Brian Aldrich - New Hampshire Beer: Brewing from Sea to Summit

Published by American Palate

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2014 by Brian Aldrich and Michael Meredith

All rights reserved

Parts of this book have appeared, in a different form, on the Seacoast Beverage Lab Podcast at SBLPodcast.com.

First published 2014

e-book edition 2014

ISBN 978.1.62584.962.5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Aldrich, Brian, 1986- author.

New Hampshire beer : brewing from sea to summit / Brian Aldrich and Michael Meredith ; foreword by Tod Mott.

pages cm -- (American palate)

print edition ISBN 978-1-62619-425-0 (paperback)

1. Brewering--New Hampshire. 2. Breweries--New Hampshire. 3. Beer--New Hampshire. I. Meredith, Michael, 1986- author. II. Title.

TP573.U5A43 2014

338.476634209742--dc23

2014018002

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

BRIAN

To my dad for introducing me to the world of beer and home-brewing. To my mom, one of my biggest fans, who made me the kindhearted person I am. To my lovely wife and forever bar mate, Lisa, for going on brewery trips and always putting a smile on my face during the process of writing this book.

MIKE

To my loving family and friends who have supported me my entire life. To my parents, who always taught me to work hard and good things will happen. To Brian Aldrich for giving me my first book on craft beer, introducing me to the craft beer scene and always being there to cheers a brew or two.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Frank Jones. A name synonymous with beer and New Hampshire. There was a time when the Frank Jones Brewery of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was the largest brewery in America. At the brewerys peak, 250,000 barrels of beer were rolling out of the brewery on Islington Street. Now the brewery is gone, but the building remains, as does the legacy it holds.

New Hampshire is the state I have called home since late 2008. Admittedly, I wasnt much of a beer drinker at the time. Looking back, I realize I was in the calm before the storm of another craft beer revolution. Sitting in the Portsmouth Brewery for the first time in August 2008, I was captivated by the joy on peoples faces as they drank beer that was made in the same building. Looking through the glass into the brew house and seeing Tod Mott making the beers that would inspire me to start writing about beer is an experience I will never forget.

In 2010, I began to write about the craft beer scene in the seacoast area of New Hampshire. Since then, the amount of breweries in the state has more than doubled. When approached to write this book, I knew I couldnt do it alone. I wanted to share this adventure. I believe craft beer should be enjoyed with friends and family, so I set off on this craft beer trek with my longtime friend Mike Meredith.

New Hampshire has a deep, rich history when it comes to beer. The breweries of the 1990s have paved the way for the up-and-coming breweries of today. We wanted to understand what the beer scene was like for the breweries that have been operating for decades and how their trials and tribulations have helped the breweries of the 2000s. A glass will be raised to the past, but as the craft beer scene continues to grow, it is important to highlight the present as we look toward the future.

Seacoast jetty located in Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, New Hampshire. Photo courtesy of Corey OConnor, www.coreyoconnorphoto.com.

We hope this book inspires you to get out and make your own craft beer adventure. We traveled the state to each and every brewery in this book to meet the brewers, drink the beer and document facts you may not have known about the history of your favorite brewery. We also put in some of our experiences from our travels. What is great about the beer industry is that the brewers do not hide in the shadows. You will see the brewers out and about town, enjoying a beerbe it their own beer or someone elsesand pouring beers at festivals with a smile. Sitting down and talking to everyone, over a beer of course, is what rounded out this experience. Each brewery tells a unique story through its beer and its history as a brewery.

Let us not forget the places to drink the beers. While many breweries have tasting rooms and growler fills or pubs, there are plenty of great bars where you will find these great beers on tap. When traveling, it is important to find a bar where you can get the beer on tap. New Hampshire has no shortage in watering holes and, much like the breweries, offer their own spin on the concept of a bar. From craft beercentric to dive bars, they are as important to the state as the breweries.

By the time you read this book, there will surely be an increased number of breweries in New Hampshire. This is an example of the growing craft beer scene, and we are excited to see what the future holds. Cheers!

BRIAN ALDRICH

FOREWORD

The year was 2003, and I answered David Yarringtons (executive brewer at Smuttynose Brewing Company) inquiry about knowing any brewers looking for work by stating, Ill look into it. The more I thought about his question, the more I thought, Yeah, I know somebody looking for brewing work ME! At the time, I was the brewer at the Tap in Haverhill, Massachusetts. I had been working there for about six months when Dave called. In those days, I was a bit frustrated because my previous employment opportunity was a bust, the clientele at the Tap was not quite established as of yet and my beer was languishing in the serving tanks a little too long for my liking. So I called Dave back and asked if I could interview for the Portsmouth Brewery job. He was a bit taken aback, but he said yes. I went to Portsmouth and interviewed with Peter Egelston, owner of Portsmouth Brewery (P-Brew) and Smuttynose Brewing Company, and David for four hours in what is affectionately called the fish bowl, due to the surrounding glass faade. I landed the job and so began my introduction with beers brewed in the Granite StateNew Hampshire, or, as some of the brewing cognoscenti refer to it, the Shire. There were only a handful of breweries at that time, and Peter had been instrumental in the passage of the brewpub laws, allowing for the rise of those ever-so-humble establishments. P-Brew has been cranking out beer for over twenty years, of which I was at the helm for eight and a half.

The most exciting event that happened during my tenure at P-Brew was the BeerAdvocates publishing its best of list in 2008 and having one of my beers on the list. What started as simply a great beer received world-class recognition and turned into the years must-have beer. That changed everything at P-Brew, and as some say, the rest is history.

In any event, when I took the job at Portsmouth Brewery, there were only a handful of microbreweries and brewpubs in New Hampshire. I knew most of the players and most of the beer involved. The beer was good beer, and there were some outstanding brewers in New Hampshire. Now, eleven years later, the beer scene has totally transformed to a superhighway of craft beer. In the past three years, we have seen an explosion of craft beer all across the United States, and the trend is not getting any slower or smaller. What I get a charge out of is how passionate all the old guard and the new players are about their trade/craft/art. I have told the story many times, but beer is the combination of art and science. The majority of U.S. beer drinkers are blinded by the yellow fizzy mass-produced light lagers synonymous with the big three American breweries. The large brewing companies produce beer on a scale of volume economics. Bigger, more efficient equipment using less-than-high-quality ingredients creates a less expensive product. The economy of large-scale brewing allows for money to go toward marketing rather than the higher-priced, better-quality ingredients. Where the big guys falter is in the diversity of beer styles. This is what craft is all about: the decision to use great ingredients and produce a variety of styles. Todays brewers are not concerned with the parameters of the how but more of the what. The resurgence of craft brewing, the farm-to-table and slow-food movements plus sustainability and transparency have become the way of becoming a viable entity in ones community. It is the community we are reaching out to, not the world. Think globally; act locally. New Hampshires local communities respect the movement, and the brewers respect their communities. So folks from the Shire, keep drinking the great beer brewed in your state, and the brewers will continue to impress you with the integrity of the beers they produce.