Best Locally Sourced Beers of 2013

1. Hugh Malone, Allagash

2. Vinland Two, Mystic

3. Hopulence, Wormtown

4. Baby Rhino, The People's Pint

5. Harvest IPA, Northampton Brewery

6. CBC2, Cambridge Brewing and Craft Beer Cellar

7. RIPL Effect, Jack's Abby

8. Total Eclipse, Brewmaster Jack 

9. Five Mile Hop Harvest, Ipswich

10. Mongrel Red, Watch City

11. Stock Ale, Stoneman and People's

12. Smoking in the Valley, Cambridge Brewing

13. Dippity Do Brown Ale, Throwback Brewing

14. Soleil French Saison, Brewmaster Jack

15. Hop Session CH Evans

Beer Terrain visits Mystic Brewery

The Chelsea Record has the story

At The People's Pint. Alden Booth taps a firkin of local session rye IPA called Baby Rhino. Very memorable evening, as they all are at The Pint.

Great story on Wormtown and Rapscallion with a few words from yours truly. Not everyone understands: Local is fresher and therefore better.

 

Click here for the full story

Beer Terrain review in Sturbridge Times

Read The Sturbridge Times

Local author Richard Morchoe's blog.

A Firkin Good Time

What could be better than fresh ale made with local ingredients? How about cask conditioned ale made with local ingredients. Oh yeah.

One of the great things about exploring the region's beer terrain is getting to meet others along the path.  My good fortune in finding a warm and enthusiastic reception to my work has been the fuel keeping me rolling from book store to brewpub and on to the local library sometime in January. For the specifics see this post.

Beyond that lies the next book. A handful of thoughts have been vying for my attention. It seems logical to continue documenting beer from here as season after season New England farmers produce more and more of the stuff brewers crave: unique ingredients that invoke their land and climate.

But maybe I should focus on cask conditioned beer instead. When I think about how environmentally sound it is to put beer in a cask instead of bottles or cans or kegs for that matter, I realize this is an important topic to me. Also, I enjoy a cask conditioned beer better than beer from any other delivery method. Now I know I'm really on to something.

See how they glow: the brewers at NERAX North.

So when I got the very kind invitation to attend the industry session of the New England Real Ale Exhibition, North chapter, or NERAX North, I made sure to attend. Mid November, the tour began. The  night before I'd had a book signing at Peppercorns in Worcester, home of Wormtown Brewing. Intending for the event to last an hour, I was there until the kitchen closed. The night was resounding success and the beers I tasted shared in common clean and delicious flavors, as well as Massachusetts grown ingredients. 

A flight of Wormtown at Peppercorns

So it is without complaint, and with a smile on my face, that I note how tired I was the next afternoon when I navigated 495 to its end near the New Hampshire border. This evening may very well have been my first ever in Haverhill where dark brick buildings line Washington Street and the sound of the rushing Merrimack River competes with a cold wind in my ears.

Up the stairs in the front hall to the third floor of the Barking Dog pub I found my happy place. The large open room seemed empty at first, though a cluster of conversations came from the bar. Near the door, jotting on a clipboard I found Randy Baril, Head Cellarman.

Randy, who also purchased a few copies of Beer Terrain for the Homebrew Emporium shelves, invited me here and planted a bug in my ear about cask as a possible book subject. I told him how, ten to fifteen years ago, I'd come up with the idea myself. Back then I was enjoying Gritty's Best Bitter on cask as often as I could. 

My collaborator and I would also hit The Coat of Arms in Portsmouth for the beer engine offerings there circa 1998. A great one is the Hampshire Special Ale (HSA) from Geary's.

Randy welcomed me, and as a true gentleman would, he ushered me straightaway to the bar where I was filled with awe, as if I were standing at the base of Mt. Rushmore, or atop a skyscraper. 
There before me, a wall of firkins as pretty as a stable of racing ponies, all draped in grey blankets, towered over me. Along the temporary plywood bar, a row of more than 20 beer engine handles made me pause. I am so small. 

