Brewery Tour #22 - Blue Lobster Brewing

The Hampton beach area in south eastern New Hampshire isn’t normally a spot one associates with quality beer. Upon mention of that area, you might first envision honkey-tonk teenage hangouts, or maybe video game arcades, mini skirts with tramp stamps, cigarette-butt littered beach sand, or tricked-out cars blaring beats with their windows down. Or, all the above.

 

For the past year, beer geeks have found refuge from Hampton Beach’s charades four miles up the road on route 1. It’s a safe haven tucked away in the corner of a cookie cutter strip mall plaza, and it’s where Blue Lobster Brewing calls home. Yes, a strip mall, but it’s an upgrade from the type of digs many small breweries inhabit; often shabby, bare-boned warehouses. (Heck some of those warehouses seem no different than a stage set from a mafia flick where “stuff” goes down.)

Michael Benoit, a home brewer for thirty years, opened Blue Lobster Brewing on November 8, 2012. To help him, he recruited a young man by the name of David Sakolosky who apprenticed at Hill Farmstead for a year, and previously helped White Birch get off the ground in Hooksett NH.

Michael and David aim to provide their local area primarily with fresh draft beer, as opposed to bottles. They fear their beer will be left uncared for in stores and go stale. Outside a few kegs sent to local establishments (i.e. the pizza restaurant next door), you must visit Blue Lobster to purchase their beer. Given that the duo prefers brewing hoppy beer, it’s arguably a good thing one must visit them to purchase the beers that – compared to other styles – can lose their character more quickly when sitting on room-temperature store shelves for extended periods of time.

The Blue Lobster tasting room is nicer than most. There’s a small bar with a handful of seats and five or six high top tables. The lobster-themed décor is thoughtful while not overdone.

The common thing to order is a tasting flight. For $5 you get five beer samples at three or four ounces each. We sampled a pale ale named “Gold Claw,” a wheat IPA called “Stalkholm Syndrome,” a black IPA named “Red Door(Paint It Black),” a double IPA called “Excess is Not Rebellion,” and their rye porter named “Ragged Neck Rye.”

Gold Claw is generally considered the brewery’s flagship beer. Scoring highly on beer rating websites, we expected great things. It smelled very nice and floral, but the flavor was thin, lifeless, and otherwise disappeared in your mouth without hinting at much character. Other beer geeks defend this, saying “yes but for 4.5% abv it’s a great session beer.” I disagree. Don’t make excuses for beers lower in alcohol. It’s been proven enough times that producing low-alcohol ale full of flavor is entirely doable. We look forward to trying another batch in the future, but today, thumbs down for Gold Claw.

Equally excited for Excess is Not Rebellion, we dove into that next. This beer is tricky. The brewer changes its recipe drastically. Certain batches use entirely different hops from other batches. The version we tasted was brewed entirely with Columbus – a hop varietal we have a love/hate relationship with. At times, Columbus tastes a bit like onion (hate). Other times it’s more grassy (love). In this beer, I sensed both grass and onion; the former on the nose, the latter in the flavor.  Additionally, it was overly bitter – not good. Other versions sound more promising; a previous batch was made with Galaxy/Centennial/Citra, and another batch sported 100% Galaxy. I have to think those versions taste far better.

“Red Door(Paint It Black),” their black IPA, is noted by the brewer to pay homage to the original Vermont take on the style. Exactly which brewer that refers to we’re not sure. Regardless, this beer lacks the hop punch we love in beers like Stone’s Sublimely Self Righteous, and Firestone Walker’s Wookey Jack. We continuously use those two beers as benchmarks for the black IPA style, and Blue Lobster’s take didn’t cut it. However, if one considers Blue Lobster’s version as a slightly more bitter porter, it can come across as successful and perhaps enjoyable enough.

Up next – “Ragged Neck Rye” porter. If I had this blind, I would declare it a Scotch ale. It offers a profound sense of peat often found in American takes on Scotch ales. While notes of rye were noticeable they played second fiddle to the presence of peat. The beer could’ve used more body and depth, but was not necessarily a disappointment. Overall, it was tasty enough. But worthy of a growler fill? Not exactly.

Feeling slightly disappointed in our tasting thus far, we worried we’d walk away with no interest in a growler of anything offered. The last beer, however, redeemed our experience. “Stalkholm Syndrome,” a wheat IPA, is beautiful. A gorgeous, citrusy hop presence blends like butter with a soft wheat malt bill. Without question, this beer is Blue Lobster’s highlight. Why we've heard more acclaim for Gold Claw is beyond us. Stalkholm easily deserves to be in the discussion for New England’s best IPAs. We found our growler beer.

Despite being let down up to the end of our tasting, it’s worth stressing that we went into this visit with high expectations. It’s entirely possible, if not likely, this affected our reaction to Blue Lobster’s offerings. None of the beers were bad, and I can easily see people finding any one of the beers to their liking.

