STARK BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Stark Brewing Company | Craft Beer in Manchester, NH

MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Taking the name of its original 1994 pub, STARK BREWING COMPANY (New Hampshire’s first operating brewpub) is the brainchild of brewmaster Pete Telge, who moved to Manchester’s red brick Millyard District and rebranded his bustling basement operation Milly’s Tavern in ’99. Now newly renamed Stark, the rustic brewery also features a distillery.

Down the stairs in an old fabric mill, Stark changed its business moniker from Milly’s Tavern in January ’17. Wood-floored brass tanks and other brewing equipment surround the spacious central bar along with several seating tables. A rear banquet room and full kitchen fill out the interior. Top shelf liquor was available alongside the rangy beer selection.

I had the fried haddock with all fifteen proprietary suds on draught during my enjoyable Friday noon stopover, September ’22.

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Brisk Czech-styled pilsner, Puppy Dog, retained light maize-dried barleycorn musk for woodsy Saaz-hopped lemon twist and slight sulfuric divergence.

Grassy hop astringency penetrated the white breaded lager yeast of Mt. Uncanoonic Cream Ale, leaving orange-oiled lemongrass tartness on the backend.

Zesty orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess gained candied pineapple, lemon curd, talc soapstone and floral whims above the white wheat base of Zeus Belgian Wit, one of Stark’s better-known and best designed offerings.

A Zeus Belgian blonde variant, Razz Zeus, brought salty citric-prickled raspberry tartness to herbal cologned straw wheat.

Another divergent Belgian wit, Smokin Iguana Chill – Razz, let its coriander-spiced orange peel sweetness contrast candied raspberry tartness, yogurt-like lemon souring and vinous green grape esters.

Curiously merged Blueberry Pumpkin Pie plied blueberry rhubarb souring to gourd-like earthiness and lettuce-celery vegetalia.

Toasted caramel, roasted tobacco and dewy peat sufficed for Tasha’s Red Ale, an Irish-styled variant with amber grain crisping outdoing subtle honeyed tea spicing.

“Suspiciously smooth” Bo’s Scotch Ale delivered peaty Scotch malting to brown chocolate, waddle seed, raw molasses and chestnut illusions.

Laidback grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering soaked up resinous pine and dewy earthiness for Cascade-hopped West Coast IPA, ManchVegas, a caramel-malted medium body.

Perfumed tropical fruiting guided lightly creamed Zilla, a slightly divergent Imperial IPA placating its expected grapefruit, orange and pineapple tang with brown tea-like mossing above roasted caramel malts.

Bold Tropical Punch Hopzilla allowed pineapple-pureed coconut watering to seep inside sharp juniper vodka boozing (10.5% ABV), picking up subtle bergamot orange, candied lemon and pineapple whims.

Pickled lemon juice, briny pineapple puree and soured melon rind tartness created a Margarita likeness for Firkin Gherkin, a cask conditioned sour ale.

Salted lemony raspberry tartness and tannic vanilla contrasted the spun-sugared cotton candied confection of Cotton Candy Sour.

Maple-sugared molasses treacle dripped onto the brown chocolate-y toffee spicing further sweetening Twinkletoed Barleywhine, a mossy English-styled barleywine with dry burgundy snip and medicinal cherry reminder.

Re-tasted flagship holdover, Milly’s Oatmeal Stout, a dry oats-flaked full body with dark chocolate richness, delicate cocoa beaned coffee roast and latent earthen soiling.

SPYGLASS BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Spyglass Brewing Company | Nashua, NH | Beers | BeerAdvocate

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Inside a nondescript tan and brown-bricked Industrial mall within walking distance of White Birch, Nashua’s SPYGLASS BREWING COMPANY came to fruition in 2018. A partnership between four scientist/engineers, Spyglass’ towering stainless steel brew tanks serve ‘innovative artisan beer.’

The loungey nanobrewery, a cozy community tabled pub specializing in fruited sours and India Pale Ales, features a small-countered five-seat bar boasting twelve white-tiled draught handles plus art deco pendant lighting, wood mesh floor and orange side-walled Spyglass insignia.

Spyglass Brewing, Nashua's Hidden Gem - NH Flavors

Dry light-bodied zwickelbier, Lockern, retained mild Vienna malt sugaring against hay-like Saaz hop herbage, sour lemon musk and skunky cabbage snip.

