Meet the Brewer- Polyculture Brewing Company
For our latest profile, meet Chris Prost. Chris is the co-owner and brewer at Polyculture Brewing Company in Croydon.
With more than 70 craft breweries spread across the state (and new ones opening seemingly every week), it’s no secret that New Hampshire is home to some great beer. To help you get to know some of the Granite State’s favorite sudsy spots, we’re continuing a series of “Meet the Brewer” profiles to introduce you to our top-notch New Hampshire breweries and the men and women behind them.
For our latest profile, meet Chris Prost. Chris is the co-owner and brewer at Polyculture Brewing Company in Croydon. Polyculture is not your average brewery, and they pride themselves on their eco-friendly brewing process. Read on to learn all about how the five-year-old brewery uses solar power and local ingredients to create their delicious brews.
About the Brewer:
New Hampshire Magazine: What is your title at the brewery?
Chris Prost: I’m the co-owner and brewer.
NHM: How did you get into the brewing business?
CP: I was in the Navy, and our Captain decided we should brew a beer for an Oktoberfest event. He told a few of us to go get everything we needed to make a beer and have it ready in a few weeks. That first beer didn’t turn out very well, but it lit a spark and it became a hobby for me. After years of homebrewing and working in a brew shop, I decided to take a brewing course and with the goal of starting a small brewery.
NMH: Why did you choose to work in New Hampshire? What do you appreciate about the craft beer scene here?
CP: We moved to the area after living in the Seattle area for several years and noted a real lack of breweries in our region when we arrived. We wanted to bring a small, local brewery like those we loved in Washington to the Upper Valley. The New Hampshire craft beer scene seems to live outside a lot of the big trends in the industry and has a lot of customers who aren’t looking for the same thing everyone else is doing.
NHM: What style(s) of beer are you personally most fond of?
CP: I love west coast style IPAs and lagers, especially Pilsners. As the temperatures drop in the winter I enjoy stouts and porters.
NHM: What’s your personal favorite of the beers you make?
CP: “Great Grey”, our grisette, is my favorite. It’s a simple, refreshing, and low-alcohol farmhouse ale that really lets all the ingredients shine through. The style is Belgian/French and was supposedly enjoyed by workers like farmers and coal miners and it is great on a hot day.
NHM: What do you love about beer and brewing?
Chris Prost with his wife, and business partner, Michelle Oeser.
CP: I love the craft of constantly refining the brewing process to make the best beer you can. I also love how beer can help build community and give people a thing to connect over. Here at the beer garden we see birthday parties, reunions, family get-togethers as well as people meeting each other for the first time and making connections. The beer has allowed us to have a unique place for people to do that as many of those “third space” places are disappearing.
About Polyculture Brewing Company:
NHM: What’s your annual production size, in barrels?
CP: Our annual production size is around 30 barrels.
NHM: When did you open to the public?
CP: We started brewing in the spring of 2018, selling beer only at farmer’s markets through the summer. We opened our on-site tasting room and beer garden in the fall of 2018.
NHM: What sets you apart from other New Hampshire breweries? What’s unique about your style or mission?
CP: We’re not a typical brewery. We’re very small and family owned and focused on bringing great beer to our local area. We brew with solar power using a lot of local ingredients, our own well water and interesting yeast and we naturally condition almost all of our beers. Finally, we have a unique tasting room and seasonal beer garden that is very family friendly.
NHM: How many beers and what styles do you offer at any given time?
CP: We offer 4-6 beers at the beer garden, spread across a range of styles. Currently we have a fresh hop ale with hops from Cornish, an IPA, a classic porter brewed in collaboration with the New Hampshire Telephone Museum, an Autumn seasonal amber ale and a grisette.
NHM: What’s your most popular beer?
CP: Our seasonal beers are usually the most popular – we strive to create beers that are perfectly paired for each season and that really resonates with people as they enjoy them in the beer garden.
NHM: What’s next for your brewery? Any expansions/changes or upcoming milestones or events to note?
CP: Nothing concrete yet. After this beer garden season, we will be thinking about what will come next.
NHM: Where can your beer be purchased?
CP: Here at the brewery as well as a handful of local stores. The full list is on our website.
3 Camel Hump Road, Croydon
(603) 276-8367
