Great North Aleworks Open in Manchester

This new brewery and tasting room is now open in Manchester

An exciting part of the recent craft beer boom in the Merrimack Valley (click here for more), Great North Aleworks just opened off of East Industrial Drive in Manchester. This 20-barrel brewery, which currently offers three year-round beers plus seasonal offerings, was founded by Rob and Lisa North. Rob started out as a homebrewer and quickly found success, winning four Brewer of the Year awards at the New England Regional Homebrew Competition, a Silver medal at the 2013 National Homebrew Competition Finals and he won the 2010 Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest. After racking up those many accolades and awards, as Great North Aleworks’ Brian Parda says, “Rob thought maybe there’s something to this whole brewing thing.” While working as the first assistant brewer at Newburyport Brewing Company in Mass., he and Lisa began hatching plans for their own brewery.

At Great North, says Parda, the mission is to offer the highest quality beers possible that also will appeal to a wide range of craft beer lovers. “We’re brewing beers that are flavorful and also well balanced,” says Parda. Whether you’re looking for something a bit more aggressive, a bit easier drinking, dark or light, there’s likely something here for you. All year long, you’ll find these three options: the IPA (7 percent ABV), a West Coast-style India Pale Ale, with “luscious, glorious hoppiness;” the Robust Vanilla Porter (6.5 percent ABV) is brewed with a blend of roasted and toasted malts and tastes of dark chocolate and coffee with hints of Madagascar vanilla; and finally, the lower ABV (5.5 percent) Smokin’ Rauchbier, a smoked ale (with a slight taste of bacon) that’s a take on a classic Rauchbier (German for smoked beer).

Coming up for the fall is a cranberry Belgian wit that Parda says has a beautiful cloudy, rosy appearance and will be perfect for those Indian Summer days all the way through as a great complement for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

All beers are available in six-pack cans and will be widely distributed throughout NH. You can also pick up growlers at the tasting room. Tasting room hours are 3 p.m.-7 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. The brewery is located at 1050 Holt Ave., Unit 14, in Manchester.