Note: Since the initial visit to the Blue Lobster tasting room, I had the chance to taste two additional beers of theirs at a festival. One being a new DIPA called “A Town Called Earth: Exeter Edition,” and the other a bottle-conditioned farmhouse ale – the latter being the result of a collaboration with Prairie Artisan Ales from Oklahoma. The new DIPA was far better than the one we tried back at the tasting room. It served up a smooth tropical hop profile of melon, papaya and the like. The farmhouse ale was tart and a bit funky, with very mild carbonation. It tasted promising, but I immediately thought it needed more time in the bottle to develop into something grand.

The tasting room is a comfortable spot, definitely worth a visit. Many people find something to love in their arsenal of beers, so it’s likely you will too.  Although it’s strictly a tasting room with no food, there’s a pizza restaurant right next door (called the Community Oven) that many people like, and you’ll find Blue Lobster on tap there.

Worth noting for your visit - Blue Lobster will fill other brewery’s growlers as long as they’re brown glass. They hesitantly fill screw cap growlers because they feel more comfortable seeing their beer walk out the door in swingtop bottles, which seal better than caps. 1/6th kegs are also for sale if you’d rather party at home instead of with Tammy, Trent, and the other IROC jockeys at Hampton Beach. 

Blue Lobster Brewing

845 Lafayette Road

Hampton, New Hampshire 03842

(603) 601-6062
www.facebook.com/BlueLobsterBrew

Tasting Room Hours:

Thu: 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Fri: 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Sat: 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Sun: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Brewery Tour #21 - Foolproof Brewing Company

On a 98 degree day, with a real feel of approximately 163 degrees, we made the questionable decision to forgo the beach (or any other sensible activity to stay cool) and instead visit a hot brewery with no AC. Coincidentally, the name of that brewery is “Foolproof”.

Or is that ironic?

Actually, it’s both.

Based in Pawtucket Rhode Island, Foolproof Brewing began business in 2010. They believe in “experienced-based brewing”. Their three primary beers are intended to pay tribute to three different sacred beer drinking experiences. They claim these three experiences are, 1 – “watching baseball” (agreed), 2 – “relaxing indoors on a rainy day” (sounds nice, but a sacred beer drinking experience it is not), or 3 – shooting the breeze at your local watering hole (inarguable).

Foolproof’s name up until their official opening was High Jinx Brewing. A bit late in the game they discovered that name was already under copyright by a winery. Humorously, Foolproof already had pint glasses produced with “High Jinx Brewing” printed on them. At the time of our visit, they were selling off the stockpile High Jinx pint glasses at a discount.

When you visit the brewery you pay $10. That money gets you three tasting tokens, a tour, and either one Foolproof pint glass or two High Jinx pint glasses to walk away with. Otherwise, pay and extra $2 and you may take home a beautiful Foolproof-branded tulip glass (I’m a sucker for tulip glasses so guess which option I took).

Your three tasting tokens can be used towards any of their three flagship beers, or a specialty beer they happen to have recently bottled. During our visit, the specialty beers were a farmhouse saison, and a Russian imperial stout. If you go with someone, play it smart and use your tokens so that both you and your friend/spouse can try all the beers available and share each other’s samples. Don’t worry, samples sizes at Foolproof are generous and easy to share.

The flagship beers that match the previously mentioned life experiences are “Backyahd” (IPA), “Raincloud” (porter), and “Barstool” (golden/blonde ale). Use your marbles to figure out which beer serves which experience.

 

The Backyard IPA (no typo – I refuse to use the idiotic accent-based spelling going forward) will not wow you. It’s another run-of-the-mill east coast style IPA with prominent bitterness, earthy hop aggression, mild citrus hop notes, and heavy carbonation. It's satisfactory, but doesn't fit our tastes for an IPA to seek out. 

 

Barstool is a 4.5% ABV session ale with no errors that’s easy to throw back. Its flavor won’t turn heads. Mild on all fronts, it fits warm weather well and can easily satisfy the general public. 

I had high hopes for the Raincloud porter because I read a handful of positive remarks from fellow beer geeks. It draws good ratings among beer fans, so if you like porters, stouts, and other malt-heavy styles, give it a shot. I found it a bit thin, soapy, and lacking that comfort that a good porter provide. But I’ve learned to never write off a beer until I've had it twice, for multiple reasons. So I still look forward to trying Raincloud again.

The saison/farmhouse ale we tasted is called La Ferme Urbaine (meaning “the urban farm”). If you shy away from French pronunciations (me too), you can simply ask for “the saison” and avoid embarrassment. This beer was the highlight of our tasting. Although it uses mainly German hops and grains, the flavor matches the Belgian saison style well. It’s hazy, with notes of banana, pepper, lemon, and it finishes very dry (as a saison should).

