Exploring the Emerging, Community-Oriented Craft Beer Scene in New Hampshire

They are also really new, they did very well at the Brewfest this year as a new comer. They were smart and paid for a sponsorship and got a table in prime position, got their name out there. Tom is a super cool guy I think they will do well.

I've been to or had beer at 90% of the breweries in NH and I'll just say a lot of these places are doing just fine and make pretty good beer. There is just no one in the state IMO that makes that very top level beer. A few come pretty close. I second the notion that a lot of them are very happy being their towns brewery. For example I've talked to he guys at Able Ebenezer trying to recruit them. They literally have no interest in doing a bunch of events or growing that much more. They are happy and have been for 4-5 years with the 6 employees and size they are.

One more thing is we are kind of sandwhiched I think between 3 amazing beer markets in Mass, Maine and Vermont. A lot of people myself included (guilty) make beer runs that are only 2 hours to HF, Foam, River Roost, TH, Trillium etc. That's just my side of the state. People that live near the coast make beer runs to Portland all the time.

It's a very solid beer state there is over 70 brewers for a small state. However it will probably always be viewed as the New England little brother IMO.

 

I think the two main factors that prevent NH from being more of a beer destination are 1) the breweries are very spread out, and 2) NH tourism in general falls way behind the crowds that flock to VT and ME for reasons other than beer. And sorry to be negative, but the beer really isn’t as good as those places, at least what I’ve had. Quite a bit of it is solid, good even. But very little of it is great IMO, and without a knockout type brewery, it’s tough to overcome the two factors I mentioned. You can become a popular destination without being an elite brewery if you’re in say, Portland, but not in NH.

That said, as a former NH resident, it’s great to see the state’s beer improving, and I’ll have to make my way to a couple of these newer spots.

 

Yeah but breweries you mentioned like River Roost and Foam aren't exactly old, both were established in 2016.

And Portland has only been considered a beer destination for the last few years, with all the new breweries popping up. I remember going for my buddy's bachelor party around 2013 and I think all that was at Industrial was Bissell (with only two beers available) and Allagash.

All these new breweries like Battery Steele, Austin Street, Foam, River Roost...etc. are getting high ratings on their own merit, rather than simply because they're in ME and VT in my opinion.

 

Oh I agree 100% I didnt mean that at all. I have been to all those places multiple times and like their beer better than anyone in NH. If someone opens up a brewery in "nowhere" NH and makes A+ beer people will come.

The previous post nailed it lots of good beer just nothing that blows your socks off.

 

Hi - I wanted to share my perspective - my wife and I co-own Polyculture Brewing in Croydon (which is a small town between Lake Sunapee and Dartmouth) There are a lack of breweries here, but there are some of us, and several more are in the works in the area. Our family-run brewery is small and in a renovated barn attached to our old farmhouse in a rural setting. We wanted to do something new in the state, so we have chosen to focus on farmhouse ales across a range of profiles and also some mixed-culture and kettle-soured beers which feature local ingredients.
This has some tradeoffs, as even though we feel our beers have a range of profiles, many customers still come expecting everything from an IPA to a stout to be available at all times. The beer "scene" in this area is far behind the rest of the state (there are no real beer bars or bottle shops). Additionally, customers expect a constantly rotating selection of new beers. We've tried to stick to our vision and have slowly started gaining a following. It is difficult as a small, self-distributing brewery to have a reach around the state. We've tried to focus on our brewery experience and we have a large beer garden in the summer that we feel is very unique. Hope you will stop by when you are traveling through and see what we are up to. Cheers!

 

Thanks for the post. I think your brews are great and love seeing them on tap at Latham House in Lyme. Thought your place was a lot of fun and happy to have it in the area.

 

Best of luck.

I hope your brewery becomes a "destination" brewery, and not because of New England IPAs.

MA has taken a hit over the years losing good Saisons from Notch (stopped distributing in cans), Pretty Things (moved across the pond and started a new brewery), and Mystic (closed this month).

