About this special series: While we ask our readers to pick the best of the best each year in more than 100 Best of New Hampshire categories, there are many other worthy and outstanding favorites for each category, ranging from pizza and cupcakes to garden centers and home décor shops. New Hampshire Magazine wants to make sure these reader favorites get their own moment in the spotlight and we encourage you to check them out.
Thirsty for a local brew and hungry for some good grub? Here’s where our readers recommend as the Granite State’s best brewpubs.
This year’s Best of NH winner for best brewpub:
Woodstock Inn Brewery
135 Main St., North Woodstock
(603) 745-3951
Woodstock Inn Brewery is a Granite State vacation, eating and drinking staple, having opened their inn and restaurant 41 years ago and their brewery nearly three decades ago. With four (!) pubs (their Main Bar, patio-dining-specialized Dam Bar, English-pub-styled Brew Pub and cabin-core Tap Room) pouring 13 original beers from their new 30-barrel brewhouse, and acclaimed menu featuring everything from seafood and burgers to ribs and pizza, the Woodstock Inn is a New Hampshire institution. You can’t go wrong with their Pig’s Ear Brown Ale.
More great places to grab a brew and some grub:
The tasting room at Schilling Beer Co.
Schilling Beer Co.
18 Mill St., Littleton
(603) 444-4800
Housed in an 18th-century grist mill in Littleton, Schilling is a modern European-inspired small-batch brewery that’s received national (and even global) recognition. With a store and tasting room directly adjacent their brewery pub and kitchen, Schilling offers 16 beers on draught, artisan wood-fired pizzas (along with burgers, salads, soft pretzels and much more) and full table service. Their seating area has the warm, rusting vibe one desires in the North Country, and those wood-fired pizzas are no joke. Seriously, they’re delicious. Their beers focus on lagers, pilsners and European ales, so all you non-IPA drinkers can rejoice in Schilling’s easy-drinking brews.
603 Brewery and Beer Hall
42 Main St., Londonderry
(603) 404-6123
Started in 2012, 603 Brewery and Beer Hall earned its stripes early on in the Granite State’s craft beer revolution. Featuring a beer hall and patio, a seasonal “scratch” kitchen with Korean BBQ nachos, crispy chicken sandwiches, wings, salads and more, and a wide variety of brews (and craft seltzers!) populating 18 taps, 603 doesn’t mess around. Their 6,000-foot facility (which can seat over 100 people) is a prime-time brewpub for Granite Staters.
Backyard Brewery and Kitchen
1211 South Mammoth Rd., Manchester
(603) 623-3545
Backyard Brewery and Kitchen does a little of everything. From true-to-style European beers and fruited sours, to blueberry milkshake IPAs and Belgian dubbels, to white bean hummus, haddock chowder and chicken waffles, this Manchester brewpub truly spans the spectrum. With an indoor bar, restaurant seating, lounge area, outdoor deck, ground-level patio and outdoor deck, they also provide an abundance of seating. Give this Queen City brewery and restaurant the ol’ college try.
Rek-Lis Brewing Company
2085 Main St., Bethlehem
(603) 991-2357
Run by brewers Ian Dowling, an outdoorsman and former hotel manager, and Marlaina, a marathon runner and fitness instructor, Rek-Lis earns its name — reared by a duo with a passion for the extreme. Visit the small town of Bethlehem to experience this “hidden gem,” as it’s been called by many. Their beers span from lagers and pilsners to IPAs and pale ales, and they feature a full bar complete with house cocktails and wine. Rek-Lis hosts live music three days a week at their Pint House, and also offers Sunday brunch and an expansive menu including chili burgers and cheese dogs, tuna bowls and falafel platters, grilled salmon and chicken parm sandwiches and more.
The Flying Goose Brew Pub and Grille
40 Andover Rd., New London
(603) 526-6899
New Hampshire’s first solar-powered brewery, The Flying Goose is an undoubtedly unique spot. Using solar electric and hot water, and featuring 20 tap lines flowing with smoked beers, IPAs and their own hard cider, The Flying Goose is an NH staple first opened in 1993. It’s pretty rare to find a Granite State brewpub opened in the ’90s — nevermind a Granite State brewery from the ’90s still open today — and it seems that’s a testament to the Goose’s quality. With a spacious dining area and tasty menu of classic American fare, The Flying Goose is a Merrimack County favorite
Kettlehead Brewing Company’s Tilton taproom
Kettlehead Brewing Company
Locations in Tilton and Franklin
Looking for a variety of house-brewed beers and a full kitchen with two locations? Kettlehead Brewing is a fast-growing New Hampshire brewery that first opened up shop in Tilton in 2017, then popped up their second location in Franklin’s newly-renovated Stevens Mill in 2019. Their Tilton menu spans a solid variety, with sandwiches, wings, burgers, pizza and tacos, while their Franklin menu focuses on Mexican-inspired cuisine, offering Mexican street corn, a range of tacos and a few rice bowls. They keep a staggering 23 beers on tap in Tilton, and 12 in Franklin, many of which are New England IPAs, but also include sours, Kölschs and stouts.