Beara Irish Brewing Co.

Find a celebration of local community and great beer at Beara Irish Brewing Co. in Portsmouth

It’s been a journey for Michael Potorti and Beara Irish Brewing Co. At one point when the brewery was $1,000 shy of reaching one of its crowdfunding goals, a donor walked up to Portorti and handed him an envelope with the $1,000 he needed — a pretty good sign that both the Seacoast and the local beer-loving communities were definitely on board. The taproom opened in Portsmouth last November and Potorti’s been putting out a range of interesting beers — many with a goal of celebrating and supporting the community that helped him — ever since.

Beara Irish’s limited-run Maloney 260 Ale was a huge hit, says Potorti. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the beer benefited the Chief Michael Maloney Memorial Fund, with about $1,000 donated so far. Chief Maloney was killed in the line of duty in April of 2012 and the fund provides charitable services to Seacoast area first responders.

In addition to supporting charities, Potorti wants to do his part to help out farmers by using local ingredients. He uses Irish barley as the base and then tries to infuse them with local products whenever possible. The 2-State Berry Nectar Ale (a German wheat beer) uses berries from both NH and Maine and it’s a true labor of love. Potorti takes about 30 pounds of berries, throws them in a blender and makes his own purées. For the maple syrup lovers, try the NH Maple Wheat that’s “blessed with local maple syrup.” Eventually, he says, he’d love to try to do everything locally and perhaps even attempt to brew an all-local, organic beer. The idea is to give exposure to all involved with a partner section of his website where local farmers and sources will be listed.

Here are a few beers you might find on tap: LHOPrechaun (made with five different types of hops), as well as the Mill Town Mosaic Red (an Irish Red Ale), their flagship O’Sullivan Stout, the NH Maple Wheat, Survivor (a great summer Irish Pale Ale) and the Rye Craic IPA that has a nice bite. Next up was the 2-State and possibly one of the more interesting beers out there (he sold out of the first batch), Hog Wilde, so named for the BBQ ribs that sit in it for a while.

Taproom hours:
Saturday 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 1 p.m.-8 p.m.
Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m.
2800 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth
bearairishbrew.com