A celebration of strawberry crops and farming in New Hampshire more than 75 years strong, the Hollis Strawberry Festival is back, taking place on Sunday, June 25, on the Hollis Town Common. Traditionally held on the last Sunday in June, the festival attracts hundreds of people who will come together to enjoy homemade strawberry shortcakes featuring local strawberries, with added choices of local ice cream and hand-whipped cream. The event had a successful comeback year in 2022, the first festival to be held since the pandemic hit.
“It is hugely popular and people come from Mass. and southern New Hampshire. Strawberry lovers from all around come,” said Cathy Gast, publicity chairwoman of the Hollis Woman’s Club.
According to Gast, the festival began in 1946 as a fundraiser for the Town Band, which would perform its spring concert. The Woman’s Club, she said, joined in on the festivities in the ’60s to sell strawberries and strawberry desserts. Today the festival is a joint fundraiser for both the band and the Woman’s Club, which gives out three scholarships per year, two of which — each for $1,000 — are awarded to graduating seniors of Hollis-Brookline High School.
“Last year we grossed over $12,000, so that’s a lot of strawberry shortcakes,” Gast said.
The strawberries themselves, she said, come from local farms in town. Two days before the festival, community volunteers will pick up the berries and hull, wash and prepare them by slicing and putting them into bowls to be sugared. In total, there are 250 quarts of strawberries to go through. The ice cream is homemade and is from Dr. Davis Ice Cream in Pepperell, Mass.
On the day of the festival, the Woman’s Club organizes an assembly line to build shortcakes. People have the opportunity to build their shortcake with a combination of any of the ingredients.
“Everything is homemade — the ice cream, the shortcake, the whipping cream — and they give a really generous portion.” Gast said. “We have a row of people whipping through this whole process and our shortcake is a special secret recipe.”
The family-friendly event will also feature local craft vendors, face-painting, a live performance by the Hollis Town Band, and children’s games, including a Midwestern tradition known as “pocket lady,” in which a lady will be wearing an apron of pockets filled with toys and trinkets. In exchange for 25 cents kids can pull a toy out of one of the pockets at random.
Hollis Strawberry Festival When: Sunday, June 25, 2 to 4 p.m. Where: Hollis Town Common, Monument Square, Hollis (in the event of rain, the festival will be held inside Hollis-Brookline Middle School, at 25 Main St. in Hollis) Cost: Free admission and parking; all strawberry treats are priced per item Visit: holliswomansclub.org
Poetry Society of NH begins search for new poet laureate
The last four years for state Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary have been filled with readings, assorted projects, and making poetry as accessible for people as she could.
“It’s been a total joy to serve the state,” Peary said about her tenure. “I’m really happy with the initiatives I’ve started and that they are continuing. I feel like it’s been a whirlwind of all these activities and engagement, and I hope people have benefited from it.”
Her appointment will be over in March 2024. As of now, the submission gates are open for the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, as it begins the search for the next state poet laureate.
Melanie Chicoine, the president of PSNH, said that, while this will be her first time leading the search for a poet laureate, she was excited to be finding the new statewide voice for the artform.
Chicoine said the process for finding the next laureate will be a long one. Submissions are currently open online and will be until Tuesday, Aug. 1. She said that applicants could be nominated by a third party or self-nominated, so long as they meet the criteria the committee is looking at.
The guidelines are simple, Chicoine said. The writer must be a Granite State resident, must have published a full-length book of poetry (with a hardcover copy sent into PSNH) and must indicate what they plan to do with the position once they are appointed.
“That’s the really important part,” Chicoine said about the last requirement.
To her, a winning application will have something like what Peary has done through her international literary magazine Under the Madness, which relies on a teenage staff to sift through submissions and to edit and design. She also spent her time as laureate doing readings and workshops with poetry lovers of all ages and setting up a time to read poetry submissions on air with New Hampshire Public Radio.
Chicoine wants nominees to set goals in their submissions about making poetry available to study, read and create for as many members of the state as possible.
“Bringing poetry to people all over the state in different contexts that makes it something relatable is something important,” Chicoine said. “‘Make poetry more accessible,’ that’s my mantra. [The poet laureate] is representing poetry in the state; what is their plan for how to do that?”
Peary said that while the last four years have been exhilarating she’s also excited to have time to spend with her family and at her profession as well. Being a laureate is an unpaid appointment, and Peary said she would easily work 30 hours a week in addition to her teaching schedule.
While it has been demanding, Peary said it was equally rewarding, remembering a time she met an amateur poet whose work she had read during her poetry hour on NHPR. She said she remembered his poem clearly, and to see his excitement meeting her and expressing what he experienced was amazing.
“To basically do good like that for other writers, from anyone from a kid just starting, to someone older, or someone struggling with writer’s block, just helping out, that’s one of the purposes of life, to cause some good in the world,” Peary said. “I’ll miss that. I’ll miss giving people those bursts of pure joy and pleasure about writing.”
