Brew Free or Die – NH Nano-Breweries are Springing Up All Over The State

By Eric Cioffi

My recent trip to Hampton and the Blue Lobster Brewing Co. was my first time at a Nano-brewery. What is a nano-brewery? Good question. I had do some research to find out. What I found was, thanks to a newly enacted beer friendly piece of legislation, small scale brewing operations are now allowed to brew and sell up to 2,000 barrels a year. These new nano-breweries are springing up all over New Hampshire.



These breweries are an increasingly popular segment of the craft brewing world and they’ve been growing in New Hampshire. Many of these breweries don’t brew more than one batch at a time. Nano-breweries are considered by many to be the natural evolution of the home brewer’s art. These small-batch entrepreneurs are all about producing and drinking craft beer locally - and they’re a vibrant addition to the “Granite State’s” regional economy. Under the old laws small brewers were limited to selling only one case of beer per person. While this amount may seem more than adequate, often customers traveled significant distances, especially during their vacations, and wanted to bring back local beer to share with friends and families. A case of quality beer does not last long, so many people wanted to take home several cases.

Fresh Delicious Beer!

New Hampshire is the only state in the nation to recognize and codify nano-breweries as separate from large-scale beverage manufacturers. In doing so, the state lowered certain Prohibition-era liquor limitations that make it hard for the little guys to get a license, open a tap room and get brewing. Under the new nano-brewery law, brewers cannot sell beer to wholesale distributors, and so must self-distribute or sell only on-premise. However, the one case limit no longer exists. For those seeking a tasty craft brew, the options are increasing. Other states in the Northeast, like Maine and Vermont, have laws that grant some exemptions to smaller breweries. These state laws do nothing to ease the federal licensing process—a requirement for all commercial brewers—but as demand for craft brews continues to grow, hopefully more small breweries will emerge and states will take further action to support their development.

A year and a half after the nano-brewery law went into effect, New Hampshire has seven nano-breweries, and a few more on the way. If you love good beer you have to be excited about this. Truly local artisans producing quality beer in small batches with the ability to experiment and try out new styles…wow I have some “research” to do.