MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Taking up an entire multi-storied tan restaurant facility, BACKYARD BREWERY became reality during 2017. Featuring an exquisite plank wood-boarded 20-seat barroom, Garden Room, banquet space and upstairs pavilion, its interior is reminiscent of a traditional Old English Publick House.
Inside, there’s a cool pub atmosphere abuzz while outside local families – many with pet dogs – gather for dinner. There are ten house beers on draught to go along with the varied food menu (suppers, burgers, salads, munchies).
I had dinner and ten affable brews at the expansive, half-umbrellaed, picket fenced deck on a crowded Friday evening, September ’22.
Lightweight Bavarian draught, Punky Pilsner, let pilsner-malted wheat sugaring contrast herbal Noble hops as spritzy lemon tingles the throat and stylishly proper sulfuric skunking surfaces.
Easygoing cereal grained sourdough sweetness encountered mild floral-spiced lemon licks for moderate-bodied Lawnmower Helles Lager, leaving a nutty melanoid smidge.
A New England-styled pale ale, Baby Hook guided its IPA-like lemony orange zesting and phenol New Zealand-hopped green grape esters into delicate herbal astringency above its dry pale malt base.
Despite American pale wheat descriptive, Grace utilized Belgian witbier adjuncts such as Valencia orange, coriander and grains of paradise. Yet its banana-clove sweetness nearly upstages the brisk orange peel zesting.
A more blanched witbier, Spring Fever utilized minty lemongrass to perk up its dry lemony white grape tannins atop musty white wheat malts.
Combining classic saison yeast esters with dry-hopped IPA fruiting, Solstice Dry-hopped Saison sustained lemon limed cologne perfuming.
Tart pinkish purpled fruited sour, Bomb Pom, affixed blueberry pureed pomegranate souring to mild acidulated malts as sedate pink grapefruit, raspberry and crabapple illusions flutter.
My fave this eve, Surplus Imperial IPA, retained a mellow orange-peeled yellow grapefruit zesting, tangy pineapple-mango conflux and floral-daubed spicing above buttery oated wheat.
Sedate light-roast coffee bittering usurped excellent Dark Roast Baltic Porter, settling alongside dark chocolate-draped hazelnut and walnut conflux before picking up earthen truffle latency plus teasing dried fruiting.
Honduran cacao nibs and espresso encountered lemon wedged souring for pale-toned Light Roast White Stout, leaving caramel roasted vanilla daubs on the steadfast citric-dashed mocha finish.