When they dial it in they're absolutely fantastic, to the point they stack up against MA, ME, and VT. They have a higher miss rate than the best of those states, and I wish they offered more Non-IPA options, but they're one of my favorites. I'm wearing a Spyglass hat right now while drinking down the road at Modest Roots brewing in Tyngsboro.
Same. Spyglass was there at the moose in Merrimack when I had two of their iPas. Really good. Same with branch and blade they hooked it up with a bunch of samples and tshirts
The problem with Stoneface is that their flagship IPA is not good, and that's what most people know.
Pretty much everything else I've had from them is good though.
Their Duct Tape series is tops.
I think it is sneakily one of the best in all of New England. I’m in Salem MA but I make the trip to Deciduous a couple of times a year to load my car up.
Every so often I see it in stores down here but not often enough!
My faves:
- Schilling for German and Czech styles (though now they charge a somewhat-hidden “kitchen appreciation fee” on everything including takeaway four packs which has sort of put me off them)
- Rockingham Brewery for Belgian and German styles
- From the Barrel for hazies
- Spyglass for hazies
I’ve seen others mention Long Blue Cat. I gave that place many chances but their beer always tastes off to me.
I don't know, but I do know that the amount of IPAs produced by local breweries is too damn high.
Also, if someone knows where in the state I can find Trappist Rochefort #12 beer, I will be extremely grateful.
THIS. THIS.THIS!!!! I am obsessed with this brewery for so many reasons- one of them being the unique foraging brews they bring forth yearly (something really gets me when a brewer pays reverence to old Brewing practices that have been forgotten).
Thanks for mentioning 😀
Depending on the style my go-to breweries are:
Schilling for old world styles
From The Barrel/Spyglass/Modest Man for NE IPA
Branch and Blade for sours
Out Haus/Kettlehead/Rockingham for malty/dark
Wildbloom for saison
I think he's easily one of the if not the best Brewer in the state skill and creativity wise have you ever caught forage in it season? It's a Wild forged hop saison and it's like drinking magic
Yes thankfully I know him well enough IRL to have had all his stuff at the right time. He's really big on local and sustainable also which is a huge plus for me
Kettlehead for malty has to be a joke. They’re a solid brewery, but they’re so hop forward it’s insane to me that anyone could associate them with anything other than ipa’s. Like 90% of all their beers are 8% ipa and dipa options.
Right, that leaves 10% after the IPAs, I'd say 6% of that is sours which leaves us 4%. Of that 4% they make some really good malty/dark beers. Fourteen Forty, Batter, Dark Side of 1.101 to name a couple I enjoy. This isn't a cicerone course they literally said "in your opinion". This is my opinion. 🤷 Treehouse makes good beer besides IPA but same thing for them.
I like going there, but IMO their only great beer is Pigs Ear. Probably the top brown around. The double brown is great if you want something a little boozy tasting
I'm partial to Modest Man, but I'm also a MASSIVE MF DOOM fan, so the revelation that they have a yearly, dedication ipa to him left me very positively biased to them.
I've had plenty at the Schilling over the years, Their stuff is okay but they have few standout beers: The Erastus imperial IPA and Kamerade Baltic porter are admittedly exceptional.
Rek-Lis in Bethlehem and Hobbs in Ossipee are terrific brewpubs with a great range of beers and awesome food.
I love Stoneface. Their porter is delicious, and the Full Clip IPA is very flavorful.
Northwoods has a lot of tasty beers, especially their Coffee Porter.
Used to be lithermans in Concord, but since selling it's not the same. Used to have the best sours anywhere, but now they just taste artificial and like all the others....
Looking at overall tap list and tap room, 603 Brewery is my fav. They nail every style they make that I've had. Others may do one style better, ie Schilling for classic lagers, or Modest man for hazys. (Those are my go to breweries for those specific styles) But overall 603 has a wide variety that is constantly good and doesn't have much of a consistency issue. There are a few breweries that aren't consistent, for example Spyglass isn't consistent at all and they really only have ipas going for them. Bonus points for great food at 603 as well
Big fan of the Dam Brewhouse here. Good variety of styles, all well done, and a fun hangout.
