Miles and Miles from Henniker Brewing Company
Beer of the week: Henniker Brewing’s Miles and Miles New Hampshire’s rich and diverse heritage includes many special people, places and things. Among them is the fact that Captain Alan Shepard came from the Granite State. He is famous for strolling on the moon during some of the 60’s and early 70’s lunar missions. As an avid golfer when not floating weightlessly, Shepard decided to bring a golf club and ball with him during one flight. He teed up and swung. Mission Control was following these antics and asked him how it went. He replied that the ball went for “miles and miles…” To commemorate these endeavors, Henniker Brewing has coined the phrase in a recently canned edition, Miles and Miles.
Henniker Brewing Company is located in the one-and-only Henniker, NH. Founded in 2011, HBC has captured the attention of craft beer lovers in the NH beer scene with their 15 barrel capacity. But they had bigger plans and today are a 30 barrel brew house. Chris Shea, head brewer, is a genius when it comes to making liquid gold. Henniker is now sold in NH, VT and Massachusetts and distributed in 12 oz cans, 22 oz bottles, growlers (half gallon bottles) and kegs for restaurants and taverns. Visit their website at www.hennikerbrewing.com
“Miles ” is yet another taste sensation from Henniker. A generous, creamy white head and moderate glass lacing last through most of your time spent here. Just a bit of haze and golden yellow in tone, this pale ale is rewarding most anytime you are thirsty. It is dry-hopped which adds to its citrusy brightness. In a pint glass, this 5.5% ABV and 45 IBU (bittering scale) brew offers you a nice combination of biscuit malt mixed with citrus, lemon zest, or pine notes. Mild sweetness strikes your taste initially with a nice dry finish. Medium mouthfeel introduces itself to the dry hop character as the enjoyment continues. Lasting impressions keep coming on strong to the bottom of the glass. One might walk away from this experience saying, “Was that an IPA or a pale ale?”
Many contributors on BeerAdvocate.com rate this between 3.90 to 4.50 out of a 5 rating scale. Over at RateBeer.com, you can get a little more sophisticated in your rating systems with separate ratings for Aroma, Appearance, Taste, Palate and Overall Impression. All I know is that it was a very pleasurable beverage.
Since Henniker plans on keeping Miles going year round, you’ll be able to find it at Case-n-Keg in Meredith and Laconia. Saying this beer is out of this world would just be too corny, but then again… it is!
Jim MacMillan is the owner of WonByOne Design of Meredith, NH, and is an avid imbiber of craft brews and a home brewer as well. Send him your recommendations and brew news to wickedbrews@weirs.com