 

Two other things I thought of in relation to the NH beer scene
1) Every article about NH beer likes to tout the success of the Nano law, but for the past several years, it has not been an option for small breweries like ours. The state "changed their interpretation" and decided if you have a brewery on your own property in an accessory building then you can't get that license, so several of the smallest breweries in the state can't benefit from that law (even though it sounds like it is written to help those kind of breweries). Those that have benefited the most seem to be places that get a "Nano Plus" license and operate pretty much like a brewpub but with an extremely limited food menu. We are stuck with several peers paying for the same license as the state's largest breweries.
2) From living in the Upper Valley and working in a now-defunct beer store for several years, it seemed like NH was mysteriously behind the curve on NE IPAs. Homebrewers were making them here and consumers were hunting for them but there just didn't seem to be any around. It took years for breweries here to really get in on NE IPAs as breweries from surrounding states became nationally known for theirs. Then when NH breweries started taking a stab at the style, their initial offerings were up against some of the definitive examples of the style from our neighbors so that made things even harder. I think that is a hole that NH hasn't gotten out of and now most breweries nationwide make a NE IPA.

 

Yeah, if you’re a new brewery and you’re trying to make a name for yourself by brewing New England IPAs you’re probably shit out of luck at this point.

 

Hi all - Figured I would chime in here as I don't think my region (Monadnock) has been represented by anyone here yet. I think NH has been improving over the past year to the point of being comparable to ME, MA & VT. I Part of the reason we think so highly of Bissell, Tree House, Trillium etc. is because they were the founding fathers of the NEIPA, which is obviously the choice beverage of the vast majority of the community. NH DEFINITELY lagged behind during the revolution of NEIPA's, but I think we have done enough to at least be part of the conversation.

My personal favorites in the area are currently:
Branch & Blade - They've been doing quite a bit of experimentation since they opened a little over a year ago, but are finally dialing in their recipes. The recently released a "Mini" IPA that is about 4%, but blew me away mouthfeel/taste/aroma-wise. They just put out a Dunkel that I was impressed with as well.

Post & Beam - They do everything well and have such a cool taproom. Check them out if you're in the area for sure.

Modest Man just opened in downtown Keene, and I tried all 4 of their offerings at their soft open. Higher ABV Kolsch, berliner, DIPA & IPA were all great.

Deciduous, Kettlehead, Backyard, Reklis & Schilling are all personal favorites as well.

 

I don't think this is the reason.

How would you explain the high ratings and recognition of new comers like River Roost, Foam, Battery Steele. Tilted Barn, Proclamation and Vitamin Sea?

In today's age of social media, word spreads fast, so a new brewery can get recognition easier than before.

As a quick example, here's the Top Rated beers on Beeradvocate by state in New England. I've listed the rating of the number 1 rated beer on each state's list, the 50th, and the 100th.

Note: I realize the ratings on the list don't start at the highest and go to the lowest because of the way BA calculates the scores, this is just a quick and dirty way of looking at it).

Connecticut:

1 = Fuzzy Baby Ducks at 4.5
50 = Pushing the Envelope at 4.38
100 = Living in Our Own Private Idaho 4.14

Maine:

1 = Dinner at 4.66
50 = 3 Barrels Deep at 4.58
100 = Crossfade at 4.06

Massachusetts:

1 = King Julius at 4.77
50 = Double Dry Hopped Summer Street at 4.42
100 = Curiosity Fifty Seven at 4.52

New Hampshire:

1 = Hopulization at 4.38
50 = Portsmouth Coffee Milk Stout at 4.18
100 = Hop Weave at 4.14

Rhode Island:

1 = The Chosen One at 4.49
50 = Broze at 3.99
100 = Beach Night at 3.86

Vermont:

1 = Heady Topper at 4.76
50 = Everett (Barrel-Aged) at 4.39
100 = Intagible Tides at 4.41

 

Couldn't agree more. Ratings, in my opinion, are about 80% subjective, and vary depending on several different factors. I'm not here to stir up a debate, I'm just saying that NH beer gets a bad rap for being "late to the party". Yes, they (NH breweries) aren't there yet, but I've had several offerings from Schilling, Deciduous, Reklis, Branch & Blade and Stoneface etc. that could certainly hold their own against other top breweries in the region.