Submissions for New Hampshire Poet Laureate Detailed guidelines can be found at psnh.org/2024-laureate-nomination-guidelines. Submission deadline: Tuesday, Aug. 1
A look at the region’s entry int the craft beer canon
By Matt Ingersoll and Mya Blanchard
mingersoll@hippopress.com
On the tap list of just about every local craft brewery across the state is a New England IPA, the hazy, floral and citrusy brew that has taken the craft beer scene by storm in recent years.
“You can’t have a brewery these days, especially in this area, without having a very solid New England-style IPA,” said Aaron Share, co-founder and brewer at To Share Brewing Co. in Manchester. “I mean, our Gold Civic New England IPA probably makes up 40 percent of our sales. … We brew it about every three weeks.”
At Feathered Friend Brewing Co. in Concord, owner Tucker Jadczak estimates more than two-thirds of the beers they’ve put out since opening their doors in March 2022 have been New England IPAs. The brewery has a rotating roster of options available throughout the course of the year. Even currently, four out of their 12 taps, Jadczak said, are of that distinctly hazy variety.
In Londonderry, Pipe Dream Brewing keeps around 20 different IPA options in rotation, according to assistant brewer and can artist Curtis Dopson, several of which are New England-style.
Share said he views the New England IPA as a sort of gateway beer for many people.
Li’l Irie session IPA from Pipe Dream Brewing in Londonderry. Courtesy photo.
“I get this a lot, where people come into the brewery and they say, ‘Oh, I don’t like IPAs,’ and a lot of times what they’re thinking of is the IPAs from the ’90s or the 2000s, where there was this race to get the highest IBUs [International Bitterness Units], so the most bitterness you can get out of it,” Share said. “And then so I’ll say, ‘Well, try this instead,’ and I’ll hand them our Gold Civic, [which] has flavors of mango and tangerine and things like that. Then they’re kind of wowed because it’s not this bitter bomb. Instead, you’ve got these nice fruit flavors.”
Indeed, the New England IPA is a relatively new concept within the overall craft beer landscape. Here’s a look at how this juicy beer has come to dominate tasting rooms in New Hampshire and beyond, as well as how it differs in flavor, aroma and color from other popular IPA pourings.
What’s in a name?
The term “IPA” stands for India pale ale, although the style did not originate in India, but rather in England. According to Share, the story goes that, during the height of the British colonization of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th and 19th centuries, shipping merchants would brew strong, heavily hopped beers designed to survive the long voyages between England and what is now India. The pinecone-like hop plant, also known as humulus lupulus, has many varieties and is an essential ingredient in craft beers, especially IPAs.
“They realized that adding more hops to the beer actually preserves the beer, because there are some antimicrobial and antibacterial properties that the hops help,” Share said. “So, they started adding more hops to their beer to ship it to India, and that’s where the term IPA came from.”
The popularization of the style would eventually migrate to the United States, and it became prominent by the mid- to late 1990s and early 2000s, especially in California and the Pacific Northwest — the latter continues to be one of the largest hop-growing regions in the country, said Brian Parda, sales and marketing manager for Great North Aleworks in Manchester.
While the term “IPA” has been muddied over the years since, Parda said that today it generally refers to any type of hop-forward beer.
“[The hops] are kind of the main feature of the beer, the star of the show, in an IPA. Every IPA that we make has more than one variety. It’s usually a combination of varieties,” Parda said. “Then when you get into what is ‘hoppy,’ I think that means different things to different people. Hops can be anywhere from kind of spicy, earthy and grassy all the way to fruity. … New hops are being developed all the time from all kinds of breeding programs … to create new expressions.”
Ali Leleszi, who has owned Rockingham Brewing Co. in Derry with her husband, Rob, since February 2015, said that while all beers are made with hops, it is their flavor profiles that set them apart from other beers.
“There’s only like one big change for an IPA versus any other beer, and it’s the amount of hops you add and when,” Leleszi said.
Hops are grown all over the country and the world today, including even New Hampshire. Share said part of the fun of being a craft brewer involves experimenting and playing around with different hop varieties, not only for IPAs but for a wide array of other beer styles.
“The vendors that sell hops, their sales reps will come around and give you little sample packs of the hop so you can try them out,” he said. “What you can do is you can open the package up and kind of crush it in your fingers and you can smell it, and then get kind of an idea of what the aroma is going to be.”
Concord Craft Brewing Co. brews several IPA options, according to owner Dennis Molnar — they are perhaps best known for Safe Space, a New England IPA that is available in more than 500 stores and 300 restaurants and bars across New Hampshire.
Concord Craft also pours brews, like Conquered (a single New England IPA), Finding NEIPA and Safer Space (session IPAs, defined by their lower alcohol by volume), and Double Safe Space (a double IPA, popular over the last 15 years and characterized by its higher ABV).
“West Coast and other IPAs tend to be filtered or packaged without most of the hops and yeast,” Molnar said in an email. “It is actually quite challenging to brew and package a beer with haze that stays consistently suspended over time.”