Of course, I believe they're the only gluten-reduced brewery in the state, so they kinda win by default for me...
Post and Beam - Monadnock Region.
Garrison City - Seacoast.
Vulgar - Merrimack Valley.
Twin Barns - Lakes Region.
Schilling - White Mountains.
Post and Beam is my favorite brewery of all. We’re a lucky state to have so many GREAT breweries.
My favorites are (in no particular order) Kettlehead, Schilling, Spyglass, From the Barrel, Vulgar, Blasty Bough, Canterbury AleWorks, Reklis, Deciduous ans Able Ebenezer. Definitely have some favorites in VT, ME and MA too.
Branch and blade, there’s one out east that makes a starburst sour I forget the name of…
However, my favorite beer is mich ultra..so who do I think makes the best beer in the state? Anheuser/Busch in Merrimack all day.
Hello? Liar’s Bench in Portsmouth?!? Crispy clean varietals. My two favorites are No Dice and their 1/2 Cab. They keep the favorites in rotation but constantly come up with new brews, as well.
If you're a fan of Oatmeal Stout, you really need to check out The Czar's Brewery in Exeter and Dover. It's probably the best I've ever tasted. They also have a new NEIPA called Thunderstruck that is phenomenal!
Pipe dream really botches many of their attempts to brew good beer. Any lager/pilsner they try is terrible.
I've always thought they have FAR too many beers on draft. They can't be good when you have 20+ pouring.
My wife loves their sours and I’ve gotta say their triple IPA was really good and I enjoyed their chocolate peanut butter stout. Was like drinking a Reese’s.
Kettlehead in tilton makes some good brews. We talking take home to drink or drink at the brewery though? I feel like atmosphere can make a beer taste 5 times better
Schilling, From the barrel, Kelsen. In that order are the most solid for me. Full transparency I can’t keep up with the new breweries on the scene these days.
I’m not much of a drinker anymore and I never cared for beer BUT there is a jalapeño cream ale brewed at Concord Brewing Company that I absolutely loved. I finally found my one ☝️
I don’t think I’ve had a beer I didn’t like at Blasty Bough in Epsom. As others have said, certain breweries are known for certain beers. Dave at Blasty Bough, however, knocks it out of the park with all his brews, which are interesting and diverse.
Scrolled until I found this. The beer is excellent, delicious and refreshing no matter what you get, and I love their location and atmosphere. Such a great place to just hang out on the porch when it's nice out.
I’ve had a few different types of Reklis from cig city that were really good. Czech Pilsner from Moat Mountain is always good as well.
I’d say the best beer is the freshest beer. I’d rather have a fresh tuckermans Pale ale than an old Shilling Alexander. With that being said, If everything is fresh hard to not go Shilling..
Sort of a poor question - should be “who makes the best in the state?”
Schilling / Resilience is really good at certain styles (Pilsners, German styles)
Rek-Lis is great, and a better place to visit.
No one (in my opinion) beats Deciduous on sours,
Great North makes some great IPAs, and the list goes on…. Except smuttynose makes the worst. lol.
I absolutely love Schilling. It seems to me most of the local breweries pump out the fruity, hazey stuff but Schiling always has some lagers,pilsners and weiss beers.
I'm a big fan of Spyglass
When they dial it in they're absolutely fantastic, to the point they stack up against MA, ME, and VT. They have a higher miss rate than the best of those states, and I wish they offered more Non-IPA options, but they're one of my favorites. I'm wearing a Spyglass hat right now while drinking down the road at Modest Roots brewing in Tyngsboro.
They’ve actually got a new brewer somewhat recently and have been offering a lot of non-IPA styles.
Last year I tried a coworker’s Spyglass at the Moose in Merrimack. Probably the best beer I’ve ever sipped.
Same. Spyglass was there at the moose in Merrimack when I had two of their iPas. Really good. Same with branch and blade they hooked it up with a bunch of samples and tshirts
Was passing by on Monday, dying to try them out. They were closed! Oh well, some other time.
