Exeter’s Powder Keg Beer Festival returns

When the Powder Keg Beer & Chili Festival was first held in downtown Exeter in 2012, there were only a few other events like it in New Hampshire. Nine years later it continues to be one of the largest beer festivals in New England, bringing together dozens of local and regional breweries collectively pouring more than 200 different beers, ciders and hard seltzers to try in one spot. After a one-year hiatus in 2020, Powder Keg is back — the festival will return on Saturday, Oct. 2, along Exeter’s Swasey Parkway by the Squamscott River.

Of course this year’s festival is not without its modifications, perhaps the most notable being the absence of chili makers that usually accompany the breweries. Instead there will be a few local food trucks parked throughout the day, in addition to some specialty food vendors.

“We didn’t want to approach restaurants about donating large amounts of chili and staffing a booth, because we know how hard it’s been for the industry,” said Greg Bisson, director of the Exeter Parks & Recreation Department, which organizes the festival in collaboration with the town’s Chamber of Commerce, “but that also allowed us to spread out our beer vendors more. So, where we used to have four big-top tents with all of the breweries under them, we are now spreading them out on the perimeter of the whole entire park to allow people to have their own booth … and give them a couple of feet of open air away from others.”

Another change is the implementation of two ticketed sessions. Beer lovers can choose to attend and receive unlimited beer tastings either from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., or from 2 to 4 p.m.

An eclectic lineup of brews will be represented, Bisson said, from multiple styles of IPAs to sours, stouts and many seasonal releases. Festival organizers partner with the social network app Untappd to provide an online list of what you will encounter.

Beer purveyors will range from big names like Sam Adams to breweries right in Exeter or surrounding towns. In some cases they may showcase some harder-to-find offerings.

“The Exeter Brewing Co. will bring its Swasey Daze [New England IPA], which only drops in a few stores, so that’s a bit of a unique situation,” Bisson said. “We always get the variety of pumpkin beers, being in the fall … [and] we’ve been seeing a trend in hard seltzers as well.”

Truly Hard Seltzer, for instance, will be there pouring its lemon iced tea, tropical punch and strawberry lemonade. As an alternative to hard seltzer but without the carbonation, NOCA Beverages is a company founded by three University of New Hampshire graduates — they will be at the festival too, pouring multiple flavors of their spiked still water.

As it is Oktoberfest season, you can expect a fair share of Märzen-style lagers or festbiers, including those from Woodland Farms Brewery of Kittery, Maine, Long Blue Cat Brewing Co. of Londonderry, and Sawbelly Brewing Co. of Exeter, to name a few.

Cabot Creamery will be giving out cheese samples to pair with your beers, while options from the featured food trucks will include burgers from Lexie’s Burger Bus and sweets from Clyde’s Cupcakes, both of Exeter. Chubba Wubba’s Sweets & Refreshments, a Seabrook-based mobile kitchen converted from an old Manchester Transit Authority bus, will be serving ice cream and other treats, while Chubb’s Fries & Dough will provide fair food.

“I think there’s a lot to offer in Exeter … and we hope, with the short two-hour blocks, it offers people the opportunity to enjoy downtown,” Bisson said.

Powder Keg Beer Festival

When: Saturday, Oct. 2; two ticketed sessions are offered, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 2 to 4 p.m.
Where: Swasey Parkway, Exeter
Cost: General admission tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door ($10 in advance and $15 at the door for designated drivers). Attendees can also purchase a commemorative pint glass at the festival for $10.
Visit: powderkegbeerfest.com
Event is 21+ only. No children or pets are allowed. Free parking is located around the festival’s entrance off Water Street, as well as at the Main Street School (40 Main St.) and the Lincoln Street Elementary School (25 Lincoln St.).

Featured photo: Photo by Allie Burke Photography.

News from the local food scene

• May the best chili win: Join Goffstown Ace Hardware (5 Depot St.) for its annual Great Bowls of Fire Chili Cook-off,set for Saturday, Oct. 2. Chili entrants are welcome to bring a slow cooker of their best batches by 10:30 a.m., with sampling beginning at 11 a.m. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place winners for each chili at 1 p.m., as voted by all attendees. Pat Barss of Goffstown Ace Hardware told the Hippo that all chili varieties have been known to be featured at the cook-off, from beef and venison to white chilis and vegan chilis. No cost is required to enter your chili or attend as a taster. Find the event on Goffstown Ace Hardware’s Facebook page @goffstownhardware for more details.

• A taste of Germany: Head to Mile Away Restaurant (52 Federal Hill Road, Milford) for an Oktoberfest celebration on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. The event will feature dinner plates available for $17 per person, with options like sauerbraten (German pot roast), schweineschnitzel (pork schnitzel), hunter’s stew or spicy beef and sausage chili with cheddar cheese, along with two sides (German potato salad, sea salt chips and sauerkraut, braised red cabbage, pickled beets or applesauce). There will also be a dessert and pretzel station with additional a la carte items, like pumpkin pie, Black Forest cake, flourless chocolate cake and more. Live music will be featured from the TubaFrau Hofbräu Band, a Waltham, Mass.-based German oompah band. There is a $20 parking fee per car. The event is cash only and first-come, first-served. Visit mileawayrestaurantnh.com. For more details on Oktoberfest celebrations and a full list of upcoming events happening in New Hampshire, check out our cover story in the Sept. 23 issue of the Hippo, which begins on page 18.

• Flavors of fall: Tuscan Market (9 Via Toscana, Salem) will hold its Toscana Fest, an annual Italian street festival and fundraiser, on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to multiple flavors of gelato and other options from local food vendors, this year’s Toscana Fest will feature a variety of family-friendly activities like face painting, pumpkin painting, carnival games and a bounce house, plus crafts, live music and more. Admission is free and foods are priced per item. Proceeds from the event benefit Lazarus House Ministries in Lawrence, Mass., a nonprofit that helps people in need by providing transitional housing and educational and work preparation programs. Visit tuscanbrands.com.

• From vines to wines: LaBelle Winery (345 Route 101, Amherst) is hosting the fourth and final session of its Walks in the Vineyard series on Sunday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m. Vineyard manager Josh Boisvert and wine educator Marie King will lead participants on an educational walk throughout LaBelle’s Amherst vineyard, focused on the vines’ overall life cycles. You’ll also have the opportunity to taste four different types of wines throughout the session. No previous knowledge of wine or attendance of previous vineyard walks is required. Admission is $27.25 per person and includes tax. Visit labellewinery.com.