Traditionally, and especially prior to the rise of the New England IPA, Parda said, the bitterness of added hops served as a balancing agent to the sweetness of a beer’s malt.
“A perfectly balanced beer has the best of both of those, where you’ll go, ‘Oh, wow, this is really smooth and really refreshing.’ All of that comes from the back and forth between the bitterness and the sweetness,” Parda said.
Not only the varieties of the hops themselves but the combinations of certain varieties, and even at what point they are added in the brewing process, aid in creating different flavor profiles of a beer. These, Share said, are all among the factors for how the New England IPA would eventually be created.
The haze craze
A New England IPA is commonly characterized by several factors — its hazy, opaque appearance, milky yellow or straw-like color, soft mouthfeel and juicy, fruity or citrus flavors.
“You get very strong, juicy aromas from the hops, and typical flavor notes include anything from sweet citrus to tropical fruit like pineapple, guava or mango,” Dopson said in an email. “[They have] little to no bitterness and little to no malt profile; all you taste is the hops.”
One of the earliest brews credited with popularizing this style is known as Heady Topper, an IPA produced by The Alchemist, a brewery that originally opened in Waterbury, Vermont, in 2003.
“What they revolutionized in the beer market is something that we call dry-hopping, or more specifically, adding hops at the peak of the fermentation of a beer,” Jadczak said.
Heavy Weight double IPA from Kettlehead Brewing Co. in Tilton. Courtesy photo.
Hops can be added in at various times of the brewing process, according to Scott Karlen, a former firefighter and the current head brewer at TaleSpinner Brewery in Nashua, but dry hopping is key to the creation of a New England IPA. The first step in making beer, Karlen said, is putting the wheat through a mill, and opening the shell of the grain, exposing the endosperm. The endosperm is then broken down into fermentable sugars by mixing the grain and hot water in a mash tun.
“The different temperatures in the mash create different sugar contents,” Karlen said. “If we go at a higher mash temperature, we create a sweet beer. At a lower mash temperature we create a drier beer.”
The mash is then circulated, rinsed, boiled, and spun during what’s called the whirlpooling process. Karlen prefers to do this at a cooler temperature, in order to extract more hop oils and for flavor and less bitterness. Once the mixture is cooled, it goes into a fermenter and yeast is added. It is at this point that hops would be added for the dry hopping method.
“We add them in at warmer temperatures, so about 68 degrees, where a lot of dry hopping back in the older days of brewing used to be at like 30 degrees,” Karlen said. “At warmer temperatures we found a thing called biotransformation occurs and the yeast and the hops start to interact, creating … those tropical fruit flavors. This is really to me [where] all that big hop flavor comes from in a New England IPA.”
Different hops known for imparting more of a fruity flavor, Share said, are also commonly used.
“A traditional hop for a New England-style IPA is one that’s called Citra. It’s kind of known for that. You see Citra hops and a lot of times it’s going to be in a New England-style IPA,” Share said. “Galaxy is another one. That’s an Australian hop that gives a distinct pineapple flavor.”
To Share Brewing Co.’s flagship beer, the Gold Civic New England IPA, is dry-hopped with Mosaic and Azacca hops, Share said, two other varieties known for imparting fruity notes.
While it’s named for its place of origin, a New England IPA does not necessarily need to be brewed in New England; in fact, its popularity has spread all over the country. As recently as 2018 the Brewers Association officially recognized the juicy or hazy IPA as its own separate beer style for the first time.
“You go to any brewery, almost anywhere in the country now, and they’re going to have at least one hazy IPA on,” Share said. “Back then, people expected clear beers, but now, the haze is what people look for. They want to see their hazy IPAs, and so it’s really evolved since then.”
Among the craft brew offerings at Great North Aleworks are a series of New England IPAs called Hazy Rotation — each features a distinct combination of hops.
“Every three months we release a new batch of Hazy Rotation with a new blend of hops,” Parda said. “It’s an opportunity for us to experiment with different hop blends and combinations.”
At Feathered Friend, Jadczak similarly features a rotating lineup of options, starting with Second Sun, its flagship IPA, before then introducing Let It Be and So Says I around the middle part of the year — Let It Be is a hazy New England IPA made with Cashmere and Citra hops, while So Says I utilizes Nelson Sauvin, a hop known for pulling a white wine-like flavor profile.
Because of the amount of hops that are often used and when they are added to the beer, Jadczak said New England IPAs are best enjoyed as fresh as possible.
“After a certain amount of time the flavors from the hops start to fall off of the beer,” he said. “You want to keep it stored cold, as well. That’s how you preserve the flavor of the beer.”
Where to enjoy New England IPAs
Here’s a list of craft breweries in southern New Hampshire that offer their own IPAs, with styles that run the gamut from New England to West Coast. Check out their tap lists for the most up-to-date details on the availability of each brew.