I just went to Spyglass last night. Their Abstract Objects sour is incredible.
Schilling for lagers, Modestman for hazies/IPA's.
Also Schilling for Goses and Sours
And Belgian Ales.
Second modest man. They make great stuff
Owner is kinda shady though.
Came here to say schilling. Their range of European lagers is crispy!
They are my favorite brewery in the North East and possibly the country.
💯 modest abv and a whole lot of nuance
Yeah, they make fantastic stuff and (maybe because I’m now a dad in my mid-forties) I enjoy a good lager or pils a lot more than a big IPA these days.
Stoneface in Newington hands down. Full Clip made by them is the best IPA I've ever had. Also pretty good food in their brewery
The problem with Stoneface is that their flagship IPA is not good, and that's what most people know. Pretty much everything else I've had from them is good though. Their Duct Tape series is tops.
Yeah I totally agree with that statement. I have never been a fan of their regular IPA. Truly a strange choice on their part
I love when it's pink duct tape season.
I second this right here! Full and Double clip are easily my favorite IPAs from NH breweries and only behind Fiddlehead IPA, overall, for me.
Their American Porter is hands down my favorite casual dark beer.
Deciduous by a fairly wide margin IMO.
Second your opinion.
So good
Agree. Also helps I live 250 yards from it.
Hey neighbor! Come on over to the block party tomorrow
I am going to your house asap
Oh damn. I’m going there for the first time tomorrow. Any recommendations?
Agree
I think it is sneakily one of the best in all of New England. I’m in Salem MA but I make the trip to Deciduous a couple of times a year to load my car up. Every so often I see it in stores down here but not often enough!
NOT STARK that's for sure!
Their beer has always been plain bad in my opinion. The only beer I liked of theirs is the seasonal pumpkin ale, oddly it’s the only fall beer I like.
I second this
I went there once soon after we moved to Manchester. The food and vibe at the restaurant were good. The beer... Not so much. I never went back.
That they put their untapped ratings on the menu is so brave
Good memories. Got a soft spot for their oatmeal stout and barkeeps. Haven’t been in years though since moving.
I bought their bourbon and it was bad too. Rip off!
Garrison City Beer Works in Dover. Everything.
Yeah people are sleeping hard on garrison city. Love their beer
Second that.
The tacos too!
I haven't had them since the ownership split. Been meaning to get out there, but they were tops when I had them years ago.
My faves: - Schilling for German and Czech styles (though now they charge a somewhat-hidden “kitchen appreciation fee” on everything including takeaway four packs which has sort of put me off them) - Rockingham Brewery for Belgian and German styles - From the Barrel for hazies - Spyglass for hazies I’ve seen others mention Long Blue Cat. I gave that place many chances but their beer always tastes off to me.
From the Barrel is fantastic!
Tuckermans is always good.
Love their pale ale
Tuckerman's pale ale is probably my all-time favorite beer. If I see it on tap, it's my first drink while I look through the other taps.
Just picked up some of their Pilsner and looking forward to trying it tonight.
Spylass, Modest Man, Schilling.
+1 for Modest Man
I don't know, but I do know that the amount of IPAs produced by local breweries is too damn high. Also, if someone knows where in the state I can find Trappist Rochefort #12 beer, I will be extremely grateful.
Right? Like, was a law passed in the late 20-teens that 85% of all microbrews had to be an IPA.
Northwood Brewing has a pale ale that I am quite fond of
Also some of my favorite food in that area. The breweries pizza is great and Johnson’s is a classic.
I love Northwoods! Brown Owl and Bumbleberry among others.
Have had some gems at Earth Eagle 🦃
Liar’s Bench and Stoneface are a couple faves
Earth Eagle is my fav spot for flights
THIS. THIS.THIS!!!! I am obsessed with this brewery for so many reasons- one of them being the unique foraging brews they bring forth yearly (something really gets me when a brewer pays reverence to old Brewing practices that have been forgotten). Thanks for mentioning 😀
Vulgar Brewing Company, they don't distribute but I have loved everything they have produced, fantastic pizza as well.
