Party like it's 1999...

Well 1999+11=2010. The artist formally know as, who now changed his name back to, Prince is still in all of our hearts. Is the decade we are entering called the 10's? Or do we have to add the two thousand and 10's? I'm so confused.

Well, since the blue moon happening tonight, which is changing peoples moods, the beer has to change as well!

The Sierra Celebration has been replaced by our 5 C's IPA! For those of you following the blog that have never had the 5 C's, it is our version of a "west coast" IPA. Citrusy, bold and delicious.

The Winter Rye is gone but is replaced by our Munich Dunkel. This is a beer that Tod though up after visiting Germany a few months back. It is a Dark (Dunkel) German lager. It's one if the few lagers we are able to do, and this one got all the time it needed in cold condition. It has some nice sweet biscuit flavors with a smooth finish of a lager. It pairs so nicely with the Brat-Burger on the new brewers table... Yumm.

And of course the cask changed as well. We just put on a Black Cat stout dry hopped with Bravo. Bravo is a hybrid of Nugget and Zeus, so it has the the flavor intensity of both with a combo of the spicy/pungent aroma of the mother hops.

Happy New Year!

Tyler

Tis the Season...

Hey all,

Just wanted to tell everyone to have a save and happy holiday from the brewery to you. And for those of you coming in for lunch today, might i suggest to come a bit early. Say 11:37ish, and I would walk in through the store if i were you. :)

Happy Holiday from the Brew crew.

Cheers,
Tod and Tyler

Growler Time

Hi all,

I wanted to let everyone out there know that we did get our shipment of growlers in. So we are back to normal on the growler front. You can buy new ones, exchange old one, all in time for some last minute holiday shopping.

The Cask changed yesterday to the Saison l'hiver which we added pink peppercorns and rosehips. The peppercorns give a unique spicy flavor while the rose hips are a nice subtle fruity, almost strawberry, flavor.

Cheers,
Tyler

Hoppy Holidays

Hey all,

Since there is on a few days of shopping left we thought you you could use cure for your Holidaze. We took off the Winter Rye and put the Holidaze Porter back on tap so you all can enjoy it for the holiday season.
Cheers,
Tyler

I.P.C.O.H.

Hey all,

Today is the Imperial Pint Club Open House. There is going to be food and drink down at the Jimmy Lapanza for you Pint Clubbers all day! Hope you guys (and gals) have a great time today.

Cheers,
Tyler

Couldn't wait any longer

Hey all,

The Holidaze has been put on a holiday for a little while. It isn't gone for this year yet, just for a little bit. We were like little kids waiting to be able to open the presents under the tree, starring at the full serving tank of the Saison l'hiver. Then we decided we have the power to put it with out getting coal in our stockings, so we did. Just in time for the Winter Solstice.

This beer is has the spicy and fruitiness you would expect from a Saison, though just bolder all the way around. There is an almost coriander flavor to the finish of the beer. But we didn't put any in it! Belgian yeast and your crazy esters, how we love you.

Cheers,
Tyler

Back in Black...

Hey all,

We have a stout back on, there was a few days of no stout here at the P-brew. I guess you guys liked the Milk Stout this time around:) The nitro tap now is pouring our Oatmeal Stout which is full of flavor and body as it always is. For all of you pint clubber's out there that are coming in for your x-mas party on Wednesday we made a special pin of the Oatmeal Stout for your lips only. I hope you enjoy it.

We just added the Big A IPA from Smuttynose to our Brewers' Cellar bottle list. A big, bold, Impy IPA for your enjoyment. This years Big A will please any hop-head out there.

It's a big cellar day for me here. Sanitizing/purging serving tanks, moving beers around and cleaning the fermenters they came out of. There is a lot of janitorial parts in a brewer's world, but it makes the beer go round and round.

Cheers,
Tyler

Brewers' Cellar

I forgot to mention the new additions to our brewers' cellar bottle beer list.
We have had the Chimay series going for a month or two now and it seemed to be doing well. We have added 4 new beers, (and soon to be adding more).

Duvel
Rare Vos
Hennepin
Three Philosophers

So you can enjoy some other great beers along with your food now too!

Cheers,
Tyler

Winter is comming?

Hey all,

The keg of aged Wheatwine gave us a nice buffer to let the Winter Rye finish conditioning. So i am sorry to say we are going to lower our average ABV%, but the Winter Rye is on and tasting great. Rye malt has some similarities to wheat malt. Giving the beer a nice tartness and a bit of haze. Though, the rye malt has a much higher b-glucan level which effects the body of the beer making it much more mouth coating and full on the pallet. Come on it and give the Winter Rye a whirl.

The cask had changed over as well to the Bottle Rocket IPA dry hopped with Columbus. You have to love Columbus! Bold and Spicy!

Cheers,
Tyler

Milk Stout

Hey all,

The Milk Stout is on. This is just the straight Milk Stout. I know in the past we had done a coffee infusion into it, but we wanted to go back to the good old stand-by, to make sure she is still delicious... and she is. The Lactose sugar added is unfermentable so it give a nice creamy sweetness in the glass. Very nice.

Cheers,
Tyler

Two-fer

Hey all,

No its not a 2 for 1 sale, or a blue light special. Its a two beers for two beers trade. We kicked both the Whipper Snapper and the Hop Harvest 2 last night. Replacing them are Sierra Nevada's Celebration (their winter release) and our Imperial IPA, respectively.

We try to get in the Celebration every year, it is one of Tod's favorites and is becoming one of mine. What a better way to bring in the first night of frost then with a Celebration.

The Imp IPA is tasting great once again. Big, bold, strong and hoppy! Wait, can I say strong? (if you have been following the Smuttynose Tavern blog you will know what i mean) We some how found a way to squeeze a little more hops into it this year, so definitely let us know what you think.

Cheers,

PS The most recent entry into the smuttynose tavern is very interesting with Monster sending a lawsuit to Rock Art brewing in VT about their Barleywine Vermonster. Crazy!

9 months worth of seasons in one day.

Hey all,

I'm back from a little excursion to Indio CA. It is high dessert land so the temp varies from 53 oF at night to 90 oF in the middle of the afternoon, crazy. So it is like going from early spring to late fall all in 14 - 15 hours. I saw the sun rise there for 3 days straight and I totally understand the line of the star spangled banner "purple mountains majesty". Amazing!

Any-who, beer wise the Alt has been replaced by the Smoked Dunkelweizen. I almost want to put the smoked in quotes since the apple wood smoked malt is so sweet and subtle and much more of an after taste then the first thing you taste like in years past. It just went on this weekend so it is going to need a few days to settle out completely. It is tasting great just a bit on the yeasty side right this second.

The cask has changed to the HH2 dry-hopped with Simcoe. This is a similar cask that we sent to NERAX North up at Novare Res. Since i wasn't able to make it up there a couple of weekends ago, I am excited to give this one a try.

Kate is bubbling away and will be ready in the 100+ days or so we have left. :)

cheers,
Tyler

Who invented the internet!

Hey all,

So this program is still not allowing me to change the left side of the blog. So here is the scoop.

-HH2 is on. The wet Warriors give a nice spiciness after the resin flavor wears off.
-Black cat is the Oatmeal Stout 5.25 ABV 26 IBU
-Pumpkin is gone for another year :( The Pumpkin is followed by the Whipper Snapper (4.5% ABV 20 IBU). The Whipper Snapper is and American style mild ale. The British Mild ale is a easy drinking low alcohol session beer. So we kept the easy drinking session beer part and through in the American twist of hopping it like an IPA! Ya for hoppy session beers!
-The cask has changed from the Alt to Oatmeal Stout dry hopped with Chinook. Chinook is another hop that give a spicy flavor to beers, but with just a hint of earthiness.

Cheers,
Tyler

Hummm...

Hey all,

I have been trying to updated the left side of this blog for two days now and the website wont let me. So here is the deal until I can figure out how to fix it.

The Cask changed to Alt dry hopped w/ Hallertau

Hop Harvest 1 is almost gone and is going to be changing to Hop Harvest 2. The second batch is made with wet Warriors, 60#'s again for 7 bbls. Warrior hops are and intensely spicy hop and that comes though quite nicely on HH2. It should be going on shortly, maybe this afternoon, or tomorrow. Just a heads up.

Tod is gone to Germany for a vacation so I am solo for the week so I have a ton of work to get back to. See ya all in for a pint real soon

Cheers,
Tyler

Go UNH! Beat Villanova!

Hey all,

UNH homecoming is today. Go Wildcats! I am sure that I will see a good chunk of my old UNH crew here at the brewery after the game.

There is so much stuff going on at the brewery that there was no way I could go to the game. First off the new brewers table (#23) was released today, there was a taste out this morning and it is going to be a good one. We just added new beers to the Brewers’ Cellar. We have Chimay Red, Triple and Blue bottles available now at the brewery. The Hop Harvest I went on this morning. Plus, we have a couple of servers that just left to go help out at the chili fest down in Prescott Park.

Did me sliding the Hop Harvest news in the middle of my info help it last a few days longer? Only time will tell :)

Cheers,
Tyler

Fall beer for a fall beer.

Hey all,

The Octoberfest flew off the taps! We decided to put on a fall beer to replace a fall beer. You will now be able to enjoy our Pumpkin Ale. This beer gets most of its color from the 100 lbs of fresh organically grown Dickinson pumpkins we put in the mash. Thank you the great people over at Blueberry Bay Farms in Stratham. We add the usual suspects of spices, but add them real late in the boil. This makes the spice character nice and mellow, so the beer isn't overpowered. A nicely balanced beer once again.

Cheers,
Tyler

New tye-dyes!

