Beers from New Hampshire

I bought some beers in New Hampshire while attending a wedding there.

Fiddlehead IPA is a hazy New Englandish IPA with a mild bitter bite. I am happy to drink it again but will not seek it out. The raters at BeerAdvocate like it better than I; they say that it is outstanding.

Rating = 1.5 glasses

Wormtown Be Hoppy is a pleasant IPA.

Tasting Notes
20260815: The last impressed me. Nicely balanced with a decent hop bite.

Rating = 4 glasses

20260812: The taste combines mild sweetness with gently bitterness from the hops. Easy drinking! The raters at BeerAdvocate rate it as Outstanding.

Rating = 3 glasses

Schilling Erastus is a nice abbey-style tripel. The taste combines citrus, orange rind, and hints of clove and banana. Tasty! The raters at BeerAdvocate rate it as Outstanding.

Rating = 4.5 glasses

Fantôme Oouuppss!

Oouuppss!, a saison, is a collaboration between Fantôme and Mariatorgets Mikrobryggeri (a craft brewery based in Stockholm, Sweden. It may be a one-off.

Beeradvocate

Tasting notes
20260605: Herbal, lemony, and bitter are the first three adjectives that come to mind. The first sip did not impress. It seems to bitter and harsh and simple. The more I drank the beer, the more I liked it. The determination of the rating is difficult.

Rating: 4.5 glasses

Surly Hell

Surly Hell is a great example of a Helles.

Brewer's notes: "German for “light,” Hell is a pale gold lager with bready malt sweetness, floral hops, and a crisp, balanced finish."

Beeradvocate: "Not unlike a Zwickel Bier from Germany, Hell is not filtered and fermented with lager yeast. American hops takes a back seat to the Pils malt sweetness and fresh bread aroma. The color is well... hell (Deutsch for light). It's fiendishly drinkable, and you don't have to sell your soul to get another."

Tasting notes
20260327: I liked the first four-pack so much that I purchased another four-pack. Tonight I compared Hell with Tucher Festbier. I drank Hell first. As I drank it I was thinking what a good beer it is and how it might replace pilsners in my rotation. Then I drank the Festbier and liked the Festbier better.

On my bike ride a day after writing the review, I kept thinking about the beer and how good it and Tucher Festbier are. I am upgrading the rating.

Rating: 5 glasses

20260111: The first can of a four-pack purchased on somewhat of a whim from Total Wine. I was surprised by how much I liked it. It fits the description of the style in BeerAdvocate well. "Helles lager beers offer a touch of sweetness that balance a measurable addition of spicy German hop flavor and light bitterness. The malt character is soft and bready, making it a terrific complement to light dishes such as salad or fresh shellfish, like clams. Clean and crisp, this is a refreshing beer with substance." The beer has a nice touch of sweetness balanced by grassy and spicy hops. It has substance and is easy to drink. I think that I could add it to my regular rotation of beers to have in my "cellar". 

Old rating: 4.5 glasses and thought about 5.

Sierra Nevada Springfest IPA

A "small" IPA that drinks like a pilsner. The color is very pale and the taste is simple and good. The flavor features lemony hops with low bitterness for an American IPA. It is a great beer if you just want to drink a good beer.

Beeradvocate

Brewer's notes: We owe everything to the land, and to those that cultivate it. Springfest IPA is our tribute to farmers who make it all possible. A vibrant celebration of Spring, this radiant IPA blooms with citrus blossom aromas drawn from organic hops and sustainably sourced barley. It’s a small taste of our larger commitment: to source half our ingredients through sustainable farming by 2030.

Tasting notes
20260112: A second surprise from my latest purchases at Total Wine. The beer is refreshing and crisp. At 38 IBUs is will not melt your taste buds but, rather, pique them like a good pilsner. The hops featured some lemon and spice flavors. The beer is quaffable and could be an ale substitute for pilsner. The beer is hard to rate because, IMO, it lacks the bitterness I look for in an American IPA.  I want more!

Rating: 4.5 glasses. 

Lagunitas Maximus Colossal IPA

Maximus is a fine example of a double IPA.

Beeradvocate: Our Colossal take on a Double IPA, full of Simcoe, Mosaic, CTZ, Cascade & Centennial hops balanced against tons of rich malted barley.

There is a tide in the affairs of big IPAs which posits that a flood of hops leads to a fortune in liquid. In our XXV+ years of brewing big IPAs we've learned this to be mostly true, with one big caveat: balance is everything. We believe Maximus to be exactly that. Et tu?

