STONEFACE BREWING, A HIDDEN GEM IN NEWINGTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE

By Andy Crouch
Tucked just outside Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Stoneface Brewing has quietly been making solid beers in an industrial building near the Piscataqua River. First opened in early 2014, the brewery continues to thrive, with its tap room usually full of eager drinkers. The owners prioritize sustainability, and their processes include carbon dioxide recapturing, shipping wastewater to a local center, and composting all possible waste.

The brewery’s tap room bursts with brightly colored murals displaying the brewing process (among other things), graffiti art, and industrial design features, including brewery pipes and sight glasses converted into light fixtures. The bar overlooks the production area, which also features brightly colored art, all of which helps brighten this otherwise typical brewery industrial space.

STONEFACE IPA alcohol by volume 7.2%
The brewery’s flagship beer, the Stoneface IPA pours with a bright off-orange and golden color, and small off-white head. The aroma bursts with big notes of grapefruit, orange zest, and hints of pine, complemented by soft floral undertones. Brewed with Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Columbus hops, the flavor blends everything together well, leaving grapefruit and orange as the dominant notes over bits of passion fruit and a lightly biscuity malt. The malt base is substantial, with equal parts biscuit and caramel working together before giving way to a grapefruit and citrusy explosion. Stoneface IPA drinks easy for an India Pale Ale weighing in above 7 percent alcohol. The beer is never hot nor harsh but well-balanced and all elements integrated into the finish.

FULL CLIP IPA alcohol by volume 6.5%
The New England-style India Pale Ale from Stoneface is full of juicy, fruit-forward flavors and features a blend of Citra, Idaho 7, and Simcoe hops. Poured well, the beer is a looker, showcasing a luminous, hazy golden-orange hue that glows when backlit. The foam is well-sustained and long-lasting, with substantial lacing. The aroma brims with notes of peach, pineapple, and light pine. The flavor is luscious, with a silky mouthfeel and a balance of citrusy and tropical flavors, including peach, pineapple, and pear. There is a light underlying bitterness that stops the beer from becoming cloying.

DOUBLE CLIP DOUBLE NEIPA alcohol by volume 7.8%
The brewers at Stoneface take the popular Full Clip NEIPA and amp it up further, resulting in Double Clip. Coming in at just under eight percent alcohol by volume, Double Clip is a sipper that tempts you to gulp. Pouring with a slightly murky off-orange and tan haze, a substantial dollop of off-white foam fills the crown. The aroma is big, filled with substantial dankness, with fresh hop notes over tropical fruit bits ranging from mango to papaya and a light spiciness. The malt contributes a light creamy hint on the nose. The flavor follows with a powerful punch of tropical fruitiness, including nectarine, mango, and papaya, over a substantial boozy quality. A higher than expected level of bitterness helps balance out the sweet tropical fruit notes. The malt base offers a grainy and almost biscuity counterbalance, all resulting in a lush and creamy mouthfeel.

PORTER alcohol by volume 5.5%
A real gem in Stoneface’s lineup, it’s always great to see a brewery put a full-flavored dark beer center in its lineup. The Porter style, which has its genesis in 18th Century London, has been subject to many pub debates over the years. While its popularity largely waned in its home country, enterprising American craft brewers, looking to differentiate their offerings from those of yellow American industrial lager producers, seized on the style and helped resurrect it. The Stoneface American Porter pours with a deep, dark off-black hue and a solid topper of off-brown foam. The aroma fills with roasted barley, chocolate, coffee, a touch of dark fruit and a little licorice. The flavor is clean, starting with roasted coffee notes over unsweetened chocolate and a dark fruit character. The roasted malt notes balance well with the bitterness, all in a medium body with layers of creaminess mixed in.

BERLINER WEISSE
WITH BLUEBERRY alcohol by volume 3.7%
Long an outlier in the beer world, Berliner Weiss is a style that had an unlikely rise when sour beer came into vogue about a decade ago. Along with kettle soured beers, Berliners define themselves by painting with tart, sour, and acidic strokes. Named for its home region, where the style has long been in retreat as locals increasingly drink industrial lagers and other non-beer beverages. Slightly hazy and luminous in appearance, with a pale straw color and a simple, quickly evaporating head, this still hard to find style delivers with its tart, sharp aroma and distinctly and pleasantly sour flavor. Berliner Weiss offers some similarities to the thirst-quenching qualities of lemonade, delivering a refreshing blend of tartness derived from a lactic acid bacteria addition. The style is also refreshing in its local alcohol levels, with most versions hovering around three percent alcohol by volume. Some brewers have adopted the Berlin tradition of offering a lightly sweet raspberry or woodruff syrup that dyes the beers either bright red or green and mellows their acidity, but this process often transforms the beer into a cloying novelty.

Stoneface’s Berliner Weisse is fruited with blueberries and pours with a dullish off-red and pink hue and a quickly dissipating off-white head. The beer is kettle soured and local blueberries are used in the process. The aroma fills with tartness, light sour notes, and blueberry sweetness. With a highly carbonated base beer, the flavor bites at the palate, cutting the tartness. A simple malt backbone balances out the blueberry flavor and sweetness, which avoids being cloying. The underlying acidity fights back, edging in any sweetness, over a fuller body than many versions of the style.

STONEFACE BREWING
Newington, NH
www.stonefacebrewing.com
Stoneface Brewing Company beers are available from Atlantic Beverage Distributors