White Birch Brewing (Hooksett, NH)

Only a few words are necessary to describe White Birch Brewing: zero pretension, flavorful beer. As one pulls up to the brewery/tasting room, you could easily mistaken it for a medical supply company or some other innocuous establishment with about as much inventive facade as a stucco garage. If you asked founder and brewmaster Bill Herlicka though, I’m guessing he’d say he hadn’t put too much thought into it as he was busy making amazing beers. In speaking with him during a tasting it’s easy to see why his beers are so complex and varied. When working on a recipe he says he likes to try a bunch of other commercial examples of similar style, then brew to his own taste. His berliner weisse is a perfect example. Even though I didn’t get a chance to sample it, I saw that it was several percentages higher than what is ‘standard’ for that style. When I asked him about this he simply replied, “it tastes better”. He went on to explain that the flavors of this style are often lost by making it too sessionable, as many are typically flavored with artificial syrups.  To showcase it’s full flavor potential he makes it about twice the strength as outlined by ‘beer judges’.

Don’t try and pry Bill on what goes into his recipes, as he’s staying hush hush. Acknowledging that I was an aspiring homebrewer, he suggested, “just try a bunch of different things and brew what you like.” This philosophy has served him well, as within his first year of production in 2009 White Birch quadrupled, going from brewing a half barrel a day to two. Today, they brew on a seven barrel system according to their website.

A majority of White Birch’s brews are made using Belgian yeast strains. The complexity of Belgian yeast is evident in most, if not all of their offerings. For the geekiest of beer geeks, White Birch also offers several ‘wild’ brews, aged in wine barrels and using brettanomyces yeast. Bill is obviously a fan of big beers as well, with wheat and barleywines also available in the portfolio.

The building may not be pretty, but damn, the beers sure are, and well worth a visit. And in case you still can’t get over the spartan digs, buy a couple of White Birch ales and head ten minutes down the road to Lake Massabesic:

DuClaw Brewing Co. (Hanover, MD)

Typically when I hear the words “sports bar” and “mega mall” the last thing that comes to mind is “craft beer”. DuClaw Brewing is probably aware of this, and definitely doesn’t care, especially since their motto is, “Craft Be Cherished. Rules Be Damned.” I’ll be honest when I say I was originally skeptical as I pulled up to one of DuClaw’s three restaurant locations, situated between a Medieval Times themed restaurant and a large cineplex. That skepticism gave way though as I tried a flight of six beers among their eleven taps, including a nitro.

Euforia, a toffee, nut-brown, is just what it says. A quaffable, malty brown with lots of toffee and caramel, and notes of chocolate. It’s a bit effervescent and has some alcohol warmth, but is quite drinkable and one of the more flavorful and complex beers they offer.

Venom is DuClaw’s staple American Pale Ale, and was being served on their nitro draft. It starts with a citrus nose and is flavored with floral and fruity hops, then finishes off with a nice balance of earthiness and bitterness. The nitro adds a lot of additional creaminess and body to an already big flavored brew.

One of the seasonal taps was Snake Oil, a self-described Imperial Pilsner. Although it does clock in at 7% abv and can thus be described as “imperial”, that’s about all it resembles as far as the name goes. I was expecting a bit more of a carbonic bite as is standard with pilsners, but it never really became evident. It will definitely appeal to the typical sports bar swill served and you could easily knock back more than one, but the high alcohol will definitely catch up with you.

If you want a giant beer with noticeable alcohol that you can pretty much chew on, go for the Misery Wheat Wine. A wheat-based ale similar to a barleywine, but less dark and hoppy, this guy is big and bold. Let it warm a bit so the full flavor of the wheat can come out.

Using similar hops as Venom but with the addition of the ever-popular Amarillo, the Serum Double IPA is another big offering from DuClaw. Big body, herbal hops, drinkable, dangerous.

Sweet Baby Jesus!, a Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, is probably what several customers have exclaimed when they first tasted (or even heard of) this ale. Inspired by a former winner of their annual H.E.R.O. (Honest, Excellent, Robust, Original) homebrew contest, and originally made with real peanuts (now made with extract), Sweet Baby Jesus is a pretty damn delicious beer. Peanuts are prominent in both the aroma and flavor, and linger in the glass after it quickly disappears. Not a big-bodied porter, but this allows for the chocolate and peanut flavors to be much more expressed.

Although not my vibe for a quintessential craft beer bar, I’m glad places like DuClaw exist and are making good beer. While sitting at the bar on a Wednesday at 3pm, this place was full. And although the customers weren’t your typical craft crew, it was clearly a locally driven clientelle that craved something different. I had a conversation with a gentlemen who compared DuClaw to the unique styles of Dogfish Head, and although their portfolios are quite different, the spirit of adventurous beers is very much shared.

Not everyone finds craft beer the same way, so the microbreweries that begin in hidden nooks with exposed brick walls and crawling with ivy will oftentimes stay just that, hidden. Most often though, beer drinkers need an in-your-face advertising program that delivers unapologetic beers, and that’s exactly what DuClaw does; as you’ll notice the most used adjective in this post is “big”. Beer snobs need not apply…  but they will be missing out.