BREWERY SCENE
by Jeff Rogers
Recently, I’ve been remiss in my visits to breweries. But that doesn’t mean we have nothing to talk about. Indeed, we’ve got two very relevant topics:
- How tariffs will affect your beer
- NH’s Cask Ale Festival 2025
The Tariffs are coming
Yes, you read that right. The beer that you love, and can get freshly brewed just a few miles from your house, is made with ingredients that come from many different places much farther away. Some of those ingredients may not even be grown anywhere nearby. (While I do know a brewer in Manchester who grows hops in his yard, that’s not possible for everyone. And his yard only produces a tiny amount.)
Let’s face it: by far the most important local ingredient is the knowledge, skill, and creativity of the person, or team, who chose the ingredients, tasted many different recipes to find the best, who patiently mixed, heated, and brewed the ingredients, then let them mature for the right amount of time in the right vessels, all to produce the delicious flavor in the glass in front of you.
Most of those recipes were chosen by brewers to utilize ingredients that were available without too much difficulty. If one, or several, of those ingredients suddenly become very expensive or even completely unavailable, that presents challenges.
As an example, let’s consider malt. Keep in mind that there is a huge variety in malt (short for “malted grain”).
To start off, the malting process can begin with any single one, or a combination, of these grains: barley, wheat, spelt, rye, oats, and more. Then those grains are processed through multiple steps—steeping, germinating, kilning and sometimes roasting—with the goal of improving the brewed outcome. The main point here is that Malt “A” may be extremely different from Malt “B.”
Let’s say you’re a local brewer, and one of your popular beers uses this malt:
But then a tariff is imposed so that malt becomes much more expensive. What can you do? You can try a different malt supplier – there are several, such as Blue Ox Malthouse in Maine, or Soufflet Malt. You can talk to some friends in your business about where they get their malt.
Maybe you find another malt from a different supplier, and it looks like this:
(Those photos were both taken from the web site of The Country Malt Group, a vendor of many malt brands and other beer making supplies. The photos appear exactly as they do on that website.)
Based on these photos, and accompanying descriptions in the catalog, it’s very likely that those two malts will produce beers that don’t look much the same and don’t taste much the same either.
This is clearly an extreme and contrived example. Nevertheless, the point it makes is valid: swapping from one malt, whose price suddenly went up, to a different malt, is not simple, is not quick, and is not easy. Even if the new malt has a more similar appearance than in my contrived example above, there will still likely be differences that will affect the final product’s flavor.
Ask any baker what would happen if you swapped flours in a recipe. Could you expect the results to be the same? If not, could you adapt to the difference? What other changes might you have to make? And if you’re actually running a baking business, with loyal customers, how would your business be impacted by this kind of change? Would you lose customers because your rye bread tastes just a bit different from before? Or because the texture is a bit different?
Breweries face similar issues.
Mike Brown, owner and brewer at Republic Brewing in Manchester on Old Granite Street, tells me that, as of now, all their malt comes from Canada. He purchases it from a company in the U.S., but he knows that in turn they get all their raw materials from Canada.
John Wagner, owner and brewer at Spyglass Brewing in Nashua, tells me that they use a mix of malts, some from Canada and some from the U.S.
Then there’s the issue of canning. Beer cans are made from aluminum. Roughly half of all aluminum used in the U.S. is imported, and of that, 41% is from Canada, 9% is from China, 7% is from Mexico, followed by a long list of smaller suppliers: UAE, India, Bahrain, Columbia, South Korea, Germany, etc.
Jeff Ware, President of Resurgence Brewing Company in Buffalo, NY, said in a recent interview: “Most of the cans that we get, if not all the cans, are either coming from Canada, or the aluminum to make the cans is coming from Canada. So it’s going to hit us one way or another. And you know these tariffs are not going to be slipped by the can manufacturers. They’re going to come right to us, and then we’re going to have to decide: do we eat that margin, or do we pass it on to the consumer? Both not great things for our Brewery or for the local beer scene.”
Some Canadian brewers who used to buy finished empty cans from American companies have discovered that they can get cans direct from China, air shipped directly to Canada (so never touching U.S. soil), and actually at a lower price than they previously paid for cans from the U.S. So it’s a win for them, and for the Chinese can producer, but a loss for the American can producer.
Mike Brown of Republic says he has received multiple letters from virtually all his suppliers forecasting price increases of 25%, but not precise about amounts nor timing. He’s still working out the best way to adapt to these changes.
Personally, I plan to support my local brewers and be understanding of the changes they find themselves forced to make. However, I may be forced to purchase less beer than I would have before this onslaught of fluctuating tariffs.
Cask.On 2025 – NH’s Cask Ale Festival
What is Cask Ale?
Many say that cask-conditioned ale is draught beer at its best. But for others, it’s flat and lacks body, or is served too warm.
Cask ale is unfiltered ale that is transferred into casks, where it is carbonated, sealed and then undergoes a slight final fermentation in the cask. Often clarifying agents will be added to help the beer drop bright—when yeast cells naturally clump and settle at the bottom of a vessel.
The net result is a beer that has a much gentler level of carbonation, a rounder mouthfeel, and since it is unfiltered, usually shows a slightly more complex flavor and aromatic profile. It is often slightly cloudy, and is best served at cellar temperature (around 55°F). It’s considered “live” beer since it is unfiltered and has live yeast in the cask (which is how we get the final fermentation and carbonation).
Cask beer is delicate and highly perishable. Consequently, if it is poorly casked or handled, there can be disappointing results. Usual complaints are the beer is totally flat, muddy in appearance or served too warm. Unfortunately for some folks, that’s their only experience with cask beer, and that left them with a negative impression. Good cask ale should be neither flat, muddy or warm.
For a few years now southern NH has had an annual celebration of cask ale held at Cask & Vine in Derry at 1 1/2 East Broadway. It will be there again this year, on Sunday, March 23, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two sessions: 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets required. Reduced price tickets available for designated drivers.
From their description:
“Join us for the biggest Real Ale (cask) event in New Hampshire! We are once again rallying both hyper-local and regional breweries to put together a unique tasting experience! Last year we had the biggest attendance of brewers, guests and the most unique collection of casks do date.”
“A handful of special guests and brewers will be with us throughout the day to discuss Real Ale and craft beer. Our goal is to continue to raise awareness of cask beer, and grow this festival each year.
WHAT YOU GET
Your ticket will include a hearty bowl of chili and mac n cheese to provide you with a solid base for consumption. Your ticket also includes a collectors CASK.ON glass, which will serve as your ‘tasting glass’ for the duration.”
This year’s lineup still being decided, but last year’s lineup included:
- 603 Brewery
- Henniker Brewing Company
- Vulgar Brewing Company
- Post & Beam Brewing
- Twin Barns Brewing Co.
- Deciduous Brewing Compamny
- Out.Haus Ales
- Spyglass Brewing Company
- Kelsen Brewing Company
- Throwback Brewery
- Rockingham Brewing
- Schilling Beer Co.
- Backyard brewery & Kitchen
- Czar’s Brewing
- Some Brewing Company
- von Trapp Brewing
- River Styx Brewing
- Democracy Brewing
- Martha’s Exchange
- Daydreaming Brewing Company
- To Share Brewing Company
- Long Blue Cat Brewing Co
- BUNKER BREWING CO
- Woodland Farms Brewery
- WHYM Craft Brewery
This sounds like an adventuresome and unique tasting experience. And close to home, to boot! I hope to see you there!
Map to Cask & Vine:
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