granite state growler tours

This was well worth the trip! Our tour stopped at 5 breweries, and a few stops for a historical lesson about NH and its history with beer. The pretzels were REALLY good, timed just right on the trip for a snack between all the tastings. Something to remember - although there is no drinking on the bus, you can bring food along....We did the Firkin Tour on a Sunday, and all the brewers were happy to tell their story, answer questions about brewing, and selling the spirits in the end. Thanks to the team for showing us a great time - I will definitely be taking another tour really soon!

Just spent the afternoon on the Granite State Growler Tour.Picked up and dropped off at hotel (we were in Portsmouth).Very informative guide - giving insight into New England History (amusing and informative)Great stops at distilleries and breweries - meeting informed and passionate people talking about their craftTried a very varied selection of beers and rums (much more than I ever would if you had to buy full size versions)Each stop had something different to offerExcellent value for moneyAn fantastic day out - although not for kids (its a brewery tour)

If you are visiting NH and enjoy beer, this trip is a must! My husband and I took a weekend long beer-cation in Portsmouth for the second year in a row. Last year there were no tour buses so we went it alone. This year I discovered Granite State Growler Tours and decided to give it a try. For starters, they take you to breweries during hours when most of the public is not permitted to visit, so the result is a private tour. This is great, especially if you are a home brewer and enjoy talking one on one with the brewers to pick their brain. Granite State Growler Tours were so accommodating, they even picked us up at our hotel. We started the tour at a rum distillery, and ended at a craft brew liquor store. In between were tours and samples at some of New England's best up and coming breweries. The tour guide provided fun and charming history of beer in the Granite State. He handed out souvenirs to those who participated in trivia. We had about 45 minutes at each stop..plenty of time for the tours, tastings, and growler fills. The bus, "Greta the Growler Getta" was equipped with plenty of cooler space for all of the growlers the group acquired along the way. The tour guides provide color-coded stickers to identify your growlers from everyone else's so when you're intoxicated at the end, there are no brawls breaking out about who's beer is who's ;) Did I mention the pretzels!?! The company bakes pretzels with different local beers for the tour group and serve them at just the right time to soak up the suds. I cannot say enough about this tour! It is a fun, cost-effective way to discover the great beers of New Hampshire and make some friends along the way. Also, if you want a souvenir they have awesome hand-made steins from a local pottery company. No two are identical. Very cool!

My husband and I just got back from the Seacoast tour. We are actually on a Beer Lovers Weekend, where Granite State Growlers partnered with the Victoria Inn in Hampton. We went to Sea Hagg, an awesome rum distillery, Blue Lobster, Throwback, Earth Eagle Brewings and the new Smuttynose Brewery. Mark & Dave are awesome! We had so much fun, drank great beer, met new people and made new friends. Can't wait to do it again. And the pretzels were delich! So for anyone out there reading this who loves great beer and would like to have someone drive you from one awesome micro brewery to another GO ON A TOUR!

First off, this review is NOT about the regular NH Seacoast tours that these guys do on weekends. We haven't done one of those...yet. We've been meaning to, but when I heard that they were going to do a trip to Vermont, I was all "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!" Vermont is a state my husband and i have always wanted to see, plus a lot of the breweries there don't distribute to NH for some dumb reason. Having someone else do the driving was a VERY appealing idea. So, off we went. We went in fully knowing that they had never done such a long trip before and were winging it.We live in Manchester, and since the bus had to go through it to get to Vermont, they were happy to pick us up locally, at the Mall of NH, in our case. The bus, affectionately called "Greta the Growler Getta" was nice and comfortable, especially important for a long trip such as this one. The guide, Mark, is a serious history buff and told some interesting stories along the way. The driver is David, and he is super-nice, too. Good thing, because we had to spend over 12 hours with them for this trip! Another great feature is the homemade soft pretzels, with beer as an ingredient, that are offered as snacks. I believe they offer these on the Seacoast tours as well. THESE PRETZELS ARE THE YUM!The complaint that some might have about this trip - the bus CANNOT visit the Alchemist in order to get that elusive Heady Topper. Not the fault of the tour company or the brewery, it has something to do with the neighbors who abut the place; they don't like tour buses, not even small ones like Greta. Attempts were made to procure this beer elsewhere on the trip, but it didn't happen. However, we were given some cans of it at the end, that they had bought on a trip when they were researching this. That was really nice of them to do, let it not be said that we went to Vermont and did not return with Heady Topper! I would suggest that for future trips, they call ahead to different stores listed on the Alchemist's website to find one that actually has it in stock on the appointed day, as in calling from the bus on that day.. At least now we know when the Hungry Mountain Coop in Montpelier gets it in, and about when it sells out.But we DID get to visit some other great breweries, and we picked up a lot of beers that we can't get locally. I'm glad they didn't waste time going to places like Long Trail or Magic Hat; although they do make good beer, we can get those anywhere. For us, this trip was all about tasting and buying beers that we CAN'T get here. And that is what we got.They are hoping to do a Vermont trip once a month or so. Since the trip we were on had a few bugs in the system (but not many; other than the Heady Topper thing, there was figuring out where to do bathroom breaks), they will be fine-tuning things for the future to make it even better. But I would do this tour again, and in the meantime, I plan to sign us up for one of the regular Seacoast tours, sometime before the snow starts a-falling.If you love good beer, sign up for one of these tours, be it the Seacoast or Vermont or whatever else they decide to do. I promise that you will have a great time!

Just went on this tour with 5 of my girlfriends for a bachelorette party. It was an awesome time and the people who run it are amazing! We got to try about 20 different beers and some really great rum. The breweries were small and local which is what we all like and the beer was outstanding! The tour guide was super entertaining while he shared all the interesting history of beer and beer making in the area. The driver's wife made homemade soft pretzels for us to snack on during the tour and David (our driver) picked us up at our hotel and brought us back, making a pit stop for us to get some pizza. I HIGHLY recommend this tour to anyone looking for an afternoon of fun, learning and beer drinking. I know we are all planning on going back soon.

I attended this event with a good friend. I was very happy that I could leave the driving to the tour. The guys who run the tour are both excellent. Our tour guide was very entertaining giving us beer and local history. We were able to taste as much beer as we wanted and I brought home quite a few excellent beers. As an added bonus we also went to the sea hag rum distillery. I love rum and the owners of sea hag were available to talk with us as long as we wanted. I am definitely taking this tour again and if you're visiting hampton I highly recommend it.

Came to New Hampshire to visit family this summer & took the brewery tour,was pleasantly surprised! I have been to the Sam Adams Brewery & Red Hook- these smaller breweries had much better beer tastings than any I've ever had before. Mark, the tour guide shared interesting brewing facts about New Hampshire & kept everyone well entertained-- I even won a pint glass by asnwering trivia! These guys seems to have a great relationship with the breweries & know quite a bit about the area (both mentioned growing up here, locally). I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Portsmouth area!