Smuttynose Brewing Company - Portsmouth Lager

Named after the brewery's hometown on the occasion of its 375th anniversary, Portsmouth Lager is a full-flavored, medium-bodied continental-style beer, deep golden in color. Note an aroma of fresh barley grains, dough, and grassy, sweet-lemon hop notes, rounded out by plain saltwater taffy and a modicum of vanilla and very subtle peat-like note. Goes down very easy, this lager presents a subtle fruitiness with touches of floral bitterness and hoppy grassiness. Look for moderate hop bitterness in the finish—lemony & grassy notes—with staying power. Lets you know you're actually drinking a beer. Nicely done. Want to know our opinion? Of course you do… Everyone in America who only likes "lesser" fizzy, yellow beers should try this beer to see what real beer is really about. This pre-prohibition style Munich Helles lager has true character & presence. Pair with herb and mustard basted pork chops.

Smuttynose Brewing Company opened their doors 1994 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. No, the unusual name doesn't refer to something 'dirty', despite what some may think. The brewery takes its name from Smuttynose Island, one of the isles of Shoals, a small nine-island archipelago just off the coast of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. Legend has it that mariners in the 1600s named the island for the nose-shaped 'smutch' of seaweed on the southeast corner of the island. The brewery was founded by Peter Egelston, who, years earlier opened one of the two original New England brewpubs (The Northampton Brewery in western Massachusetts), as well as the Granite State's first brewpub (The Portsmouth Brewery). His 'beer career' started in 1986 when his sister Janet and her boyfriend convinced Peter to quit his teaching job in Brooklyn, New York and move to Massachusetts to open a brewpub. Peter stayed in Massachusetts until 1991, at which point he opened the Portsmouth Brewery. You might think that with two successful brewpubs under his belt, Peter would have begun looking to expand by setting up a production microbrewery, but in fact, he sort of stumbled into starting Smuttynose B.C. As Peter puts it himself, "There was a small brewery that had opened here in Portsmouth and went out of business, and the bank auctioned off their assets. I attended the auction without having any intention of purchasing anything. Of course, I ended up purchasing this building full of brewing equipment." We're glad Peter was in a buying mood that day because the Smuttynose beers are truly world class. Trust us, you'll quickly get through the ones we've sent you, and you'll want more. If you don't have the good fortune to live within their distribution area, don't sweat it, we got you covered: you can reorder brews featured in the club by contacting us at 800-625-8238 (while supplies last). For more information about the brewery or scheduled tours, call (603) 436-4026, or visit their website at www.smuttynose.com .