603 Brewery, Londonderry, NH

We stopped at 603 Brewery recently while in the Londonderry area. We had a group with us, Mark’s brother Jason and wife Maureen, friends Taylor and Lance and friends Ian and Stephanie.

603 Brewery was formed in 2012 by three longtime friends. They started in a smaller space in Campton, NH. They became well known and liked locally. It wasn’t long before they realized they needed more space. They found their space in Londonderry and was able to quadruple their output. They keg, bottle, and can their beer and distribute all over NH.

Ian checking out the brewery.

Each couple chose a few beers to enjoy, with most deciding on the “Brewery Tasting Tour,” a placemat tour and a pint glass. Walking tours were available earlier that day.

Our tastings:

18 Mile Ale – Rye Pale Ale 6.6%
Made with rye malt and pilsner malt. A fairly easy drinking beer, but Mark wasn’t a big fan, the main taste being the rye malt. The beer was named after the 18 miles of coastline New Hampshire has, with Rye being one of the coastal towns.

Ian double fisting his samples and Jason getting ready to sample.

Winnie Ale – Amber Ale 6.6%
Basic, easy drinking amber ale with a sweet malty base. It’s their best selling beer, because it’s easy drinking. Named after Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire’s largest lake. This was 603’s first beer.

our placemat tour, with a couple of extras we added

White Peaks – White IPA 6.6%
Light, describe by Jason as ‘crushable’ IPA. Light and crisp, it is made to be drinkable but still has good flavor to it. Named after New Hampshire’s White Mountains and the first IPA released by 603.

Mark and Megan. A little tired after so many stops!

Cogway IPA – American IPA 6.5%
Heavier, malty IPA with medium body. Hoppy bitterness and a malty sweetness dominate this beers flavor profile. Named after the World’s first mountain cog railway which reached the summit of NH’s Mount Washington in 1869.

Jason and Maureen, enjoying their samples?

There we go, enjoying samples.

Anniversary Ale- pale ale 5.2%
This beer was brewed in honor of the brewery’s anniversary, as well as the state of New Hampshire. Hoppy and smooth, with a slight citrus flavor.

Lance drinking his sample.

Summatime Ale – summer seasonal 4.5%
Megan and Steph tried this and liked it. Good flavor, light but flavorful, a good amount of ‘sunshine’ , which is a spiced wheat beer, with fruit flavors and malt.

Taylor, Maureen, and Stephanie

Swag for sale.

Lance is sad, or mad, that there is no beer in his free glass.

Want to visit? Hours.

Thursday and Friday – 4:00 – 7:00

Saturday – 1:00 – 5:00

Other Breweries in the Londonderry/ Derry area

Kelsen Brewing Company, Derry, NH

From the Barrel, Londonderry, NH

Rockingham Brewing Company, Derry, NH

Moonlight Meadery, Londonderry, NH

Rockingham Brewing Company, Derry, NH

Our 2nd stop on a recent trip with Taylor, Lance, Jason, Maureen, Stephanie and Ian to the Derry and Londonderry area was to Rockingham Brewing Company. They had only been open for about 5 months when we visited, since February 2015. It felt like a well established brewery. The two people working behind the bar were very warm and welcoming. They asked if we knew their beer, and the brewery and were able to answer questions when asked.

They have several options for tasting paddles. Megan and Mark split a flight of five 4 oz pours and a flight of three 4 oz pours, for $8 and $5, so we were able to try all the beers they had on tap. Jason and Maureen also split a full tasting, with the other couples picking a few here and a few there.

Rockingham Ale – amber ale 5.5% Fairly typical amber flavor with a little bit heavier body.

Javelina – IPA 6.5% Tropical notes, light in body, not super hoppy or heavy. Ian said it had more of a bitter hop taste with not much malt. Napolean – dark farmhouse 5.2% Light in body, sweet, dark in color with a malty flavor, but not too heavy. Not quite enough ‘funk’ for us, looking for a little more tartness or something extra from a farmhouse.

