Hats off to r.f.d.b contributor and fellow New Englander John Jepson for steering me onto a slight detour from my Portland, Maine expedition Friday. John suggested a lunch stop at Martha's Exchange Restaurant and Brewery in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he works part time assisting with the brewing. As it turns out, Martha's was one of the highlights of my trip. Each beer was not only extremely flavorful and well crafted, but the attention to style taken by John and head brewer Brett Marcy, formerly of Great Lakes, was clearly evident in every sip. Both John and Brett took time from their busy schedule not only to treat me to a round of wonderful beers and a brewery tour, but also to sit and discuss their beer and beer in general.

When a glass of the weizenbock was placed before me, I was a bit surprised by the relatively pale color of the brew. Upon sipping the beer, however, I was astonished at how first it was. Were it not for the pale color, I would have been hard pressed not to believe I was drinking a glass of Aventinus (and I can't think of higher praise for a weizenbock than that.) A bit more malty than a traditional weizen, loaded with clove and banana notes, and a yeasty, rich and alcohol-warming finish. This beer alone was worth the drive to Nashua.

In sum, I feel Martha's ranks among New England's top echelon of brewpubs. A visit to New England would not be complete without a stop at Martha's Exchange in Nashua.  

Update 11/8/97: I had the pleasure of meeting up once again with John Jepson and Brett Marcy of Martha's Exchange Restaurant and Brewery a week ago yesterday. This time they came to my area, and we enjoyed lunch at Trinity Brewpub followed by a great time at Emerald Isle Brew Works. John and Brett were thoughtful enough to bring samplers of their latest beers (A brewpub that delivers. What's better than that?), and we enjoyed them that night and were provided with samples for later analysis. Somewhere along the line that night, however, I suffered an insect bite that quickly became infected and within a day and a half had me very sick and with a horribly bloated hand. I'm finally recovering, and have a chance to offer my opinions on three great beers from Martha's.

The next beer, a weizenbock, I had already had the pleasure of sampling at Martha's. This is an incredible beer of 18.8 Plato and 7.5% ABV. Served unfiltered as a weizenbock should be and brewed with a 50% wheat malt mash, you know from the first clove and banana packed whiff of the stuff that you are in for a real treat. Dark brown in color, rich and yeasty, with a slightly sweet and warm finish. This beer was so similar to Aventinus it was uncanny.  



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