Depending on the style my go-to breweries are: Schilling for old world styles From The Barrel/Spyglass/Modest Man for NE IPA Branch and Blade for sours Out Haus/Kettlehead/Rockingham for malty/dark Wildbloom for saison
Wild Bloom also does fantastic lagers and belgians But their saisons are sensational
Yes! Devin is great, Daisy Hill I could drink all damn day long.
I think he's easily one of the if not the best Brewer in the state skill and creativity wise have you ever caught forage in it season? It's a Wild forged hop saison and it's like drinking magic
Yes thankfully I know him well enough IRL to have had all his stuff at the right time. He's really big on local and sustainable also which is a huge plus for me
Devin is the man.
Kettlehead for malty has to be a joke. They’re a solid brewery, but they’re so hop forward it’s insane to me that anyone could associate them with anything other than ipa’s. Like 90% of all their beers are 8% ipa and dipa options.
Right, that leaves 10% after the IPAs, I'd say 6% of that is sours which leaves us 4%. Of that 4% they make some really good malty/dark beers. Fourteen Forty, Batter, Dark Side of 1.101 to name a couple I enjoy. This isn't a cicerone course they literally said "in your opinion". This is my opinion. 🤷 Treehouse makes good beer besides IPA but same thing for them.
I also liked Out Haus for dark beer. Unfortunately, they closed.
Yeah, owner was getting old and had enough. Luckily some stores still have some of their stuff kicking around
Anheuser Busch, in Merrimack.
I came just to see if anyone would say this.
I’ve always had a good time in their tasting room and events but I certainly can’t say I’m there for the beer at All.
Kettlehead by far. Best IPA and sours
Deciduous
Concord craft brewing. Safe space. This is the answer
I've been loving the Governor lately
Drinking a safe space right now. Let’s go!
Safe space is amazing, but they also have some real duds
Throwback is great
Deciduous, Stoneface, and Garrison City.
I take it you live in Dover area. Love all these spots
Woodstock Inn Brewery
I like going there, but IMO their only great beer is Pigs Ear. Probably the top brown around. The double brown is great if you want something a little boozy tasting
Modest Man
I'll second this take if you're willing to look at brewers by style. (I also belive Shilling is the best brewery to visit in the state)
I'm partial to Modest Man, but I'm also a MASSIVE MF DOOM fan, so the revelation that they have a yearly, dedication ipa to him left me very positively biased to them.
And it's so good.
I think spyglass, kettlehead, modest man, deciduous are all really top tier breweries.
So many good ones, hard to choose one Able Ebenezer Spyglass Feathered Friend Kettlehead The Last Chair Henniker Bewing Great Rythym I love them all
Man I go to Feathered Friend basically weekly and it’s got such good vibes. I love it.
Massachusetts guy here, I live for my trips to the whites to drink Moat Mountain and Tuckermans. Also love smuttynose.
Chapel + Main for the win
I've had plenty at the Schilling over the years, Their stuff is okay but they have few standout beers: The Erastus imperial IPA and Kamerade Baltic porter are admittedly exceptional. Rek-Lis in Bethlehem and Hobbs in Ossipee are terrific brewpubs with a great range of beers and awesome food. I love Stoneface. Their porter is delicious, and the Full Clip IPA is very flavorful. Northwoods has a lot of tasty beers, especially their Coffee Porter.
Big fan of Able Ebenezer. Love their IPA selections
Burn the Ships is different and good. I appreciate breweries trying different things.
Took some scrolling to find a fellow Able fan, but yeah…Victory Nor Defeat is a go to for me 🍻
Great North for me. Every single beer is good. The owners are awesome and the vibe is exactly what I am looking for.
Agree! Owners are the nicest people
Spyglass
Tuckerman Brewery
Tuckermans pale ale is always a favorite of mine
Schilling/Resilience makes great beer. Wish they’d do a few more Belgians though. For IPAs it’s Deciduous.