Hey all,

Are Tod and my matching shirts not cute? Ha! They are the newest shirt in the retail store and I swear we didn’t plan on wearing matching shirts for the video shoots. But so it is. The cask has changed over to the 5 C's IPA Summit Hop Bomb. After making Hop Harvest I we had about 10-15lbs of wet hops left over and there was no way we were throwing those out! So we stuffed a few casks full of wet Summit hops. This will be your first chance to get a flavor/aroma profile off the Summit hops before Hop Harvest I hits the taps. We tried it, and are getting a sweet citrus characteristic from them. Some say tangerine, others say pink grapefruit. You be the judge.

Cheers,
Tyler

Our Upcoming Beer Luminaries Dinner

Our second Beer Luminaries Dinner takes place next Tuesday, October 13th. The dinner will feature our friend Rob Tod of Allagash Brewing (as well as Rob's beers) and is a benefit for the Center for Wildlife, located in York, Maine. For details, including the evening's menu, as well as to purchase your tickets, click here. Seating for this event is very limited, so get your tickets now!

Hop Harvest Day at the Portsmouth Brewery

Tyler stuffs twenty pounds of fresh Warrior hops into the hopback in preparation for the second batch of this year's Hop Harvest Ale.

Welcome to Hop-toberfest

Hey all,

Hop-oberfest is the only word for the line up of beers that are coming out soon. To start off the run we have 5 C's IPA that went on tap today. This beer (for those of you that haven't been waiting by your computer for this beer to go on) is our version of an west coast IPA. The big citrus hoppiness is in the nose and the palette. Great start to Hop-toberfest.

Now about the NH Brew fest that is happing on Sat we have gotten a few e-mails about what we are bringing. The list of what everyone is bringing is on the website (brewnh.com) but our list is...

Dirty Blonde
5 C's IPA
Octoberfest
Pumpkin

This festival seems like it is going to be a great time. Tod and I are both pouring so come on by and say Hi.

Cheers,
Tyler

crazy times

Hey all,

I feel like it has been forever since I was able to get a post out there to let you know what was going on. So here is the run down.

The Le Chat Noir has been replaced by its American counterpart, Black Cat Stout. Back to the basics on the stout front. The IPA is still giving us trouble so we have on the Smuttynose IPA to tide us over until we have the 5 C's ready, which should be in a few days from now. To round out our German beers we have out on the Alt Bier, which is a malty, heavier bodied, German style ale.

And now I have to get back to cleaning the brew house after Hop harvest II (warrior wet hopped). Going to be another great hop bomb!

Cheers,
Tyler

Octoberfest

Hey all,

Well Oktoberfest starting on the 19th in Munich, so the party is on across the pond! Since the Blueberry is gone we thought what a better time to put out our Octoberfest then right now. So the party is on at the P-brew too. The O'fest is one of the few lagers we do and we did give it its required lagering time of 6 weeks at 32 oF to cold condition (aka Lager). this beer is clean, crisp, flavorful and delicious. Come on in and get one.

On another note IPA is still flying out of the taps. We ran out of our Bottle rocket before the 5 C's was ready so we brought in some Smuttynose IPA. Which is a great beer made by our brethren down the road. For those drooling in anticipation here is the best I can give ya. The 5 C's should be ready middle to end of next week, and the Summit hops should be finished picking right about now and packaged up and shipped next day air tonight. Tomorrow is hop harvest brew day so if you are hop head come in to Portsmouth and I am sure that the whole block around the P-Brew will smell amazing early afternoon. So that means at least 14 days untill the Hop harvest is ready, but I am sure it will be worth the wait :)

Cheers,
Tyler

Boo ya!

Hey all,

Why is everyone hating on the Smoked Dunkelweizen. Rauchbier has been around since the 1500’s. It pairs so well with food. We house smoke our malt with apple wood vs the beech wood for a more rounded smoke flavor. The way the banana and clove interact with the sweet smoke and malt flavors, Yum! Man I am excited for this years Smoked Dunkel.

And who is spreading the nasty rumor that we are not going to make the Hop Harvest? We should be getting in the hops next week. A double batch of wet Warrior and a single batch of wet Summit. Bam! Hop harvest time.

Cheers,
Tyler

P.S. I dyhopped the 5 C’s today so she is almost ready. Man she is already tasting good!

Dunkelweizen

Hey all,

While Zach was honeymooning in Greece we all decided to finish off his honeymoon beer, how fitting. So it is true the Biere de Meile is gone and we replaced it with a Dunkelweizen. This is not the smoked dunkelweizen though. We are brewing that later in the fall. This is a Dark German Wheat beer, so you are going to get the clove spiciness with the maltiness of the dark malts used. We are just prepping you taste buds for the smoked dunkel :)

Cheers,
Tyler

The first annual NH brew fest!

Hey all,

The web site for the first annual NH brew fest is up and running! http://www.brewnh.com You can go check out all the breweries from around the North East that are making an appearance and what they are going to be bringing. Should be a great fest where just a flat rate at the door and no beer tickets involved. Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Tyler

Yesterday's disaster; today's cleanup

Hi all,

Yesterday, at around two in the afternoon, a metal brace worked itself loose inside the housing of the big rooftop fan that powers our kitchen exhaust. Needless to say, when the spinning fan met the loose piece of metal, the results weren't pretty. Making a sound that could be heard throughout downtown, the fan ripped itself to shreds and came to a clattering halt. Without a functioning exhaust hood, our kitchen, and soon the entire restaurant (crowded with holiday patrons), filled with smoke. Ben, our manager, quickly shut down the grill, opened the doors and windows to air the place out and set about dealing with the situation. But bigger trouble was yet to come.

Built up heat in the kitchen caused one of the fire-suppression sprinklers to open, spraying rusty water all over everyone and everything in our kitchen. The fire alarm sounded and within minutes the FD had arrived and the building was evacuated. Needless to say, everyone's pleasant holiday lunch got cut short, a lot of checks got "comp'ed," all the exposed food in the kitchen had to be thrown away, and we were closed for the rest of the day and evening. What a mess!

Today, our wonderful staff is working hard to put everything back together. The Health Inspector has already signed off on our cleanup and sanitation, which is taking place even as I write. The sprinkler system has been repaired and reset, and Dowling, our mechanical service company, is working to repair the destroyed exhaust fan. If they can locate all the necessary parts, we should be up and running by early evening.

We're choosing to look at the bright side. What else can we do? At least it didn't happen on a Friday evening. Restaurant operators are intimately familiar with Murphy's Law. This time Murphy gave us a (small) break, forcing us to be closed on what is normally one of the quieter days of the season: the Tuesday after Labor Day.

We look forward to serving you this evening!

Cheers,

P-

Prost to Bottle rocket IPA!

Hey all,

Bottle Rocket IPA is back on. I hope you guys enjoyed the 90 min from Dogfish, it is such a great beer. Other beer change is that the Thaizenheimer is gone for another season. We wont see it again until next summer. Our Hefeweizen has replaced it. Now with the Octoberfest in the works and the Hefe on we are ready for fall. So raise your beer stines and welcome in the cooler weather.

Prost!

Tyler

Kate has left the building

Greetings beer lovers, Tod here to fill you in on what is happening here at the brewery. As you may or may not know we found an '09 Kate stashed in a remote corner of the cellar. So, like Kabert, we put on Kate without much fanfare and she only lastred a few hours. Sad face:(- however we have a new batch of Le Chat Noir brewed with a slightly different Belgian yeast strain that produced a lovely dry stout. We also incorporated some cold water coffee extract to heighten the roastiness of the black beauty. I am carbonating Le Chat right now and it should be ready to consume in an hour and a half. I hope everyone is enjoying this fine early fall weather. Have a great Labor Day weekend. Cheers! Todm

RIP Kabert, welcome.....

Hey all,

I guess you guys like the Kabert. It lasted all of one day, as suspected. But as luck would have it we found another keg that might tickle your fancy. 2009 Kate the great is on (I am guessing for one dayas well) so come on in and enjoy it.

Cheers,
Tyler

IPA/RIS

Hey all,

The IPA kicked last night. So we thought we would listen to the blog-o-sphere out there and brought in some Dogfish 90min IPA. So that should get us up to/through the weekend when the Bottle Rocket will be backing up the 90min.

Now, the Oatmeal Stout kicked last night as well and Le Chat Noir is almost ready. We added coffee to this batch to see what that will do so I am excited for this batch to come on. Le Chat needs a few more days to condition and we need a stout on. Some of you out there might remember that about a year ago a group of crazy Belgian brewers came and took over our brewery for the longest brew day of my life. The final product was the most intense wort I have ever seen making only 3 bbls. We tried everything in the book to finish out this beer, but it just didn’t want to completely ferment out and we needed to have our fermenter back. So as an experiment Tod and I brought in every carboy we had at home and blended in some our imperial stout that was in just starting to enter the ripping fermentation stage of its life to these carboys. But we didn’t have 3bbls worth of carboys at home so we ended up dumping most of the Belgian Royal stout. But the carboys took off and finished out the blend of beers almost to completion. So we decided to keg it off and let it age for a year and then bring it out on a day like…well today!

So we have one keg of 2008 Kabert, a Kate the Great/Black Albert imperial stout blend. Its on today, try it let us know what you think.

Cheers,
Tyler

Friday is/was BUSY!!