603 Brewery & Beer Hall 42 Main St., Londonderry, 404-6123, 603brewery.com Try this brew: Scenic Session, a New England IPA dry-hopped with Mosaic and Azacca hops
Able Ebenezer Brewing Co. 31 Columbia Circle, Merrimack, 844-223-2253, ableebenezer.com Try this brew: Glory Not the Prey, a hazy IPA dry-hopped exclusively with Citra hops
Backyard Brewery & Kitchen 1211 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-3545, backyardbrewerynh.com Try this brew: Full Send, a New England IPA and collaboration beer with the New England Mountain Bike Association
Blasty Bough Brewing Co. 3 Griffin Road, Epsom, 724-3636, blastybough.com Try this brew: Boonie-Cruiser, a juicy New England IPA dry-hopped with Centennial hops
Border Brewery & Barbecue 224 N. Broadway, Salem, 216-9134, borderbrewsupply.com Try this brew: Border Brewery’s New England IPA bears the juicy aromas of grapefruit and pineapple, and also features bright citrus notes
Candia Road Brewing Co. 840 Candia Road, Manchester, 935-8123, candiaroadbrewingco.com Try this brew: Tree Streets, a New England IPA featuring Ella and Belma hops
Canterbury Aleworks 305 Baptist Hill Road, Canterbury, 491-4539, canterburyaleworks.com Try this brew: Galaxius Maximus, a New England IPA featuring Galaxy hops
Concord Craft Brewing Co. 117 Storrs St., Concord, 856-7625, concordcraftbrewing.com Try this brew: Safe Space, a New England IPA with a full mouthfeel and bursting flavor of tropical fruit
The Czar’s Brewery 2 Center St., Exeter, 583-5539, theczarsbrewery.com Try this brew: Flabbergasted and Bewildered, two popular New England IPA options
Daydreaming Brewing Co. 1½ E. Broadway, Derry, 965-3454, daydreaming.beer Try this brew: Awareness, a New England IPA with passion fruit, orange and guava flavors
Feathered Friend Brewing Co. 231 S. Main St., Concord, 715-2347, featheredfriendbrewing.com Try this brew: Let It Be, a New England IPA featuring Cashmere and Citra hops
The Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille 40 Andover Road, New London, 526-6899, flyinggoose.com Try this brew: Rags to Riches, a hazy IPA brewed with Galaxy and Enigma hops
From the Barrel Brewing Co. 1 Corporate Park Drive, No. 16, Derry, 328-1896, drinkftb.com Try this brew: Back on the Train, a New England IPA with Citra and El Dorado hops
Great Blue Brewing Co. 84 N. Water St., Boscawen, find them on Facebook Try this brew: Fire Tail Finch, a New England Double IPA featuring a blend of Australian and New Zealand hops like Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin and Vic Secret
Great North Aleworks 1050 Holt Ave., No. 14, Manchester, 858-5789, greatnorthaleworks.com Try this brew: Hazy Rotation, a rotating series of New England IPA varieties featured throughout the year. Available right now is a New England IPA with a blend of Mandarina Bavaria and Simcoe hops.
Henniker Brewing Co. 129 Centervale Road, Henniker, 428-3579, hennikerbrewing.com Try this brew: Granite Trail, a piney New England IPA with a citrus-sweet aroma
Kelsen Brewing Co. 80 N. High St., No. 3, Derry, 965-3708, kelsenbrewing.com Try this brew: Battle Axe, Kelsen’s flagship beer, is an IPA featuring a variety of American and Australian hops that create notes of pineapple and citrus fruits
Kettlehead Brewing Co. 407 W. Main St., Tilton, 286-8100, kettleheadbrewing.com Try this brew: The Agent, Kettlehead’s flagship beer, is double dry-hopped and features orange and grapefruit flavors and a malty backbone
Liquid Therapy 14B Court St., Nashua, 402-9391, liquidtherapynh.com Try this brew: Light Therapy, a New England Double IPA with notes of cream, citrus and gentle oak tannins
Lithermans Limited Brewery 126B Hall St., Concord, 219-0784, lithermans.beer Try this brew: Misguided Angel, Lithermans’ flagship New England IPA, is brewed with Golden Promise, Oats, Vienna and Wheat malt, and double dry-hopped with Citra, Simcoe and Mosaic hops
The Loft Brewing Co. 241 Union Square, Milford, 672-2270, pastaloft.com/brewery Try this brew: Weekend Hangover, a New England IPA dry-hopped with Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo hops
Long Blue Cat Brewing Co. 298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 818-8068, longbluecat.com Try this brew: Latchkey is a New England IPA known as Long Blue Cat’s flagship beer, while other options include Big Blue, a New England-style Double IPA; and Hopical Island, a West Coast and New England-style hybrid IPA
Martha’s Exchange Restaurant & Brewery 185 Main St., Nashua, 883-8781, marthas-exchange.com Try this brew: Green Dragon, an IPA brewed with “monstrous amounts” of aromatic Citra hops
Millyard Brewery 25 E. Otterson St., Nashua, 722-0104, millyardbrewery.com Try this brew: Karaka, a hazy New England IPA featuring a mix of New Zealand hops and a juicy orange and fruit punch flavor
Mountain Base Brewery 553 Mast Road, Goffstown, 935-7132, mountainbasebrewery.com Try this brew: South Peak, a New England Double IPA, is Mountain Base’s flagship beer, featuring juicy grapefruit notes and lemon and honey flavors.
