Smuttynose and 2013 Portsmouth Beer Week

According to the Brookston Beer Bulletin, there are nearly 100 beer weeks in America, but ours runs from February 24-March 4.  We've seen beer awareness in the Seacoast grow a great deal since we tapped our first keg of Shoals Pale Ale at the Stockpot in June, 1994.  Back then, we had to try and explain why our beer was different than cold, yellow and fizzy.  Now, we've got a region full of craft beer drinkers and we're very excited to celebrate the beer culture that's finally taking root here.
  
Bill Harris has worked very hard to put together this slate of events.  Thanks to him, we'll be tapping some rare barrel-aged beers, showing some love to some of our favorite accounts and debuting Noonan, our new Black IPA.  We're pretty excited and our brewers, bottlers and sales folk will be out during the week, drinking and making merry with you all.  We hope to see you at one of these awesome events.

 

Saturday 2/23: Seacoast Winter Beer Festival at The Gas Light, Two sessions plus VIP, please visit http://seacoastwinterbrewfest.com/ for more information.  
            The 2BeerGuys and Seacoast Beverage Lab have reunited with the Gas Light to host the Seacoast’s only winter beer fest.  This year’s edition has brewers set up on heated space on their famous deck, as well as the third floor, where last year’s fest was.  The VIP session begins at 11am while the first session starts at noon and runs to 3pm.  The second session runs from 4pm-7pm.  We'll be featuring 2011 Scotch Ale and 2011 S'Muttonator, so make sure you have a hearty lunch!

Sunday 2/24: Rolling Out The Barrels with Smuttynose, Sam Adams and WHEB at RiRa from 3pm-5pm.

            RiRa will be pouring, Big A IPA and three year old, a barrel-aged variant of one of our most prized Big Beers, Baltic Porter, while bearded Smuttynose staffers will be there to schmooze.

Monday 2/25: Smuttynose Wine Bar Takeover at the Black Trumpet, starting at 6pm. 

            Chef Evan, Denise, Marion and RJ open their doors and draft lines to debut our newest collaboration beer: Bloom!  Bloom is a Belgian golden ale brewed with edible flowers grown by the Trumpet’s staff at Meadow’s Mirth Farm.  If that’s not cool enough, you can also try recent Short Batches Durty and ParadoX as well as a 2010 Baltic Porter aged in bourbon barrels.  Each beer will also have a food pairing curated by a Smuttynose staff member.  Foodies won’t want to miss this chance to take over one of Portsmouth’s most beautiful dining rooms.

Tuesday 2/26: Smuttynose Rare Beer Tapping and Pairing at The Thirsty Moose, from 6pm-8pm

            2012 Really Old Brown Dog, bourbon barrel-aged Robust Porter and bourbon barrel-aged 2010 Wheat Wine will join Finestkind IPA, Old Brown Dog, Robust Porter, Shoals Pale Ale, and Big A in the largest draft account in Portsmouth.

Tuesday 2/26: The Return of the IPAs at TJ’s, from 8pm-10pm

            Portsmouth’s own hop-stravaganza returns for a second year to TJ’s.  We’ll be featuring our double IPA, Big A, and Paradox, our very limited session IPA brewed with experimental hop 01210. 

Wednesday 2/27: The Blue Mermaid, The Third Annual Smuttynose Vs. J. Lohr Beer vs. Wine Dinner, reception beer at 6pm

            This annual event includes passed appetizers and four delicious courses, each paired with a Smuttynose beer and a J. Lohr wine.  At the end of the night, diners will choose the winner, so please help us stack the deck!  Our beers for the night are: Star Island Single, Old Brown Dog, 2012 Homunculus, 2012 Scotch Ale and a cask of 2013 Baltic Porter aged on cocoa nibs.  For more information, please call the Mermaid at (603) 427-2583.

Thursday 2/28: Fun With Firkins at the Coat of Arms, featuring Smuttynose, Throwback and Moat Mountain, from 6pm-8pm

            We’ll be pouring Finestkind IPA dry-hopped with experimental hop 01210.  Fellow Granite State brewers, Moat Mountain and Throwback will also be on the beer engines for your drinking pleasure.

Thursday, 2/28: Belgium Comes To Portsmouth!  The Gas Light, from 8pm-10pm

            Beer Week returns to the scene of the Seacoast Winter Beer Fest!  2012 Zinneke and 2013 Gravitation will be pouring as part of the Gas Light’s collection of Belgian treats.  Alpo, their beer buyer, can really assemble a beer collection, so you won’t want to miss this!

Friday 3/1: WXGR Gourmet Lounge, a live broadcast cooking show, featuring Rudi’s and Smuttynose, Rudi’s in the Square, from 6pm-8pm

            Rudi’s chef will demonstrate how to cook two dishes, incorporating a Smuttynose beer into each.  The Gourmet Lounge is open to the first 70 people who show up.  These lucky folks will be able to enjoy Durty and bourbon barrel-aged 2010 Baltic Porter on tap. 

Saturday 3/2: Art²: Artisanal Beer and Locally-Themed Art, Opening Reception, at 6pm

            We’re teaming up with the fine folks at Sam Adams and the Press Room to open a crowd-sourced art event.  The call has gone out to the Seacoast to create locally-themed or -influenced art, which will be on display (and for sale) at the Press Room for the entire month of March.  A bourbon-oaked Finestkind cask will be on the bar for your drinking enjoyment along with bourbon barrel-aged 2010 Baltic Porter, bourbon barrel-aged 2010 Wheat Wine, and 2011 Farmhouse Ale.  $1.00 from each pint goes to (H)EAT, a local organization that helps local families bridge heating and food deficits.  if you want to submit art work, please email the Press Room's Tristan Law at tristanklaw (at) gmail (dot) com.

Sunday 3/3: A Day of Rest and Liver Recovery

Monday 3/4:  We’ll probably go to lunch at Portsmouth Brewery