Greetings beer lovers, Tod here with a quick update on what is happening down here in the cellar. I had a busy day brewing solo and cleaning the Hefe line to make way for the Bluebeery. This batch of Bluebeery is quite tasty and will quench the thirsty-"est" parched throats!! We added an extra 30 #'s of Blueberries into the fermenter for an added boost of aromatics. I have to say it is a wee bit more noticable. For all you hop afficianados that tore into the 5 C's Hopmonsta yesterday I hope you enjoyed the tasty elixer..... sadly it is already gone. There is 5 gals. of 5 C's on cassk dryhopped with Chinook. Unfortunately 5 C's will not make another appearence until later in the fall. Good news, the Ocktoberfest is slowly coming down in temperature as it readies for deep condition until the end of Sept. PATIENCE is essential with all lager beers!! Well, that's about all for now. Cheers! Todm
P.S. I know Tyler didn't tell you but he asked for his girls hand in marriage and she accepted his proposal ....so a big HOORAH to Rachel and Tyler. Cheers! and enjoy the fine weather and tasty beers!

Bottle Rocket is Back!

Bottle Rocket IPA is back on tap!

YA!

Cheers,
Tyler

PS The greatest Best Man speach ever. Wow!

The IPA Situation

Hey all,

So here is the run down. Us having the 5 C's IPA and the Bottle Rocket IPA on at the same time opened some black hole vortex that brought out hopheads from all over the universe here to the Portsmouth Brewery. The 5 C's went away faster then it had ever has in the past, and when that went away to prevent a riot from starting we served them a Bottle Rocket IPA. All this caused our IPA supply to disappear very rapidly. So we are out of our IPA's for a little bit. We decided to put on Stone IPA to give us enough time to get our Bottle Rocket back, but we could only get 2 kegs in of it. Our plan was foiled one more time when a wrinkle in the time space continuum allowed a full keg of the Stone to be drank on a Wednesday, crazy! Now we have one keg of the Stone IPA left, and are hoping to get in some Smuttynose IPA to make us until the weekend (I say with my eyes closed and fingers crossed). So, that’s the IPA situation here at P-brew.

Secondly, I am wicked excited for this weekend. Zach Bodah, our part time assistant here, is getting married! Ride that Pony, do the worm, pop and lock, then…stall. That’s right weddings, dance floors and me are and amazing mix. On a beer related note his Biere de Meile is drinking amazingly! If you see him here on Friday you should let him know what you think and congratulate him on his marriage.

Cheers,
Tyler

WHAO BABY!! Things are groovin' like Woodstock!

Greetings beer lovers! Tod here to fill in the gaps on what's up here at the P-brewery. We have had a flurry of beer movements here as I guess people were diggin' what we've had on tap. So, the sad news is the Rye has moved on and replacing it is our double Wit. The Witt is just about 2 months old and tasting big and spicy. Lots of orange and corriander as well as a beautiful spicy/peppery character from the yeast we used. The Black Cat stout has been replaced by our Oatmeal (yum) Stout. 5 C's is not long for the world and will be replaced by Zachs' honeymoon Biere de Miele. This is a rare treat we concocted with our special Saison yeast and some yummy honey!! This is such a lovely beer. It is crisp and spicy with a golden hue and a medium body carressed with just a kiss of hops. Lastly the Weizenheimer is on it's last legs and will be replaced by Thaizenheimer tomorrow. If you haven't had our Asian influenced wheat beer you'll be pleasantly surprised but the infusion of Kaffir lime leaves, Galangal and regular ginger as well as lemongrass. The wheat character is subdued by the spicy herbs and spices but quite refreshing and a great pair with our spicy curried mussles. Well, I've got to get back to work so don't forget to come in out of the heat for a nice crisp cool one. Cheers! Todm
P.S. Next Thurs. starts the Ebenezers Belgian fest featuring Cantillion beers as well as many incredible beer not on your every day beer list. This one looks like a killer week of Beer and food.

Dogfish fans.

Hey all,

I just wanted to let you know that we are on our last keg of Dogfish. It is their Pale India Ale. This is a brewpub only beer that we had a keg hand delivered by Sam him self. this beer is a pale ale at with some Indian spice added to it. The spices are so unique that I cant even put my finger on one of them. This is a beer that is worth a try!

Cheers
Tyler

Win a bottle of Kate?

Hey all,

Donna, who is one of our bartenders, wanted me to let you all know that you can win a bottle of Kate. She has a Jimmy Fund walking group called "Team Socs" and they will be the beneficiaries of the raffle. So here is how you can win a 2009 Kate. Come in from August 10th - September 10th and purchase a raffle ticket for $2.00, and bam you are in the running. The drawing is happing on September 10th at 6:00pm. Again all proceeds are going to the Jimmy Fund, which is a great cause. Come in talk to Donna, or your bartender, and get a chance to win a bottle of Kate!

Good Luck!

Tyler

5 C's IPA...

To all you hop heads out there the wait is over. The Saison, which was tasting really good in its last few days, is gone. We replaced it with our 5 C's IPA. The 5 C's is our version of a west coast IPA. We still don’t make it as bitter as the surfer dudes of San Diego, but have just as many hops in the finish and dry hop the begesus out of it. Bold Citrus west coast hops were used in this one, plus all 5 hop varieties that start with the letter C. I think I am going to go give it a taste right now!

Cheers,
Tyler

Dogfish beers still kicking it

Hey all,

Just a heads up that we do still have some Dogfish beers pouring. We just put on the Palo Santo and it is a crazy beer. They market it as a brown ale but it so dark and flavorful it is hard to think of it as a brown. It has the raisin, plum and dark fruit flavors of a barley wine and then the Palo Santo wood gives it a unique resin wood character. The resin character almost reminds me of an Imp IPA. Defiantly worth a try.

Cheers,
Tyler

August is here!

Greetings beer lovers. It is true, August is here and thanfully so. In case you've been working in a cave ( like me) and had not noticed we've had on hell of a lot of rain as of late. With the 1st day of August so far the 8th month is promising to be a decent one. So, here is what's happening in the cave we call our brewery. The Thaizenheimer kicked and we just replaced it with our Rye ale. Wow what a unique ale. It is a spicy, full flavored medium bodied whallop of flavor ale. We made this one with 45% malted rye and 55% malted barley and used our in house yeast fermented at 70 degrees. It make for a very fruity estery ale. The rye adds a unique flavor similar to wheat but more nutty and less tart. It is a nice ale to round out our line up. Hope you like it. See you soon. Cheers! Todm

Internet is back

Hey all,

We finally got internet back here in the brewery after being down for a couple of days. I wanted to let you all know that the Dogfish Head dinner went very well. The food and beers were all quite delish! But, good news for all who is reading this, we didn’t go through all of the Dogfish Beers! We are serving them here at the brewery. We have a special tap in the cold room here to pour them with out wasting a drop. We are serving 8 oz pours for $3.00. The first beer we have pouring is the Midas Touch, is a made with honey and saffron. Behind this beer we will be serving (in order) Indian Brown Ale, Sah’Tea, Raison d’etre and then Palo Santo Ale. We only have a few gallons of each left so they might go fast, they might not. Only time will tell.

Now to the P-brew beers; The Moat Mountain Weiss is just about gone and is going to be replaced with our Hefeweizen. This batch is very nice, not overwhelming banana on the palate with a nice clove spiciness in the finish. Also, the cask changed to IPA with East Kent Goldings which is a nice earthy British hop.

That’s it for now.

Cheers,
Tyler

Just a day away

We just got the delivery of the Dogfish beer so we are ready to rock for the dinner tomorrow. I am not going to be attending the dinner itself but will be around the restaurant and the Jimmy Lapanza lounge after. It is going to be a good time here tomorrow. Hope to see you here.

On tap now the Oatmeal stout is gone and has been replaced by Black Cat Stout. The Thaizenheimer is getting low so if you haven’t had a chance to try it get in here in the next couple of days, order a Spicy Curry Mussels and have a Thaizenheimer. You will be glad you did.

Cheers,
Tyler

I'm Back!

Hey all,

As Tod mentioned I am back from being on a boat. I was corrected by one of the cruise staff that I was on a ship, rather then a boat. Which totally made sense, since this ship held 2000 passengers as well at 1200 crew to keep all the food, shows and fun running for the full 7 days. I got a great sunburn and lost about 200 bucks in the casino. That is what vacation is all about!

So after landing in Boston on Friday morning and I called Tod to say that I am going to make it up in Portsmouth to catch a ride with him to the Vermont Brewers Fest (VBF). Off from vacation straight to work pouring 3oz beers for thousands of people. No rest for the weary. This years VBF was as crazy as I have ever seen it. All three sessions (one fri night and two on sat) were sold out and every one was thirsty. Plus, it was just Tod and I up there this year so we were pouring for all three sessions. We had to collect tickets while pouring which sounds like a simple concept. Give me one ticket and I give you one beer. But we got every trick in the book pulled on us from the people trying to get a free beer. Young woman just expecting a free beer and complaining after I asked for a ticket smugly saying ,"Oh, I haven't had to use these in a while." People using the fake dropping ticket move and saying, "Oh ya I put it in there." The half ticket in the bucket maneuver. Even the palming of the ticket just in case I didn't ask for it; and once I do acting like they were going to give it to me the whole time. Amazing what people try to do for free beer.

But any who, its Monday after a vacation week so there is tons to do here, so I have to get back to it.

Cheers,
Tyler

Finally - information about our upcoming Dogfish Head dinner

It's all up on our website and Facebook page. Tickets go on sale Monday the 20th at noon and will be sold exclusively on line. Cheers!

P-

More Bad News...

Our mini-Kate Day lasted less than an hour. Alas, it's all gone.

Meanwhile, the clock continues to count down 'till next Kate Day, March 1, 2010.

Good News Bad News

First, the good news: Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout is making a brief appearance at the Portsmouth Brewery today.

The bad news is that we've only got three gallons, which we'll be pouring in 8-ounce servings on a first-come-first-served basis, starting at 11:30 today, when we open our doors.