Northwoods Brewing Co. 1334 First New Hampshire Turnpike, Northwood, 942-6400, northwoodsbrewingcompany.com Try this brew: Preservation Line, an IPA brewed with Mosaic and Citra hops and featuring notes of mango and guava fruits
Odd Fellows Brewing Co. 124 Main St., Nashua, 521-8129, oddfellowsbrewery.com Try this brew: Vision, a citrusy, fruity New England IPA
Oddball Brewing Co. 6 Glass St., Suncook, 210-5654, oddballbrewingnh.com Try this brew: Ignition, a New England IPA double dry-hopped with Azacca and Idaho Gem hops and boasting juicy pineapple and mango flavors
Ogie Brewing 12 South St., Milford, 249-5513, find them on Facebook @ogiebrewing Try this brew: Good Blaster, Ogie Brewing’s newest hazy, citrusy IPA
Out.Haus Ales 442 1st New Hampshire Turnpike, Northwood, 942-6036, outhausales.com Try this brew: NúDIPA, a New England-style Double IPA with juicy mango flavors
Pipe Dream Brewing 49 Harvey Road, Londonderry, 404-0751, pipedreambrewingnh.com Try this brew: Straight Outta Quarantine, a New England IPA with a unique tropical hop blend
Rockingham Brewing Co. 1 Corporate Park Drive, No. 1, Derry, 216-2324, rockinghambrewing.com Try this brew: Hammer Time, an easy-drinking New England IPA heavily hopped with El Dorado, Citra and Cashmere hops, producing notes of candied orange, melon, tangerine and lemon lime
Sawbelly Brewing 156 Epping Road, Exeter, 583-5080, sawbelly.com Try this brew: Eastbound Galaxy, a New England IPA featuring Citra and Galaxy hops
Spyglass Brewing Co. 306 Innovative Way, Nashua, 546-2965, spyglassbrewing.com Try this brew: Binary Stars, a New England IPA featuring Citra and Galaxy hops
TaleSpinner Brewing Co. 57 Factory St., Suite B, Nashua, 318-3221, ramblingtale.com Try this brew: Coosane, a New England IPA featuring Citra and Mosaic hops
To Share Brewing Co. 720 Union St., Manchester, 836-6947, tosharebrewing.com Try this brew: Gold Civic, a New England IPA featuring Mosaic and Azacca hops
Topwater Brewing 748 Calef Hwy., Barrington, 664-5444, topwaterbrewingco.com Try this brew: Simple Life, Topwater’s flagship beer, is a New England IPA featuring Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops
Twin Barns Brewing Co. 194 Daniel Webster Hwy., Meredith, 279-0876, twinbarnsbrewing.com Try this brew: Palmer’s Town, one of Twin Barns’ flagship New England IPAs, features a tropical and citrusy flavor, while the other, Lake Cruiser, is known for its piney character.
Vulgar Brewing Co. 378 Central St., Franklin, 333-1439, vbc.beer Try this brew: Mill City, a juicy New England IPA with tropical notes of papaya, pineapple and creamy peach and a citrus finish from a mix of Ekauanot, Mosaic and an experimental hop.
Find your IPA
Here’s a short glossary of IPA terms commonly found on the tap lists of local breweries, defined by owners and brewers themselves.
American IPA: The term “American IPA,” according to Aaron Share of To Share Brewing Co. in Manchester, is generally used as a catch-all for a wide range of hop-forward pale ales. “We have one on tap right now that we call an American IPA which is Not an Exit,” Share said. “We’ve made it with kind of a West Coast-style malt bill, but the hops that we use and the way that we use them are more of a New England-style.”
Black IPA: Rather than the straw-like golden color of its New England-style cousin, a black IPA is known for being very dark brown, almost black, in appearance. “A black IPA … would be an IPA made with some dark malts, so it’s almost got a darker appearance like a stout or a porter, but it’s still very hoppy,” Share said.
Brut IPA: This IPA is known for being very dry, with a mouthfeel almost like that of a Champagne, according to Tucker Jadczak of Feathered Friend Brewing Co. in Concord.
Cold IPA: Brian Parda, sales and marketing manager for Great North Aleworks in Manchester, said a cold IPA is a kind of IPA and lager hybrid that was born out of the Pacific Northwest. “The temperatures are a little cooler than [what is] typical of an IPA fermentation,” he said.
