Anybody checked them out yet? I'm very curious. Seems like they've gotten good reviews. I'm really hoping for another good brewery in NH. Seems like we are the only state in New England with no breweries that put themselves above the norm. It seems like (in my opinion) the only 2 good breweries are Smuttynose and Stoneface.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/from-the-barrel-brewery-derry-nh.194062/ I think some of the ratings are less than trust-worthy if you take a look at them closely... I thought the beer was mostly pretty good, though.
There's a guy who has rated every beer from them a 5 and has every beer in both his wants and gots. At least one person is screwing with the system.
I stopped in at From the Barrel last weekend, and while some beers were better than others, I generally enjoyed them. The Remedy Porter was my favorite of those I tried, and was a very good take on the style. The didn't have the Lily or Strictly Simcoe, both of which I had heard good things about, so I tried a pilsner, double IPA and session IPA in addition to the porter. I can't recall which of those I liked most/least, but I remember finding them to range from fairly good to very good. I didn't encounter any duds, but aside from the porter nothing totally blew me away. I was happy to check them out and think they're a nice addition to the NH beer scene; I'll definitely stop by again and I'm looking forward to trying the Lily and some of their other beers. While I don't agree with your overall assessment of the beer scene in New Hampshire, I've been very happy to see the number of breweries growing, and the quality of beer (from new and established breweries) improving and becoming more varied. Of the NH breweries to open in the last year or so, Stoneface, Schilling and Earth Eagle are among my favorites. Blue Lobster was as well when David Sakolsky was brewing there. I haven't been by to try anything since he left, but I have no doubt that whenever David opens his own brewery it will be on that list too.