Here's the deal. Tod had squirreled away a sixtel (5.17 gallon keg) of last February's Kate. Yesterday, he racked off a dozen bottles to serve at an upcoming event (more on that in a later post). Not wanting to have a partial keg sloshing around, we decided to put it on tap and have a teensy-weensy impromptu Kate Day, right in the middle of July. (It's going to go very fast - even with 8-ounce pours, 3 gallons only yields 50 glasses.)

So if you're in the neighborhood and have a minute, stop in for a taste of Tod's famous ebony elixir, while it lasts!

Cheers,

P-

I'm away for one day and look what happens!!

Greetings beer lovers,
So, I take Sunday off and come in Monday morning and three of the beers we had on when I left Sat.PM have gone away and what a new line up we have!! The Murphys was replaced with Weizenheimer, the Bluebeery was replaced with Saison and the Sierra Nevada Bigfoot was replaced with our Imperial IPA. Wow, what a line up especially with the gorgeous weather heading this way. Well, I have tons to do so I've gotta get back to work. Enjoy the sun and quaffable beers! Cheers! Todm

Tyler's on a boat!

Hey All,
Yes, it is true Tyler is on a well deserved vacation...... on a boat..... to Bermuda with his family. So, it is me,Tod, here for another Sat. session and boy have I been busy this morning.... lots of beer moving thru here. The Wit just kicked and we've replaced it with our Thai/Asian influenced wheat beer known as Thaizenheimer. It is spiced with Kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and both regular ginger as well as Galangal ginger. What is Galangal you ask?? Galangal is a Thai ginger that has a menthol-like spiciness to it and adds a very unique character to this crisp refreshing light bodied ale. Wow, that was a mouthful! Speaking of mouthfuls I think I'll go have a mouthful of the Thaizen as it is a glorious day here in southern NH! As far as other things happening around here..... I just finished up transferring Weizenheimer which has made it way back into the line-up again. Lots of high fives for the Weizenheimer as it seems to be one of our more popular summer beers. It is an American wheat beer that is both crisp and refreshing with a nice light body. Perfect for summer quaffing! And my last transfer of the morning was the Dirty Blonde.... one of our staples. But the big news for brews this week was Zach Bodah our parttime assistant had a go at a honeymoon beer we let him design. His choice is one of my favorite styles: Saison but not any ordinary saison it is a saison made with honey which in the beer world is known as a Biere de Miele. Honey beer!! Zachs recipe called for some special honey malt and 35 pounds of wildflower honey. It tasted good even before it started fermenting! Some of our special T-58 yeast was the yeast of choice for that unique saison flavor profile. Can't wait but it probably will not make it to to taps til August. Patience!! So that is all I've got for today as I have a few tanks to get cleaning. Have a great weekend and enjoy the outside. Don't forgot to stop by for a mouthful!! Cheers! Todm

Secret time

Hey all,

Tod just finished transfering the Bluebeery and it was tasting so good. So good that we are going to put in on tommorw, one day early! There I go again giving away all the secrets :) Happy (early) 4th of July!

Cheers,
Tyler

Here comes the 4th of July.....

Greetings beer lovers Tod here for a Saturday chat. I was able to slip out of the East coast with my wife for a much needed break. We escaped to Colorado to visit my brother and his wife. They live on the Uncompadre plateau ( southwest corner) in a town called Placerville just a few miles from Telluride. What beautiful country to visit. We happened to be in the area on purpose to go to the famed Telluride Bluegrass and Country festival. Wow! what gas the fest was. We were able to grab two days at the fest with all the Festafarians...... lots of organic hemp cloths, dreads and peace signs not to mention some wicked good beer provided by New Belgian. Lots of 1554, Fat Tire, Skinny Dip and Sunshine Wheat. So good from such a cool brewery! We saw some amazing musicians like Jerry Douglas and Tim O'Brian who played typical bluegrass with abandon, the Lovell Sisters from Atlanta playing similar to Jerry and Tim. The Zac Brown band, then there was Peter Rowan of "Old and in the Way" fame ( who played on the album with with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and Vasser Clamments). Then there was Emilylou Harris, Shawn Colvin and Patty Griffiths with thier Buddy playing some traditional country,and one show stopper Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band who were awesome. Lastly of the night was the most enticing David Byrne of Talking Heads fame with a dance ensemble playing new and old music.... and that was the 1st day!! We had so much fun dancing and grooving to some amazing musicians that we went back for part of day two. Two notables from the day were Bela Fleck and Elvis Costello. What a great fest. If you find yourself out in southwestern Colorado during June check out the fest...... Enough about my vaca......
Here's a taste of what is comming down the proverbial pipe. As I said earlier, here comes 4th of July and we will, again, be putting a 7 barrel batch of Blueberry along with the Wit and Red ales to have a sampling of Red white and blue!! Oh, how patriotic!! We also have on the Milk Stout which we added in some cold extracted coffee.It is awesome! Bold smooth and rich yet not filling. Enough said. We've got some more wheat beers to come soon such as the Thaizenheimer made with Kaffir lime leaves, ginger and lemongrass.... yum! and the Weizenheimer as well as Hefeweizen. It looks like we'll be putting in a Summer Rye and perhaps 5C's will make a summer appearence. Lastly, I'v asked Zach our assistant to do a Bier de Miele ( Saison made with honey) for his Honeymoon! that we'll feature here. I can't wait as Saison is one of my favorite styles.
Well, that's about as much rambling I can do for today. Hope your summers are enjoyable and do stop in for a pint soon. Cheers! Todm

Taste of the Nation/New Beers

Hey all,

Been another busy week here so far the P-Brew. Even with Tod back we have both been straight out. Welcome to Summer i guess.

We are finishing up the final preparation for Taste of the Nation that is going on tonight. It is held at Strawberry Banke, under a tent, as always. But exceptionally great for this year since it looks like the rain is not going to stop. It is a great event that we participate in every year. Amazing food and drink from around the seacoast, New Hampshire even New England. I am excited to see what Rob Martin, our head chef, has thought up for this event. We will be pouring our Dirty Blonde, Bottle Rocket IPA, and the Belgian Wit.

If you didn't get your tickets it is alright since we have amazing beers flowing here at the Brewery. the Weizenhimer did kick as I mentioned in my previous post and we replaced it with Wild Thang. It makes your mouth sing...It makes everything... Groovy. :) But for real, the wild rice is such a nice addition to this beer and the Sterling hops are really showing them selves this year! Next our Stout has changed over to the Milk Stout. this batch of Milk we added some house made Coffee extract too. We use some micro Roasted Costa Rican coffee beans from Buena Beans. We did a cold water extraction to leave behind the oils and acridness, but still have great flavor and aroma. the coffee is so great in this beer. You need to get in here for this one.

Cheers for now. Hope to see you all at the Taste of the Nation.

Tyler

Been a busy week

Hey all,

It has been busy here for me. Tod is out on vacation and I am flying solo with a 3 brew day week. Not and easy task. But any who, I wanted to let you know that the Weizenheimer is getting low. But don’t worry I am sure that we will make it again at some point this summer. The Heimer is going to be replaced by our Wild Thang, which is a wild rice beer brewed with sterling hops. There is no fruit used in brewing this beer, but the way the sterling hops and the nuttiness from the wild rice play together you get a cheery pit flavor to the beer. Its crazy, let me know how you like it once you get some.

Cheers,
Tyler

Wit bier

Hey all,

I thought I posted the changed of the wit yesterday, but I must have been mistaken. So the Bravo Pale ale is gone and is replaced by our Belgian Wit. This is a Belgian wheat beer that is brewed with Both fresh and bitter orange peel, as well as, coriander. Basically this is what blue moon wishes it could taste like. An amazing summer beer.

See you all tomorrow for market square day!

Cheers,
Tyler

Hefe in the hizzy

Hey all,

Hefeweizen has replaced the weizenbock. Again read below about the NFL ordering. Nice to finally find out who NFLBrew was this weekend. I feel like I now know Clark Kent after wondering who Superman was.

Also, the cask is getting close to being kicked as well. So if you make it here and the Weizenheimer w/ Sage is gone you will get to try the Weizenheimer with Bombay Sapphire Oak. I am really curious about this one. But, good things come to those who wait.

Cheers,
Tyler

Sunday,Sunday....

Greetings beer lovers. What a glorious Sunday morning! We have been swamped with rain for too long and how sweet it is to see the sun. I was in the brewery's cellar/basement all day yesterday and didn't have the time to enjoy the sun.... but today I will be in the sun most of the day gardening, paddling and perhaps taking a ride on the old bike. But enough about me. Get out and enjoy the day! And be sure to head over to the brewery for a few new items.
Here's what's up at the brewery. We have just seen the end of the 7 barrels of Wheat Wine, sad face, but behold there are some kegs stashed to age for a little longer while we bring out the long anticipated Imperial IPA, happy face! If you didn't get to sample the most recent version of the Wheat Wine when it comes back do not hesitate to sip on a glass as it was spectacular in it's toffee-like flavor and big bold maltiness caressed by the hops. And while I am speaking of hops the Impy IPA is tasting just like the hopbomb it is. At 100 IBUS ( international bittering units... the measure of a beer's bitterness content) this beer could be very bitter but it is well balanced by the abundance of malt used in making the extract. This batch of Imp. IPA was on it's dry hops (Simcoe, Nugget, Warrior and Amarillo ) for close to a month and boy does it taste good. But I'l let you be the judge of that. We are still gearing up for summer and we have put on Weizenheimer and have back ups of Weizenheimer as well as some Hefeweizen and a Belgian Wit.... how about that for a few wheat beers? We will be brewing on of my favorite pale ales next Tuesday Wild Thang which is brewed with wild rice and Sterling hops. This one has the most unique flavor profiles as there are fruity esters created by the combination of the wild rice and the Sterling. It is this unique combination that gives the beer a cherrypit-like flavor profile that I cannot explain as there are no cherries involved in the production of the beer. In any event the beer will be ready at the end of June. Be on th lookout for Wild Thang.
Well, there is a little tease to entice you back into the brewery. Hope to see you soon, Cheers! Todm

Psych!