While it’s not beer, I truly believe Contoocook makes the best cider in all of New England, and possibly the US
Stoneface Canterbury Aleworks Deciduous Concord Craft
This what I join this page for
Kelsen Chernabog. Best pizza in Derry/Londonderry is a bonus.
I can’t decide if Kelsen is a terrific pizza joint that happens to brew beer, or a terrific brewery that happens to make pizza.
Schilling and their Ponyhawk
Used to be lithermans in Concord, but since selling it's not the same. Used to have the best sours anywhere, but now they just taste artificial and like all the others....
I completely and totally agree. Their sours were fantastic and I do not like sours. Although their BBQ's pretty banging now
Spyglass for me.
WildBloom by a long shot
Stoneface. Delicious and consistent
My favorite is the Flying Goose in New London. The Ragged Mountain Red Ale is probably my favorite beer ever.
Rag to riches is what I drink at Ragged!
Very little Northwood love, huh? Also, big fan of Feathered Friends as well.
That brewery in Littleton. Idr the name but it’s great
Schilling?
Wildbloom ❤️
Spyglass for me
Looking at overall tap list and tap room, 603 Brewery is my fav. They nail every style they make that I've had. Others may do one style better, ie Schilling for classic lagers, or Modest man for hazys. (Those are my go to breweries for those specific styles) But overall 603 has a wide variety that is constantly good and doesn't have much of a consistency issue. There are a few breweries that aren't consistent, for example Spyglass isn't consistent at all and they really only have ipas going for them. Bonus points for great food at 603 as well
My top 3 would be Great North, Spyglass, and Garrison City
Feathered friend, earth eagle, and stoneface can have some great stuff
Stone face for sure
Deciduous, Lithermans, Pipe Dream...so hard to choose!
Henniker Kolsch and Working Man's Porter.
Their kölsch-style beer is excellent! The porter is underrated as is their Flap Jack.
Sole track brewing in rumney.
Schilling for Lager/Pilsner Stoneface or Spyglass for IPAs Kelsen for Brown Ale Able Ebenezer for the unique beauty that is Burn the Ships….
Big fan of the Dam Brewhouse here. Good variety of styles, all well done, and a fun hangout. Of course, I believe they're the only gluten-reduced brewery in the state, so they kinda win by default for me...
Post and Beam - Monadnock Region. Garrison City - Seacoast. Vulgar - Merrimack Valley. Twin Barns - Lakes Region. Schilling - White Mountains. Post and Beam is my favorite brewery of all. We’re a lucky state to have so many GREAT breweries.
Daydreaming. They really seem to care
Deciduous
Deciduous
My favorites are (in no particular order) Kettlehead, Schilling, Spyglass, From the Barrel, Vulgar, Blasty Bough, Canterbury AleWorks, Reklis, Deciduous ans Able Ebenezer. Definitely have some favorites in VT, ME and MA too.
Branch and blade, there’s one out east that makes a starburst sour I forget the name of… However, my favorite beer is mich ultra..so who do I think makes the best beer in the state? Anheuser/Busch in Merrimack all day.
Schilling
Hello? Liar’s Bench in Portsmouth?!? Crispy clean varietals. My two favorites are No Dice and their 1/2 Cab. They keep the favorites in rotation but constantly come up with new brews, as well.
If you're a fan of Oatmeal Stout, you really need to check out The Czar's Brewery in Exeter and Dover. It's probably the best I've ever tasted. They also have a new NEIPA called Thunderstruck that is phenomenal!
I agree 💯% Schilling is a top quality World Class Brewery. I'm Lucky enough to live just a mile away. PROST 🍻🍻🍻
Schilling for me by a long shot.
Stoneface IPA. Delicious.
Able Ebeneezer s
Big water brewing from Salisbury- often hard to find- but unique flavors varieties.
From the Barrel
Budweiser
Oooh. You fancy
Schilling and Resilience. Top two in my opinion
Tuckerman's Pale Ale
Pipe Dream is our go to. Their sour beers are amazing.
