Giving Some Well-Deserved Love to Henniker Brewing Company

Shane Carley

Brewery Name: Henniker Brewing Company
Type of Brewery: Retail Brewery

Location: 129 Centervale Rd, Henniker, NH (it’s a ways off the main road, but if you follow the signs once you exit the highway, you’ll get there no problem)

Website: http://www.hennikerbrewing.com/
Facebook: Henniker Brewing Company
Twitter: @hennikerbrewing
Instagram: @hennikerbrewingco

Growlers: Yep. In fact, when you walk into their tasting room, Henniker has rows upon rows of growlers from other breweries proudly on display. Got a growler from a brewery that they don’t have on display yet? They’ll gladly trade you one of theirs and spare you the cost of the deposit!

The Beers: I've had more than a few Henniker beers before, but I was excited to see what sort of special offerings they might have on tap. When we arrived, we were able to try:

• Miles & Miles - Dry-Hopped Pale Ale - Named in honor of local boy and national legend Alan Shepard, Miles & Miles is a dry-hopped pale ale that I am personally a HUGE fan of. I grabbed one off the shelf a while ago, and I was shocked at the flavor it packed. I haven’t fallen in love with a random buy quite like this one in a long while.
  
  
• Amber Apparition - Amber Ale - I chose this beer for review a little while ago. It’s a classic amber ale that does exactly what you want it to do. It’s a great representative of an underrepresented style.
  
  
• Hop Slinger - IPA - Really smooth for a 7% beer, this IPA has a whole lot of fruity, floral flavor that will smack you right in the face. If you’re a fan of beers on the citrusy side, this is definitely one to try.
  
  
• Working Man's Porter - Porter - This one surprised us. We all love a good porter, but it’s a style where it can be hard to really set yourself apart. This one though: excellent. Nice and roasty, with a full, heavy flavor.
  
  
• Gentleman Farmer (2016) - Saison - This is a saison from Henniker’s lesser-known “Off the Grid” series of beers. It was a good saison, but I’m probably the wrong person to judge it given my personal preferences. It seems to all of us that breweries looking to branch out are increasingly turning to saisons as their token “something different” beer, and it isn’t always the greatest success.
  
  
• D.H. IPA - Double IPA - This is a double IPA that has a gorgeous floral finish that really creeps up on you. I hadn’t had any Henniker beers aside from the main offerings here, so I was very curious to give this one a try. I have to say, I’m incredibly impressed. I hope this is something that Henniker starts pushing harder in the future, because I’d love to grab a four or six-pack of this.

Vibe: The vibe of this place is unique. It doesn’t have the cozy, intimate feel that places like Earth Eagle or Night Shift have, but that doesn’t take away from it. If anything, the word that comes to mind when describing the tasting room is “cavernous.” High ceilings, with shelves packed to the gills with growlers from other breweries. I thought that was a very cool touch, and we had a great time gazing up toward the rafters and trying to pick out growlers from breweries that we recognized.

The staff was awesome. We spent a solid hour talking to Patrick, one of Henniker’s sales representatives, about beers ranging from the ones Henniker has on offer to the ones we each want to get our hands on. He was a big part of the reason we’re all looking forward to coming back to Henniker at some point. We got to learn a little about the history of the brewery (and brewers), and learn about some of the exciting new things they’re doing with their beers.

I wish we had been able to come by when it was a little nicer outside, because it seems like a place where I could sit in the sun and throw back a few full tastings over the course of an hour or two. There is no shortage of space both inside and outside the brewery, and it seems like an ideal place to set up a couple cornhole boards and enjoy the summertime. The fact that Henniker is so close to my office means I just can’t wait to go back.

York's Thoughts: Probably the friendliest brewery I’'ever been to. It's at the end of a long sort-of-road and has a small tasting room to walk into, with a large warehouse style brewing section. We got treated phenomenally by the staff we spoke with, and they even sat with us during some of our tastings and chatted about some of the events and releases they had planned. The D.H. IPA was truly one of my top beers at any of the breweries we visited, and the Amber Apparition was as good as I remembered. Really wish I had local access to this place--definitely envy Shane on that one!

Pete's Thoughts: Really impressed by this place. The first beer I got to try from them was their amber, which was decent, but that style does not give a full impression of what a brewery can do. They do a wonderful job dry hopping with their D.H. IPA, and the Miles & Miles was a great hoppy pale. If you live near this place, you should be a regular. They are a wonderful, friendly brewery.

Dogs: We didn’t see any while we were there, but Henniker is pretty laid back. Since they don’t serve food, so my guess would be that dogs are fine.

Price ($ to $$$$$): $$

Food: No food here, but Henniker does host occasional events at the brewery, which food trucks often attend.

Final Thoughts: There’s a lot going on at Henniker, with classic beers (amber, porter) done right and more creative beers (double IPA, dry-hopped pale) executed with aplomb. It’s a little out of the way and the tasting room is a little cavernous, but those aren’t really complaints. I can’t wait to come back here (especially since it’s relatively close to where I work), especially to attend one of the brewery’s special events. The friendly staff alone make it well worth the trip, and I highly recommend that anyone in the area check it out immediately.

-- Shane

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