Hello,

Well we made an executive decision to put on the Weizenheimer instead of the Hefeweizen to replace the Saison…because when the Hefe was pulled through the lines we found it to be a little over carbonated (oops my bad for leaving it on straight CO2 for too long). So, the Weizenheimer was ready to go so it decided to make a surprise leap to the front of the class. The weizenheimer is our American wheat beer, which is light clean and crisp. It is an amazingly quaffable summer beer for the Memorial Day weekend. I will be here working most of the weekend so come on in and say hello.

Cheers,
Tyler

Bravo! ... Bravo! ... Encore!

Hey all,

The much awaited Bravo Pale Ale is on tap. It is an American Pale ale, unlike its British counterpart, it has hop character. The bitterness is very clean and we did five Bravo (a newer hop variety) additions starting at 30min all the way through the whirlpool addition. For those who have yet to take the tour here at the brewery, the 30min addition is for the hop flavor and the later the addition goes into the boil you get more hop aroma. So this beer is going to show the full flavor and aroma profile of Bravo. The beer has changed for the better in the serving tank. Out of the fermenter I couldn't get any of the hop aromas because of the residual yeast in suspension, but now the yeast has settled out and there is a very nice background earthiness on the nose with a slight hit of citrus. On the tongue there is a nice hop spice character and a slight earthy/fruity background post-nasal flavor lingering on the pallet. Bravo seems like it will be a nice flavor addition to any Pale Ale or IPA. Let us know what you think.

On a sadder note, the Saison de Printemps is on her last legs. We have about 20-30 gal left. So there is a good chance she isn’t going to last until the weekend. So get in a taste it before she is gone. We do have our first batch of Hefeweizen ready to go on after the Saison is gone. But please order this beer like this, “I’ll take a Hefeweizen, N.F.L please.” N.F.L. stands for No Freaking Lemon, if you didn’t know. I know that I mention this every year when the Hefeweizen comes out. Because our Hefe is the traditional version of Hefe, not the American style Hefeweizen, where there is tons of flavor in the beer already. Plus the lemon will kill all head retention as well as hiding all the spicy/fruity flavors and aromas you are supposed to get off the beer behind the crazy citrus character of the lemon. Ok I am done venting now.

But, if you really want a lemon in your beer, I guess you can get one.
Just know that I might be up there watching. Muahahaha! :)

Cheers,
Tyler

American Craft Beer Week

Hey all,

I hear that there was a question if we had anything planed for American Craft beer week, that is going on as we speak. (Apologies for hitting the wrong button over the publish button on a earlier comment.) To answer your question, yes we have a couple of things planned. First off as it states on the beertown.org web site we are doing tours every day this week at 1 and 3 pm vs. just the normal Thurs, Fri, Sat tour hours. Secondly we are bringing out a special pin (5 gal gravity fed cask) Thursday afternoon and putting it on the bar upstairs. What’s in the cask you ask? Lets just say that you hop-heads out there are going to be quite pleased. Wink wink, nod nod. :)

Cheers,
Tyler

P.S. Tod here to chime in about American Craft Beer week..... I believe every week is American Craft beer week. Day in day out Tyler and I work very hard to bring you, the American Public, the finest ales and lagers to entice your palattes and whet your whistles. So, whether you are coming to P-Brew for the first time or are a regular we hope you find at least one American made beer, in International styles, to your liking. ( Do you hear the National Anthem or the Stars and Stripes gently playing in the background?) That's nice! I raise my glass. Here is to you and American Crafted Beer forever!. Cheers! Todm

BC -> Oatmeal

Hey all,

The Black Cat has changed over the Oatmeal stout on the tap line up. Plus the Cask has changed over to our second offering of the Bravo Pale ale casks. The Pale ale dry hopped with Simcoe. The Huge simcoe flavor plays very nicely with the spiciness of the Bravo. Great combo! Well huge cellar day for us here so I have to get back to cleaning…well… everything!

Cheers,
Tyler

WiezenBock

Hey all,

The ESB has changed over to the much anticipated (well by our Head Chef Rob that I know of) WiezenBock. This beer is a hybrid of a Hefewiezen and a German Bock. We use 2 yeast strains (hefe and lager) and krausened with Maple Syrup during secondary. This beer has the nose of a hefe with the flavor of a dark German lager and just a lingering hint of the Maple syrup flavor. Defiantly was worth the wait to lager this beer correctly.

The cask changed too. We are onto our Bravo Pale ale dry hopped with Bravo. The Bravo Pale ale is going on tap after the Baltic porter kicks. But we have been selling so many casks that all we had left to put on was the Bravo pale cask. So you are going to get a sneak peak of the new beer. The Bravo come of relatively spicy in the well balanced Pale Ale. Worth a run though and let me know what you think.

Cheers,
Tyler

Oatmeal Cask

Hey all,

There was a HUGE run on the cask beer last Friday that caused the IPA w/ Simco to kick and the IPA w/ Amarillo that was put on after it to almost kick that day. So we had to put on the Oatmeal Stout dry hopped with Columbus on Saturday afternoon even though the Oatmeal isn't on tap yet. The sales slowed a little but the Oatmeal stout casks are always a favorite. So that went away and now we have our Oatmeal w/ Bourbon Oak on which is quite delicious.

Are there more people out there that are digging cask beer? Are we are getting back to the old school beer service? If so, I am loving it. Pretty soon you are going to see Tod bust out his bellbottoms for a throw back to the old days in celebration!

Cheers,
Tyler

Video Snippet - 4/30/09

Additional Kate Day Details...

Howdy all:

A couple of weeks ago I posted a countdown clock on the Portsmouth Brewery's Brewers Notes Page, marking time till next year's Kate Day: Monday, March 1. Since then, I've read a good deal of commentary on Beer Advocate and elsewhere, so I thought I'd take a few minutes and provide some additional details.

Here at the Brewery, thinking about last Kate Day, we concluded that the biggest matter we needed to address was the long line and hours-long wait that many people had to endure.

When we opened our doors at eleven-thirty that day, the restaurant immediately filled to capacity (about 300 people, give or take), and there was no turnover due to the fact that those who had gotten seats remained there till after Kate was tapped at 1:14. Of course, this meant that anyone who had not entered our doors in the first wave was forced to stand in line until seats in the restaurant began opening up, hours later.

How can we address this, we asked ourselves? The most obvious thing is to move the tapping time closer to when we open our doors, so people are not required to wait (inside or outside) for hours. That was an easy decision: we've set the tapping for 11:37 am, shortly after we "officially"open for business. People will be able to stop in, enjoy a Kate and a bite to eat, and get on with their days. Tables will turn over more rapidly, and there will be less of a wait outside. We hope.

Moreover, after, giving it further thought, we concluded that Kate Day consists of not one but two related activities: the celebration & socializing surrounding the actual tapping, and the purchase of bottles. Why did they have to take place simultaneously, we asked? Would things run smoother if we took care of bottle sales first thing in the morning, hours before the tapping? We think they will.

So, in short, here is how Kate Day will shape up next March 1.

1.) Bottle sales will commence at 9:00 AM and will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. We will start to issue calendar pages at seven in the morning, to reduce the amount of time people have to wait in line. Bottle sales will be conducted in our downstairs bar, but no drinks will be served there during this time. Once bottles are purchased, people will be asked to go outside so we can clear the room prior to tapping.

2.) The tapping itself will take place at 11:37 AM, in both our upstairs and downstairs bars. We'll open our doors a bit earlier than usual, eleven instead of eleven-thirty, to give everyone a chance to settle in.

We're confident that these changes will help make the next Kate Day more enjoyable for all. As always, we welcome your feedback.

Cheers,

P-

By the way, regarding rumors of larger batches of Kate being brewed at Smuttynose ...

... no comment.

Spring time

Hey all,

Red Sox are beating up on the Yankees and it is getting warm out, must be spring time. So the XX bitter has been replaced with our Saison de Printemps. This is a spring time (printemps in French) Saison that has a little bit more of the spicy Belgian note than the fruity. Plus the addition of a little more wheat malt in the profile makes it a bit dryer as well. I hope you all enjoy this one.

Secondly the cask has changed over to the other ESB with Sovereign. The cask has a nice subtle earthiness that fades to a slight spiciness in the finish. I am liking this cask a little better then the last cask.

I wish I heard about this earlier and I would have let you know. But yesterday up at Novare Res they had a Cantillon and Brasserie de la Senne night. I met Jean and Yvan the head brewers of Cantillon and De la Senne respectively, plus they had 5 Cantillon's and 2 De la senne beers on tap. It is worth a call up to see if they are still there and get up there ASAP to give them a whirl. Totally worth the 45 min drive to Portland, in my opinion anyway :)

Cheers,
Tyler

Deep Ellum

hey all,

Just a heads up that tongiht at Deep Ellum Smuttynose is part of the east coast brewers night there. Deep Ellum is located at 477 Cambrige St, Allston MA. Should be a good time!

Cheers,
Tyler

CBC in Beantown

Hey all,

The Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) starts today down in Boston. I am here manning the fort as Tod ventures down to see all there is to see. If you are looking for a good time down that-a-way may I suggest Redbones in Somerville. Tonight is Smuttynose night there and all 18 lines along with a pin and a firkin are going to be Smuttynose beers. I don’t know the exact line up but I am sure that they are going to be busting out some good beers for the brewers visiting from all over the country and world.