60.5 IBU

Brewer's notes: In the grand coliseum of ales, one stands supreme: Behold Maximus, First of His Name, the King of Hops—unrivaled in might, unmatched in boldness. Be warned: only those brave enough to honor the liquid legend shall taste the glory…For the hop heads!

From the very first sip, Maximus does not whisper but roars with colossal impact. It’s full-bodied boldness thunders with unstoppable force of flavor of pine and citrus to create a smooth finish that echoes through all of eternity. With commanding hops of Simcoe, Cascade, and Centennial, Maximus reigns triumphant in boldness, yet delivers a wave of silken malted wheat and barley richness. The hop gods hath decreed it, the sippers hath worshiped it: All hail Maximus, King of Hops…For the hop heads!

Tasting Notes
20250916: Maximus is a solid double IPA - good but not great. Nice hops balanced by sweetness. It is not too sweet but I wanted more hops. 

Rating: 4.5 glasses

Great Lakes Oktoberfest

Great Lakes Oktoberfest is a delightful Märzen-style oktoberfest. 

Brewer's notes: Prost! Our take on this classic German style is a celebration of maltiness— packed with rustic, autumnal flavors to put a little more oomph into your oom-pah-pah.

Über smooth with vibrant malt flavors and a festive flourish of noble hops (lederhosen not included).

World Beer Championships
4-Time Medal Winner (Gold, Silver

Beeradvocate

Tasting Notes

Aug. 2025: A tiche too malty. I like Hacker-Pschorr's version is better.

Rating = 4.5 glasses

Oct 2023: Liking it better and upgraded the rating. A tiche malty but not overbearing.

Rating = 5 glasses

Sept 2023: I am liking this beer less - too malty - and think Hacker-Pschorr's version is better.

Rating = 4.5

Aug 27, 2023

I had the first of a six pack last night. My preference for Oktoberfest beers is increasing and this one is my current favorite of the Märzen style. The flavor combines toasty malts with some spicy hops. The beer has flavor and is made to drink in quantity.

Rating = 5.5 glasses. (Downgraded to 6 in 2022, to 5.5 in 2023)

Aug 25, 2019

Last night I drank a Great Lakes Oktoberfest. It is delightful. Extremely quaffable with a nice toasty malt flavor. The first one calls for a second. Maybe the perfect beer when you want to drink beer. It fits perfectly the line from an old ad for Schaefer, "The one beer to have when you're having more than one."

Three Ring Hi-Wire Keller Pils

Keller Pils is an unfiltered version of a German Pilsner.

Beer Advocate: The ONE rater likes it. 

Tasting Notes
Feb. 2024: Ed likes it: nicely balanced, easy drinking, and flavorful. The unfiltered haze adds a titch of bohemian to the brew. I could see keeping this in my refrig as a regular - $11.49 for a 4-pack of 16-oz. cans. 

Rating = 4.5 glasses. I may revise in either direction with a second can.

Russian River Consecration

Brewer's Notes: Dark Ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from local wineries. It is aged for 4 to 8 months with black currants, brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and pediococcus added to each barrel. Rich flavors of chocolate truffle, spice, tobacco, currants, and a bit of Cabernet. Very full-bodied, sip slowly!

202202: MS provided me with a bottle of this rare gem. The craft in the brew is obvious. However, it was too vinous for my tastes. Too much cab and not enough brett.

Rating = 4.5 glasses.

Toppling Goliath Pompeii

Brewer's Notes

Inspiration for our newest Hop Patrol IPA comes from the House of Faun in Pompeii, Italy. At this site, some of the world’s most famous mosaics were preserved under layers of ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. In this fashion, Pompeii IPA preserves and showcases the luxurious taste of the Mosaic hop. This single-hop IPA offers a floral aroma and a truly complex “mosaic” of taste: dark citrus and pineapple flavors, with deep earthy undertones and a persistent bitterness in the finish.

January 2022

What was I thinking. Pompeii is a fine New England IPA but lacks the bitterness I crave. Maybe the beer has lost some of its bite. Best drink by = March 22, 2022. BeerAdvocate classifies it as American IPA, not New England IPA.

Rating = 4.5 glasses

August 2019

Pompeii is a single hop IPA. The single hop is Mosaic. It has tons of California IPA hop bitterness AND New England IPA hop fruitiness. Here is my previous review.

It is my new favorite IPA. Sorry Finest Kind. 

Old rating = 7 glasses.