Smuttynose: Greatest Hits

Everyone take a break from eulogizing Sumtty and go buy these up. I bought one on a whim and like it so much I went back and got half a dozen bottles, which I never do.

 

Wow, you guys covered off on so much I was going to say, but I'll go anyway.

Smuttynose was probably the first craft brewery that meant anything to me as I went to school in NH in the mid aughts. Finestkind, Shoals, Robust Porter, Old Brown Dog...these gave me a real foundation different styles and some of them remained some of my favorites. Finally going to the brewery on a trip to Portland many years later was a real special pilgrimage. I picked up lots of vintage Baltic Porter and Wheat Wine. Leaving New England after college meant I was always pining for Smuttynose (until they increased distro to NYC where it presented an awesome, affordable choice).

As NYC's beer scene has exploded, the local bars don't stock Smutty as much, but I still love picking up a six pack from time to time or grabbing Finestkind on tap. My IPA palette has definitely shifted, but I think Finestkind has aged rather gracefully compared to some other IPAs of those times. Their distro in NYC appears to have dried up in general, but hopefully I'll be able to partake in a good amount before they're gone for good.

My top 5 Smuttynose Brews:

5. Portsmouth Lager - This is purely based on memory, but the beer that taught me lagers weren't crappy water. Got this in a seasonal sampler and then grabbed regular sixes until I left NH. Was really sad that they discontinued it.

4. American Wheat Wine - This beer was intense. Loved sipping it in the winter.

3. Baltic Porter - Would buy a couple of bombers of this every year, still one of my favorite of the style. Awesome with age on it.

2. Pumpkin Ale - As someone mentioned up thread, a perfect Pumpkin because it's a beer with a hint of pumpkin. It nailed the balance better than any other and I'd pick up a 6 or two every year as a result. I also turned lots of friends onto it who thought pumpkin beers were gross.

1. Durty - When this originally came in small batch, I was ecstatic as this was the beer of my dreams (a Brown IPA from Smuttynose!). I traveled across NYC to try to grab a taste and it didn't disappoint. I couldn't believe they were rolling it out in 6 packs. Still the only beer of this style besides DFH Indian Brown that I enjoy.

honorable mentions: Brown Dogs, Vunderbar, Noonan Black IPA, and the Scotch Ale

 

Good article to add http://nhpr.org/post/sale-impending-smuttynose-brewing-owners-take-pride-what-theyve-built#stream/0

I'll always love Robust Porter, Baltic Porter and FinestKind.

Their Oktoberfest party has been a blast too!

 

I think the photo of beer just sitting on pallets in the warehouse says it all.

I mean, I live less than an hour away and how often did I ever have a chance to buy a bottle that was less than three months old?

 

I have fond memories of visiting Portsmouth about 10 years ago for their pumpkin release. It's the only pumpkin beer I like, and I love it. Tastes like fall to me, with amazing spice notes. I also drank the hell out of Finest Kind for a few years.

 

This was a problem for me too. I would've bought more FK if it wasn't all 3 months + old. Even stranger, it seemed the canned product was almost always old (I found one 1-month old last summer and it was great).

 

Old brown dog and imperial stout were my go to until I started home brewing. Finish kind later on.

 

I will say that I have always had luck finding fresh Finest Kind at Market Basket in NH (Londonderry specifically). I have consistently found it around one month old for the past three years or so. I will also admit that my frequency in purchasing has decreased significantly over the past year with my fondness for NEIPAs.

 

posted in the shop finds thread that I picked up a variety pack that was reasonably fresh. Just had a finestkind watching the end of the liverpool tottenham match. Damn fine beer.

 

Have been drinking Smutty for a looooong time, and enjoying it since day 1.... My faves are Big A, Baltic Porter, Smuttanator, the long since departed Maibock, Old Brown Dog, Barleywine, Russian Imperial Stout and Really Old Brown Dog... some of the Smuttlabs and 1-offs are great too, like Ol' Grundy Humper and the barrel-aged wheat wine....

Have big hopes they pull through...

Prosit!!

 

Holy shit, the fucking Maibock! I loved that beer!

 

Smutty has been running a great vintage keg program for years. Not sure what is left in their inventory, or scattered around in the cellars of bars, but do not pass up a chance to try some vintage Imperial Stout on draft if you see it. Utterly amazing notes of dark chocolate, tobacco, oak, and char. One of my favorite pours of all time.

 

For some reason Bouncy House became my official beer of that winter a few years ago when MA just kept getting slammed with snow. I drank many, many of them that year.

Other than that more votes for Robust Porter and Smuttanator.

 

Rhye IPA
Old Brown Dog
Really Old Brown Dog
Finest Kind

and a special place in my heart for the graphics on the can and 6-pack- Mud Season

 

This isn't quite on topic but it's not worthy of it's own thread either.

So, I finally made my way up to Tap Brewing in Haverhill over the weekend and was chatting with the bartender about how they do their canning (e.g. do they contract somewhere vs. have a mobile canner come to the bar). The guy told me that they just recently signed a contract to start brewing at.... Smuttynose. I sort of innocently mentioned that I heard they were up for auction and he said that they were pretty confident that, whatever happens, it was going to remain a brewery.

Maybe they just took a chance because they got a good deal given Smutty's situation? Or maybe the guy I spoke with was mistaken? Or maybe there's some reason for optimism about who's likely to buy the brewery?

I obviously have no idea which of those is correct but it was certainly surprising to hear and I'm going to hope for door #3.

 

I forgot about that Apple Brandy Imp Stout.....didn't it spend like 4-5 years in the barrel? I missed the release unfortunately...

 

https://omny.fm/shows/edgeradioondemand/norman-rice-on-plans-to-buy-smuttynose-brewing-co

Lol to this "entrepreneur" buying Smutty. It's a great brand, it's all about the brand, we can reinvigorate the brand.

"You must be excited, have you always wanted to buy a brewery?"

Norman - "No"

Stick to Extreme Networks dude

 

At the same time, it's always seemed to me that rich people do mostly boring things with their money. If he loses 8 million bucks here at least it was more fun than buying a parking garage. I'd rather someone with experience buy it but this beats having it turned into condos.

If I ever found myself stupidly wealthy I've always thought I'd want to give John Carpenter 20 million bucks to finally make a proper sequel to 'The Thing' (he has stated that financing is the only reason he's never done it).

Of course, these instincts are likely not unrelated to the fact that I will never have remotely that much money.