Our last pour was “Reverie,” a Russian imperial stout. We thought it was decent, yet not as assertive as we like our RIS’s. It was oddly non-filling and easier to drink than a typical RIS. Theoretically, a beer’s drinkability score should never be dinged for being too easy to drink. But as many fans of Russian imperial stouts will say, the style is most fun when big, bold, and complex. Reverie tasted neither big or bold, and its flavor depth was a touch shallow. With that said, it was well balanced, tasty enough, and nicely approachable for the style. If Reverie was available at an economical cost in 6 packs, I’d say it’s an excellent weeknight RIS, but as it’s only available in uneconomical 22oz. bottles, its competition on the shelf is far stronger and I would be hard pressed to reach for this one over other 22 oz. options.

The tour itself is not a quick pass through the brewing area. It’s one hour long. Your tour guide explains the brand’s story, the history for each style they brew, and every step of the brewing process. But it’s not a tedious hour, the guides show clear passion for what they do and are genuinely excited to inform you.

Their flagship beers are packaged in cans and available in six-packs. I quite like their designs, frankly. Your tour guide will go into detail as to why they favor cans over bottles. As you may or may not already know, cans are great for blocking beer’s enemies (sunlight and oxygen), and obviously don’t break like glass when dropped.

Despite our belief that Foolproof’s beers generally won’t wow people, they’re all agreeable and have their place. I would never turn one down if offered by a friend, even if because I unabashedly love the can artwork.

A visit is recommended if you have time to kill in Pawtucket. The tasting room is modern and friendly. Parking is easy. And despite having to pay $10, your money goes a long way at Foolproof. Just be smarter than we were, visit when it’s not so hot out that you could sauté quahogs on your car’s hood. 

Foolproof Brewing Company

241 Grotto Ave

Pawtucket, RI, 02860
www.foolproofbrewing.com
(401) 721-5970

Tours:
Saturdays at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 p.m. (with the exception of major holiday weekends and severe weather). Tours are limited to the first 25 people.

Brewery Tour #20 - Mystic Brewery

Our last trip brought us to the bowels of Everett MA, visiting the creative suds from Night Shift Brewing, and the Belgian-inspired offerings from Idle Hands Craft Ales. If you’re apprehensive to visit that creepy area, there’s now another reason to go. Just 5 minutes away, in Chelsea, Mystic Brewing opened their doors to the public this past winter. Suddenly, within a 5 mile radius, you now have a mini beer tour at your fingertips.

Despite only recently opening their brewery’s doors to the public, Mystic has been selling beer close to two years now. Well, “brewery” isn’t the best word. Because there isn’t one on site. What they have is best referred to as a fermentorium. They brew wort (the first stage of brewing) offsite at another location, then truck it back to their abode in Chelsea to ferment, blend, and so on.

Centuries ago, brewers fermented beer by letting liquid from strained grains sit in barrels and open vats because there was a “mystical” ingredient, invisible to the naked eye, which magically brought the liquid to life. Commonly known today as yeast, it is this mystical ingredient – not the nearby river – that drives the meaning behind Mystic Brewery’s name. And yeast is also what makes the brewers at Mystic giddy.

You see, owners Bryan Greenhagen and his wife, Emily are both MIT-trained fermentation scientists. Isolating, cultivating, propagating, and otherwise toying with yeast strains is their passion. They’ll isolate a yeast strain from local plums, cranberries, blueberries from Maine, or from the surrounding air and land.

How’s it working for them? After tasting our fair share of their concoctions at the brewery, I’d say swimmingly. And “swimming” is also the appropriate word to describe how we felt as we left the brewery. The samples they provide are some of the most generous we’ve come across. Many seem well over the usual two ounces. And at our time of visit, they had approximately nine beers for sampling, most of which hover at or above 7% ABV. Be sure you have some food in your belly before you go. We didn’t, and it made the situation a bit funny.

As for the beers, Mysitc primarily makes saisons. And you’ll notice an assuring level of consistency across all of them. At the time of our visit, four out of the nine beers were saisons. A fifth saison was listed but had recently run dry. Two of the nine beers are “brewery-only” and not sold in stores. Those two available to us were both low-ABV session beers; one a “table” saison, and the other a “half IPA”. Both competed for top highlights of our visit.

The other beers consisted of “Three Cranes”, a cranberry saison; “An Dreoilin”, a winter saison; “Vinland One”, a tart wild ale using native yeast; “Saison Renaud”, their flagship pilsner-based saison; “Descendant”, a Belgian-style porter with molasses; “Lord Falconer”, an oatmeal stout; and “Day of Doom,” a 12% Belgian quad. 

The only misstep for my tastes was Day of Doom, as it lacked the necessary complexity expected in authentic Belgian quads. However, given that only one of the nine beers disappointed me is a testament to the consistent quality Mystic offers.

A tasting flight here is free. But, on Saturday at 1:00pm, pay just $6 and get: 1) a beautiful Mystic-branded goblet to take home, 2) a tour of the facility 3) a guided tour of the beers on tap and, 4) a contribution to local charities.

