New England Report IV:2008-07-17

Reporting from the Fairview Motel outside New London NH. Here the trip also can continue on the web.

We have had a couple of more amazing beer days with loads of New Hampshire and Vermont beers, including the Vermont Brewers Festival (more about that later on).

If we continue with the actual trip and after the Cape Ann brewery (I later actually got a cap from the brewer himself outside burlington, thanks) if looks like this;

We took the car and continued back in the country from the coast and took us all over to The Tap in Haverhill, MA, a bit north or Boston. The was a natural spot after several pints of the amazing Leatherlips IPA.

(Tap handlers at the Tap in Haverhill)

The Tap has several great beer and is really a nice little town outside the Boston area. They are located in a town that was ages ago very famous for the shoe industry. Therefore they use the old shoe samples as part of the tap handlers.

Sampled beers included;

25. Rejuvination
26. Haverale
27. APA
28. Leatherlips IPA (amazing IPA at only 5% ABV, but in hops tastes like a double IPA, we even got a six pack to go)
29. Fresh Roasted Coffee Stout

After Haverhill we took the car up to Smuttynose Brewing Company in Portsmouth NH. We got the great opportunity with some talk with the bartender to be able to get a short brewery tour. Very fun to just have a quick browse through this brewery. As Smuttynose and especially the IPA is one of our old US IPA bit was really fun to check out the brewery. We got to see all of the production and even some of the future oaked barell experiments they are playing around with at the hidden corner of the brewery.


Sampled beers include;

30. Pale Ale Shoals
31. IPA
32. Portsmouth Lager
33. Old Brown Dog

The list expanded and as you see some people takes the beer list very seriously;

After the samplers and the brewery tour we had to continue and with some free samplers given to us at Smutty we went down to Portsmouth Brewery (sister brewery for Smutty) and sampled the following beers;

34. Bottle Rocket IPA
35. Black Cat Stout
36. Imperial IPA

After finally coming to Portland, maine we got rid of the car and headed down to downtown Portland. Portland by night included;"Grittys"

37. Bitter (cask)
38. Pub Style Pale Ale (cask)

"Sebago Brewing Company"

39. Fryes IPA
40. Boathouse Brown Ale
41. Roadhouse Red Ale

"Great Lost Bear" (Best bar in Portland, just sorry that it was the last place for the night and so far away from everything else, took us 40 minutes to walk between Sebago and the lost beer)

42. Stone Coast 420 IPA
43. Gearys Porter
44. Gearys Ale (cask)

At least you could understand that if you only need one place in Portland, the Great Lost Bear is the place. A cool place with loads of beers and atmosphere. But as always this should have been the first place to visit instead of the last place after a very long beer trail.