Caramelized banana-pureed whipped creaming gained candi-syrupy bubblegum sugaring and pleasant clove-coriander reminder atop buttery sourdough base of Perpetual, a nearly perfect Abbey-styled tripel allowing ancillary Chardonnay, lemon meringue and butterscotch illusions to contrast fungi-dried white peppering and salty Saaz/Tettnang hop herbage (with unassuming 9.2% ABV).

Easygoing Imperial IPA, First Luminous Objects, stayed sedate as lemony grapefruit-seeded bittering reached sweet orange-peeled peach and mango spritz over delicate pale malt sugaring.

Another elegantly approachable IPA, New England-styled Double Helix, let ripe yellow grapefruit tanginess, perky lemon zesting and peachy pineapple snips contrast salty guava and green grape tartness and grassy hop astringency as its soft creamy fluff subsided.

Lively hazy golden NEIPA, Interstellar, retained a cumulous-headed froth as lemony yellow grapefruit sunshine spread across sweet orange peel, tangy pineapple and tart peach regalia plus sour gooseberry, white grape and guava cluster, allowing salty herbal pining to slightly impact juicy citrus-spiced finish.

Meanwhile, boldly dense golden-hazed NEIPA, Fuzzy Logic, packed an unassuming 7.8% ABV punch as orange-sugared white grapefruit zesting and peachy tangerine-pineapple tang enjoined Nelson Sauvin hop-derived gooseberry-guava saltiness and lightly juniper-embittered pine lacquering.

Soothing floral-daubed citrus spicing engaged the pine lacquered foundation of Aspect Oriented, a debonair Imperial IPA evenly spreading grapefruit-peeled orange, pineapple, peach and papaya tropicalia.

Juicy golden-hazed Imperial IPA, Object Oriented, spread Citra/Mosaic-hopped lemony orange and grapefruit tanginess, Rakau/Simcoe-hopped pine resin and limey mango, passionfruit and guava salting all over its sugary crystal malt spine, leaving a candied citrus coating.

Gooey sea green-hazed kettle sour with lactose, Superconductor, let limey blue raspberry syrup drape skittish pineapple, peach and banana tartness but lacked counteractive vanilla-sugared marshmallow sweetness.

MILLYARD BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

Millyard Brewing - From $18 - Nashua, NH | Groupon

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Residing at a pale green aluminum warehouse on the outskirts of Nashua, MILLYARD BREWERY opened in 2016. A gray cement-floored pub with 10-seat bark top bar (including a dozen or so stainless steel draught handles), its black plastic-seated yellow pine tables, detailed Nashua map and two TV’s fill out the pristine space.

A makeshift front patio featured metal seating. Sandwiches, pizza, chili and free popcorn were available alongside Millyard’s ‘globally-inspired’ local beers.

Leaning towards India Pale Ales, there was also a pale ale, hefe, Irish red and porter perused on my September ’22 one-hour trip.

More herbal lemony than banana clovish, Uncle H’s Hef left a spritzy citric zesting upon its pilsner malt base.

Herbal lemon-seeded souring, mandarin orange tanginess and dried floral nuances coalesced for Pumphouse Pale Ale, picking up some latent earthen fungi.

Dewy tea-like affability placated Hale Irish Red, an amber-grained moderation with sour fig contrasting toasted caramel below the surface.

Peculiar New Zealand hop-styled India Pale Ale, 3 Lazy Cows, let dry orange-oiled grapefruit bittering surge against sour gooseberry-passionfruit conflux and woody sawdust insistence.

Mildly pungent bronze-hazed Gate City Double IPA brought wood-dried citrus musk to raw-honeyed pale malt dryness.

Salted grapefruit spicing and candied orange tartness secured Karaka NEIPA, leaving vegetal herbage on the dry pale malt bottom.

Bittersweet orange-peeled pineapple and grapefruit tanginess affixed mildly creamed Beached NEIPA, retaining floral-daubed guava juicing and green grape tannins.

Cascadian dark ale, Black Buffalo IPA, dangled black tea bittering, black grape tartness and pine resin above bittersweet dark cocoa.

Dark chocolate nuttiness consumed Boott Porter, suppressing its mossy earthen soiling, day-old coffee sourness and black cherry snip.