Mystic’s tasting room is one of the coolest tasting rooms around. It’s large and simple, but with a beautiful rustic look. Many elements are made of repurposed wood from a nearby scrap yard. The old world abbey-like wall tapestries, and the doors that look as if they came off the set of Lord of the Rings all add to the room’s coolness factor. Top it off with ample parking right on site and a vibe that practically invites you to hang out. Mystic Brewery is a must visit.

Mystic Brewery

174 Williams St.
Chelsea, Massachusetts, 02150
phone: (617) 800-9023

www.mystic-brewery.com

Tasting Room hours with free tasting flights:

Thursday 3:00 - 7:00 PM

Fridays 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Saturdays 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Brewery Tour #18 & #19 - Night Shift Brewing and Idle Hands Craft Ales

If every rose has its thorn, then perhaps every thorn has its rose.

One thorn DBNE recently came across was an ugly industrial park in the ugly town of Everett, MA. That’s right, we're talking two layers of ugly here. But if you’re a beer lover that happens to be passing by Charlton Street in Everett, turn onto it.

Once you’re on Charlton St., ignore the immense, crumbling brick building in front of you with its windows blown out. Just bear left into the mess of unforgiving construction that makes you feel like you have no business being there. Disregard the sinking feeling that you're trespassing into guarded territory, and park your car anywhere alongside the chain-link fence where it feels like you’ll be instantly towed. Get out of our car and slowly walk down the foreboding narrow alley in-between the two buildings and look for a small, inconspicuous black and white sign of a hop cone that looks like an angry owl. If you feel like you’re in the wrong place, you’re in the right place. Got it?

Once inside your first door, walk down the dark and seemingly deserted hallway, straight past a couple of side doors and into a dimly lit garage of sorts. Walk around the cars, and you'll find yourself facing two doors. If you feel like you've gone far enough and this is all a cruel joke, fear not. Behind these two doors is your thorn’s rose – friendly people pouring tasty beer. 

The two doors in front of you are the entrances to two of Boston's newer nanobreweries. Night Shift Brewing, and Idle Hands Craft Ales, founded in 2011 and 2010, respectively. 

What's a nanobrewery? There’s still no confirmed definition, but as one might assume, it’s a very small brewery. Very, very small. Sometimes just a glorified homebrew set up that happens to sell their beer commercially. Some industry folk have casually defined nanobreweries as operations using no more than a 4 US barrel (470 L) brew system.

DBNE first walked through the left door, which puts you square into the tasting room for Night Shift Brewing. Inside were 3 men standing behind a bar, dishing out samples to a handful of people. 

Once you've made it this far inside, you realize the building you're in (which moments ago felt unwelcoming at best) seems like a communal manufacturing facility that probably leases raw individual spaces to small, start-up production companies of any kind. It's actually a smart space for a start-up brewery to get its feet wet in the industry. 

We were acknowledged immediately in the Night Shift tasting area and offered a full tasting of six beers on tap, going from light to dark.

Our tasting included “Trifecta,” a very agreeable Belgian-style pale; “Rose,” a saison brewed with rosemary, rosehips, honey, then aged on crushed pink peppercorns was a hit and made its way home with us;  A Berliner-Weisse style sour ale brewed with lemongrass and ginger, called “Somer Weisse,” tasted tart, bright, and refreshing, but it seemed better suited for warmer months (I envisioned drinking it with a strawberry chicken salad); “Taza Stout,” brewed with chicory root, ginger, and then aged on cacao nibs was a nice change of pace and also found its way home with us; "Fallen Apple," a golden ale brewed with fresh MA apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, allspice, then aged in rum and brandy barrels was a bit hit with us. Lastly, we finished up with “Viva Habanera,” a rye ale brewed with agave nectar and aged on habanero peppers. The pepper kick on the finish of this last beer was a surprise, and while interesting to experience, was a bit overwhelming on the palate.

The Night Shift tasting room is open every weeknight from 5:00 – 9:00 pm and Saturday afternoon 12:00 – 5:00 pm. Pre-filled bottles and growler fills are both available for sale.

Leaving the Night Shift tasting room, we popped into door #2 to visit Idle Hands. Similar to Night Shift, you immediately walk into a small tasting area with a bar. The tasting here included their flagship “Pandora” – a very agreeable Belgian inspired pale ale, “Rosemary for Remembrance"– a delightful ale made with sweet potato and rosemary, "Charlton Rouge” – their homage to a Flanders Red, and "Cognition" – a very sessionable Abbey style brown ale.

There were no duds in the Idle Hands lineup. All were enjoyable. We particularly loved the playful sour notes in Charlton Rouge which blended well with its brown sugar malts. Hence, we took a bottle home along with Pandora which offers layers of elegant flavor yet is deceptively simple to drink. If bottles of Rosemary for Remembrance were offered, and not just growlers of it, that would have made it home with us as well because it would've paired superbly with Thanksgiving dinner. 