On the home front we did change over the Whipper Snapper to our ESB. Again this was a beer that we specially brewed for the CBC and is going to be displayed down there on draft and on cask at the Brewers Supply Group vender table. To get a taste of what they are trying there we also have changed out cask to the ESB dry hopped with Bodicea.

It’s a CBC party here at the Portsmouth Brewery.

Cheers,
Tyler

Just like Summer!

Greetings beer lovers.WHOA! What was Friday? Early perfect summer day....? YES!! I was able to sneak away to Sunday River for one of those amazing sunny spring ski days. I wish I was at the brewery to brew the first Weizen of the warm weather varieties..... NOT!! But actually, T$ had things in control. I, on the other hand was totally out of control because it was such an amazing day! Beautiful clear bluebird sky, Mt Washington majestically peering on the horizon and some of the sickest corn snow I've been on in years! I am having a wee bit of trouble getting down the stairs as my quads are like jello but I am in the brewery today to get some stuff done before next weeks' Craft Brewers Conference in Boston.
So. like T$ said we've put on our ESB which was brewed with Crisp floor malted Maris Otter malt (Sweet!) and two colored malts from Chile: a Black malt and a Crystal 52 as well as two hop varieties not yet available here in the U.S.: Boadicea and Sovereign. Both hops are aroma varieties heavily influenced by a spicy-earthy characteristic. The hop is quite understated in our ESB where as the malt predominates the aroma. With some time the hops show themselves as a beautiful soft earthiness and a slight bite. I am waiting to try the cask version where the soft, under carbonated and WARMER temps. should prove to highlight the hops. Then be on the lookout for both the Weizen Bock and the Saison. We'll keep everyone in the loop for these two. Lastly, I wanted to let all know that we've decided to release Kate the Great not until next March. The official date will be March 1st at 1:37ish 2010! Holy crap! 2010!!! I remember when 2000 was a big deal. Well, have a great weekend and I be getting back to you soon. Cheers! Todm

Feels like Summer!!!

Hey all,

It’s hot out side and we are brewing our first batch of Hefe for the year. It must be almost summer time. A few changes tap wise have happened or are about to happen.

First off the Milk stout on tap kicked just as the XX bitter Cask. So now the Cask is Milk Stout that we infused with Kahlua Oak but the Stout on tap is Black Cat. Both of them are tasting great.
Secondly the Wipper Snapper is on its last legs. We have only a few gallons left in the serving tank, so I am guessing today or tonight it will be gone. It will be replaced with our ESB. This is a beer that we made specially for the Craft brewers conference that is in Boston next week. We use some very nice floor malted Pale malt as well as being able to use the new hops varieties of Sovereign and Bodicea. we are actually the first ones to use these hops in North America. I'm excited to give the very traditional British style ESB a whirl.

I remember someone asking about the Bravo Pale ale a little while back too. The malt profile its self is a very basic American pale ale base. Though we use another new to us variety of hops called Bravo. They hops them selves smell like a spicier version of Palisade, so I am excited for this beer as well. But it isn’t going to be on for a while so don’t hold your breath for this. I'll let you know when you should be lining up out side :)

Cheers,
Tyler

The Kate Day Video: thanks for the memories!

Our friends Brian and Nancy at Atlantic Media Productions recently sent us the video they shot on Kate Day last February. Here is it, in case you hadn't seen it on our website.

What do you think - does Tod have a future in acting or should he keep his day job?

---

Wheat Wine time!

Hey all,

The Wheat Wine went on yesterday and it is delicious. Toffee sweetness hits you at first with a nice fruit, almost cherry flavor to follow. The finish is relatively clean for 11 % abv, but has a nice warming sensation after the swallow so you know what you got yourself into.

Oh ya its back and better then ever!

Cheers,
Tyler

Post Script

One more thing. I just had a sample of the XX Bitter at the servers meeting this morning and it is really coming into its self. The yeast has almost settled out completely and the hops are showing them selves right along side of the spicy Belgian character that is coming through in full strength now. I know it isn't as much hops as De Ranke XX, but we were not trying to clone peoples beers here :) If you have had this beer in the past it is worth a second look at it this weekend. Let me know what you think.

Cheers,
Tyler

Celebrate good times... Come on!

Hello all,

The Sierra Bigfoot as left the building. But we have one keg of Serria Nevada Celebration that we pulled out for you guys. This '08 Vintage of the Celebration has mellowed so nicely during the 5 months of cold aging this beer. The hop character is till there but it is much spicier than I remember it being, and of course much mellower then the Bigfoot that it replaced. This one keg is a Celebration for the return of the Portsmouth Brewery's Wheat Wine that is to follow this beer. I'm excited to have a glass after work of the celebration, and for the wheat wine in the future.

Secondly the Murphy's Law Red has been replace with the return of our Imperial/Baltic Porter. This Porter is just as good as it was when it was on a week or so ago. So smooth with a nice chocolate finish. Yummm.

Cheers,
Tyler

Not on now.... the Imp.Porter that is.

Well greetings beer lovers, Todm here wishing you a very hoppy Saturday. As it turns out the Baltic Porter held its own for a few days allowing us a wee bit more time for the milk stout to conditions. I have just finished the transfer and have been "polishing up" the CO2 level to make this lovely beer presentable! Should be on by 2:00 PM. As far as things in the works we have lots of pokers in the fire tempering just so. But I do want you to know we've got WheatWine almost ready, for when the Bigfoot kicks. For those of you at the Beer VS. Wine dinner you had a sneak preview of the Wheat Wine which we added some dried apricots to to bring the complexity level up one notch. It was quite tasty! The IMP. IPA is coming along nicely and looks like it will be dry-hopped with a massive amount of Warrior/Nugget/Simcoe and Columbus! WHOA!! Be on the lookout for this gnaurghly elixir in mid April, as well as the Weizenbock and Springtime Saison. I am still waiting patiently for these two to come around and it looks like another week or two for both. Well, I've got to put on the milk stout to get the bartenders off my back. Cheers! and good drinking. Todm

Just for a bit.

Hey all,

It must be getting close to summer because beers life on tap here is getting shorter and shorter. So the Oatmeal Stout is gone and was loved by many. We were going to back it up with the Milk Stout, but in our planning the brew schedule we didn’t expect the Oatmeal to kick until this weekend! So we put on the Imperial Porter to tide over the "dark" beer drinkers out there. I know it doesn’t have the body of a stout, but at a higher alcohol content the stout and with a similar chocolate back note we think it will be an ok substitute. We hope to have the Milk Stout on for Friday when the Baltic/Imperial Porter will go back into condition mode until we put it on for real the next time.

Well I'm off to enjoy the beer vs. wine dinner here at the brewery.

cheers,
Tyler

Britt for an American

Hey all,

There has been a few changes to the on tap menu here at the brewery. The British mild has been replaced with its American counterpart, the American Mild. This beer is light in body and alcohol (giving it it's Mild part of the name) and then it is hopped similar to and American IPA. Hence, the beer style name of American Mild. It was named Whipper Snapper by a patron the last time it was on. So the boards will say Whipper Snapper while the tap markers still say the old name of American Mild.

Secondly the Winter weizen has gone away and been replaced with out XX Bitter. This, again, is a beer that is on the lower end of the alcohol spectrum at only 5.25% abv. The XX Bitter is hopped similar to an ESB, but then we tweak the style by fermenting it with a Belgian yeast strain. You know us, no beer can be completely strait forward.

Cheers,
Tyler

Since you asked...

Howdy,

I noticed that several of you wrote in response to Tyler's post about tapping the final keg of Portsmouth Lager and wanted to throw in my two cents’ worth. Here's the short story:

Yes, Portsmouth Lager has been retired, and yes, you surmised correctly that it will be replaced at the Portsmouth Brewery by Smuttynose’s new Star Island Single.

If you’d like to read my long-winded explanation for why we decided to phase Portsmouth Lager out of the Smuttynose lineup, you can visit my blog, Smuttynose Tavern, where I go into it at some length.

In the meantime, enjoy the last of the Portsmouth Lager, and please let us know what you think of Star Island. (I’m heading into town shortly to have one myself.)

Cheers,

P-

So long...farewell...auf Wiedersehen and good buy :(

Hey all,

So, I just went into the cold room and noticed that we have taped our last keg of Smuttynose Portsmouth Lager (PML). Since we took the last shipment of the PML from Bayside, and Smuttynose is discontinuing the brand, I fancy to say that we have the last keg of PML in New Hampshire, if not the world!

So I hereby declare this the unofficial farewell hour/day/weekend (depending on how long it lasts) for the Smuttynose Portsmouth Lager. Come on in and get a last pint of this brew and say your farewells to a long standing regular tap here at the Portsmouth Brewery.

Cheers,

Tyler

Top of the mornin' to ya!

We are counting our lucky stars and feel as we found a pot o’ gold because of the return of Murphy's Law Red Ale. Ye say you like-a the Irish Red Ales? This beverage is for you. Come on in and get a pint of Murphy's Law or a pint of Oatmeal Stout, “they're magically delicious”.

Man I am running out of St. Patty's day references, I had to stoop to a cereal commercial. I'm going back to brewing.

Sláinte!,

Tyler

Solo brew day for me.

Hey all,

Why is Tyler all alone on a brew day? Is Tod on Vacation? Has he gone skiing? No he is brewing at another brewery!

Not permanently though, no worries. He is down at Mayflower Brewing Co. in Plymouth MA brewing the symposium ale for the upcoming Craft Brewers Conference (CBC). Tod Mott and Will Meyers of Cambridge brewing Company went down this morning to meet up with Matt Steinberg (head Brewer at Mayflower) to play with his new system and make a new beer for the CBC. I can’t wait to see what these guys make!

