HAMPTON — What started with a robust field of 28 breweries from Hampton to Kennebunk was whittled down to just one in the Seacoast Brewery Bracket championship. When the final votes were tallied late Sunday night, it was New Hampshire’s first craft brewery which once again stood all alone.
One of the top four seeds, Hampton’s Smuttynose Brewing survived a spirited charge from Kittery’s Definitive Brewing(2,315 votes to 2,096 votes)to secure the title in the competition that started March 1. Local beer lovers voted for their favorite breweries each week onSeacoastonline.comandFosters.com.
The pride in rising to the top in the month-long competition was almost palpable Monday afternoon at the tasting room at Smuttynose as several employees gathered for a group victory photo and talked about the accomplishment over their one “shift beer” for the day.
“It’s really nice to see how the entire Seacoast has come out to support us,” said Smuttynose operations manager Greg Blanchard.
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Smuttynose’s marketing director Gina Leary said the victory was a collective effort that engaged all of the brewery’s 100-plus employees, while also refocusing the group on the vibrant Seacoast brewery industry around them.
“It was a good way and an interactive way to bring all these breweries to the forefront,” Leary said. “Where it was just a regular day for everyone before, now we were engaged in talking about the bracket and who was voting, what our score was, and what the other brackets were doing. It was just a really nice and fun way to do something like that.”
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How Smuttynose finished on top of 'friendly competition'
As a top seed, Smuttynose received a first-round bye, but still had a rigorous trail to the final. Smuttynose survived a robust challenge from Somersworth’s Stripe Nine in the second round and then hung on for dear life against Portsmouth’s Liar’s Bench Beer Co., for a 41-vote win (1,184 to 1,143). With that win, Smuttynose not only advanced to a very meaningful semifinal matchup with the Portsmouth Brewery, but also avoided having to show up to work the next day in Liar's Bench gear as were the terms of a friendly side bet.
“We wanted to win, but it was definitely a friendly competition,” said Trevor Bland, Smuttynose vice president of operations. “We had friends at almost every brewery that was in it.”
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Definitive Brewing, which opened a tap room in Kittery three years ago, busted several brackets by topping Exeter’s Czar’s Brewery, Rochester’s Back Hill Beer Co., top seed Deciduous Brewing in Newmarket, and Tributary Brewing in Kittery in the semifinals.
Given that impressive run, Smuttynose head brewer Dan Schubert termed, with a grin, Smuttynose’s final win was, “definitively the best.”
The most meaningful win, however, may have come in the semis as the brewery topped Portsmouth Brewery and Smuttynose founders, Peter Egelston and Joanne Francis, by a vote of 1,430 to 1,301.
“It was definitely bittersweet because Peter is a great guy and I worked for him for 20 years and I have nothing but respect for him,” said Blanchard, who started working on the production line at Smuttynose back in its infancy when it was located on Heritage Ave. in Portsmouth.
“There was a lot of talk about how we wanted to approach that because it was almost like you were going up against your parents in the competition,” Leary added.” We definitely wanted to tip our hat and pay tribute to them as the original founders of Smuttynose.”
Smuttynose still innovating
It’s fair to say Schubert, Charlie Ireland, and the rest of Smuttynose’s talented brew team are not resting on their laurels. The brewery recently released Easy Kind, a citrus-forward 4.7ABV session IPA as a complement to the brewery’s core series and will release Fruit Freak, a low ABV raspberry wheat ale, this week. A brewer’s choice series, which really lets Schubert, Ireland and Co. get creative, is ongoing and features a wide array of styles that are only available at the brewery’s tasting room and restaurant.
With the weather warming, it looks like another busy season off Towle Farm Road. The patio outside the restaurant at Smuttynose has been expanded and the brewery will once again have live music Thursday through Sunday highlighted by popular acts like The Chris Fitz Band (blues), Redemption (reggae) and The Conniption Fits (’80s and '90s). Smuttynose is also looking to expand the use of its two-acre field behind the beer garden and has four festivals already on tap for the summer.
Bob Albright covers the craft beer scene on the Seacoast forseacoastonline.com. Follow on Instagram @full_pours. Email Bob at ralbright33@comcast.net.