Idle Hands is not open to the public as often as Night Shift, so be sure you visit these parts when both breweries are open. Hours for Idle Hands are Thursdays from 5:00 – 8:00 pm and Saturdays from 12 – 4:00 pm. Night Shift is always open during Idle Hands’ hours.

Despite the humor of locating the entrance to these breweries, we very much recommend a visit. Although I must admit, I can’t imagine the humanity of trying to locate the appropriate doors in a scary industrial site during dark weeknight hours in winter; not unless I want my family to see my face on the local news the next day with the word “MISSING” underneath it. For your first visit, stick with Saturday daytime hours and enjoy. 


Night Shift Brewing 
3 Charlton St
Everett, MA 02144
Open Monday – Friday 5:00 – 9:00 pm, and Saturdays from 12:00 – 5:00 pm
617-294-4233
www.nightshiftbrewing.com

Idle Hands Craft Ales
3 Charlton St
Everett, MA 02144
Open Thursdays from 5:00 – 8:00 pm, and Saturdays from 12 – 4:00 pm
info@idlehandscraftales.com
www.idlehandscraftales.com

Ebenezer's Pub

Heard of Lovell, Maine? Me neither, until very recently.

After DBNE's recent trip there, I asked two Maine natives if they were familiar with the town. I received a one blank stare, a pair of shrugged shoulders, a head shake, and two utterances of, “nope”.

My wife and I (aka DBNE) ended up in Lovell when we recently visited North Conway NH, where we’d been multiple times before. But never before had we imagined that any part of Maine was relatively close by. A note from a fellow member of BeerAdvocate.com told me that Ebenezer’s Pub – rated the best beer bar in America more than once – was a doable twenty or so miles away.

I was vaguely aware of Ebenezer’s fame. I knew it was in Maine, but therefore figured it was a far drive from anywhere. So, I never bothered to know the town it lied in. 

What I knew about Ebenezer's was gleaned from an article or two, advertisements, and even videos of its basement. 

That’s right, the basement. 

It’s a dingy looking basement. Like yours and mine. But although Ebenezer’s basement doesn't look fancy, it in fact houses an impressive bounty of rare and hard-to-find beer not often seen. Much of the beers seen in the video hail from Europe, with many Belgian delights visible. It’s clear one does not come to Ebenezer’s to explore American craft beer.

The drive to, and through, the town of Lovell was almost worth the trip alone. A thick orange sunset saturated the quiet and quaint town that frankly seemed motionless. Before you knew it, we passed a tiny road that fed the parking lot to Ebenezer’s. (You'll pass it, too, if you've never been there.)

The pub sits right on a golf course. As we walked up to it, we weren’t immediately sure where to walk in. The door we entered put you immediately onto a patio dining area that felt as if you’re standing in a road-side shack that dishes out deep-fried seafood by the bucket load.

We eventually found our way to the bar area which was surprisingly small. I feel an establishment that puts significant thought into its beer selection should offer a substantial bar area relative to the restaurant’s total size. There were only five or six stools at the bar and two high-top tables nearby – one of which we luckily got. One cool aspect of the bar is that each tap handle is made of blown glass. 

There are 35 beers on draft here. None of them are pedestrian. The majority are obscure European imports that would excite even the geekiest beer nerds. Between my wife and I, we drank Omnipollo Mazarin, Pannepot Wild, Stillwater Existent, Old Engine Oil (not literally), Cuvee Angelique, and another sour ale we’ve somehow forgotten the name of.

One thing Ebenezer’s is known for is Black Albert. It’s a hefty, 13% ABV Russian Imperial Stout that’s brewed exclusively for them by De Struise in Belgium. It’s amazing the pub has this connection with such a world-class brewery. Black Albert is said to be terrific. Unfortunately, there was none left during our visit. But if you go, don’t hesitate to ask if there’s any in house.

In addition to draft offerings, there’s an extensive bottle selection offering treats from the cellar. Interestingly, however, the bottle list is not 100% complete. For instance, if you desire a specific lambic or gueuze from Drie Fonteinen or Cantillon, this requires a discussion with your server. As you’ll see the menu merely states “Cantillon – various offerings,” starting at something around $40 per bottle. Near this section of the bottle list, there’s a note stating that it may require extra time for your server to dig for your selection in the cellar. To be honest, I’d pay an extra $10 to dig for it myself down in that treasure trove of theirs.

As for the food, we ordered a myriad of protein and it was all satisfying. The chicken, cooked sous-vide, couldn’t have been more moist or tender. The blood sausage was fantastic, the steak tips savory, the knockwurst and brats also succulent.

Prices on food and beverage lean to the steep side at Ebenezer’s. Your tab can stay modest if you order a sandwich and domestic beer. But a more exciting entrée paired with two or three of their more intriguing beer offerings quickly adds up your damage report. As Ebenezer’s remote location gives the impression that you may not be back any time soon, you quickly feel it’s OK to splurge a bit.

