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The Local Craft Brewfest is affiliated with the Boston Local Food Festival, and takes place the Friday before the festival (10/5) at the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston’s Fort Point. The fest will feature live music, local food producers, and craft brewers including the award winning Smuttynose Brewing Company.
Located in Portsmouth NH, Smuttynose was founded in 1994 when Peter Egeleston (the owner of several other local breweries and pubs) lowballed a silent auction and accidently purchased a recently bankrupt brewery. He quickly began his first production brewery, which became immensely popular and in 2011 Smuttynose ranked 28th (in the top 0.3%) on Ratebeer’s list of best brewers in the world (a list of over 10,000 breweries).
I had the opportunity to speak with Joe Grotto, the Eastern New England Field Manager, and learn about the history of the company as well as some of their most popular brews. I also toured the brewery, where I sampled several beers, learned more about the company’s history and future plans, and the steps Smuttynose takes to source locally when possible and lessen the brewery’s negative environmental impact.
Although the production at Smuttynose is too large to brew any of the regular lineup using local ingredients, they have worked with local food producers to brew smaller batches of beer.
While touring the brewery I was impressed by Smuttynose’s environmental and social awareness. They offer tours on Fridays and Saturdays, and rather than charge for the tours they ask guests to make a minimum $2 donation to one of two charities: Northeast Passage and Tufts Medical Center’s Floating Hospital for Children. I also learned during the tour that the new brewery scheduled to open late 2013 / early 2014 will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and as green as possible. The new location will include a water treatment facility, and continue to use compostable materials whenever possible (including compostable plastic sample cups).
Smuttynose’s most popular beer by far is their IPA, followed by the Old Brown Dog Ale, and Pumpkin Ale. I tried all of these on the tour and could definitely see why they are so popular! When asked about his most memorable experience with Smuttynose, Joe also mentioned two special beers he’s tried, one brewed in collaboration with the Portsmouth restaurant Black Trumpet using 40lbs of locally foraged black trumpet mushrooms, and a sour beer called Brett & I that used lactobacillus and spent several months in oak with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis. Although neither of these were available on the tour, I did get to try a special strawberry short wiess a beer brewed in such limited production that this is the first year they’ve ever had enough to sell!
Be sure to check out Smuttynose Brewing Company at the Local Craft Brewfest and try some of their delicious craft brews! Although the weather will determine some of the beers available, the IPA and Robust Porter will definitely be featured.
This post was written by Kerrie Urban of Urban Foodie Finds, go check her out!