LIQUID THERAPY

United States Brewpubs,

2021 Liquid Therapy Brewery. Nashua NH. | (March 30, 2021) C… | Flickr

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Occupying a refurbished red brick firehouse just off Main Street in Nashua, LIQUID THERAPY began its journey around Thanksgiving in 2018. Entrepreneurial ‘shrinks’ Jason Palmer and Stanley Tremblay craft a wide variety of diversified beers in Liquid Therapy’s spotless neo-Industrial space.

An L-shaped laminated wood bar with twelve-plus stainless steel draught handles, fifteen seats and hanging Edison lights services the surrounding metal-wood tables.

Calendar • Nashua, NH • CivicEngage

Utilizing clean Kveik-styled Lutra yeast, Nordic Wit revealed easygoing lemon zesting that outlasted orange-peeled coriander spicing, tannic green grape musk, limey soapstone and mild herbage above blanched wheat-flaked base of dryer stylish moderation.

Lactic-soured guava, gooseberry and green grape tartness interspersed yellow grapefruit bittering, orange peel sweetness, salted mango-pineapple juicing and lemon curd piquancy for Tropical Dream, a sweeping NEIPA with resinous wood shards contrasting vanilla creaming to its citric marmalade finish.

A lactic cryo-hopped triple IPA, Juicy Monster, let pureed mango and guava tang pick up tart passionfruit sentiment and floral-daubed clementine-tangerine sweetness as its clean 12% juniper vodka-like lacquering soaked thru.

Murkily beige-bronzed golden stout, White Chocolate Black Raz, stayed washed-out as vanilla-creamed white chocolate sweetness and tart raspberry spritz faded into semi-harsh hop astringency.

As for the sours, fizzy green-hued Blue Wave went down like cotton-candied blue raspberry soda as its spritz lemon lime-candied Seltzer flow and mild acidity punctuated tart Skittles pucker.

Lemonhead-candied kettle sour, Lemon Head Sour, let mildly acidic Seltzer-like lemon lime fizz shadow mild herbal lemongrass pungency above its acidulated white wheat base.

Ultra-dry Tiki Punch fell short of Tropical Hawaiian Punch descriptive as it lacked sugar sweetness against lemon-limed powdered candy sourness, vinous white grape esters, tart peach whim and chaffed wheat desiccation. Sourheads only need apply.

ODD FELLOWS BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Odd Fellows Brewing Company | Craft Beer in Nashua, NH

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the heart of Nashua on Main Street within walking distance of Talespinner and a quarter-mile from Liquid Therapy, ODD FELLOWS BREWING COMPANY set up shop September 2018. The perfect centralized location for a British-styled neighborhood gastropub, curious downtown boutique shoppers, local brewhounds and destination tourists will enjoy Odd Fellows’ casual splendor and expansive pub menu (plus homemade desserts).

Inside, the glazed wood furnishings and French terra cotta tiled floor provide elegant warmth. Right side dining tables counter the elongated 20-seat bar (with a dozen tap handles and 30-plus whiskeys) while the glass encased brew tanks are far right.

My wife and I sat outside at the umbrella-laden front patio on a sunny Friday afternoon, September ’22, to consume each available brew – though flagship NEIPA, Vision, was out, three other fine IPA’s were quaffed. Also, mushroom cream-sauteed Steak Stroganov and Caprice BLT hit the spot.

Odd Fellows Brewing Co

Sweet Vienna-malted baked breading lined Intrigue Vienna Lager, buttressing its dewy peat mossing with subtle toffee, caraway and chestnut illusions.

Spritzy lemon zesting outdid stylish banana-clove sweetness of plain-named Hefeweizen, leaving dried plantain starching upon its sourdough bottom.

Fizzy hard-candied raspberry tartness splashed briny rhubarb for Raspberry Chill, a washed-out variant of Chill White Ale with downplayed orange peeled sweetness and white-peppered coriander spicing.

Tart strawberry-salted rose hip florality engaged Rose Hip Saison, placing mild bergamot orange, pink grapefruit and gooseberry sourness alongside cardamom-spiced grains of paradise pepperiness and sedate hibiscus-lavender wisps at the judicious back end.

Dewy tea-leafed grain toasting anchored O’Brien’s Red IPA, a sharply spiced stylistic merger with red ale-like pear and apple crisping abutting IPA-like grapefruit-orange-pineapple conflux.

Brisk sunny-hazed Spring Cleaning Grapefruit IPA surged forth with juicy lemon-seeded grapefruit zest, picking up candy-glazed mandarin orange and tangerine tartness plus floral-herbed spicing above sugary crystal malts.

