Portsmouth Brewery is proud to join the nationwide celebration of American Craft Beer Week from May 11- May 17. Why American Craft Beer Week? We love craft beer and the vibrant, growing industry that we’ve helped grow and shape for 24 years!

Craft brewing has never been stronger or more vital than this exact moment and that’s why we’re really excited to celebrate with the other 3500+ breweries around the United States. Here’s the dance card.

Everyday Events:

BREWER BEER SAMPLES- Head Brewer Matt Gallagher and his assistants, Kieran Callahan and Maxine Munsey, will be circulating through our dining rooms and bars during lunch and dinner with trays of beer samples to share with you. This is an excellent opportunity to ask questions, snap selfies or ask Matt about his side gig as a film star.
$2.00 PFIFF’S (6oz) DURING LUNCH- C’mon! Have a beer at lunch! It doesn’t have to be big! “Pfiffs” are native to Austria. They’re short pours of beer for those moments when you just want a taste or to wet your whistle. In fact, “pfiff” loosely translates to “whistle.” See what I did there? We’ll be offering pfiffs between 11:30am-3:00pm when most people are in for some kind of lunch.

Special Events

Wednesday, May 13: Hops n’ Heat: No Meat beer social

Executive Chef Jon Hebert and his crew have assembled this fiery pairing menu for your enjoyment! Tickets are $40 (Imperial Pint Club members save $5) and can be made in person at Portsmouth Brewery or on our e-store. Here’s the menu.

Opener: Habenero and Brookford Farm blue cheese-stuffed artichoke hearts paired with Liger Lager

Course 1: Trio of Chilled Soups- Fresh poblano and pea with mint and micro cilantro, Habanero and spring garlic ajoblanco, Beet and watermelon with jalapeño and cucumber granita; paired with White Lightning IPA

Course 2: Spanish-style egg tortilla with grilled asparagus, side salad of mixed greens and pickled ramps tossed in a poblano pepper green goddess dressing and topped with manchego cheese; paired with Lolo IPA

Course 3: Ancho chili-braised carrots with harissa lentils and smashed potatoes; paired with Black IPA

Dessert: Spiced parsnip cake with Thai chili cream cheese frosting and a Fresno chili sorbet; paired with Wicked Wheat

Thursday, May 14: Smuttlabs Science Fair in the Jimmy LaPanza Lounge

Head Brewer Matt Gallagher welcomes the crew from Smuttlabs by tapping four highly sought-after Smuttlabs beers! If you missed any of these the first time around (and you probably did), this is your chance to check them in on Untappd! This is an open bar event and the beers will pour until they’re kicked.
-Blueberry Short Weisse (5.1% berliner-style weisse beer brewed with real blueberries)
-Granite State Destroyer (8.5%, imperial corn lager collaboration with New Hampshire’s heavy rock legends, Scissorfight)
-The Stallion (11% imperial stout, mang)
-Ol’ Grundy Humper (10.8% pale barleywine)

Friday, May 15: Firkin Friday featuring Project X: Citra

We love cask-conditioned beer at Portsmouth Brewery, but it takes a really special occasion to trigger a Firkin Friday!

In honor of American Craft Beer Week, our brewing team has made a special 10.8 gallon, naturally-carbonated, firkin of the brand-new Project X: Citra (6.5%, 40 IBU), the newest release in our single hop pale ale series. There’s no hotter hop than Citra, so we can’t even tell you what we had to do to find enough pellets to brew this beer.

We’ll begin pouring pints of this one-off when we open at 11:30am and we’ll pour them until the firkin runs dry or murky!

Friday, May 15: New Beer Friday Collaboration Exclusive: Farmhouse Stout! Smuttlabs Head Brewer, Charlie Ireland, brought a blended pitch of French Saison yeast and Brettanomyces Drei, (the tropical fruit brett strain) to downtown Portsmouth and pitched into a wort made with lots of oatmeal and chocolate wheat malt. Matt is planning to debut this ~6.5% abv beauty on New Beer Friday.

Please celebrate with us next week. If you can’t join us, please support your local brewery. They’ll be glad to see you.