On the home front we have changed a few beers. First off the Le Chat has beer replaced by one of my favorite of our stouts; the Oatmeal Stout. It has a nice chocolate flavor that hangs on your palette because of the oats, and the slightly roast nose is a great complement.

Secondly the Belgian Triple is gone. But ,"The eagle has landed!" a quote from our salesman from the distributor we work with. Meaning that we can get Serria Nevada's BigFoot. This is the classic American Style Barleywine. Lots of malt and lots of hops make this beer just a stumble away from an Imperial IPA. At 9.6% more then one might make you stumble so be careful. Although I had a '04 Bigfoot the other day and the bar tender said that the abv was 11.4%? Was he mistakenly reading the date or have they cut back on the ABV throughout the years? I am going to have to look into this.

See you out and about this weekend. There is some good music being played in Portsmouth this weekend, so you will see me at the brewery having a beer or two before the shows!

Cheers,
Tyler

It's Baaaack!

Hey all,

The Flanders makes its triumphant return to the taps for a limited quantity engagement. We blended the remaining Flanders Red with the year old Sour Brune, lambicus and some tart cherries to make a pseudo Kriek Lambic. Traditionally we would have to age the blend for at least a year to call it an official Lambic. But it is close enough for us American brewers here at Portsmouth. The blend is very nice, the aged Brune plus the Lambicus really rounds out the tartness. The tart cherries give a very nice background of fruit in the aroma and flavor. Plus the color is killer! We only have 30 gal of this beer so again no growlers on this limited one of a kind beer. Come and give it a whirl.

Cheers,
Tyler

The 5 C's IPA is gone!

Hello all,

The 5 C's is gone and we are going to have to make it again at some point this year. Is it that much better then the Bottle Rocket? Or, is it just a nice change of pace for you guys? Any who it went quick as Tod mentioned.

To replace it we have a very limited amount of last years Sour Brune, 10 gals to be exact. This beer has Lambicus added to it to aid in the secondary fermentation and add another interesting layer of sour character to the beer. Because of the limited quantity we are serving the beer on draft only. But the brewery is always worth the trip!

Cheers,
Tyler

Slow down you HOPHEADS!

Todm here on Sat. the 28th of Feb. Can you believe we are already through Feb.?? Where does the time go.... and for that matter where did all the 5 C's go?!? We just put the 5C's on a week ago Thurs. and we are already below the one barrel mark! Slow the pace down!! How are we to keep up with your demand when we can hardly keep up the supply? We are brewing as fequently as possible. We just put in a double batch of Baltic Porter (yum!) and a new twist on our summertime Saison we are calling our Printemps (French for Springtime) Saison. Both need a bit of time to mellow ( read: 4 weeks at least for the Porter and 6 weeks for the Saison). I hope we can hold off long enough for the fine ales to come to maturity. We do have some tasty brews we just put on like the Winter Weizen and the oxymoron beer a dark light called, of all things, British Mild. The mild is an authentic session ale with huge quaffability with light body and lovely chocolate notes in the palette. The Winter Weizen is an authentic German Hefeweizen with banana and clove aromatics and a crisp tart flavor with a medium body. Both are light in their hops so all you hop (knuckle)heads will probably be asking when the next installment of 5C's will be coming out! We will be working on two hoppy beers for the springtime; American Mild and an Imperial IPA. Be patient! Cheers! Todm

5 C's, yummmmmy!

hey all,

We took off the Flanders and replaced the line with our 5 C's IPA. It is hop-a-lish! Big citrus note and the lingering hop flavor that wont quit! For you hop heads out there this is your beer.

I know that the Flanders was enjoyed by many. But to the sour fans keep and eye out, I said we took off the Flanders, not that the Flanders kicked. We are up to no good here in the brew house. Bwahahahaha!

Cheers,
Tyler

Some Reflections on Kate Day

It's been nearly a week since the festivities we've come to call Kate Day, when we tap Tod's famous Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout and offer bottles of it for sale to the general public. We've gotten a lot of feedback and some helpful suggestions, and I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts about how things went. 

Before I get into that, however, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who helped make Kate Day such a terrific celebration. That includes those who drove great distances and waited patiently in the cold in a line that extended from our doorstep all the way down to Market Square, a block and a half away. It also includes Tod, Tyler, Brennen, Joanne and the rest of wonderful Brewery staff - both front and back of the house - who worked their tails off and looked like they loved every minute of it, smiling and hustling their way through the (barely) controlled chaos that lasted from early morning till last call.

At the Brewery, we are very aware that we have been blessed with something extremely special, and it's not entirely about the beer. We are fortunate to host, once or twice a year, a remarkable gathering of friends, acquaintances and strangers, who come together under the pretext of seeking out a rare and marvelous beer - Kate the Great. But it's about much more than that. Everyone who attended will probably agree that the “vibe” we all felt that day was truly unique. This was not just another day at the office, or the bar, or a concert or whatever. Kate Day was a rare occasion - yes, the beer is the draw, but the people make the day.

Some have suggested that there is too much “hype.” I don't see it that way. Hype implies something false and inauthentic, that is blown out of proportion. If you look at the comments on Beer Advocate and other beer blogs, nobody said that the beer or the event failed to live up to their expectations. From the Brewery's standpoint, our promotion of Kate Day consisted of putting a countdown clock on our website, several mentions in our email newsletter, and our literary contest, which we promoted only on our website and newsletter. We didn't spend a penny on advertising. In the Brewery itself, there were no posters or table tents, or even a mention in our menu during the time leading up to the event. That's pretty low-key promotion, in my book! In my opinion, the interest in Kate Day was purely organic, generated by people who are sincerely interested in good beer and the opportunity to be part of a rare and special social event. Since bottle sales were limited to two per person, it's safe to say that the level of mercenary activity was pretty much zero; no one was cashing in on Kate Day. 

Did everything run perfectly? Certainly not. I was not happy to see so many people standing in line for much of the day. And like everyone else, I was disappointed to learn that Kate didn't make it till last call Monday. I only had one glass myself, assuming, like many others did, that I'd have another one with lunch on Tuesday. We will certainly do a post-mortem and think of as many was as we can to improve the next Kate Day. 

But I need to point out that we at the Brewery are in the business of saying yes. That is the cornerstone of our hospitality. We can not make a distinction between “regulars” and “non-regulars.” As far as I am concerned, everyone who walks in our door deserves the best we can offer, whether it's their first time, or their fourth time this week. We've talked about a “soft” release, and some on our staff are enthusiastic about that idea. I, for one, am not a big fan of the idea, because, as I've said, I belive the real magic of Kate Day is the mix of the beer and the gathering itself. I may crack open a bottle of Kate one evening, but I don't think I'll enjoy it nearly as much as the glass I had in the midst of such a wonderful crowd of happy beer lovers.

Cheers,

P-

Just a little preview

Hey all,

The 5 C's IPA isn't on yet....but we did sneak out the casks a bit early. We are just excited to try this beer as you guys are. If you don’t remember last years 5 C's IPA here is a little refresher. The 5 C's has five hop varieties used through out the brewing process and come off as a more west coast IPA. Meaning that there is a little bit more bitterness and more citrus aroma and flavor then our Bottle Rocket. But don’t drink the cask! I want to save it for myself :)

Cheers,
Tyler

Just getting over the shock

Hey all,

I am just getting over the shock that Kate is gone. The bottles sold out in 2 hours and the beer was kicked on tap that night! It is unbelievable. Thank you all that made it in here for the event. I hope everyone that was here had a great time!

Cheers,
Tyler

Kate day

Hey all,

Kate day is right around the corner and we are starting to get e-mails repeating the same questions. Mostly asking can I pick up my Kate bottles early, or can I get my friend to pick up my bottles with my ticket. To make it fair for everyone there are no proxies allowed. The rule is two bottles per person, not two bottles per ticket. Each person is eligible to buy two bottles, whether they have one ticket or twenty. Also Kate, in bottles or off the tap, is not going to be sold until 1:14pm on the 9th.

Monday is going to be a great time! I am not staying that you should skip work or class for the day, but I am sure that it would be much more fun here then there.

Cheers,
Tyler

Dubbel de-lish

Hey all,

Taking a quick break from the Kate bottling to let you know about the new beer on tap. Our Belgian Style Dubbel is now on tap. This traditional Belgian ale has the fruity/bubble gum nose that you would expect and finishes slightly dryer on the palette then the color would lead you to believe. Triple is coming soon, Dubbel, Flanders Red, Biere de Garde are all on now. Belgian brewery for a bit is always fun :)

See ya on Monday!

Cheers,
Tyler

Some Oats for a Cat

Hey all,

The Oatmeal stout went on and has replaced the Black Cat. It is so amazing to me every time I try the Oatmeal Stout. The Black Cat stout and the Oatmeal Stout are very close in malt and hop profile. But that addition of the Oatmeal to the mash mutes the roasty note, brings out more of the chocolate note and lets the flavor linger on your palette for much longer. I don’t think I will ever get over this amazing phenomenon!