I perused the tags for a place to start and chose the first likely local ingredient brewer I saw – Night Shift. I received a quarter pint of an ale made with Valley Malt rye and agave nectar. Dr Funkmeister himself, Brettanomyces, played an important role in the lambic flavors drifting over my palate. A touch of tartness, with the crispness of rye and a considerable amount of residual sweetness combined to wet my whistle. A moment later, I ordered again.

Randy noted that the Harpoon IPA on hand was dry hopped with Cascade grown by the Harpoon Brewmaster. This beer has been in the stable of bottles available almost everywhere in New England and beyond for quite some time. When the choice at a gas station is Harpoon IPA or Some Yellow Fizzy Thing With a Bad After Taste, I feel pretty good about life these days. I just flat enjoy it every time. Here, on cask and made with local hops, expectations rose. I was not disappointed. 

The usual malty balance to the hop tingle was  present, but in this quarter pint, I found the extra freshness, the tangerine zest of a ripe Cascade.

Those were the highlights from the native terrain and made this evening doubly special. But I also enjoyed a Frye's Leap IPA by Sebago and a Baxter IPA. The best of these non natives was the Portsmouth Brewery Whipper Snapper.

Martin Ogley of England spoke about his all-cask operation, Elland Brewery. I had the pleasure of speaking with him, as well as Alastair Hewitt of Mystic Brewery. Hewitt, with his British background, has helped Mystic, a Belgian/American style brewery, fashion some of the finest English influenced beers around. 

Finally, I had the great pleasure to meet Todd Mott, former head brewer of Portsmouth Brewing and owner of Tributary Brewing Company due to open in 2014. Mott, by the way was the original brewer of Harpoon IPA, making him a legendary figure in these circles. His take on that status: "I'm just a brewer." Also, Mott followed my boss Sean Navish at Portsmouth. So we had plenty to talk about.

This small world stuff makes me feel warm and fuzzy, I have to admit. But it speaks to the perfect environment in this industry for a tightening of the economic loop of trade from farm to table and back to farm as compost and animal feed. 

Yes, I think the beer terrain needs more exploring.

Click here for full story

Watch City Book Signing Dec. 1 and Saying Goodbye to a Red Sox Fan

Somehow, this time of year, when the days are growing shorter like an aging relative, and the clock seems to quicken as I merge into rushing heavy traffic on the pike, I stumble onto some way to feel more hopeful. 

On this late October day, with the Red Sox on their way to their third world series in ten years, and myself on the way to visit a Sox fan who spent almost all of her 99 years on the North Shore rooting with all her might and didn't get her first championship season until she was 90, I pass right through Waltham.

In fact, anytime you go from the pike to 128 north, you pass within five minutes of a place I have far too often rushed by - Watch City Brewing. 

   

If only I'd ever met Kelly McKnight before, you can bet I'd have worn out some treads on exit 26. And on this day it's pure good fortune to pick her brain when I amble in for a bite and a cup of cheer.

Yours truly at Watch City Brewing. 
In my hand, a local harvest preserved as liquid.

The bartender stops to see what she can bring for me and I ask which beers have local ingredients. Now here's the great thing about a brewpub, knowledge of the beers on tap. So I am not surprised to get the run down of three native brews on this day made with local malt or hops and one other made with local pumpkins. Another great thing about brewpubs is seasonal beer during the season. Winter flavors can wait.

I order the Mongrel Red IPA which gets the bartender's approval. This beer has been wet hopped with hops grown in Weston at Gateways Farm, which as it turns out is on the National Register of Historic Places. You may have seen the red barn from the turnpike. Fitting, of course for a farm, in operation since 1705, to be growing the traditional New England crop of hops. This is happening more and more all over the northeast and thinking about that brightens my mood considerably.

Probably as a result of me peppering her with questions, I learn that I am speaking with none other than the brewer herself, Kelly McKnight. Turns out she's filling in for the regular bartender. Once again, on this journey through the native beer terrain, serendipity steps in and provides more and better than I expect.

As I enjoy the nutty, friendly wholesome flavors of the Mongrel, McKnight describes some of then ingredients. The fresh hops are Cascade, and the smooth, English style malt profile comes partly from the London ale yeast. 