 

Never made it up or had a Blue Lobster beer. It seemed like they had the potential to be the NH thing seeing as they had the pedigree (Dave worked at HF for those that don't recall) and timing. Dave was also at Deciduous and that ended badly as well. I feel like that hurt Deciduous as well in terms of growth and recognition. There's been a lot of missteps in NH beer.

 

And just think in Vermont the number 1 beer is available at just about any bar for $3 per can in Burlington.

 

Kind of proves my point. Perpetually number 1, but I can name 5 NH brewed beers off the top of my head that I would rather have than a Heady, and that’s no knock on it.

 

I pass on heady all the time. Not saying it's not good but just like everyone said. So many as good or better.

 

That and Excess: Galaxy...

or Piscataqua-weisse.....or that random brett saison collab he did with Prairie...all great.

 

Why do people think that NH is a worse beer state?

The point about late NEIPA (and I'll add late heavily fruited sour and other trendy styles) adoption is 100% the reason why NH is considered a worse beer state. NH actually has a good historical brewing tradition: Frank Jones, Portsmouth Brewery, Smuttynose, Red Hook, Budweiser,etc.

As far as I know, Stoneface IPA was the first decently available year round NEIPA from NH (disqualifying Blue Lobster since they closed right as they were building momentum), and that wasn't until spring of 2014 or so? And the quality was a tier down from the level of the contemporaries in other states at that time. The Alchemist cannery opened in 2011. Tree House had already moved to Monson by 2013. Trillium pivoted to IPAs in 2013. Bissell was buzzed about before they even opened in 2013. Hill Farmstead was already Rate Beer brewery of the year in 2013.

So is it just chance or what that no NEIPA brewers took root in NH?

In my opinion, at least part of this is due to the lack of a young, progressive, urban city in the state. Portland, Boston, and Burlington cultivated both the brewers and the consumers. Most NEIPA breweries (especially the "2nd wave", aka after the Vermont big 3), were founded by smart and creative late 20 and 30-somethings in the early 2010s being exposed to craft and artisanal products and lifestyles that were spreading like wildfire from the early hubs of Portland, Oregon and the like thanks to the information sharing of the internet. Manchester, Nashua, Concord, etc. aren't exactly hot beds for this person type. Portsmouth and Keene are closest, but Portsmouth has a bit of an older resident crowd and they both have half the total population of a Burlington, and the state school near Portsmouth is 20 minutes away instead of being in the city limits. The state of NH has less progressive residents than the other states in general (and by progressive I mean in attitude as much as in political ideology). It's not just NH breweries; NH has generally worse and less foodie restaurants, beer bars, coffee shops, cocktail bars, and etc. other hipster-derived businesses

The counter to the argument posed above of why the newer breweries in surrounding earlier adopting states rate higher is that those states built stronger NEIPA cultures, manifesting in the ratings sites, among beer drinkers, mavens, and among brewers who talk and learn from each other (and poach brewers from). And likely the same factors that caused NEIPAs to sprout late in NH also mean NH is less likely to sprout an exceptional one very often (and to be less recognized when they do thanks to the lack of said early adopter-mindset consumers).

I also wonder if the stricter laws that hindered out of state and imported beer distribution coming into NH had an impact. It was a lot easier for residents of the surrounding states to try interesting beer than it was for residents of NH. It could be a factor of why the homebrewers that turned pro in those states were less traditional than the ones in NH. If I had a nickel for every brown ale and English/old east coast style pale ale brewed in NH from 2011-2014..But I bet the cultural mindset/people subset is the bigger reason.