Double IPA: Also known as an Imperial IPA, this a stronger version of any kind of regular IPA with a typically higher alcohol by volume. “The term ‘imperial’ just denotes very high alcohol, [it] doesn’t matter what beer style,” Curtis Dopson, assistant brewer and can artist of Pipe Dream Brewing in Londonderry, said in an email.
English IPA: Unlike the hoppiness of its New England counterpart across the Atlantic, Jadczak said an English IPA tends to be more malt-forward.
Milkshake IPA: An offshoot of the New England IPA, the milkshake IPA adds lactose and occasionally fruit to give it a creamier flavor, Jadczak said.
New England IPA: It’s generally accepted that this style of IPA originated in Vermont in the early 2000s. Share said this brew is best characterized by its hazy, opaque appearance, milky yellow or straw-like color, soft mouthfeel and juicy, fruity or citrus flavors.
Session IPA: Like double or imperial, “session” is a term that can be applied to any style of IPA. “It just means they are lighter in alcohol,” Share said. “It’s sessionable, meaning you can drink multiple ones in a drinking session. That’s where that came from. … We do a New England-style session IPA every now and then.”
Triple IPA: A Triple IPA is characterized by a high ABV, even higher than what would be considered a Double IPA. “As a general rule of thumb, an IPA goes up to anywhere from 5 to, say, 7, 7-and-a-half [percent ABV] and then once you get over 7-and-a-half, you’re getting into the Double IPA range,” Share said. “You get over into like 9 or 10 percent, then it would be more like a Triple IPA.”
West Coast IPA: West Coast IPAs are typically more balanced between their malt and hop profiles. “They tend to be much, much less opaque, almost clear, with little to no haze in appearance,” Dopson said. “They typically last much longer before the hops diminish, due to when hops are added to the beer. You … get much softer and more floral aromas and a much more bitter flavor profile.”
Featured photo: Tree Streets New England IPA from Candia Road Brewing Co. in Manchester. Courtesy photo.
Gov. Chris Sununu and the Executive Council celebrated the 25th anniversary of New Hampshire’s Conservation and Heritage Number Plate program by proclaiming June 14 as “Moose Plate Day.” According to a press release, the Moose Plate program has raised over $30 million through plate sales, providing crucial support for conservation, heritage and preservation initiatives across the state. All funds generated from Moose Plate sales are directly allocated to designated programs in five state agencies. To learn more about the program, visit mooseplate.com.
Lobster industry
The United States Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of New England’s lobster industry, determining that the federal government had gone too far in imposing restrictive regulations, according to a press release. Gov. Chris Sununu expressed his satisfaction and support for the industry’s victory, stating, “I’m thrilled that the D.C. Circuit Court ruled in favor of New England’s lobstermen after New Hampshire supported their lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service. We were not going to sit and watch as the federal government choked the lobster industry to death with draconian and arbitrary regulation. New Hampshire backs its fishermen, and today’s victory helps keep them in business.”
Charitable funds
New Hampshire Group (NHG), the owner of four charitable gambling facilities in New Hampshire, has surpassed $3 million in charitable donations to 164 local nonprofit organizations in the first five months of 2023, according to a press release. The facilities operated by NHG, including Filotimo Casino & DraftKings Sportsbooks in Manchester and Dover, Wonder Casino in Keene, and Lebanon Poker Room & Casino, have played a pivotal role in generating these donations, the release said. NHG is owned and operated by Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E).
Help for Vets
Harbor Care’s Veterans FIRST program will host the second annual Summit to End Veteran Homelessness on June 28 at The Simon Center at New England College in Henniker. With a nearly 30 percent increase in veteran homelessness this year, the summit aims to bring together local, state and federal stakeholders to assess the current state of veteran homelessness, discuss available resources, address barriers to success, and explore efforts to combat veteran suicide. Participants include organizations like Easterseals Veterans Inc., Manchester VA, NH Housing Finance Authority, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Harbor Care, the largest nonprofit service provider for veterans in New Hampshire, seeks to replicate its success in ending veteran homelessness in greater Nashua statewide through their Veterans FIRST program.
Health data
Dartmouth Health, based in Lebanon, has launched a new initiative aimed at improving the collection of patient demographic and health-related information. According to a press release, the project, titled “We Ask Because We Care,” is part of Dartmouth Health’s commitment to providing the best possible care to its patients. In the first phase of the nine-month project, patients are being asked about their preferred language for discussing health care at the time of their appointment check-in. Patients also have the option to update this information through the myDH online patient portal. Interpreter services will be provided at no cost for patients who prefer discussing their health care in a language other than English. As the project progresses, additional questions and options regarding patient information, such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, will be incorporated, the release said. Patients are not obligated to share this information but doing so enables Dartmouth Health to better understand their needs and offer services and programs to their communities.