Curly’s Gold – wheat ale 5.1% Light, sweet, a good summer beer. Jason tasted orange peel, Megan thought it had a citrusy zest to it. Belly of the Beast – bacon imperial stout 8.6% Smells like smoked bacon and tastes like smoked bacon! A heavy tasting stout with a lighter than expected body, and a hint of sweetness. Cloven Hoof – Belgian dubbel 7.1% Sweet, not as heavy as Mark expected, light, pretty good belgian flavor. Megan did not like it. Ian thought it was fantastic, right on what he expected it to be.

Blond Melon – American golden 5.3% Tastes like melon. A good, light summer beer. General consensus was just ok.

Golden Mango – American wheat 5.1% A bit of a funky smell, light body and light in taste with mango flavors. Megan liked this better than the Blond.

Lance and Stephanie relaxing on the rocking chairs

They have a pretty good size tasting room. It has a cool atmosphere as well. The bar is all rustic reclaimed wood. The wall behind the bar is chalkboard paint so they can update the beers when they rotate.

They have seats at the bar, a couple big comfy chairs and a big picnic table, which we took over.

Stephanie, Ian, Mark, Megan, Jason, Maureen, Taylor, Lance

They had 4 of their beers bottled in 22 oz bottles. We bought 2 of the Belly of the Beast and a Curly’s Gold.

Want to visit?
Hours

Thursday and Friday 3:00 – 7:00

Saturday 1:00 – 7:00

As always, check their website, or facebook for the most up to date information.

From the Barrel, Londonderry, NH

We recently stopped at From the Barrel with a few friends one Saturday. The plan was to visit a few places in the Derry/Londonderry, NH area that day with From the Barrel being the day’s first stop.
From the Barrel was the 110th place we have visited.

We have heard good things about From the Barrel so we went to check it out for ourselves. They have been open for just over a year and just had their one year celebration. They are a nano brewery, creating small batches of each beer. Luckily they had some of the Anniversary DIPA leftover for us to try.

They sell a flight of four 4 oz tasters for $5. They also sell single tasters, so we tried all 6 beers that they had on tap that day.

Lily IPA – Double Dry Hopped – 7.5%
A strong citrusy hop smell, with a lighter hop flavor than aroma. The hop flavor mixed with malts made for a well balanced IPA with tropical notes.

Anniversary DIPA – 8%
Another well balanced IPA, not an overly hoppy taste but a little more hop flavor than than the Lily. Made with Columbus and Citra hops.

These first two were Mark’s favorite of the IPA’s/DIPA’s. If they had bottles of either of these in stock he would have bought a few.

MK DIPA – 8.1%
Double IPA, with a Citra/Simcoe hop flavor but more bite and more malt.

Big Elle – 10.5%
We didn’t like this as much, as it had more of a bitter hop taste. I think everyone with us liked Lily and the Anniversary Double better.

Howl – 8.5%
Coffee flavor, sweet, chocolatey notes, good body. We bought a bottle of this.

Know Your Enemy – Russian Imperial Stout – 10.2%
Heavy flavor, a touch sweet. We liked the Howl a little bit better, but Stephanie (visiting with us) liked this one more.

Both the owners were there when we arrived. We were served mostly by the head brewer. He answered questions about the beers and chatted with us. He told us he named most of the beers after his family, his daughter, sister, Mom, and wife.

We were visiting with a small group of friends that day.

Mark’s brother Jason and sister in law Maureen were there.

Ian and Stephanie enjoying their beers.

Taylor and Lance might be enjoying themselves….

And us.

They have cool glasses for sale as well.

Want to Visit?
Hours

Friday: 4:00 – 7:00

Saturday: 12:00 – 6:00

Wicked Wine Fest and Boston Craft Beer Fest, Spring 2015

We were lucky enough to be asked to attend the Boston Event Guide‘s Wicked Wine Fest and Craft Beer Fest for Spring 2015.
On our way to the Wicked Wine Fest we got this cool picture of the Hancock tower in Boston.

