Newness Update

The weather is certainly crisping and brisking up as we move closer to Thanksgiving and bask in the glow of another Boston Red Sox World Series championship.  The beards they've got going are pretty awesome too; it's like a natural kinship shared with our brewers.

If you need more Granite State goodness to fill your glasses this fall, then look no further because we've got a bit of everything for you to choose from. 

Option #1) The return of Smuttynose Barleywine to the Big Beer Series:  This year's release (10.6% abv) will begin shipping on November 11.  We took a few years off from making barleywine and it's back this year with a leaner malt profile and slightly lower bitterness.  This means more drinkability (hooray!) for sweater weather and beyond. We may also have filled some oak barrels for future deliciousness opportunities.

Options #2) In the opposite direction of Barleywine is Bouncy House (4.9% abv), our next Short Batch release.  A light-bodied, light-colored, quaffable, hoppy American ale brewed with Warrior and Calypso hops in the kettle and Citra and El Dorado in the fermenter for dry-hopping.  We'll be packaging Bouncy House in the second week of November with a final release date yet to be determined.  There are only 30 barrels of this beer and we want to know what you think once it's out, so hit us up over Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Option #3) Smuttynose Winter Ale (5.8% abv), our take on Belgian dubbel, is just getting to markets now.  We love telling people that this beer is completely spice-free, which allows the spicy Belgian yeast notes and fruity malt flavors to shovel their way to your taste buds. Smuttynose's art department has also created posters, coasters and glassware for select bars and restaurants, so keep your eyes peeled.

Last but not least, it's not too late to see where the magic has been happening for nearly twenty years at our home on Heritage Avenue in Portsmouth.  We're still offering brewery tours on Fridays at 5:30pm and Saturdays at Noon and 2pm.   They're free and you can make a reservation online, to make sure you've got a spot on the tour of your choice.

New Brewery Update- October 28, 2013

Things are starting to pick up at our new, under-construction brewery in Hampton, NH.  Last week, which saw lots of visible changes to the space, was capped off by a visit from New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan (Below) and a busy keg social on Saturday afternoon, with over 100 people stopping by for a pint and look around. 

What's happened recently?  

Quite a bit actually.  Most significantly, the production facility and offices are nearly complete and we're starting to receive pieces of equipment, which you'll see below.

Six 270 barrel fermenters and two 270 barrel bright tanks have arrived from Mueller.  They are being brought in and put into place as this post is being written.

Packaging conveyors and machines are being laid out and installed. This does not include our bottle filler, labelled or rinser that are coming from Germany, but includes machinery that will prepare the cases, six packs and twelve packs to receive filled bottles.

The centrifuge and its control panel (in the picture) have also arrived and will be installed in the near future.  This means we can spin yeast and other haze-casting compounds out of the beer to the extent we wish as well as recovering more beer out of each fermenter. For you, it means clear beer in the keg or bottle.

We've also recently fired up the boilers and incoming water treatment system, which will prepare our process water and the steam we'll use to brew beer.

So, when will it open?  
We don't have a set date yet. There are many timelines that feed into the bigger timeline, which means there are lots of variables between now and then. Our brewhouse and bottle filling equipment should be leaving Europe in November, for what we hope will be an uneventful, month-long, trans-Atlantic voyage in November. Once the state-of-the-art arrives in Hampton, the installation and commissioning process will begin. We don't exactly know how long that will take, but it's safe to assume a few months. The pub and restaurant is slated in late spring, as transitioning production is our main focus right now.

Please make sure you imagine a large asterisk next to this last paragraph. There are plenty of variables that could affect this timeline and we don't want to incur the wrath of the fates...

The place is starting to look (and sound) like a real brewery, but there is still plenty of work to be done. More updates will follow, as will more keg socials.  Thanks for checking in.

Hampton Keg Social on October 26, 2013

As the leaves turn crunchy underfoot, activity is shifting inside at our new brewery in Hampton.

Brewing equipment is arriving and being put in place, landscaping is nearly done and all concrete walkways have been poured.  We're even on the verge of test firing the boilers!

You can see it for yourself at a public keg social this Saturday, October 26 at 3:30pm.  We'll be pouring Winter Ale, Shoals Pale Ale and maybe one or two surprises.  Just bring your ID and wear closed toed shoes to 105 Towle Farm Road.