Tributary Brewing Co. (Tod Mott) Update

Ha! Last time I heard a Kickstarter joke, I laughed so hard I fell off my dinosaur!

 

I'm going to stop in for a growler on my way down to Boston tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

 

Stopped in today - his hoppy beers are outstanding as was the "London Brown"

 

Had the IPA on Saturday, on tap at Tulsi.
It was excellent, and paired well with the spicy Indian food.

 

Stopped in for the first time this afternoon. Cool spot. Had the Pale Ale and Hop Harvest (wet). Both were nice. Liked the PA more. Left with a 64 of it...drinking now...very good.

 

Looking forward to the Oatmeal Stout that's on tap now, hope it lasts through tomorrow afternoon.

 

They are actually out of Tributary growlers at the brewery. They are currently only filling growlers for people that already have them. This is a new brewery, with new beer available, a three day weekend, and a perfect opportunity to bring in new customers, but then...no new growlers. It's just...not a good thing. It's nice that Tributary apparently exceeded their expectations for sales, but I gotta ask, how does a brewery hamstring itself like this? And apparently they have two new beers coming on in the coming days. OK...rant over. Just disappointed.

 

Feel free to ask them ... Perhaps they did not have the initial working capital or credit to place a bigger order? I am sure they'll work things out soon enough.

 

All the more reason why we need legislation specifically allowing brewers to fill other growlers, not just their own. How can our government hamstring our brewers like this?

 

Seriously. If there is a law that is "anti-business," this is the one. Even Vermont, a state often derisively mocked for being anti-business and/or too liberal, has managed to get their growler laws exactly right, probably because it's better for the environment in the long run to have fewer unneeded bottles laying around. This is a case where liberal politics and business can agree.

I hear you. I will be in the area tomorrow, so if I do decide to drop in for a pint, I'll ask what's up. I would guess this is an issue they'll figure out soon. Like any business, brewery or otherwise, there are always going to be unforeseen problems early on. But damn it, I want beer!

 

I stopped in yesterday. It will be another week and a half before new growlers are available. Three new beers coming on next week, two saisons and a pumpkin. Yesterday, they had the pale, stout, gose, and wet hop. Would have loved to have left with a growler of the pale, but it was not to be. The place was humming with customers, the set up is pleasant. Existing growler customers coming and going. And the Motts are just awfully nice people. I will be back soon!

 

I like Tod and I generally liked the beers he did at Portsmouth.

The gose was a bad hefeweizen, in my opinion. I didn't much care for Hop Harvest (wet hopped beers, eh). The brown was okay. The pale is a beer I took home a growler of, and will warrant a trip back. Overall, it was fine. Not a criticism, really. Just my impression. It was fine. If I didn't think (know?) Tod and co were capable of better beers, I'd hesitate to recommend it.

 

Wow, I know there are some mediocre fresh hopped beers out there but to label all FH stuff as "eh" is surprising to me. I've had many delicious FH ales this year. If you ever get a chance to visit the NW in early October, you may change your mind.

Anyway, is this Tributary facility a tasting room or samples and growlers only? I'm trying to build a list of places in New England to visit for my a trip to Boston in a few days.

 

1.) "Wet-hopped" seems like a buzz phrase to me. It doesn't denote anything of that much substance other than the hops weren't crushed into pellets (and thus stripped of the excess water that may contain crappiness). There are almost definitely good wet-hopped beers, but I've yet to find one that makes it go from six to midnight if you know what I mean. Maybe the NW is the answer. I'll find out one day.

2.) Tributary is samples, growlers, and full pints. It's in a pretty solid area for shopping and beer, though, and if you're interested in going up to Kittery, you can get all Tributary's beers on tap at a restaurant called When Pigs Fly (great pizza), plus a bunch of other really good beers from Maine and beyond. Still, though, it's probably a little over an hour from Boston, so that depends on how motivated you are. Truthfully, if you're looking to travel, I'd go west out to Tree House Brewing. Portland, Maine is always a great time and you could probably find many threads that outline some great places to eat and drink.

Cheers!

 

Anyone confirm if there will be growlers for this weekend? Or are we looking at next week?

 

No, it means the hops weren't dried -- they were used fresh off the bine. And I don't even know how to begin to respond to your "water that may contain crappiness" comment.

 

The Tributary Facebook page says new growlers won't be in until Monday.

Wet hop beers most definitely have a character of their own. And it's not at all just a buzz word.

 

I guess you'll just have to trust me when I say fresh hopped beers are more than a buzz phrase. Especially when the brewers have enough fresh hops on hand to use them for all their hop additions. Someone else on the NW forum described one of the best ones as like "opening a bag of hops and sticking your face in" and that's pretty accurate. There's really nothing like a well made fresh hop ale. Also, these hops must be used within 24 hrs of picking and you need to use much more (like 3oz fresh equals 1oz of dry). Trust me, it's worth it.

Thanks for the Tributary info. I actually visited Boston last year and made it up to Kittery (stopped at When Pigs Fly coincidentally, was very impressed). Nice to know there's now a brewery to visit in Kittery. I was about a year too early last year.

Most breweries in the Northwest have taprooms or they're brewpubs. Seems like there's less of that in New England. I always have to double check to make sure the breweries I want to visit actually allow visitors.

 

glad to see this place is up and running! good for them.

 

Made a visit yesterday, wow! All 4 beers were very good to excellent. First Bier De Garden. Excuse the spelling, was my least favorite since I am not a fan of the style. But I think they nailed it. A sweet fragrant beer. I also hate pumpkin beers but theirs was drinkable, light on spice and not too sweet. The two winners were the pale which was excellent clean hoppy with a dry finish. A beer you could drink all day. Then the Oatmeal stout was awesome. Now I know why people went nuts over KtG. This guy knows how to make stouts! It had all the great toasty characters of a top notch stout. Also noticed they had a Brown Ale in the cooler. Growler only. I did not sample.