Air traffic staff
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has introduced legislation aimed at addressing air traffic controller staffing issues and increasing transparency in the hiring process. According to a press release, the legislation would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to collaborate with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) to establish staffing targets for air traffic controllers. These targets would be included in the annual Controller Workforce Plan, providing transparency and helping the FAA respond to workforce needs at airports across the country. The FAA has warned of potential delays this summer due to staffing shortages, and Sen. Shaheen’s bill aims to address this issue by improving hiring and training processes and providing accurate information to Congress about staffing needs.
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has begun nighttime road work on Route 125 from Pinkham Road in Lee to Century Pines Road in Barrington. Road work will take place from approximately 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Friday, until around Friday, Aug. 18, weather permitting. Alternating one-way traffic will be implemented. This project is part of a larger pavement resurfacing initiative on two sections of Route 125 in Lee, Barrington and Plaistow, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 29.
A group of individuals, described as neo-Nazi extremists, targeted attendees of a community story hour at Teatotaller Cafe in Concord on June 18, displaying hateful behavior while wearing masks to intimidate and threaten marginalized groups, according to a press release. Sen. Becky Whitley (D-Hopkinton), Assistant Democratic Leader, expressed her firm stance in a press release: “Let me be clear — hate and white supremacy has no place here in New Hampshire,” Whitley stated.
The NH Liquor Commission hosted a grand opening ceremony on Tuesday, June 20, for the newly constructed NH Liquor & Wine Outlet in Derry. The 8,000-square-foot outlet, at 19 Manchester Road, offers a selection of over 2,600 wines and spirits. This outlet is part of NHLC’s efforts to revamp and expand its network, with over 40 locations renovated, relocated or constructed since 2012, according to a press release.
This year the Northlands Music & Arts Festival’s two main stages offer established acts like The String Cheese Incident, Mike Gordon of Phish, Twiddle and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, along with a few interesting side projects.
One is Goose spinoff Oreolo; another is Super Sonic Shorties, an all-female supergroup with Nikki Glaspie and Kanika Moore (who perform separately with Nth Power and Doom Flamingo respectively), Katty Rodriguez and Marcie Chapa of Beyoncé, Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio), Ella Feingold (Silk Sonic) and Amy Bellamy (G. Love).
A campground stage kicking off Thursday night is sold out, but area fans can see two of the acts next month, as Funky Dawgz appear July 1 at Jimmy’s Jazz in Portsmouth, and Bella’s Bartok play Exeter’s Word Barn the same day.
One big piece of news surrounding the festival is Twiddle’s plans for a touring hiatus at the end of the year. The Vermont jam stalwarts will do two Friday night sets. On Saturday their singer and guitarist Mihali plays solo, with surprise guests.
Mihali spoke with The Hippo in a recent phone interview (edited for length).
What does it mean to you that 2023 will be the end of touring?
It’s just a break mainly for reflection, for me to do some other stuff musically. It doesn’t really feel too much different … maybe some people look at it as like a closing of the first chapter, but I’m looking forward to the future, and the future of Twiddle when we decide to come back as well.
How does your solo music differ from what you’ve done with Twiddle, and where do you see that going?
The instrumentation and the type of players are different. I’m a lot more focused on the song rather than the jam with this next project, which is something I’ve been passionate about over the last few years.
The Distance Makes the Heart Tour is named after a track from Twiddle’s last album. Does its name reflect the song’s emotions?
There wasn’t too much of a direct correlation … I think I just liked the fact that we had the song out and we’re going to be taking a little distance. I think for me it was a little bit of a metaphor. I think I speak for a lot of people in our organization that a bit of a break is necessary right now. All we’ve been doing is Twiddle for 20 years, and I think it’s only natural to want a break, and, you know, distance makes the heart grow fonder.
When you started Twiddle, did you have ambition or were you surprised by how it took off and became so big?
When you’re in it you don’t really realize that’s what’s happening. To me, it just felt like growth, and it just felt like it would always just continue to grow. It wasn’t like now we’re hitting our stride or we’re blowing up. It felt like a natural progression … honestly, I didn’t pay too much attention to how fast we were moving. It’s just all we knew…. So it just kind of just felt normal for us, I guess.
And then one day you and moe. were selling out Red Rocks.
Red Rocks was a huge goal I had set early on for myself as a performer. So getting there was really a blessing. It’s always a blessing to play that stage. I don’t think that’s anything I’ll ever take for granted.
What are some of the other things that stand out for you?
Looking back over 18 years as a band, I mean, there’s been so much, it’s hard to tell. All the Lockn’s were great and every amazing opportunity we’ve had has been a memory we will all hold forever. It’s hard to nail down a few because there’s been so many beautiful musical moments. It’s been quite a journey. I look forward to what the future brings too. We’ve got a lot more to offer people; it’s certainly not the end.
How did this decision happen? Were you all just sitting around saying, wow, I’m tired, it’s time to take a break?
It’s just the natural way of things. I think that it’s only natural to have change in your life. Change is good for growth, and reflection. I personally just felt that that was necessary.
One of my favorite moments on Every Last Leaf was the jam with John Popper. What was that experience like being in the studio?
