Whym - Portsmouth, NH

Very nice place. A small but well thought out draft list, with a good bottle list. I only had the french fries while I was there but they were quite good. The owner and the employees were very nice. The owner made it his mission while I was there to try to find a beer or med my wife would enjoy. After many samples poured he failed (as I have many many times) but the effort was well appreciated by both of us.

 

I went there two weeks ago and was thoroughly impressed. The owner and the waitresses were incredibly nice and really, really knew their stuff. Will return.

 

Only been there once so far, but I really liked it. Will go back sometime for sure.

 

Love this place.

 

Went there on a recent Blue-Lobster-bottle-release run based on reputation, and was thoroughly under-impressed. Can't say anything on the tap list was exceptional. Cute place, nice people but IMHO not worth going out of your way for.

 

Went last night for a couple beers and thought three things:

1) Pretty terrible location. Really nice inside, but so out of the way and separated from anything else "nightlife" related that it's tough to imagine going there instead of say downtown Portsmouth.
2) Taplist could use some work. It's still a new bar, but I'd like to see more beer that I won't see popping up at other places in Portsmouth or Dover.
3) Really nice staff and a nice atmosphere. Not many people were there, but it was an enjoyable visit while I was there.

 

You need to remember that this is in NH, where the beer distro is weak in many ways.

But having BL on tap always a plus.

As for the location, it's different and not what you are used to but that's what they wanted. Its great for what they want to do. Plenty of outdoor space for events, outdoor seating, corn hole.

As for the taplist, it's NH. WHYM is building a reputation to have the best beers on tap that are available in the state, and they are the first to have any 'limited' beer in the state. You need to remember this place is only months old. If a bar is going to have the relationship distributors to get those very limited small keg amount you need to dedicate some time to buying that distributors other beers. They aren't just going to fork over a keg of Parabola (or something like this) in the first few months.

With the beer scene in NH getting bigger with projects like Blue Lobster and others in the works I can see our distro getting better, and our local account getting even better.

And you are right the people there are great.

Cheers,
Evan

 

Certainly all true. I hope the place gets more popular and definitely will be visiting more often.

 

I've known the owners for years (since Alex was learning good beer while earning a chalice at Novare), I like the place, but I join with the crowd skeptical of the location. It's far, far from anything you would otherwise choose to visit. I'd never go there if I was spending a day in-town Portsmouth. I asked them about this on my first visit, and they pointed out the population living within a short distance of there. I don't remember the numbers, but there are lots and lots of people living off Route 1 around there, in the suburbs behind the sprawl. Lots of those people would like to have a bar with good beer and good food that's close to them, i.e. NOT in Portsmouth.

So I understand the reason for the general location, but a bar lurking behind an apartment complex is still weird.

 

Got to disagree there. The location is the only reason I've visited. Heading in to Portsmouth (from Boston), it only makes sense to take Rt 1 and hit Top Shelf and Village Market for local bottle finds, and it's a stone's throw from Blue Lobster. Without those draws, I'd have never considered Whym.

 

In the Seacoast region, you are raised to expect to have to drive everywhere, so I don't think that it would at all stop locals from going there. (There are a ton of popular bars and restaurants on Rt 1.) It just won't be a pull for people who are coming up to park their car in Market Square and walk around downtown.

 

Though, for the record, the 41 Coast Bus goes down Lafayette road.

 

It's also practically across the street from Throwback.

 

This is rural New England, so I guess 3 miles could constitute "across the street"

 

I've only visited once, but the beer list and the food were both top-notch for a bar in New Hampshire. They're easily on the short list of the best beer bars in the state (I'd include the Barley Pub, Strange Brew, Cask & Vine, and a handful of others, plus some brewpubs on that list), with arguably the best beer list. They've done a very nice job with the space--definitely fits the mold of the Belgian-influenced bars like Novare Res and the Publick House more than anywhere else in the state, and our server was very knowledgeable and friendly.

I agree though that the location is a bit odd--it lacks the charm of being in the middle-of-nowhere that Ebenezer's has, but it's not even in a neighborhood, let alone downtown. If (maybe when) I lived in Portsmouth, I'd definitely go out of my way to head there from time-to-time, and it does make for a nice stop along the brewery highway of Route 1, but nice as it is, I just can't see myself schlepping out there when I'm in town. Even if I did live in town, I wouldn't visit as much as if it was even in a neighborhood like along Islington Street or somewhere, or in one of the neighboring downtowns.

I'm assuming they did their research and know what they're doing location-wise, and I hope it's working out for them, because it would be an enormous shame for a place like Whym to not work out because of an odd location. Assuming that they are successful (which I am because they seem to be doing everything right), it still changes the vibe not being able to watch activity on the street or have people popping in.

All that said, I will still make my way out there when I can, and from what I can tell they're doing what some of the beer stores started doing for the state a few years ago: showing that there is a demand for good beer that's not currently available in the state, and working to make that beer available. I also really love their balance of good local beers and good beer from further afield.

 

I hadn't been, but checked out their beers on Taplister - I'd not seen that site/service before - that's a pretty slick presentation.

 

Used it this weekend to find Kiwi Rising on tap. Good for seeking out specific beers on tap or get a feeling of the type of beers might be on tap at a specific bar..

 

WHYM has been great to me thus far. I visit it semi-frequently and it's not odd to find other brewers hanging out talking shop at the bar with other patrons and the owners A & G (awesome folks). Taplist is about as good as it gets in New Hampshire, lots of local love and "long distance relationships". I'd like to hear other places in NH whom have a better, more thought out tap list. The food rocks and the staff are all beer nerds.

Location is not right downtown but who cares? Stop there on your way into town, or on your way home. No one says you need to put back 5 pints and try to head downtown.

It's been a while but I went over for their Oktoberfest celebration and it was righteous and kickass. Plus they had girls in braids....