made in Maine, I have not had all of their stuff, but what I have had was good. Sebago brewing is from Maine as well, and I have only drank their beer at the restaurant, but that was good.
Then you have Portsmouth Brewery, they have some good beers, too bad you are 6 months late for Kate the Great day! Once in a lifetime opportunity for that!
Report back on what you find/enjoy.
I really like the brews from Berkshire Brewery. I'm pretty sure it's in Connecticut. We can't get it here in Michigan but when my fiance worked there he would bring me home some. I really liked their Steel Rail Ale. Yum!
I grew up in VT and now live in Maine. Sebego is definately worth checking out. Shipyard, as well, is not one of my favorites.
It's absolutely worth getting a 6-pack of Long Trail Double Bag! Long Trail Ale has been one of my favorite beers for as long as I've been drinking beer and it's a much more perfected micro brew to Shipyard. You also may find Alagash White all over on tap and that's a great light Heffe to drink on a deck in the summer, just too bad it's been overcast today.
Also, if you're near the VT border you might find Rock Art Brewery which has some great beers, when I was in College in the late 90's they didn't sell outside a 10 mile radius of the brewery but now they're statewide in VT. used to only come in Growlers but now they're in 6-packs.
Geary's is good but most of their beers are verry malty, I'd recomend their HSA if you like strong beers.
Northern NE is a great little hub of microbrews and I could go on and on with recomendations but those are on the top of my list.
Jexie wrote:
I really like the brews from Berkshire Brewery. I'm pretty sure it's in Connecticut.
BBC, or Berkshire Brewing Co is from Deerfield MA, also home to Yankee Candle, (the scenter of the universe!) Their beer is very fresh, but they use only 1 strain for all of there styles, it is very distinct. (actually until a couple of years ago, they were still brewing their famous Ofest with ale yeast!) Their Lost Sailor IPA is like steel rail, but with more hops. Their cabin fever is like steel rail with more malt. Their Drayman's porter is very good, and the Shabadoo is outstanding, which is a black and tan blended from steel rail and drayman's porter.
Owners Chris Lally and Gary Boghaff (sp?) are cool dudes and a great story, they did the homebrewer's dream and literally came out of the garage brewing to building a pretty wide territory. Here in western MA, if you walk into ANY bar/lounge, there will be at least 1 BBC on draft. The locals love to support them.
Ironically Mike Kittredge who started Yankee Candle which is directly across the street from BBC, (at least the store, the factory is down the street) did the same start out of his garage, but he ended up selling out a few years back after he ran out of room to store his gabillions of dollars. I am told by those who are friends with him or met him that he is a real guy, just tshirt and jeans type of dude, and you would never know he owns a 190 foot yacht with a helicopter on it.
I've had Long Trail ale before, but not the double bag. I can get Magic Hat back home, actually TN has a better selection of their beers than I've seen so far here.
what's Kate the great day?
Hopefully I'll get to a store with better selection on hand.
Double Bag was so named because when it was concieved in 1994 the microbrew and ale craze hadn't gotten in full swing and most beers you bought in the store were still in the 3.5-4.5% range...racking in at 7.2%, it was like drinking two beers in one bottle. Now adays with popular lagars, ales, barleywines, etc it isn't so extrordenary, but still a great kick in the pants. This was the beer that made me like beer. It also makes a smashing black&tan.
Hogarthe wrote:
what's Kate the great day?
Kate the Great is a world class Russian Imperial Stout that is always ranked in the top of 100 greatest beers. They only release it one day a year on a weekday at the beginning of February, and you have to stand in line and get a wristband. They limit the purchase, and serve some on draft while you wait until the kegs run out.
I have never been, however it is on the bucket list.
My sister and her husband took a trip up to Maine to see the Marginal Way or something like that. I had them stop in a store and see what they could find in Maine. They picked up a variety pack of Geary's . The London Porter, Hampshire Special Ale and Summer Ale have all been good. Haven't tried the pale ale yet, but judging by the success rate they have going with the others, I'm sure it'll be good too.
Geary's is one of the better southern Maine brews. I have it regularly, they're winter ale is way too malty for my taste, I couldn't even finish one, but the rest of their brews are quite good.
I wonder why they came to see Marginal way, which is more of an industrial street that has a AAA headquarters, a USM dorm appartment complex, and a UHaul rental place...?...if they got down into Old Port there's more to see. There is the old Miss Maine diner on Marginal way, and a planet fitness...does your sister work out a lot?
Sea Dog makes a good blueberry ale too, though it's a little sweet. If you get Alagash White on tap, be sure to tell the bartender "no fruit", it has a lemony enough flavor as it is. And if you're in a bar with Alagash White and Guiness, ask for a Black&White...they're fantastic!
the marginal way they went to see was supposed to be along the coast, like a hiking trail.
Oh yeah, that's down in Ogunquit. Nice place, little touristy...but since they were tourists I guess that would make a good fit. Marginal Way is also a street in Portland, it does have a Trader Joe's and I forgot about that, but I avoid that place for sake of my blood presure. I don't care for fighting with thirty old ladies for a shopping cart, they tend to bite and I don't know where those dentures have been.
thirsty wrote:
Sebago brewing is from Maine as well, and I have only drank their beer at the restaurant, but that was good.
I know the master brewer/co-founder of Sebego, live up the road from his business partner. They're great, down to earth guys! My wife used to be his kid's pre-school teacher several years back, she used to go out to the parking lot after work and find a six pack of his select batch of IPA on her car roof. Nothing like coming home with free beer! His passion is for the IPA's, every year he comes out with a "full throttle" IPA that's incredibly strong and bitter! Also does a whisky barrell stout that is fantastic!
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