A Week of Beer
The Tenth Annual Portsmouth Beer Week is February 23 to March 4. That’s a week of beer crammed into ten days. Details and a list of events, including the kick-off seventh annual Winter Beer Fest, is at www.2beerguys.com/portsbeerweek. Of note this year is the Liar’s Bench (Portsmouth) Bockfest, typically held the last Saturday of Beer Week, moves to March 30.
Merge Ahead
Earth Eagle Brewings and A&G Homebrew (both Portsmouth) merged under the Earth Eagle brand. The brewery and adjacent homebrew supply store are both owned and operated by Alex and Gretchen McDonald and have been operating as separate, but closely related business. The merge will allow the homebrew shop to provide an expanded line of brewery swag plus Earth Eagle beers to-go in cans and kegs.
Hibernation’s End
When Canterbury Aleworks emerges from its winter hibernation break in February, brewer Steve Allman will have Love is in the Ale (8.2% ABV), a rye whiskey barrel-aged chocolate porter, on tap. It’s his nod to Valentine’s Day. Also in February is Enlightened Peasant (7.2%), an imperial German-style dampfbier. The style name translates as “steam beer,” and it’s native to the Bavarian Forest region of Germany. Murphy’s Red Friday (7.3%) is released in March for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s an Irish whiskey-barrel aged maple Irish-style red ale.
A Beer for the Dictionary
1766 Brewing (Plymouth) taps several new beers this winter. Webster’s Red Ale (6.3%) is a chocolate brown ale (6.1%), there will be a lightly smoked schwarzbier, a blueberry pie beer, a new DIPA, a milkshake IPA and an oatmeal stout. There’s live music in the pub every Thursday night plus a classic arcade game machine that has over 65 games on it.
Get It While It Lasts
The Woodstock Inn Brewery (North Woodstock) wraps up Frosty Goggles Shred Pale Ale and Maple Porter soon. Replacing them in March is Lost in Time, a double-dry-hopped pale ale. It’s a new, limited year-round brew that the brewery will make until it runs out of Galaxy hops. Also new is Exit 32 Galaxy Hopped Pale Ale, brewed in collaboration with Exit 32 Appeal. Exit 32 is the exit off of Interstate 93 that leads to North Woodstock and the Brewery.
First Birthday
Blasty Bough Brewery’s (Epsom) first birthday is February 17. Those who drop by can sample a special edition of Blasty Bough Birthday (6.0%) amber ale, a “blasting of the boughs,” raffles and live music in the taproom.
February kicks off the brewery’s Beer & Civility meeting series where patrons gather in the tavern to share some beer and debate the issues of the day with — wait for it — civility and respect. Each conversation will focus on one topic and be hosted by a local Town Moderator. The first meeting is February 24 at 3 p.m. for a conversation hosted by Lyme Town Moderator Kevin Peterson.
New winter beer releases include My Spicy Valentine (9.0%), a rich imperial red ale with cacao nibs and a special chili pepper variety, and John Dwyer’s Irish Stout, a dry Irish-style stout brewed for St. Patrick’s day.
A Month of Stout
Bad Lab Beer (Somersworth) celebrates its second annual Stout Month in February. Stouts from all over New Hampshire and the U.S. will be on tap during the month including collaborations with Woodland Farms (Kittery, Maine) and Liar’s Bench (Portsmouth).
The Key to Sour
Garrison City Beerworks (Dover) introduces a key lime version of its rotating fruited sour, Neverending Circles, at the end of February. Hoppiness returns in early March with So Fetch (8.2%) double IPA and Tessellate Orange Creamsicle (6.5%), a fluffy double-dry-hopped lactose IPA.
Brewer Nicole Gray hosts a few local female brewers for a collaboration on Saison Femelle (6.0%) kettle sour saison with hibiscus for International Women’s Day on March 8. There will be a little soirée at the brewery to celebrate.
Love Is in the Beer
On February 13, 603 Brewery (Londonderry) taps a specialty cask of a Valentine’s Day-inspired beer and pairs it with desserts and a fun night of trivia, also inspired by the holiday.
Have a Good Chuckle
Stark Brewing (Manchester) Master of Liquids Paul Davis brewed Chucklheadz Barleywine (9.5%) over a year ago in collaboration with Greg Ouellette and Mark Harrington (Martha’s Exchange) and Frank Fermino (Lord Hobo). It will finally be tapped in February, with cans available in March. Davis said it’s a modern interpretation of Old Chucklehead Barleywine he brewed at Castle Springs/Lucknow over 20 years ago.
Hound IPA (6.5%) continues to be one of the pub’s best-selling beers. It’s a take on the NEIPA style, but “without the haze or other junk.” A bourbon barrel-aged beer project will be available all winter, which features some of the pub’s favorite beers such as Bo’s Scotch Ale (~9.0%) aged between four and six months in Stark’s own used bourbon barrels from the distillery.
How Smart Is That?
Able Ebenezer Brewing (Merrimack) releases a new 6.7% NEIPA on February 8 in a series of single batch beers called Ingenuity. Styles and release dates under the series will vary, and each will be available only in the taproom. The NEIPA features more than three pounds per barrel of hops giving it a strong citrus and tropical fruit aroma and flavor.
Anniversary II
Concord Craft Brewing celebrated its second anniversary in January. The tasting room typically offers seven to nine different beers on tap and includes favorites Safe Space NEIPA (6.0%), Kapitol Kölsch, The Gov’nah Imperial IPA (8.6%), The Senatah NEIPA (6.5%) and Town Pound Porter plus rotating seasonal offerings such as Jalapeño Cream Ale, Maple Brown Ale, Wayfarer Coffee Stout, Hampsha Heffah, Wicked Safe Space Imperial IPA (6.0%) and Pond Hockey Pilsner. There’s also a Knob Creek bourbon barrel-aged stout and a brut-style IPA plus other small batch creations available only at the brewery. The taproom is also dog- and kid-friendly.
Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz
Henniker Brewing’s The Roast (6.5%) coffee stout returns this winter. It’s brewed with over 15 pounds of Kenya AA, Guatemala Antigua and Espresso coffee from White Mountain Gourmet Coffee in Concord. Double Roast Imperial Coffee Stout (10%)will be available later this winter. Splitter smoked golden ale also appears this winter, brewed with Noble hops and smoked malts.
Flavor Flav Would Be Proud
Moat Mountain Brewing’s (North Conway/Intervale) next issue of Flavah of the Day! (7.0%) rotating hop series IPA is released in February. This version was hopped with Idaho 7, Azacca and Citra hops. The grist remains the same, only the hops have changed. Call It A Day! (8.0%) returns in March. It’s an East Coast-style DIPA brewed with Nugget, Equinox, Citra and Mosaic hops plus flaked oats and flaked wheat in the grist.
Lazy Hazy Days of … Winter?
Great North Aleworks (Manchester) releases the next batch of its rotating New England IPA series Hazy Rotation (6.5%) in February. This batch features Amarillo, Falconer’s Flight, Cascade and Ekuanot hops.
Take a Break
Breakaway Beerworks is now operating in Manchester as a tenant brewery of Great North Aleworks. It’s operated by Gabe and Kate Rogers, former owners of Garrison City Beerworks.
Incidentally
Loaded Question Brewing (Portsmouth) releases a Malbec barrel-aged version of its Orange Peel Incident Belgian-style single on Valentine’s Day.
That’s a wrap for now, so hasta brewista (see you next beer)!