When we entered both the Wicked Wine Fest and the Craft Beer Fest, we were given a map and list of all the wines/beers, as well as a small plastic cup for sampling.

La Perlina Mosacato
We both liked this wine, a good sweet Mosacto.

Truvee – Red Blend
This sounded like an interesting blend, and we enjoyed it.

Ripe Life – Clambake
A good white wine, despite not being sweet. Described as ‘light, crisp, citrusy, unoaked Chardonnay.’

ERA Organic Wines
Syrah
We really liked this, despite not being huge red wine fans. The description was right on, saying it has ‘raspberry and mocha flavors are followed by sweet cigar tobacco and a lightly oaky finish.’

Montepulciano
This was good as well, a little more body to it with notes of ‘black cherry, plum fruits, sweet oak and peppery spice.’

Enjoying the tasting!

Spiked Seltzer
We tried this for the first time last fall at the beer fest. Good tasting seltzer with alcohol in it. They have Lemon Lime, Orange, Grapefruit, and Cranberry for flavors. We like this, a good summer drink, goes down like a Seltzer and not overly sweet like some other summer drinks. We have heard that you can purchase it in Market Basket, so we will be on the lookout.

Probably Megan’s favorite ‘tasting’ of the day, Vino Gelato! This gelato is made from wine and was delicious!

Other wines we liked:

Chloe-Chardonnay
Chloe-Red 249

Terlato-Federalist Cabernet Sauvignon

Ruffino-Sparkling Rose

Anderra-Carmenere

Both festivals are held in the Cyclorama. It is a cool atmosphere, and a large circular room, so it works well for a tasting.

The real downfall to the wine event were the sample pours were very small. At most tables we got really just one sip, so it is kind of hard to judge the wine on just a sip. Then, because of the small pours, everyone would get right back in line. So there was a lot of waiting in line and not a lot of sampling.

From the Craft Beer Fest, outside of the Cyclorama, waiting in line, moved pretty quickly.

Down the Road Brewery – Pukwudgie Pale Ale
This is a new brewery in Newton, MA. They say that ‘we want our line of beers to recall the rich history of lagers and ales that is sometimes ignored or forgotten but never out of fashion.’

Stella Artois – Cidre
Pretty good, very light and refreshing.

Urban Farm Fermentory
Dry Cidah and Kombucha from Urban Farm. We like there stuff as well, fresh and mostly dryer ciders.

Megan and Mark at the tasting.

Downeast Cider House
This is our favorite cider we have had. It’s like real apple cider, not a sugary light version.

Cape Ann Brewing Company was there as well!

By Sam Adams, The Vixen and 26.2 were both beers we haven’t had before, they were both pretty good.

Curious Traveler is one of Megan’s favorite summer beers, but we hadn’t tried all that the Travleler Beer Company had made. Now was our opportunity! We tried both Illusive (grapefruit) and Forbidden (apple). Megan liked the Illusive!

Foolproof Brewing Company
We learned about Foolproof at the last tasting, we liked all their beers. They are in Rhode Island, so we can’t wait to visit.

Taylor and Megan enjoying the tasting.

Iron Duke Brewing- also local! Can’t wait to try them out!

These we just some of the beers we tasted. This was a good event, not too crowded, the lines weren’t very long, a good variety of breweries and beers.

Taylor came in second place in the dance contest. We got a free round of pictures in the photo booth.

Want to go next Fall or Spring? Check out Boston Event Guide’s site! They always have something fun going on, including tastings, booze cruises, trips and more! Check them out! Hope to see you there next time!

Hobbs Tavern and Brewing Company, West Ossipee, New Hampshire

While on our way to the North Conway outlets with Taylor and Lance, we passed Hobbs Tavern & Brewing Co. We did not know Hobbs Tavern was there prior to, but after looking it up and seeing that they do make their own beer, so we stopped on the way back.

