Woodstock Inn Brewery - Loon Golden Ale

Loon Golden Ale is one of a number of very solid summer beers that we’ve had the pleasure to try recently. On the pour, expect an attractive golden color with a touch of chill haze and a cap of bright white foam. Right away on the nose you’ll notice the buttery note that is characteristic of the English Ringwood yeast strain used by this brewery. For us, it combines with a very bready malt aroma to create the impression of buttered biscuits. We found notes of caramel to be prominent as well, along with notes of freshly cut wood from the earthy Fuggle hops. The Fuggles hit upfront on the palate too, bringing its herbal, woody, and borderline vegetal character to meld with bready pale malts and creamy caramel notes. There’s a pleasant grain expression on the mid-palate that builds into the finish where it lingers with a bit of drying hop bitterness. With Ringwood yeast and Fuggles hops, this is a very English interpretation of a golden ale, and we dig it! We sampled this on a warm day in Southern California while the beer was on the cooler side of our recommended range, and boy did it hit the spot. It also made an excellent pairing with burgers topped with pepper jack and spicy mustard. Cheers!

Nestled in the heart of New Hampshire’s impressive White Mountains lies the Woodstock Inn Station & Brewery, one of the state’s most popular country inns.  In addition to two in-house restaurants serving a wide-ranging fare, including their famous “Best Breakfast in the Valley,” this 33-room inn also brews its own beer – a feature that places it at the top of our list of places to consider staying at when traveling to New Hampshire.

The Woodstock Inn had been in the hands of the Clement family, who enjoyed it as their private home, for almost 100 years.  When the last family heir moved away in the early 1960s, the inn stood vacant and unused for about two decades.  Finally, the Rice family bought the property in the early 1980s and set about renovating the traditional New England style building.  During Christmas of 1982, the inn was opened for guests, and it wasn’t long before success came – along with and a need for more space.  To augment their original six guestrooms (each one furnished with a variety of period antiques), the family bought another historic property on the other side of the street and remodeled it in the Victorian style.  Over the years, as the popularity of the Inn continued to grow, additional properties were acquired, and the Inn is now made up of multiple buildings, each offering its own unique charm and character.  Another addition is the authentic train station building that dates back to the mid 1800s which has been converted to a bar and eatery (the Station).

It was in 1995 that the Woodstock Inn Brewery and Brew Pub opened for business, which of course is our favorite aspect of the Inn’s expansion.  The brewery offers thirteen craft brews (eight main beers and five seasonal offerings), in addition to their old fashioned, handcrafted, K&M Root Beer.  The brewpub features a seven-barrel system, and all beers are brewed with pure NH deep-well water and the highest quality malts and freshest hops available.  In March of this year, Woodstock began a major expansion of their brewery and bar with an eye on keeping the design and atmosphere as organic and fun as ever.

We think New Hampshire’s a great place to visit in any season, so for more info on the Woodstock Inn Station & Brewery, take a look at their websites at www.WoodstockInnNH.com and www.WoodstockInnBrewery.com.  Or just call ‘em up at 800-321-3985.