Overall, if you’re a beer geek who finds him or herself within twenty five miles from Lovell, ME (this includes the distance from the congested town of North Conway, NH) Ebenezer’s is worth your time for at least one visit. If you really want a tour of the cellar, it’s said that you can request one in advance, time permitting on the owner’s behalf. If you go down there, do me a favor. Record it and post it to YouTube, because I’ve worn out the previous videos.

Ebenezer’s Pub

44 Allen Rd. Lovell, ME 04051

207-925-3200

www.ebenezerspub.net

Brewery Tour #17: Smuttynose Brewing

Have you tried the IPA, known as “Finest Kind,” from Smuttynose Brewing?

I have. But I feel like I haven’t.

It receives a substantial amount of accolades. And when I was recently reminded of that, I asked myself what I thought of it. I know I’ve had it more than once, but I said to myself, “I don’t know. Do I like it?” I suppose I never walked away with an impression.

Due to my perception of the Smuttynose brand being one of higher quality, I wanted to revisit Finest Kind again. So I decided to: 1) Purchase a six pack or order it the next time I see it at a restaurant, and 2) Visit Smuttynose Brewing in the hopes I could taste Finest Kind fresh – straight from source.

A couple of days later I found Finest Kind offered at a local restaurant. I immediately smelled it after pouring it into a glass and honestly hoped I got an old bottle because I didn’t notice much of an aroma. After tasting it, I hoped even more so that it was an old bottle because the wonderful hop presence described in its glowing reviews was hardly noticed. In the end I did chalk it up as being past its freshness date and became simultaneously relieved and irritated.

Relieved that there was a plausible excuse for its underwhelming aroma and flavor.

Irritated that I – yet again – just purchased an old IPA with hops that have long faded away.

I couldn’t locate a best-buy or bottled-on date anywhere on the bottle, so who knows how old it was. It may have been on there. But I’d like to vent for a moment and say that I’m fed up with hieroglyphic bottle dating using dark ink in incongruous places on dark bottles. Or no bottle dates at all. Fed. Up.

It was then I decided that a visit to the Smuttynose Brewery, in Portsmouth NH, was mandatory. There I could presumably taste the freshet Finest Kind IPA anywhere on earth. Luckily an invitation to a friend’s party nearby gave DBNE a good excuse to trek up to the Portsmouth area.

Founded by the same people who started the Northampton (MA) and Portsmouth Brewpubs, Smuttynose sits in a quiet suburban area of Portsmouth NH. The brewery itself looks to be in a noticeable process of decay. One might describe its physical state as ramshackle. But to the folks at Smuttynose, it’s home. And we were still eager to see inside.

Tours at Smuttynose occur Fridays at 5:30pm, and Saturdays at 11:00am and 1:00pm. Apparently they’re popular. So much so that the brewery has recently resorted to using an online reservation service. You’re required to reserve your spot on a tour, but don’t worry, it’s free and the process is quick and painless. 

We didn’t take more than 4 steps in the brewery door before we were asked to put on safety goggles.

Safety goggles? 

I half-hoped the reason for this was because beer has been known to sporadically spray with vigor from leaks in their fermenter tanks. Or maybe that impromptu hop pellet fights were not uncommon and a previous visitor caught some simcoe in the eye. Sounded fun. Realistically, I figured it was because the decrepit building could crumble any minute and these glasses were supposed to save me when the ceiling drops on my head. I couldn’t help but recall the Schwarzenegger-like “McBain” character in an episode of the Simpsons, where he falls into a pool of acid and screams – “The goggles - THEY DO NOTHING!”

Glasses on, we immediately saw the tasting area where people were already congregating and tasting beers before the tour started. I noticed a menu was posted that listed the beers available for sampling, and quickly hustled over to look for Finest Kind on the list.

No luck.

Is this a joke? Isn’t Finest Kind their most popular brew? How could it not be one the samples offered? I bet those fiends from the earlier tour drank it all! It seemed fresh Finest Kind was not in my cards for the foreseeable future.

I sighed. But before whining like a little girl that I’d never get fresh Smuttynose IPA, I got over it as I saw there were other treats available to taste.

Offered for samples were Old Brown Dog, Really Old brown Dog, Shoals Pale Ale, Robust Porter, Woodward Ale, and their Wheatwine.
I’m already quite familiar with Shoals Pale Ale and Old Brown Dog. Shoals is a classic that, ironically, is not so pale. Compared to many of your common or pedestrian pales, Shoals offers a bit more character in the malt and hop departments. Smuttynose claims Shoals is an interpretation of an English pale ale. It may be, but its hop notes seem a bit American in nature.