Old style carriage outside

It is a large restaurant area with lots of wood and exposed beams.

Fireplace with couches

Hobbs Tavern & Brewing Co opened in Spring of 2014, after a 14 month renovation of the building.

beer menu on display

Black Sheep Cream Ale – 5.3%
This beer was ok. It was not as creamy as Megan expected, which she liked. Mark and Lance got most of the taste as an aftertaste, Lance did not like it. Mark didn’t mind it. It was their light beer for non-craft beer drinkers, at least it didn’t taste cheap, it just didn’t have much flavor.

Something Went A Rye IPA – 5.2%
Everyone liked this beer. Everyone agreed, it wasn’t super hoppy, probably because it was a rye, and everyone liked the taste.

Taylor and Lance

Stay away from ….

my beers!

Leaf Peeper Rauchbeer
This was an interesting beer. It had a secondary, surprising taste that was sort of smokey. It surprised us. Megan did not like the smell, Lance would not have a full beer of it. Mark said the more you drank of it the less surprising and strong the smokeyness was.

Quick, drink!

Pebble Pale Ale
This was light and not as harsh as many pale ales. Megan thought it was creamier than expected, Lance described it as dry. Mark got a subtle, familiar taste. Maybe spruce tips?

Born to be Mild
This beer was ok. We were trying to figure out what it actually was. Lance thought it tasted like a Sam Winter Lager, but we couldn’t figure it out.

They have a Chocolate Stout, a blonde, and a heffeweizen. We didn’t get to try these, due to not being available that day, but they all sound good.

the menu

We all ordered dinner- after a long day shopping, we were hungry!

Lance had the Blackened Fish tacos, which were good and plentiful.

Mark had the Marbin Cristo, which is their take on a Monte Cristo, which we didn’t know about. It was ham and turkey on French Toast with a side of NH Maple Syrup.
It was interesting and very tasty.

Megan had the Hobbs Burger with onions, which was gone in a matter of minutes.
She had truffle oil fries, which were good.

Taylor had the Hobbs burger plain, which was good as well.

They had lots of interesting decorations and a certain rustic,
cabin like feel, which was cool.

It wasn’t too crowded when we were there, however the service was not great. It seemed to take a long time to get our sample trays, only 2. We were checked on once after we were brought our food, and then didn’t see the waitress again until well after we were all done eating and waiting for the check.

Just hanging out- don’t mind Meg’s hair

On a rustic wagon wheel bench

Want to Visit?
Open 7 days a week

What

are

they

doing?

Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery, Saco, ME

On a recent Sunday afternoon, we decided to take a drive to the Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery, located in Saco, Maine. Taylor has the pleasure of joining us.

From their website: “The Run of the Mill Public House & Brewery is a 14-barrel brew pub, specializing in hand-crafted beer and home-style food. We use the finest malts and hops available to create the freshest array of beers – flowing directly from our in-house brewery. Ales, ambers, lagers, cask-conditioned specials – our selection is constantly changing to reflect the seasons and the brewer’s whims!”

Located in a cool area of Saco, Maine in an old converted Mill. There was a river and other Mill buildings around. We didn’t have too much time to explore, but it seemed like there was other cool stuff around.

fun and different way of presenting what’s on tap!

casual dining room

each wall was decorated with maps and other interesting pieces about the area

We ordered a flight of beers

Tented Kilt Scottish Ale

Light style Scottish ale that made Mark giggle at the name, took Megan and Taylor a minute to get it.

Bug Lager

Megan didn’t like it. We think it was made just to appease people who don’t like craft beer. Tastes like a cheap beer with a hint of something else, maybe lime.

Impact Pale Ale

Very hoppy pale ale.

Tarbox Cream Stout

Creamy like the name says, good flavor, almost a light body.

1762 Rye IPA

Mark enjoyed this, almost a toned down IPA, good flavor, not overly hoppy.

Dunkel John’s Band

A distinctly German beer, kind of plain though.

