Tuckerman Brewing Company - Pale Ale

This bottle-conditioned pale ale gets a dose of wort (unfermented beer) added just prior to bottling, allowing the beer to carbonate naturally in the bottle. Expect a nice golden color on the pour with some haze due to some yeast in suspension. We found the aroma profile pleasantly soft, with pale malt notes and a hint of breadiness meeting a mild and somewhat floral hop aroma. Look for subtle hints of fruit akin to apple flesh and perhaps even a wisp of cherry. On the palate, we really enjoyed this beer's excellent balance. Some floral, mildly spicy and citric hop flavors present upfront with a mild to moderate bitterness, supported by a well-balanced malt backbone of pale malts with a touch of toastiness that builds to prominence in the finish. The pale and Munich malt combo, along with the choice of traditionally American, English, and continental European hop varietals, creates an interesting and very drinkable brew that goes down easily on its own or in the presence of a variety of foods. Try it with German sausages or spicy tacos topped with pepper jack.

Searching the country for new and interesting beers may sound like the ultimate job, but guess what—ok, it is… We're not even going to try to cover up the fact that we love our jobs here. That being said, it can be quite a task to find craft brewers who create beers worthy of being featured in the club while also capable of making enough to supply our members. We first discovered the Tuckerman Brewing Company of Conway, New Hampshire in 2006, and found their production scale and high quality beers the perfect match (though it should be said, we just about maxed out their available capacity!). Tuckerman represents small batch brewing at its best, and they produce only about 8,000 barrels per year. Their small brewing crew brews each batch by hand with that special brand of brewers' TLC we so admire.

Founded in January of 1998 by Nik Stanciu and Kirsten Neves (both just 24 years old at the time), Tuckerman Brewing Co. spent six years operating within a modest, 4,000 square foot, modified garage. Eventually, they moved to a facility two and a half times that size to meet current (and projected) demand for their distinctive brews. At present, their beers are not found outside of the NH, ME, MA tri-state region—unless, that is, you're a member of The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club! For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call 603-447-5400 or check out their web site at www.tuckermanbrewing.com.