Old Brown Dog is one of the best brown ales on the market in New England. Its roasty malt backbone is accentuated with notes of caramel and fall spices. Earthy hops balance everything and even provide a little bitterness on the finish. I often forget its ABV sits at 6.7% because it drinks like something at 5.0%. It’s a comfy blanket of a beer – solid and flavorful without overwhelming you on any front.
Woodward Ale is made specifically for the Woodward Tavern at the Ames Hotel in Boston. A golden-colored brew that, contrary to Shoals, drinks more like your typical pale ale. It’s dry, crisp, and a bit lighter. Piney hops are noticeable and so is the bitterness. Not a bad brew.

“Really Old Brown Dog”, not to be confused with “Old Brown Dog” is a bigger, more alcoholic version of the latter. It’s part of Smuttynose’s Big Beer Series that you can only purchase in 22 oz bottles. While still referred to as a brown ale in its name, some consider it to drink more like an “old ale.” I wouldn’t disagree. With its 10.10% ABV, it gives the impression it has aged in vats to mature and build character. I find it delicious. Prominent notes of brown sugar, nuts, fermented dark fruits, wood, and toffee all mingle equally. It’s a bit sweet – almost  too much so for my tastes, but it never crossed that line into cloying. Aging this beer wouldn’t be a bad idea. If you buy it, try getting 2. Drink one fresh while you age the other bottle in your cellar for a couple of years.

The Smuttynose Wheatwine is said to be a hybrid between a barleywine and a subtle American wheat ale. And that’s more or less what it tasted like. I don’t recall ever having a wheatwine, so I don’t have much to compare it to. But if you force me to picture the two aforementioned styles together, Smuttynose’s Wheatwine is ultimately what I would picture. The malts here are strong and sugary sweet. While some juicy hops, oak, and tart raisin are present, the malt bill is still the dominant force in this one. Not bad at all. But after tasting it I realized I had no reason to ever reach for another Wheatwine over a barleywine, except for curiosity sake (which is often the prevailing reason for my beer purchases anyway).

Lastly, the Robust Porter is no stranger to me. But if it is to you, change that. This beer tastes like a time capsule. Tastes like history. While double IPAs may be my favorite style of beer today, the porter style previously held that claim. And the quality inside a bottle of Smuttynose Robust Porter reminds me why that was. Charred grain, coffee, earth, bitter chocolate and a little hop bite are all seamlessly at play here. Robust indeed, but smooth and refined.

Tasting samples occurred at the beginning and end of the brewery tour. During the tour we learned Smuttynose has a new home to look forward to; a 14-acre farm in Hampton New Hampshire (architect-rendered drawing seen right). Glad to hear this. Their current facility really is quite packed. There’s very little space unoccupied by equipment, ingredients, or pallets of packaged beer waiting for shipment. You could tell our tour guide was excited about the move, too. He noted that they’re receiving way more orders, from new markets, that they could ever pretend to fulfill in their current space. The new facility (complete with a restaurant) will help Smuttynose grow and get more of their beers to other states. Those new states can expect some quality brews coming their way. And visitors will no longer have to feel that the Smuttynose brewhouse will collapse on top of them.

As we walked through the packaged beer area, I noticed the pallets upon pallets of Finest Kind waiting for shipment. I could only touch its plastic wrapping. I walked out of the brewery with no taste of super, uber-fresh Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA. So close, yet so far.

A couple weeks after our visit to Smuttynose, I found Finest Kind on the menu at an unsuspecting, fancy restaurant. I ordered it and was given the bottle along with a room-temperature glass (check plus). The bottle of Finest Kind was warm. I chuckled and knew many customers would hate this. I pictured our waiter grabbing the bottle out of the fridge, noticing how warm it was, and balking as he figured his customer (me) would complain that he just received warm beer. Lucky for our waiter, I’d rather my beer be warm than ice cold. It was my lucky day.

So how did it taste? Well, I noticed deliciously dank hops, grapefruit notes, and cereal-like malt grains all loud and clear.

Yeah, I remember now. I like Finest Kind. A lot.

Smuttynose Brewing Co. 

225 Heritage Ave 

Portsmouth NH 03801

603 - 436 - 4026 

Tours: Fridays at 5:30pm, and Saturdays at 11:00am and 1:00pm (online reservations required)

www.smuttynose.com/

Beercation Part 6 (Bonus) – The Blackback Pub

There were no more brewery visits left on our Vermont Beercation, but we made one more stop that delighted us. A modest little bar, called the Blackback Pub in Waterbury VT, made a fitting end to our tour. Appropriately fitting because they serve highlights from breweries in the area, like Hill Farmstead and Lawson’s. Having drinks at the Blackback is like taking a victory lap back around to some of the breweries you just saw, all from the comfort of one barstool.

Oh, and Blackback isn’t just a pub. It’s also a flyshop. Of course! The owner is a fly fishing guide who sells – as I’m told – top quality flies for local streams as well as new Hardy rods and reels and classic bamboo fly rods.”

How quintessential Vermont is that? I know zero about bamboo fly rods, Hardy thingamajiggers, or fishing in general, so I’ll stick to the beer.

