The Selection of Beers at Lithermans is Anything but Limited

Shane Carley

Brewery Name: Lithermans Limited Brewing
Type of Brewery: Retail Brewery

Location: 126 Hall St b, Concord, NH 03301. The brewery is actually a little hard to find--it’s in an industrial park-sort of area, and you’ll have go through the main entrance and bang a quick right, then a quick left around the back of the building. They have a sign out front, so you’ll see it.

Website: http://www.lithermans.beer/
Facebook: Lithermans Limited Brewery
Twitter: @lithermans_ltd
Instagram: @lithermans_ltd

Background: As the New Hampshire brewery boom continues, Lithermans Limited is a relatively new addition to the state’s beer scene. Lithermans opened their doors a year ago this month, and just celebrated their first anniversary with a saison festival this past weekend. The brewery bottles and distributes only a half dozen of their beers, but they’ve made over 70 different offerings available at the brewery since they opened. I’ve tasted a few of the regular offerings before, but I don’t make it up to Concord very often. Since I was headed up their for an event anyway, I decided it was finally time to see what Lithermans Limited is all about.

Growlers: Yep. Lithermans offers a few different styles of growler for those who want to take away some of their non-bottled beers. ​

The Beers: Lithermans had a nice variety of styles on tap when I stopped in, including two IPAs, a double IPA, a stout, a saison, a sour, and even an imperial red. Much as I love IPAs, I love it even more when a brewery is comfortable (and confident) enough to brew a ton of different styles. Lithermans Limited executes them all with aplomb.

• Bow Wow Yippee Yo IPA - IPA - This beer pours a little darker than some of their others, but it’s surprisingly juicy all the same. There’s a tiny bit of malt backbone giving it a nice amount of balance and keeping it from being a total juice bomb. I liked this a lot.

 

• Little Miss Strange - Double IPA - Little Miss Strange is one of the few Lithermans beers I’ve had before, and it is pure peach juice. According to the brewers, the beer is hopped primarily with Mosaic and Azacca hops, with a little bit of Apollo. The Mosaic really shines here, and you’d never know the beer is as strong as it is. Pure juice.
  
  

• Simply Red - Imperial Red Ale - Hooooooo boy is this smooth for a beer that clocks in at a heavyweight-level 9.0% alcohol. You don’t see too many imperial reds floating around (much less one as a standard offering, as this is for Lithermans), but this is an outstanding one with a nice amount of juice to balance out the malt.
  
  
• Ground Control Coffee Stout - Coffee Stout - Honestly, this tasted like a pretty standard milk stout to me. There was a little bit of coffee flavor in there, but if I hadn’t known it was a coffee stout I’m not sure I’d have picked it out. A very solid dark beer, I’m just not sure it lives up to its billing.
  
  
• Tangled Up in Bruges - Saison - First off, love the name. Second, anyone who reads the blog knows that I’ve never been the biggest fan of saisons, so my opinion is maybe a little tainted here. But I’ll say this--for a beer that seems to have a fairly standard saison foundation, the juiciness that Lithermans injects into every one of their beers is particularly welcome here.
  
  
• I & IPA - IPA - I don’t feel right judging this particular beer because I caught the very end of the keg, which added a little extra resin and a lot of extra bitterness to the beer. There was an almost medicinal quality to it that I found a little off-putting, but again, I suspect if I had this beer fresh my experience would have been very different. I & IPA is a hazy IPA and a STRONG one--at 8.0% alcohol I’m surprised they aren’t calling this a double.
  
  

• Another ‘Lil Peach of My Heart - Sour Ale - This beer is VERY peachy (peach seems to be a favorite of Lithermans), but not very tart. My preference definitely lies with tart sours, but that doesn’t take anything away from this beer. It’s almost more of a fruit beer, with a ton of natural peach flavor pounding your palate with delicious juice. It’s a sour that non-sour drinkers will find very accessible. ​

Vibe: Love the taproom vibe. Lithermans perfectly encapsulates that “hole in the wall” feel that so many bars (and even breweries) swing for and miss. The taproom is small and intimate, with a high, open bartop that you can casually saunter up to and order your beers. There are tables and benches scattered throughout the space, and you probably won’t have any trouble finding a place to sit. The outside of the building isn’t particularly striking--there is a sign out front, but it almost feels like a speakeasy, which is cool.

Lithermans clearly loves their vinyl records: there are records and record sleeves on the walls all throughout the brewery, and even the stools have various records lacquered into them. I thought that was a pretty cool touch. They even have a handful of old classics on the walls, including Led Zeppelin IV and Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. As a collector of old Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin records, seeing them on the wall made me smile (PS. You guys want some old Jethro Tull records? Call me).

Both of Lithermans’ brewers were present in the taproom, and both were extremely friendly. There’s something I always appreciate about seeing brewers who are happy and excited to talk about their product and greet people as they come into their establishment. These are people who clearly love not just beer, but the business of owning and operating a brewery. That’s always awesome to see. ​

Dogs: Yep. I saw a handful of dogs wandering through the taproom while I was there, so you should be perfectly fine to bring your furry friend along.

Price ($ to $$$$$): $. I was shocked at how affordable Lithermans was. I tried all seven of the beers they had on tap and paid less than $2 for each 4oz sampler. Obviously bottles and growlers will set you back a little more, but if your goal is to pop in a try a few great beers, you’ll be able to do it without breaking the bank.

Food: Lithermans doesn’t have a kitchen, but they’ll offer snacks every now and then. When I came in I was immediately offered some of the free pizza and wings they had atop the bar, which was hugely welcome.

Final Thoughts: All in all, I really look forward to heading back to Lithermans Limited. Concord, NH is a bit out of the way for me, but if I lived in town I would be there every week to see what’s new on tap. As it stands, I’m looking for an excuse to head back up that way just so I can pop in again and see what’s new on tap. Lithermans Limited is definitely one of New Hampshire’s best young breweries, and with such great beers on tap and just a year under their belt, I really look forward to seeing what they do in the future.

-- Shane

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