Bright Citra-hopped yellow grapefruit bittering contrasted orange-peeled pineapple and peach tanginess ascending for Hoppy Ending, a superb New England IPA plying ancillary green grape tannins to woody Simcoe hop herbage in a mildly creamed vanilla froth.

Terrifically spiced eccentricity, Brown Ale, dripped caramelized toffee upon cumin, sarsaparilla, star anise and cola cadences in a unique mix.

Creamy peanut buttered Damn Skippy Stout let bittersweet dark chocolate mingle with roasted walnut-hazelnut tandem over its Graham Cracker base.   

WHITE BIRCH BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

Tasting Room - White Birch Brewing

NASHAU, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Going from a small June 2009 startup nanobrewery in nearby Hooksett to a 13,000 square-foot Industrial mall-bound behemoth by 2017, WHITE BIRCH BREWING enjoy pushing the envelope crafting a wide variety of sour ales alongside less daringly sophisticated stylistic fare.

Located in Nashua three miles northwest of downtown, White Birch’s elegant custom wood designed interior features a white-tiled bar, tabled side room with TV’s and far right brew tanks.

During my September ’22 Friday visit, I downed six rangy Berliner Weisses, a German-styled lager, a New England IPA and a Belgian stout.

Sessionable dry helles lager, Birch Lite, got things started with mildly musky raw grained minerality and lemony Noble hop herbage.

Briny lemon tartness, spritzy lime zesting and bubbly champagne fizz guided OG Berliner, lathering its lactic acidulated wheat base.

Limey watermelon rind souring and Jolly Rancher-candied tartness engaged Watermelon, sweetened beneath by a spicy Graham Cracker base.

Candied tangerine saltiness defined Tangerine, leaving mild clementine, mandarin orange and tangelo illusions in its wake.

Lemony blueberry-pureed pomegranate dryness led The BOM, a lightly acidic Weiss with mellow peachiness and salted strawberry tartness.

Peachy mango tanginess added sunshine to Peach Mango, a tropical fruited Berliner Weiss with briny lemon zest, watermelon rind tartness and toned-down acidity.

Pina Colada-like sour wheat ale, Pineapple Coconut, engaged salty coconut-creamed pineapple puree with limey mezcal tease. 

Abstruse pasty-fruited NEIPA, Hawaiian Friday, let briny pineapple-pureed coconut milking provide Pina Colada cocktail likeness buttressed by lacquered mango, guava and kiwi tropicalia and weird cologne-soaked sage snip.

Belgian-inspired Imperial Stout, Indulgence, plied cocoa-dried dark chocolate bittering to mild coffee respite, dry burgundy wining, sarsaparilla sweetness and anise spicing.

SOURCE FAT ELVIS

Beers A-Z,

On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, ‘thick’ pastry stout gathers Elvis Presley’s favorite sandwich condiments as banana pureed peanut buttering cloaks creamy dark chocolate cupcake richness, toasted marshmallow sweetness and vanilla icing. Honeyed Graham Cracker base fortifies mocha-draped peanut butter banana dessert treat. Tertiary black cherry, raisin and fig illusions vie for backspace amongst nutty banana breading.

 Fat Elvis - Source Brewing - Untappd

NEW HOLLAND DRAGON’S MILK RESERVE STROOPWAFEL (BOURBON AGED STOUT)

Beers A-Z,

On tap at Pompton Craft House, decadent bourbon-aged Dutch waffle pastry stout lets caramel-filled baked doughiness receive brown-sugared cinnamon toasting, sweet vanilla-marshmallow creaminess and treacly walnut maple fudging draped by dark chocolate syruping. Bourbon-spiced vanilla continuance picks up rich chocolate cookie confection. Lovely.

Dragon's Milk Reserve: Stroopwafel - New Holland Brewing - Untappd

TIMBER / BARCLAY A TAIL OF TWO PITTIES BOURBON AGED IMPERIAL STOUT

Beers A-Z,

On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, charismatic Connecticut collab connects capacious coconut toasting with cassia-barked cinnamon spicing draped in creamy black chocolate syrup. Mild bourbon vanilla sway sweetens buttery cinnamon coconut chocolate expanse over Graham Cracker base. Mounds Bar, Peppermint Patty and fudged brownie illusions add confectionery candied sugaring.

A Tail of Two Pitties - Timber Ales - Untappd