Cheers,
Tyler

Growlers and Bottles

Hey all,

I have been asked a few times about the beer to take home from the Portsmouth Brewery so I wanted to clear it up for everyone. First and foremost we are a brewpub. This means that we can only serve our beers onsite. Our licensing dose not allow us to ship/distribute bottles or kegs to Florida, Mass, any local liquor store or even across the street. So if you want to enjoy a Portsmouth Brewery beer of any kind you are going to have to come to us and enjoy it at the pub in Portsmouth NH which is a great town to visit anyways :)

Once you are here, we do serve growlers of all of the beers that are brewed on site (except for Kate the Great of course). As soon as a new beer is on tap you can come and get a growler to take home with you. We recommend not getting growlers of our Black Cat Stout, Oatmeal Stout or Milk Stout because the are served off the Nitro tap. A nitro tap has a defuser build into it and it purposely de-carbonates the beer as it is being poured into a glass. Hence giving you a great head on your stout in the glass. If you did get a growler of one of these stouts there would be no carbonation left in the beer and it would be a super flat black water by the time your wanted to drink it at home.

The bottling situation is a little trickier though. We do a very limited bottling of most of our beers and stop bottling them when we are getting low in the serving vessels. The bottles are sold on a first come first serve basis, so there is no way that I can tell you if there is going to be a certain beer on a certain date available (except for Kate the Great of course). The 22oz bottles are sold in the retail store and if we run out of a certain style there is a possibility that we will be bottling it again. That is of unless we are just plain running low on the beer then it will just finish out its life being served off the tap here at the brewery.

I hope this clears up some confusion rather then creating more.

After reading my ramblings i want to make it a bit simpler. Growlers of everything are available as long as it is on tap (all except Kate). And bottles you are going to have to take your chances and come in to see what we have in 22oz. See ya all soon!

Cheers,
Tyler

The wait is over

Hey all,

I wanted to let you know that the Flanders Red went on tap today! If you are into the sour Belgian beers this one is for you. All the sour characteristics come from the three days souring of the mash. No "bugs" in this one. Flavors of tropical fruit and tartness cover the palette and finish with a slight sweetness that makes you want to take another sip. It came out great.

Cheers,
Tyler

Our Upcoming Beer & Chocolate Social

Join us on Wednesday, January 21, for a delicious

night of beer & chocolate,

co-Hosted By Susan Tuveson of Cacao Chocolates of Kittery, Maine.

Join Tod, Chef Rob and Susan this Wednesday for our second Social of the season. The cost is $30 per person including, tax and gratuity. For reservations, please call 603-431-1115. Payment is required in advance and space is limited.


The Menu:
Arugula Salad with Crispy Shaved Onion, Balsamic Tradizionale, and Susan’s White Chocolate Gorgonzola Truffle with Curried Walnut.
Beer selection: Portsmouth Brewery Tripel.

Milk Chocolate Risotto with Smoked Pork, Star Anise and Parmesan Crisps.
Beer selection: Portsmouth Brewery Imperial Pils.

Duck Confit Beggar’s Purse  - Confit Duck Leg, Cocoa & Toasted Black Sesame in a Dark Cocoa Crepe with Soy Ginger Sauce.
Beer selection: Portsmouth Brewery Holidaze Porter.

Espresso Dusted Elk with Dried Cherry Molé.
Beer selection: Portsmouth Brewery Flanders Sour Red.

Dark Chocolate & Marscapone Ravioli with Hazelnut Butter
Beer selection: Portsmouth Brewery Black Cat Stout

Can't sneak anything by you!

Hey guys,

We can’t sneak any beers by you guys. I tell you about an Imperial IPA that we hid and put on cask. A few days later it is a changing. We did save one more though :) There is an Imperial IPA w/ Simcoe on cask right now. No explanation needed on this one. Get it before it’s gone!

Cheers,
Tyler

Wonderful winter warmer.

Hello all,

I want to thank you all who made it out to the winter warmer social last night, it went over extremely well. The food and beer paired so nicely and it was great to be able to mingle and talk with so many different people that came. If you missed it keep an eye out on the calendar of events on the main website. There are a few more social coming up very soon, the chocolate and beer social, then the Farnum Hill Cider social and there are talks of a Beer vs. Wine- Thrilla in Manilla Rematch in early spring. I say bring it on wine! You are going down!

Now about some beer. The cask has changed over to the Imperial IPA dry hopped with Styrian Goldings. No the Impy IPA is not on, but we saved a couple of casks so we can still get our hop fix. I'm cleaning the line now and the cask should be on momentarily. The supply of Sierra Nevada Celebration has dried up. We are running the last few keg we have in house. Defiantly should make it through the weekend. So that means that we are going to be putting on the Flemish Red next week at some point. I'm excited about this one.

That's it for now
Cheers,
Tyler

January Greetings!

Hello beer lovers, and welcome to January. Looks like we're in for some weather here and you know what that means.... good drinkin' and we will not let you down. For starters we've put on our Imperial Pilsner which I have been informed that it is actually a Barvarian Imperial Lager (or as like to refer to it as BIL) which has"an acidic viniferous aroma" followed by a lovely malty sweetness finishing with a noble type hop aromatic. That's a mouthfull! However, you should put your mouth up to a glass of this unique beer and see for yourself. Lots of goodness coming to the brewery over the next few weeks including a sour mashed Flanders style Red ale, a Belgian style Tripel and Dubbel and a Bier de Garde as well as our Imperial Stout; Kate the Great. So if the weather sucks, don't let it bring you down.... just come on down to the brewery for some cheering elixirs. See you soon and Cheers! Todm

Winter Warmer Social food and beers

Hey all,

The Winter Warmer Social menu and beers are finalized! The social is the 14th of January and the price is $30/person that included tax and gratuity. The menu and pairings are as follows:

Winter Warmer Social Menu:

Ginger vegetable dumplings with Thai chili and lime chili sauce.
Paired w/ Portsmouth Brewery Holidaze Porter

Thai curry shredded chicken taco with cilantro foam.
Paired w/ Portsmouth Brewery Winter Weizen

Kung Pao onion and broccoli beef.
Paired w/ Rogue Santa’s Reserve

Galangal and coconut scallion noodle cakes with sambal shrimp.
Paired w/ Smuttynose Winter Ale

Tempura Vegetables with cardamom, ginger caramel dipping sauce.
Paired w/ Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog

Cayenne Chocolate ooze with fresh crepes.
Paired w/ Dogfish Head Raisin D’etre

I’m going to be there! Call us up to reserve your spot! 603-431-1115

Cheers,
Tyler

Kate Day is Coming Up

Howdy all. With Kate Day a little more than a month away (February 9, to be precise), we thought we’d provide some information about how it will shape up. We'll be doing a couple of things differently this time around. The biggest change is that we will limit bottle sales to two per customer, without any additional allotment for Imperial Pint Clubbers. This was a tough call to make, but we figured it was the fairest way to spread the love around. We're also running a contest in which you can win an entire case of Kate. Here are the details:

• Approximately ten barrels of Kate were brewed, which will be divided evenly between bottles and draft. Bottles will be made available at the same time as the tapping, and not a moment sooner.
• Due to the high demand and limited quantity (about 900 bottles), we are limiting bottle purchases to two per person. Last June, we sold out our entire stock of bottles the first day, and we're hoping to stretch things out a bit this time.
• No Growlers of Kate will be filled.
• Same as last time, we will issue numbers to people in the order in which they arrive. Your number holds your place in line, freeing you up to wander about freely until 1:14.
• If you're just coming in for a glass of Kate and aren't interested in purchasing bottles, don't worry about arriving early or getting a number - we should have plenty of draft Kate, at least for a couple of days.

We all had a terrific time on Kate Day last June. Folks were waiting on our doorstep by eight in the morning, and by the time we started issuing numbers around nine, the line stretched down the block. Here's a video our friends Nancy and Brian from Atlantic Media shot that day. We're thinking that perhaps things might be a little more low-key in February, but we have no way of knowing for sure. One thiing we do know is that we'll have a great time again in February. We're looking forward to serving you that day.

Flex Your Literary Muscles & Win a Case of Kate!
You can win an entire case of our hard-to-get Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout, but you're going to have to show you really want it. None of this random entry stuff - any nincompoop can have his or her name pulled out of a hat! In order to win a case of Kate, you must impress us and your fellow beer lovers with your literary prowess by authoring a beer-related poem, essay or short story.
• Works must be original and can be either about beer, inspired by beer or otherwise relating to beer.
• Seven First Prizes, single bottles of Kate, will be awarded to winners in the following categories:

• Poems: sonnet, haiku, limerick, ballad or free verse
  
• Essays: between 500 and 2,000 words
  
• Short fiction: between 500 and 2,000 words
  

• A Grand Prize of a case of Kate will be selected from among the First Prize winners.
• Entries will be read by a panel of local literary luminaries and barflies and will be judged for originality, adherence to form, and how much the panel likes them.
• Entries must be submitted by email, regular mail or in person by midnight on February 2, 2009.
• Winners will be announced on Kate Day. Winning entries will be posted on our website and displayed in our front window.
• Winners do not have to be present on Kate Day, but must pick up their prize in person by the end of February.
• Entries must have sufficient merit in order to receive a prize. In other words, if yours is the only sonnet submitted, you may not win simply by default; we reserve the right to withold prizes if no entries in any given category are deserving.

Imperial Pils is grand

Hey all,

The Imperial Pilsner went on over the weekend, and as promised it is delicious. The Saphir hops add a very nice spicy hop note and the malt is sweet in the front with a slight acidy that finishes clean and dry. But be careful the 9% abv really sneaks up on you with this one.

Cheers,
Tyler

An Impy for an Impy

Welcome to 2009! Hopefully a year of lots of changes for our country, economy and more.

Speaking about changes we are giving you an Impy for an Impy. To clarify, the Imperial IPA is almost gone but we have an Imperial Pilsner to back it up. This is a true lager that was cold conditioned for 8 weeks. The lagering give this 9% beer a clean finish. We used a lot of Saphir hops in this one. Saphir is derived from the traditional German hop Hallertau, making it a great addition to any lager. I am sure that you wont be disappointed with this beer!

Cheers,
Tyler