Given that Waltham's water comes out of the Quabbin Reservoir, McKnight says the relative softness is perfect for Belgian style brews, but for English, where the hops should be pronounced, she adds brewing salts to mimic English water sources. The effect is similar to table salt, as she explains it. "It brings out the flavors," she says.

I swirl a sip around and under my upper lip to get a spicy tingle of hops with a hint of mineral finish.

The Mongrel, which is light in body, but deep in color has a very slight cloudiness to it, only discernible when I peer long into the glass held up to a light. McKnight says that all her beers are unfiltered. Check another box of approval in my mind. "Unfiltered beers are healthier," I say, referring to the latent proteins and vitamins that too many breweries filter out of their brews.

The natural connection between brewer and farmer makes it easy to talk. For example, I grow black walnuts, and McKnight is undertaking the daunting task of making black walnut beer, which first requires removing the husk. This process can blacken your hands for weeks, since the husks have historically been used as wood stain and fabric dye, famously for Confederate uniforms during the Civil War.

As we commiserate over this task without shortcut, I move right down to the bottom of my glass. With more beer than I can safely drink and still navigate the beltway, I ask for just a taste of the Hops Explosion, their house IPA, but this time dry hopped with some of that Cascade harvest from Gateway Farms. This is solid, well balanced beer of the kind I find hard to put down.

Having never had the regular Hops Explosion before, I cannot tell how much the dry hops punch it up, but I am sure ordering a whole pint of this will lead to another. I need a beer that will make things just a little easier when it's time to get up and walk away. 

Fenway Fungo Scottish Wee Light ale promises to be gentle with me, so I go for one of those. And besides it's malty emphasis and Valley Malt ingredients, (including smoked oats!) proves a good showcase for locally grown grains. Velvety and comforting, like a peaty, smoky, Scotch whisky and water, I swish some along the roof of my mouth to catch a flash of yeasty funk and toasty oat flavor. 

I guess the hops used here are Kent Goldings, and I am close. McKnight says she used U.S. Goldings to achieve a flowery, peppery highlight. Less than four percent alcohol, but so much comforting goodness in it that I feel relaxed enough to deal with another hour of  aggressive drivers.

Not only does Watch City make great beer with great local ingredients, but the brewers, McKnight and Lee Lord, are friendly and down to earth. Not that I am surprised anymore at the open welcome I receive whenever I encounter someone working with local farm products, but I am always aware of the fact that the people I have been writing about all share the common trait of being some of the coolest people I've ever met. That, plus great beer, makes this project pretty special. 

So thanks, Kelly and Lee, I'll see you the Sunday after Thanksgiving at 7pm and I'll bring some books. 

http://watchcitybrew.com

Beer Terrain: Field to Glass from the Berkshires to the Maine Coast is now available at the following places:

Book Stores:
Longfellow Books, Portland, Maine
Tip Top Country Store, Brookfield, MA
Booklink, Northampton, MA
Readmore Books, Taunton, MA
Vermont Bookshop, Middlebury, VT
Hero's Welcome, North Hero, VT
Bookends, Winchester, MA


Homebrew shops:
Strange Brew, Marlboro, MA
Homebrew Emporium, South Weymouth, MA, Cambridge, MA, Renssaeler, NY, West Boylston, MA

Breweries:
Mystic, Chelsea, MA
Brewmaster Jack, online
The People's Pint, Greenfield, MA
Rapscallion, Sturbridge, MA
Treehouse, Brimfield, MA
Portsmouth Brewery, Portsmouth, NH

Beer Stores:
Julio's, Westborough, MA
Craft Beer Cellar, Belmont, MA, Newton, MA, Westford, MA, Winchester, MA

Restaurant:
Salem Cross Inn, West Brookfield, MA

Book signings:
Dec. 1 Sunday, 7pm at Watch City Brewing, Waltham, MA
Dec. 7 Saturday, 4 to 7pm at Provisions, Northampton, MA
Dec 12, Thurs, 5pm at The People's Pint, Greenfield
Dec. 13 Friday, 5pm at Mystic Brewery. Chelsea, MA
Dec. 21, 3pm Craft Beer Cellar in Newton, MA
TBA in Jan. Jack's Abby, Framingham, MA and Merriam Gilbert Library, West Brookfield, MA

See you around.