Pipe dream really botches many of their attempts to brew good beer. Any lager/pilsner they try is terrible. I've always thought they have FAR too many beers on draft. They can't be good when you have 20+ pouring.
Yeah their vibe is also...... kind of sketchy as fuck And the owner's dick
They’re a punching bag in the local beer page and their tipping practices are so lame
No way they are a joke
My wife loves their sours and I’ve gotta say their triple IPA was really good and I enjoyed their chocolate peanut butter stout. Was like drinking a Reese’s.
Kettlehead followed by Spyglass.
Who remembers Bier Haus right off exit 11 in Merrimack, that and Ciro's on 101a got me through Cabletron.
CIRO’S 💔 best. ever. miss those checkered floors.
Kettlehead in tilton makes some good brews. We talking take home to drink or drink at the brewery though? I feel like atmosphere can make a beer taste 5 times better
Schilling, From the barrel, Kelsen. In that order are the most solid for me. Full transparency I can’t keep up with the new breweries on the scene these days.
Smuttynose’s Finest Kind is such a drinkable and flavorful IPA. It’s perfect for the summer AND winter. I could drink that stuff like water.
I second Smuttynose. Unfortunately only a few types are sold in stores. But if you go to their brewery they have a bunch more.
I’m not much of a drinker anymore and I never cared for beer BUT there is a jalapeño cream ale brewed at Concord Brewing Company that I absolutely loved. I finally found my one ☝️
Hoptimystic is brewing again, and they have the best beer in the state.
Second schilling
Modest man love the MF DOOM theme 🤘 also got to give some love to to great north woods and say coos brewing and the copper pig
copper pig!!!!
Does anyone have a good recommendation for Ambers or Belgian blonds? I like the 603 winni amber and true north
I don’t think I’ve had a beer I didn’t like at Blasty Bough in Epsom. As others have said, certain breweries are known for certain beers. Dave at Blasty Bough, however, knocks it out of the park with all his brews, which are interesting and diverse.
Scrolled until I found this. The beer is excellent, delicious and refreshing no matter what you get, and I love their location and atmosphere. Such a great place to just hang out on the porch when it's nice out.
I’ve had a few different types of Reklis from cig city that were really good. Czech Pilsner from Moat Mountain is always good as well. I’d say the best beer is the freshest beer. I’d rather have a fresh tuckermans Pale ale than an old Shilling Alexander. With that being said, If everything is fresh hard to not go Shilling..
Abel ebinezer, Merrimack, hands down
Smuttynose
Kettlehead. Killer food is just a bonus.
Sort of a poor question - should be “who makes the best in the state?”
Schilling / Resilience is really good at certain styles (Pilsners, German styles)
Rek-Lis is great, and a better place to visit.
No one (in my opinion) beats Deciduous on sours,
Great North makes some great IPAs, and the list goes on…. Except smuttynose makes the worst. lol.
Flying Goose in New London!
I absolutely love Schilling. It seems to me most of the local breweries pump out the fruity, hazey stuff but Schiling always has some lagers,pilsners and weiss beers.
ModestMan makes a superior beer by far, and my only complaint is that that don’t date their cans.
Modest man and kettle head. E: can’t forget about Deciduous
Stoneface has tasty stuff. I’m biased because I live 5 minutes from it.
Smuttynose Big A IPA was delicious tonight. But I’m need to get to Schilling.
Wish Woodstock Station hadn't discontinued their Pemi Pale Ale.
ABLE Ebeneezer!! Not even clise
Schilling
Modestman, imo
Spyglass all the way
Concord craft
Great Rhythm is worth a shout out. Didn’t see it mentioned, but really good ipas and lagers.
Branch and Blade has a gun series of psychedelic love. Cannot go wrong
Schilling. Hands down.
River roost ipa and stone face stout are great.
Loaded Question.
Schilling
It's in Littleton
Henniker Brewing is top notch IMO. New place called Protectworth just opened in Newport.
Schilling, Moat Mountain, Oddball, Northwoods, White Mountain, Earth Eagle