Hops for the Holidays!

It’s the holiday season once again and in a short while, I will be venturing to the East Coast to spend time with Ashley’s family over the holidays. Some time will be spent in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In Vermont, we are heading to Mad River Glen to do some skiing ( well, I won’t be, I’ll be hiking or running the mountain. Last I spent more time on the ground then actually up skiing). When visiting Vermont, everyone is required to bring different kinds of beer to the ski house. Six packs are a’plenty and it’s a free for all for everyone. I really wish I would have written down what I had drunk their last year, but alas, it escapes me.

This year I will be raising a toast to my stepmother. She passed away one year ago during Christmas of this year after a long battle with brain and breast cancer. A fighter she was who stuck it out and gave it her all, luckily she has two beautiful daughters and a son to carry on the tradition. Here’s to you Terri, love ya!

This year I am going to take a different approach to my Christmas Adventure ( Uncle Eddie not included) and write a East Coast Brewery review and tasting report for the blog.  Almost like being caught in a Bermuda beer triangle.

 There will be a guarenteed stop at Magic Hat in Burlington, VT where I’ll visit my buddy Troy and hopefully a lot of good beer I’ve never had along the way. I won’t have any school work, so all I’ll get to do is blog, drink beer, and read. It’s the Holidays man!

Feel free if you have any suggestions, but so far here are some of the beers I would thoroughly enjoy getting my hands on.

New Hampshire

Portsmouth Brewery: I’ve actually had the pleasure to visit this brewery on a summer excursion this year for a Portsmouth Wedding.  Ashley and I met up with a running group at 8am, knocked out 17 miles, and we waited patiently until the doors opened at Noon.

Portsmouth Sampler

They had a majority of their beers on tap alongside with a great selection from Smuttynose.  Unfortunately, their bottles are hard to find.

Smuttynose Brewery: Maybe it’s a trend, but I’ve been here too and fell in love with the Smuttynose brand.  Here’s what I’m looking for: Old Brown Dog Ale, Winter Ale, Wheat Wine Ale, Really Old Brown Dog, and Smuttonater.

Squam Brewing: A brief intro…The Squam Brewery is a small, one barrel craft brewery operated out of a barn in Holderness, NH. We brew in a 55 gallon BoilerMaker kettle which we’ve retrofitted with two 5000 watt electric heating elements.  We ferment in 42 gallon stainless conicals (Blichmann Fermenators). Starting in August of 2010 we began selling our beer exclusively in 22 ounce bottles to stores in the Lakes Region.

I’m looking forward to support this small scale brewery by trying their Halcyon Steamer Stout and Bobhouse Bitter.

Tuckerman Brewing: 6288 Stout

Vermont

Magic Hat Brewery: The Magic Hat Brewery is pretty nice, even when they aren’t working.  We went there last year and gave ourselves a free tour, but the best part was the tasting room.  Whatever they had to offer, totally free (besides tipping).  Magic Hat #9 is their flagship beer and we can get a majority of their offerings through their variety 12 packs.  I consider Magic Hat more of a lighter kind of beer, but look forward to trying their black lager HOWL, their current IPA on tour HiP.A., Hibiscus Red their Winter 10′ Odd Notion beer, and their holiday stout, Feast of Fools.

Harpoon Brewery: One thing you can usually count on in any upper east coast bar is Harpoon IPA on draft.  Harpoon 100 series is a beer I want to get my hands on.  Their offering currently is Glacier Harvest 10′, a wet hop ale, and their Oak Aged Dunkel.  Their Leviathan series should find its way in my fridge as well with its newest release.

Long Trail Brewing: Year round- Double Bag Ale ; Seasonal- Hibernator (scotch ale). Unfortunately, their Brewmasters Series aren’t being produced around this time so hopefully I can find a bottle lying around.

Otter Creek- Alpine Black IPA

Lawson’s Finest Liquid: Thanks to Lori from the Louisville Beer Store for recommending this.  Thanks for Google, I found out it’s in the next town over from where we stay and ski.  Another small batch production from an award winning homebrewer, their beers are focused around the infusion of maple syrup.  I want to try everything.

Massachusetts

Pretty Things beer and ale project: Another recommendation from Lori at LBS.  Note, if you’ve been taking any hallucinogenic drugs, do not go to this site.  It’s graphics are similar to Alice in Wonderland.  Great website and hopefully even better beer.  I got a feeling they might be tough to find.

Wachusett brewery: Right next to Ashleys hometown near the Wachusett mountain and also the home of her favorite beer, Blueberry.  Their blueberry stands right up there with Boston Beer Works blueberry beer as one of the best fruit beers I’ve had.  There is always a six pack somewhere in the Bourgault household.  The beers I have yet to try and need to are: California IPA, Milk Stout, and Black Shack Porter.

Berkshire Brewing Company: Ashley’s stepdads favorite brewery.  He has a nice haircut trade for growler deal going with a distributor.  Hopefully we can get some bombers over Christmas time.  To try: Cabin Fever Ale, Holidale (seasonal Barleywine), Gude Greg’s Wee Heavy Private Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Scotch Ale, Russian Imperial Stout, Shabadoo (black and tan ale), and Lost Sailor IPA.

Looks like I’m gonna have a lot of work to do over the holidays…