Loaded Question Brewery

I had the absolute pleasure of checking out Brewery | Loaded Question Brewing | Portsmouth on a recent trip to NH. This brewery is housed in an old button factory, and the entrance isn’t the easiest to find.

Loaded Question Brewery makes you work a little for their delicious brews! Now, you may be a bit apprehensive about continuing, after entering through their front door. I know, I thought, wait, what am I walking into? Am I walking towards my death?

However, after a short walk through a bomb shelter-like hall to the brewery’s door, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the warm atmosphere found inside. My group was happily greeted by Jeffery, the bartender, upon our arrival.

The L-shaped bar and surrounding seating areas make for a comfortable, cozy living room feeling. The complete opposite of the hall’s vibe on your way in. The owners say they know the people who bravely continue down the hall are true beer enthusiasts.

Loaded Question Brewing has been open since April 2018 and is often called the hidden gem of Portsmouth. After spending some time there, I can certainly see why. The beer selection is quite diverse; out of their eight taps, there are six different beer styles to choose from, which I love!

The brewery and Co-founder of LQ, Tom Bath, says, “Every beer has its time and its place”. With that in mind, they brew many styles of beer, not favoriting any throughout the year.

Sparkletoes

One of the main reasons we picked Loaded Question Brewery as our stop was the fun beer names. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I love a fun beer name. When you see a brewery with a beer named Sparkletoes, I feel like it’s a mandatory try! Sparkletoes, by the way, got its name from the brewer’s daughter, who, the day before the beer was brewed, had asked if he’d like to have sparkle nail polish toes, AKA Sparkletoes like hers. Other fantastic names include Duck, Duck Juice, The Orange Peel Incident, and Bubble Wrap. The silly names bring with them a sense of warmth and joy.

One of the many great things about Loaded Question Brewery is that they offer short pours. I started out with Shimmer, a modern pale ale, coming in at 5.8% ABV. The Pale Ale and I don’t have a great history together. More often than not, I find myself not thoroughly enjoying them. This time, however, I enjoyed Shimmer so much that I bought a 4 pack to take home. One of my travel companions did as well! We were sold on its delicious light crispness, a perfect beer to quench your thirst. Shimmer has a delightful fruity citrus flavor profile, which makes it completely crushable.

The next beer up was Bubblewrap! Bubblewrap is a fruited sour coming in at 5.0% ABV. My version was a blood orange/cranberry, but I hear there are lime coconut and passion fruit orange guava versions of Bubblewrap as well! Bubblewrap had a smooth drinkability for a sour. Overall, I would have liked a touch more tartness but not a bad little beer with a nice cranberry push on the backend.

Shooting Star Saison was my next choice; it has an ABV of 5.8%. It was a bit malty with some spice (maybe clove) and had a smooth, fruity finish. It wasn’t my favorite of the day, but I wasn’t upset drinking it either.

The last beer of the day was The Tartan, an English Porter with an ABV of 6.0%. Tartan had a roasty chocolate nose, which immediately made me think I had chosen well! Dark and delicious, with some caramel and coffee notes mixed into the chocolate, with a smooth mouthfeel. It is a fantastic cooler-weather beverage.

Beer Bunnies

Loaded Question Brewery has a cute, simple outdoor beer garden area for warmer days where your furry four-legged friends are always welcome. Be warned, though, there may be some beer garden bunnies out and about! The brewery pays homage to these local residents with a bunny-shaped cheddar cracker snack you can order to munch on with your beer. Outdoor food is permitted, as LQ likes to say their concentration is on making great beer!

A Little Bit Extra

Tom Bath, the brewmaster at Loaded Question, is a nuclear engineer. Yep, you read that right: beer is science. And since science does involve trial and error, ask the bartender about how their Orange Peel Incident Belgian Pale Ale got its name!