Portsmouth NH

Hop over the boarder to Kittery for When Pigs Fly pizzeria and/or the Black Birch. Pigs Fly pizza is awesome and they have a ton of taps with quality and ME locals. Black Birch has serious tap list often with at least a few rarities. Portsmouth Brewery is pretty good too, but IMO Portsmouth still doesn't have much to offer... best taking advantage of ME distro, 5 min away.

 

Second When Pigs Fly: I did a flight of Founders Dissenter, Stone Ruination, Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Extra & Maine Beer Peeper on Saturday. They also had about 6 or 8 of the Sierra Nevada beer camp selections on tap. If those are being phased out they often have a big beer selection like Evil Twin Even More Jesus or Dogfish 120 minute.

 

Check out Earth Eagle Brewing in Portsmouth and Stoneface in Newington (10 minutes from downtown Portsmouth).

 

Thirsty Moose. Multi-tap bar with friendly service, honest bar food & TV's (a taboo amongst beer geeks nowadays for some reason).

 

Whym off route 1 is awesome, great little beer bar. Great food too

 

I've been there, they sell pint and gallon bottles. Amazing beers and Ales!

 

Definitely hit up Stoneface, they just started new hours on Thursdays 4-7pm. Also, in Kittery, Black Birch always a killer tap list, they should have Bissell Brothers on tap. Swing into Carl's Meat Market for bottles.

 

I'd definitely go visit the new Smuttynose. Granted, I work there, but our new home is beautiful and worth an hour of your time to visit.

Earth Eagle, Blue Lobster, Throwback, Stoneface, Portsmouth Brewery and RedHook are all nearby, so there' absolutely no shortage of breweries to visit. There's a also a craft distillery, Sea Hagg, making pot still rums, plus a few other treats.

Being that you're into potent potables, you could have chosen many worse places to visit. Have fun visiting our corner of the world!

For more info all these great places., plus the rest of New Hampshire, check out, http://www.nhbeer.org/nh-beers/

Cheers,

JT

 

Make sure to check out Redhook, Smuttynose and Portsmouth Brewery!

 

Am I the only one that thinks Whym is a dump?

 

Check out WHYM! The place is great and the owners are awesome!

 

The outside of the place and the parking lot, sure. Inside and quality of the bar? Not a dump.

 

I thought the inside was also kid of dumpy. And the prices were higher than i pay in Boston. Maybe it was just the day I was there. No A/C, place felt kinda dark and dirty. But I know a lot of people like the place, so I'm fine being the contrarian on this one.

 

Definitely check out Black Birch while you're in the area, but don't skimp on Portsmouth--it has more than plenty to offer. Earth Eagle is a couple blocks from the Portsmouth Brewery, and they usually have a nice mix of gruits, IPAs and other beers for samples, pints or growlers in a very cool taproom. Stoneface just up the road in Newington is brewing an amazing IPA, and the pale ale and Berliner weisse I've had from them have been stellar as well. I've found them on tap and cask, variously, at the Press Room, Gas Light and Coat of Arms, all in downtown Portsmouth. Smuttynose's new facility is pretty killer, and worth a visit, plus you can stop at Throwback (I especially love their stouts) and Blue Lobster (I haven't tried anything from the new brewers yet) on the way down the road. But there's plenty of good beer to be had right in downtown Portsmouth, as well as just over the river in Kittery.

 

I'll have to second Earth Eagle. They're great people that make delicious beer (especially if you're looking for some unconventional flavors that you might only find in Portsmouth, NH and nowhere else... yet). Ports Brew is always delicious with their 8+ in house offerings plus their rotating guest taps and solid bottle selection (to be consumed in the restaurant only). That being said, you MUST make the short trip - walking distance, really - into Kittery for at least Black Birch, just be prepared for a bit of a wait for the table. You can still have a couple beers while you wait. I haven't tried When Pigs Fly yet, but I know what I'm doing this weekend!

 

Echoing everything people are saying now. Live here in Portsmouth and love it.

Def make the trip to Black Birch. They have Bissel Substance on right now as well as some other killer brews. Was there for my Bday Tuesday night. If you are just going for beer you might still have to wait. Make sure to tell Ben or who ever is working the front that you are out of town and just want a beer or two. They'll try to get you a spot somewhere inside or out just to sit and have a brew. Otherwise for dinner it might be a bit of a wait. Do go to the Ports brewery. STONEFACE...I can't stress enough how friggin good that new IPA is. Its only about 10 minutes up the road off 16. If you need helping finding it BM me. They will have it on tap outside on the patio at the gaslight too. A little secret on Kittery is that if Black Birch is just too nuts and long of a wait go right next door to Anju. They will have Bissel on tap too

 

FYI - I believe Black Birch runs thru kegs pretty quickly as I was there last night and no Substance on draft. They did have a different Bissel offering as well as many other fantastic options. Fantastic food as always. My only complaint there has always been an up-to-date draft listing ala Novare's website.

Either way, I would never sweat it because I DO know they will have several excellent options.