 Mystic Vinland Two, above and below. Some fine suds made with native yeast cultivated from the skin of a lowbush blueberry.

Now available at Mystic Brewery. Book signing Dec. 13 5pm

Below is a beer Chris brought over from his trip to Iceland. Outstanding and sustainably brewed, but not sure  about specifics.

Harvesting a paperback

Homebrew made with wild hops transplanted to my backyard where they grow up a swing set.

After a long Indian summer, mid October is here bringing low gray skies. The filtered sunlight makes the reds, oranges and yellows seem like campfire without heat on this finger numbing day. My collaborator and I head west on Route 9, which always has pleasant connotations. When we turn right out onto the Old Ware-West Brookfield Highway, we generally are headed for fun. First of all, the drive itself threads through the flatter areas of a hilly terrain, passing harvested fields, some planted for winter, some naked earth. Barns catch my eye. Falling in or spanking new, they always seem to look good. Then, across an open space where the curtain of trees draws back wide, the roll and feminine slopes and rounded hammocks show off their dresses of quilted forest.

Mixed feelings? To say the least. Summer was all peach juice and garden mania - the celebration of life unending. And now, the letting go. Still I've seeded hardy greens, stubbornly refusing to start into the frozen supply of August bounty. 

And the book. A biannual garden itself, this story was two years in the telling from research to proposal, to shopping for publishers, to writing it, to finding an editor, to losing my publisher, to publishing on demand, and now I have to sell it. Am I looking forward to a cold season of shameless self-promotion and sales pitches? Aw, no.

But on that note, several independent book sellers have shown interest and so far it is in stock at Booklink in the Thorne's department store in Northampton, MA and Tip Top Country Store of Brookfield, MA. Also, of course, on Amazon. The price is $18 online. You get a $3 discount when you buy it from a human at a real store.

I guess that's why I'm a bit jumpy on the approach to the Young Men's Club of Hadley where Valley Malt hosts an annual Barley Fest. Then I see Andrea Stanley, maltster extraordinaire and she is glowing with pride and joy. I am welcomed warmly and invited to put a few books (that my collaborator said I should bring with us) out for sale. Now I am feeling more at ease.

Then there is the beer and food. Being a big fan of strapping on the feedbag and slurping down the suds, I sometimes settle for anything that can hold hot sauce to eat and a mainstream beer to rinse it down. Here we have a list of about a dozen beers, all made with local malt. The food choices are barbecue or pizza. Both options feature locally grown ingredients. Naturally we ate two pizzas and a pulled pork sandwich. Supporting local farms is very delicious. 

Left: a Trillium New England Red. Right: Jack's Abby Mom n Pops Wet Hops

Meanwhile, the band Fat Bradley assembles their sound. Kids in years and kids at heart take over the ball field in a raucous pick up game. I wander out back to gaze at the neighboring farm. After speaking with Justin from Stoneman where beer CSA's are offered, Ben of Wormtown who puts local ingredients in every beer he makes, and Chris of Notch who bucks trends but supports this one, my thoughts drift back over a season of beer from here. Just one more look back before the coming frost.

Wild primrose still blooming in front of a quintessential barn.

Beer making at Barley Fest. The gentleman
facing the camera has a copy of Beer Terrain under his arm.

Portable wood-fired pizza oven and work of art.

Between sets jam.

And what's more . . .

Suzanne can't resist a Harvest Ale at Northampton Brewery.

Mystic Brewing's Bryan Greenhagen holds a jar of native yeast cultivated from an organic
blueberry.  Called Vinland Two, the beer made with this yeast won a gold at GABF.
This pic was dropped from the book for technical reasons I don't understand.

Self explanatory.

Pioneer Brewing's Hop Whammy made with hops grown by a customer in Southbridge, MA.
This has been Pioneer's fastest selling beer year after year.

The ebook has arrived

Field to Glass from the Berkshires to the Maine Coast now on Kindle ebooks 

And Lulu 

Coming soon to nook and iBookstore, as well as paperback at those internet outlets.