Hello and welcome to the first edition of a new regular column of brewery and meadery news. Here, we will be keeping you informed on what new beers or meads are being launched by area breweries so you can try the newest New Hampshire brews and drink life to the lees.*
For now, we will be focusing on the Greater Manchester area brewers, what they’re making, what’s winning awards and what special events are coming up.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Great North Aleworks
Last Friday (Oct. 25) Great North released its 6th batch of Hazy Rotation, which is their rotating New England Style IPA (6.3 percent). This version is made with Citra and Mosaic hops.
Starting Thursday, Nov. 7, they’ll be releasing a Chocolate Milk Stout made with 2.5 pounds of Ecuadorian organic raw cocoa powder per barrel sourced by Master Chocolatier Richard Tango-Lowy of Dancing Lion Chocolate in Manchester. Co-owner Lisa North said they are pushing the chocolate flavor to the next level by including the cocoa powder. Traditional milk stout recipes include a blend of pale malt, chocolate malt, roasted malt and lactose, which naturally lend a chocolate-like flavor on their own.
North expects the Hazy Rotation and Chocolate Milk Stout will both last between one to two months in the tasting room.
Lithermans Limited Brewing
Last Wednesday (Oct. 23), Lithermans in Concord re-released their Kashmir Belgian tripel. It’s only available on draft in their Concord tasting room, and they’re selling growlers.
Co-owner Michael Haupty-Pierce said they brewed a 7-barrel batch and expects it to last for about a month and a half at the most. Kashmir is a pale and dry Belgian (9 percent) made with an ounce of saffron and five pounds of bee pollen from Bert Bingel’s (of Bert’s Better Beers in Hooksett) backyard beehive in Manchester.
On Nov. 7, Lithermans is releasing a brand new cranberry gose (4.6 percent) called No Other Place. Hauptly-Pierce describes it as tart, but not as sour as their other sour beers on offer, with a hint of salt and “cranberries for days.” They will be selling only on tap in the tasting room for the first week and in wholesale cans after that. He expects it will only last about three weeks.
On Nov. 8, Lithermans will be bringing back Quadracalabasia, their fourth annual pumpkin (no spice) beer made with graham crackers and 150 pounds of actual pumpkins provided by Marshall Pumpkin Farm in Boscawen.
Hauptly-Pierce said it’s a Belgian quad (10.5 percent) that he describes as big, sweet, dark and rich. They steer clear of using the typical cinnamon, clove and nutmeg spices because they tend to overpower the palate.
“We’ve been making a pumpkin beer with graham crackers since we were homebrewers. This is probably a 10-year-old recipe for us,” Hauptly-Pierce said.
The name of the beer is a play on Quadrophenia (the album and video by The Who) and calabaza, the Spanish word for pumpkin.
EVENTS
Great North Aleworks in Manchester will be hosting their Halloween Spooktacular event this Thursday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Customers who come in costume get a 15 percent discount on their beer, and a special “randallized” flavor of their Robust Vanilla Porter (called R.I.P.) will be available.
To Share Brewing Company in Manchester will be hosting Trick or Treating at the brewery with candy and beer for adults Thursday.
And, for the first time, live music will be performed at To Share on Nov. 9 starting at 6:30 p.m. The show is free to the public and will feature performers like Five Feet, Bigfut and Trent Larrabee.
Winterfest is coming back to Backyard Brewery in Manchester on Dec. 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This will be the outdoor beer tasting event’s third year, according to Backyard owner Marcus Doucet.
It will feature drinks from 16 area breweries. Tickets will be $30 (and come with a 4 oz. taster) and are available through Facebook or Eventbrite.
Participating breweries this year are:
- 603 Brewery
- Ancient Fire Mead & Cider
- Able Ebenezer Brewing Company
- Breakaway Beerworks
- Candia Road Brewing Company
- Concord Craft Brewing
- From The Barrel
- Great North Aleworks
- Henniker Brewing Company
- Kelsen Brewing Company
- Lithermans Limited Brewery
- Long Blue Cat Brewing Co.
- Pipe Dream Brewing
- Rockingham Brewing Company
- To Share Brewing Company
AWARDS
Ancient Fire Mead & Cider’s chili-infused honey wine Sweet Burn Dude! won 2nd Place overall in the first-ever National Honey Board Mead Crafters Competition.
They’ll be serving Sweet Burn Dude! at their tasting room in Manchester and they will have a limited amount of bottles available in their retail area.
Moonlight Meadery won two gold medals in the same Mead Crafters Competition for the dry and semi-sweet fruit / vegetable melomel categories. Their Red Dress, made with red currants and wildflower honey, won the semi-sweet gold medal, and their Embrace, which features black currants and wildflower honey, won the dry gold medal.
For Halloween, Moonlight Meadery is serving two special meads in their tasting room in Londonderry; Wicked (made with ginger vanilla) and Mischief (made with blackberries).
*The word “lees” originally referred to the sediment accumulated at the bottom of a bottle of wine; to “drink life to the lees” means to drink to the very last drop.
If you would like to include news about a new beer or mead your company is releasing, an award your brew just won or a special event at your tasting room please send us an email at ryanmlessard@gmail.com!
