Three Little Pigs – Rockingham Brewing Co.
Just prior to New Hampshire’s beautiful fall leave colors and those traveling to ‘peep’ at them, beer enthusiasts are drawn to more full tasting brews. Flavors like pumpkin ales and hard apple ciders and, of course, Octoberfest-style beers. But there are beer styles that also go with this season that are a little less known… like doubles and tripel ales that have that extra flavor, sweetness or punch that we might not be expecting. So, today we look at one of these styles from our friends at Rockingham.
Rockingham Brewing Company is a new 7 barrel nano brewery with one aim in mind: to brew the best beer they know how to keep their customers coming back for more. As a self-distributed brew company they know where they are headed and have definite plans of succeeding. Just barely open a couple of months, Rockingham has already carved a niche with several of its favored offerings, most notably, Belly of the Beast Bacon-Flavored Stout. This will be reviewed in a coming article. But they have at least 4 other notable flavors to savor in 22 oz bottles; Rockingham Ale, Javelina IPA, and Curly’s Gold. Located in Derry, NH, their tap room is open almost every day and is definitely worth a trip to talk to these delightful people.
You can find out more about their offerings on www.Facebook.com/Rockingham or at their website https://rockinghambrewing.com/
Three Little Pigs is a roller coaster ride of flavor. Pouring this beer for the first time into a standard pint glass gave a generous white and frothy head which stayed for quite some time. This is a malt-forward and slightly sweet Belgian Tripel. The term gold certainly refers to its somewhat hazy cast of golden yellow. With your nose into the pint, you are greeted with bready notes, fruit, remnants of spice and earthy tones. The smoothness of taste of this one will get you excited, thus the roller coaster begins…
You can be drawn into this beer as it keeps your attention. Of the many tripel brews I’ve sampled, this one rises right near the top! At 9.2% ABV, Three Little Pigs might be a one beer evening, but for sure, Rockingham has scored high with this offering.
Find them at Case-n-Keg in Meredith and Laconia as well as other fine beer providers. BeerAdvocate.com samplers scored Three Little Pigs between 3.9 and 4.8 out of a score of 5. This reviewer gives it a 9.5 out of 10… and remember, this is a seasonal so grab one fast!
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