John’s great. He’s a buddy of ours. We’ve done a few shows with him over the years. I’ve sat in with Blues Traveler and opened for them a couple of times as well. John’s an incredible musician and such a great presence to be around always, but that was all recorded during the pandemic, so everything was done remotely. We weren’t actually in the studio with him when he cut his parts.
Is there anything that didn’t happen, any bucket list items that are still in the bucket?
No, just new music and more shows, hopefully some growth, it’s all you can ever ask for. We’re really blessed with such a great fan base and such a beautiful community around us. So, you know, just continue to move forward, healthy and happy. That’s all I can really ask for.
Anything I haven’t asked about that you’d like fans to know?
No, just come join us. Have a great time. I’ve got a lot of great friends playing with me at Northlands. Make sure you check that set out. I got a lot of fun stuff to bring for you. We have a lot of good shows left this year. We hope everybody comes out and checks them out. We’re playing really well.
Northlands Music & Arts Festival When: Thursday, June 15, through Saturday, June 17 (camping pass required for Thursday music) Where: Cheshire Fairgrounds, 247 Monadnock Hwy., Swanzey Tickets: $25 to $299 at theticketing.co; lineup at northlandslive.com
The animal-y Transformers Maximals make their appearance in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts — collect them all, on sale now at a store near you!
Once upon a time, the gorillabot Optimus Primal (voice of Ron Perlman) became leader of a group of other animal bots who escaped a world about to be eaten by Unicron (voice of Colman Domingo), a Death Starry-looking being who is a little bit Sauron and a little bit Galactus. Though he is able to eat the world the Maximals are living on, Unicron can’t move on to other worlds because his helper Scourge (voice of Peter Dinklage) failed to find the energy key thing that will allow him to wormhole throughout the universe. Optimus Primal and crew took the key while escaping the planet, eventually landing on Earth.
In the present day — which is 1994 New York City — Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is just a guy struggling to help his single mom, Breanna (Luna Lauren Velez), and his sick younger brother Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez), who is being denied medical care for his sickle cell anemia because his family is behind on his bills. Noah loses out on a security job and decides to turn to a buddy offering him some non-violent criminal work. It’s supposed to be an in-and-out job stealing a Porsche from a parking garage. But the car in question turns out to be Mirage (voice of Pete Davidson), an Autobot. And Noah slides into the car just as Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) is calling all Autobots.
A troubling light beam — that only the Transformers can see — marks the location of a reawakened energy key and the possible calling of Scourge and Unicron.
The key was inadvertently reawakened by Elena (Dominique Fishback), an antiquities expert examining artifacts recently delivered to the museum where she works. She knows the hawk sculpture she’s been given isn’t Egyptian or Nubian as was claimed but she didn’t know the piece’s exterior was going to fall away and reveal a large glowstick crystal inside.
Thus do Autobots, Mirage and Noah and Elena all end up near the key, whose light has called Scourge and some other bad guys that are probably available as action figures and in multi-character sets. Eventually they all fight together to try to stop Scourge from taking the key. Noah thinks they should destroy it to prevent Unicron from eating Earth or any other world but Optimus Prime hopes to use it himself to help the Autobots go to their home world. The gang learns that there is another piece of the key they must find and a Maximal hawkbot called Airazor (voice of Michelle Yeoh) shows up to help them find it.
I was a little surprised to learn that Rise of the Beasts earned a PG-13 rating — it is perhaps the closest live-action analog to those many Transformer cartoons on Netflix that seem to transfix my kids despite seeming to me like a lot of exposition punctuated by very basic fight scenes. The “real” nature of the robots and people (and thus the “realness” of the violence they’re involved in) might put it out of reach for my younger elementary school kids but for interested tweens it’s probably fine. There’s no icky Michael Bay-ish male gaze stuff, and nothing jumps out at me as being super inappropriate for your average double-digit-age kid. Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback are both likable, capable people without having a whole lot of personality beyond that.
“This movie would be fine to take a nap to” is a thought I had while watching it, as was “the Transformer action figures this movie is advertising should be cheaper” (you can find some for $10-ish but $15 and up seems more common). This movie is benign enough that I don’t mind that I’m watching a two-hour-plus commercial for a Mirage action figure — particularly if they could price him at $9.99.
Perhaps the movie anticipated some parental grumpiness and thus to keep the elders amused it throws in a few 1990s hip-hop needle drops that have you thinking “aw, hey, that song” and then drifting off on nostalgia. So, if “benign OK-ness for much of the family” is what this movie was shooting for, it basically hits its mark. Maybe it climbs to a B- if your kids are old enough for this sort of thing and you’re just looking for tolerable family entertainment, a C+ for everybody else.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Steven Caple Jr. with a screenplay by Joby Harold and Darnell Matayer & Josh Peters and Erich Hoeber & Jon Hoeber, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is two hours and seven minutes long and distributed in theaters by Paramount Pictures.