Brickhouse Bitter, Cask Conditioned

Mark liked it, lighter than expected for a cask conditioned beer.

Taylor got the Horny Margarita. It was the best Margarita she has ever had!

Mark had Not Your Momma’s Meatloaf, really good.

Megan ordered a chicken burger with sweet potato fries.

Taylor ordered wings and fries.

The food came out very quickly and everything was very good. Prices were reasonable. The wait staff was good and very attentive.

What’s On Tap Now

Alewife Ale

Bug Lager

Impact Pale Ale

For Richer or Poorter

Dog Days Summer Wheat

I Do Brew

Summer Bitter Summer Not

GUEST TAP

Slum Brew My Better Half

Baxter Daughters of Posiedon

Want to visit?
Open for lunch & dinner from 11:30am-10pm Daily
Bar is open until 1am, or everyone leaves. Whichever happens first

Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewing Co, North Conway NH

Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewing Company is located in North Conway, New Hampshire. It is a very busy restaurant brewery that we have now visited twice. There is a bar room, with a full bar and tables, a dining room and a smaller dining room/sun room. Both times we have visited, we have been sat in the sun dining room.

Taylor, who joined us on our visit to Tuckerman Brewing Co, also joined us here.

the brewery

The menus:

We ordered dinner and a beer sampler.

Our tasting:
Hoffman Weiss: 5.7% unfiltered, citrus like. Tasted less “beery” than other beers

Ms. V’s Blueberry: 4.5% nice, authentic blueberry flavor. An American Style Ale.

Czech Pilsner: 4.9% a very light Pilsner. Big malt profile. Megan did not like.

Iron Mike Pale Ale: 5.6% typical pale ale, with a hint of something else- 3 different styles of hops

“Identity Crisis” Brown: not a huge fan of this one. Grainy tasting. Mark enjoyed more than Megan, but it was not his favorite

Bone Shaker Brown: 5.5% liked better than IC. Not as heavy as a typical brown ale

Square Tail Stout: 5.8% good, but not as good as other stouts we have had. Roasted flavor.

Smoked House Porter: different flavor than most porters we have had- not chocolate, coffee flavored or smoked…

All beers seemed to be a little warmer than they could have been, hard to tell if that would have changed our opinions of the beers or not

Our entrees:

Black Peppercorn and Bacon Burger, with cheddar cheese and Cajun fries

Sliders- Angus Cheddar Bacon

Plain Wings

The food was good. Fries very spicy, wings plentiful and juicy and crispy.

Only downside- the service. The service was very slow and inattentive. We did not know the waitress’s name, and she never once smiled. Once our beer sampler was gone, we did not have an opportunity to have another beverage.
The room was also cold, and drafty. We found this the last time we had visited as well. This time, the heat was turned on after we finished our dinner. If it had only been one time, we would not be writing about it, but found it was quite cold on our last visit as well.
On our way out, our waitress didn’t speak to us…But the manager did ask us how our food was on the way out, which earned them some points back.

Recommendation- go for the food definitely and have a pint. Just keep in mind that it is in a tourist town, so it will take a few minutes to get a table (always is packed!) and the service isn’t awesome.

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Breweries, Wineries and the fun in between!

Tasting our way through Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island

taylor

603 Brewery, Londonderry, NH

Rockingham Brewing Company, Derry, NH

From the Barrel, Londonderry, NH

Wicked Wine Fest and Boston Craft Beer Fest, Spring 2015

Hobbs Tavern and Brewing Company, West Ossipee, New Hampshire

Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery, Saco, ME

Want to visit?
Open for lunch & dinner from 11:30am-10pm Daily
Bar is open until 1am, or everyone leaves. Whichever happens first

Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewing Co, North Conway NH

Want to visit? Open for lunch & dinner from 11:30am-10pm Daily Bar is open until 1am, or everyone leaves. Whichever happens first

Want to visit?
Open for lunch & dinner from 11:30am-10pm Daily
Bar is open until 1am, or everyone leaves. Whichever happens first