Project X w/Glacier...

Hey all,

The new iteration of the Project X just hit the taps.  We used Glacier all the way though this batch.  It gives a really nice woodsy/piney aromatic.  You get some of that Piney flavor that is combined with hints of Grapefruit flavors on the tongue.  Too delicious to explain...you are just going to have to try it for yourselves :)

Cheers,
Tyler

Fall Gruit

Hey all,

Good to see you all that made the Passport event at Strawbery Banke last night. We were pouring the Fall Gruit on cask in the VIP tent. But even if you didn’t have a chance to get into the VIP tent you can now enjoy the Fall Gruit down at the brewery because it went on tap last night.

For those of you who are unfamiliar to the gruit style here is a little background. Beer has been made for many, many years and using only hops for flavor and bitterness in a beer is a new brewing tecnique.  Back in the Medieval days, Meads and Beers were fermented out with locally harvest herbs and flowers to add some interest to the flavor profile and change up the flavoring from batch to batch. So staying with that mindset I went over to Strawbery Banke Museum and Gardens and met up with John Forti who is the head gardener for them. We walked over the grounds and went from garden to garden harvesting herbs and flowers that were in bloom. We were able to harvest some Horehound, Hyssop, Mugwort, Burgamont Flowers, Lavender, Purple Sage, shade grown Rosemary and of course some Hops off a vine that has been growing for 100 year at Strawbery Banke.

We didn't have the "big three" gruit herbs of Yarrow, Sweet Gale and Marsh Rosemary that you see in most traditional gruits out there. But the herbs we did find made this beer taste amazing. The burgamont flower gives a nice honey sweetness right up front that plays nicely with the malt of the red ale beer back bone. Then the flavors of the Purple sage and Rosemary play so nicely with the herbal/floral flavors from the rest of the herbs.  Get in and try this one.

I am excited to see what is in bloom in the spring!

Cheers,

Tyler

Firkin Friday is heating up!

Hey all,

Want to let you know that today is Firkin Friday.  We have a firkin of the Whipper Snapper that is dry peppered (if that’s a word) with habenaros.  I know it sounds crazy but the flavor is very nice and there is just a linger of the heat left after the swallow. 

What cold be better then a pint of that with 6 volcano tenders?!?!  If you are a Hot and spicy food freak we are having our HOT HOT happy hour today at 6 o'clock today.  It is a first come first serve basis so get here early to reserve your seat.  I have already had a few people swing in to sign up before they headed to work!  Check out the video of your competition, Matt Tarpy, on the face book page.  He isn't kidding around.  If you can eat 6 volcano tenders and drink a pint of the Habenero Wipper snapper faster then the Sultan of Spice him self Matt Tarpy.  You will win a $25 gift card to the Portsmouth Brewery.  Good luck to all who enter.

See you in soon for a spicy pint!

Cheers,
Tyler

It's Pumpkin Ale Time

Matt and Matt were up to their elbows, carving up fresh, local pumpkins yesterday, so I asked them to take a break and give us a sneak preview of this season's pumpkin offerings. Tyler will provide more details later.

Cheers!

Peter

Hop Harvest I...

Hey all,

You are reading right in the in the works section.... Hop Harvest 1 is in the works.  HHII being brewed next week with wet Citra hops!  Big thumbs up for hop bombs!

Cheers,
Tyler

Holding on on to Summer...

Hey all,

We are trying to hold on to summer as long as possible here at Portsmouth Brewery.  It is true that the fall beers are some delectable beverages, but they tastes so much better once there is the fall chill in the air.   So while we still have 70-80oF days we have a few more easy drinking summers beers for you coming up. 

The Bluebeery just went on this morning.  For all of you out there that scoff at the thought of drinking a "Fruit beer" don't knock this one before you try it.  Our Bluebeery uses 60lbs of real blueberries for 7bbls of beer.  So the beer its self has amazing blue/purple color from the blueberries as well as real blueberry aromatic.  Because we don't use any extracts you are not going to get any of that "fake" cough syrup flavors in the beer making it a clean, crisp and refreshing beer.  Not your average blueberry beer, that's why we call it Blue-beer-y.

The Petite Saison is almost ready to transfer.  The 3.75% abv Session Saison in my mind is a new, but old, take on the Saison Style.  Where Saison beers traditionally were made as table drinking beers for lunch time for the french farmhouse seasonal workers.  So making this lower alcohol Sasion is a paying homage to the original, or at least what i think the original, Sasion recipe.  I let the beer ferment out very warm really letting the yeast aromatics and yeast flavors develop.  So you are going to get this big Spicy/Fruity nose on the beer.  Then when you take a gulp you get a very quaffable, extremely light body, easy drinking beer.  Just the perfect beer to quench your thirst after working the sun out in the fields.

Cheers,
Tyler