I plan on heading to Hampton Beach. I definitely want to hit Blue Lobster, but are there any good places to go at Hampton Beach for good craft on tap? Thanks
There are a few places on the strip at the main beach with a decent selection ie: smuttynose, redhook,kona. Nothing special though, trust me I was looking. This was fourth of julyish. Northbeach bar and grill, sea ketch. The best I can recommend is going to the Alehouse in Amesbury, MA, which isnt far at all.
Not going to Hampton Beach now. Lol....Convinced the wife that a trip to the Green Mountains would be much better! Thanks for the help
To be fair, Hampton Beach is a lot of fun in a boardwalk kinda way. There is also 2 breweries in Hampton and are about 15 minutes away.
The mountains are great and I always head to the Whites for some hiking and relaxing at least once a summer, and I try to make it up to the northern Vermont at least once a year with a friend who grew up in the area. And while I've never loved Hampton Beach (except for the Ween concert I saw there a few years back at the Casino Ballroom), there's no shortage of beer and different types of beaches in the Seacoast region. If the boardwalk isn't your thing, you can stay up the road a bit in much more low-key North Hampton or Rye, or just stay in Portsmouth and hang out around town, and catch a ride out to the beaches nearby. I'm not at all surprised that there isn't much in the way of good beer on-tap along the Hampton Beach strip, but there's plenty of good stuff nearby from Newburyport on up to Kittery.
You need to dial all of your expectations down to enjoy Hampton Beach, it's kind of a guilty pleasure. You'd be better off ordering tropical mixed drinks at an outdoor bar while a one man band covers Jimmy Buffet songs.
My expectations were not that high. I was just looking for at least one place on the strip that served at least 2 decent craft beers. It's too bad this is not even possible.
I live 15 minutes from Hampton Beach... which would explain why I'm in VT right now, with Heady, Hill Farmstead, and Lawson's beer all around. Plus scenery that one should be very thankful for. Spend the gas money and come find your beer zen with the wife. I think Hampton Beach was pretty popular in T.S. Eliot's Day. Last I checked he was quite dead.
My gf's parent's LOVE Hampton Beach, so I don't have any other (free) option than to stay on the boardwalk, but as another poster has said, Hampton Beach is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me as well. I found a place that had Finest Kind on draft, albeit a bit dirty. That wasn't too bad. But yes, that was the only decent beer on draft, so this theory holds true
Could be worse. Not on the boardwalk, but at least Blue Lobster, the Community Oven, 401 Tavern, Flatbread Company and soon Smuttynose are all a short bike or car ride away in inland Hampton.
For sure. Didn't love Blue Lobster when I went there a few weeks ago, but the weiss wasn't on yet. Also, Throwback was pretty decent right down the road from Blue Lobster.