But the quirkiness doesn’t end there. While they’ve never had a full menu, and historically only served plates of local cheeses, or pizzas from a local bakery, they have started to serve up some pretty satisfying sushi every Tuesday through Friday. Random? Yes. Tasty? Surprisingly, yes! More on that later. 

The Blackback’s tap list is said to vary in size from maybe ten to twenty-five beers depending on the day. They don’t always carry twenty-five beers on tap because, as they put it, “sometimes there aren’t twenty-five beers available that are good enough.” You have to love the standard they set for themselves.

Many quality beer bars will state that they carry no “fizzy yellow stuff”, “filler”, or “swill”. And you know the mass-produced beers they’re referring to. However, Blackback goes a step further and claims to not only refrain from offering “filler,” but also no “garbage craft beer.” I love them more for that. Because let’s face it, some breweries get a free ride into our craft-loving hearts only because their operation is small. When we step back and look at what they’re making, we realize they’re merely riding the craft beer wave with a mediocre product. That product may still be something we want to support over a mass produced beer from a bullying conglomerate, but with so many options on the shelves today, mediocrity doesn’t deserve too many of our dollars.

During our visit, Blackback’s tap selection offered approximately twelve selections. You can tell each beer is hand selected with reason. I much prefer this approach from a beer bar, rather than throwing 100 taps at me with a mix of good, bad, and pedestrian offerings that sit too long.

Allow me to illustrate how divine Blackback’s tap list is. One of my absolute favorite beers is Double Trouble from Founders Brewing. It’s a seasonal beer only on shelves during a few months out of the year. So I can’t get it whenever I want it. I’ve seen it on tap maybe once in my life. Well, the fine folks at the Blackback had it on tap, and my eyes lit up. But I didn’t order it. Because the other tap offerings were even more attractive.

When I see multiple offerings on tap from Hill Farmstead and Lawson’s, knowing that I can’t find those back home (not even in bottles, let alone on tap), even a beer like Double Trouble has to take a back seat. Other beers you can generally depend on Blackback to have at any point in time include a quality Belgian sour, a couple choice German offerings, something from Mikkeller, perhaps a barleywine, a benchmark west coast ipa, you get the idea.

The Hill Farmstead offerings on tap during our visit included Edward (the best pale ale I’ve ever had), Harlan (their solid flagship IPA), and their Imperial Galaxy double IPA. Having never tried the latter, we got that and savored every drop. Unsurprisingly, it was an amazing brew that showcased the power of Galaxy hops wonderfully. It also proved that the IPAs coming out of Hill Farmstead consistently draw new lines in the sand.

On tap from Lawson’s Finest Liquids was Big Hapi India Black Ale and the Permagrin Rye Pale Ale. We already had Permagrin, so we tried Big Hapi. Earthy citric hops and roasty chocolate malts shined and mingled perfectly to make this a winner.  

So I mentioned sushi. Yes it’s worth mentioning again. Tuesdays through Fridays you can order surprisingly yummy sushi from a guy named Steve. Turns out, the Blackback (already a small place) was once half its current size. The newer half originally belonged to a sushi restaurant. Blackback bought out the sushi place but hired their chef to cook for bar patrons on weekdays. It seems the deal works out swimmingly for both parties.

The sushi, coupled with the excellent beers in hand, oddly made for a very tasty and fun meal. We would not for a second hesitate to have it again when back in the area.

The one unfortunate thing about the Blackback is their habit of serving short pours. I did see other patrons with full pint glasses of some beers, but anyone who ordered Hill Farmstead or Lawson’s did not have a full pour. It’s possible that beers higher in alcohol (i.e. double IPA such as Hill Farmstead Imperial Galaxy) are not served in full pours here, while the other beers are. This lead me to believe Vermont had a law regarding pour sizes for beverages above a certain alcohol level, but a quick web search turns up no mention of this. Perhaps Hill Farmstead and Lawson’s are simply too popular at the Blackback to allow for full pours. It’s a big gripe I had, but we looked past it to not let it undermine our evening. But if you go, be forewarned. Despite the short pour, everything else about the Blackback is loveable.

Side note: Directly across the street from the Blackback is Prohibition Pig; the new restaurant that inhabits the old location of the Alchemist – brewer of the mind-blowingly good "Heady Topper" double IPA. Prohibition Pig was not completely open yet during our visit, but I believe it is now. A premier beer list still lives there, so it’s worth checking out.

We say aur revoir to our Vermont beercation. If you haven’t been to the “Northeast Kingdom” of Vermont, start making plans. The fact that it’s out of the way just provides good reason to make an entire trip out of visiting its breweries. And one thing is for certain – we learned they’re too good to not ever visit again. And again...and...

Blackback Pub

1 Stowe St. (corner Of Stowe And Main)Waterbury, VT 05676
ph: (802) 505-5115
www.blackbackpub.com