New Hampshire Craft Beer Week 2025: What to know

We’re all about beer here in New Hampshire. Celebrate the bubbly brew at these New Hampshire Craft Beer Week events. 

New Hampshire has 90 breweries producing 124,118 barrels of craft beer a year, a tradition that goes back to our days as a British colony. Several events are taking place in the state this spring and summer to celebrate our hoppy history and support local brewers who could be facing tough times with impending tariffs.

Here’s a guide to New Hampshire’s upcoming beer events. 

New Hampshire Craft Beer Week 2025

It all starts with New Hampshire Craft Beer Week, which takes place from April 3 to 12 and is organized by the New Hampshire Brewers Association, a non-profit organization that promotes the brewing industry throughout the state.

Craft breweries, home brewers, distributors, retail outlets, and beer lovers will participate in over 100 events, including tastings, special beer releases, tap takeovers, food pairings, live music, trivia, pet-friendly events, themed nights, art shows, and outdoor gatherings. The New Hampshire Brewers Association is still finalizing the list of events; for the most up-to-date information, visit their website, Facebook page, or Instagram.

The New Hampshire Brewers Association is sponsoring New Hampshire Craft Beer Week. (New Hampshire Brewers Association)

Pint Days

The week also includes Pint Days, when the association releases its annual limited-edition pint glass. This year’s design, brewed up by New Hampshire artist Shane Buzzell of Crafty Beard Design, is called “Social Creatures.” It tells the story of New Hampshire’s spirit, where nature, friendship, and craft beer come together in our cherished third spaces, like local breweries. It features dancing woodland creatures enjoying a beer outside in a New Hampshire mountain setting while a golden retriever looks on.

The cunning glasses are available at participating breweries like Dam Brewhouse (1323 Route 175, Campton), where you can grab a full pint and its glass for $10, and Henniker Brewing Company, where you can buy just the pint glass for $7 or $12 with a beer in it. A dollar from every sale at all locations supports the NH Brewers Association. Visit a participating brewery or taproom to grab your NH Pint Days glass while supplies last! Pricing and availability may vary by location.

This year’s Pint Days glass, called “Social Creatures,” was designed by New Hampshire artist, Shane Buzzell. (@HeyBrickKyle & Boelter)

NH Beer Trail Basecamp Festival

On April 7, in the middle of Beer Week, tickets go on sale for the NH Brewers Association’s 10th Anniversary NH Beer Trail Basecamp Festival, which takes place Saturday, June 28, 2025, at Tuckerman Brewing (66 Hobbs St., Conway). At the 2025 festival, 40 breweries will pour 100 types of craft beer in a beer-garden setting with live music, food trucks, and artisan tents. Tickets are $50 for general admission and $65 for VIP tickets.

The festival also marks the launch of The NH Beer Trail Guide Book, a $30 passport booklet with exclusive discounts and rewards at member breweries. For the most up-to-date information, visit their website, Facebook page, or Instagram.

The significance of this year’s celebration 

“This year’s celebration highlights breweries as essential community spaces, where people come together to connect, relax, and enjoy meaningful conversations over a well-crafted pint,” said CJ Haines, Executive Director of the NH Brewers Association.

“More than ever, we need places to gather, share stories, and unwind. New Hampshire breweries provide that welcoming third space where friendships are formed and strengthened. … Even as drinking habits and social trends evolve, breweries remain gathering spots that bring people together, support other local businesses, and foster a sense of belonging.”

Haines said this year it’s more important than ever to support state-crafted beers, pointing out that “rising ingredient and material costs, supply chain woes, and unpredictable tariffs continue to put pressure on local breweries. Despite these hardships, our brewers remain resilient, continually innovating and adapting to ensure their doors are open and their communities engaged.” 

Over 100 types of New Hampshire craft beer will be poured at NH Craft Beer Week. (Fabio Alves/Unsplash)

New Hampshire Bacon & Beer Festival 

Beer enthusiasts in the Granite State won’t want to miss the NH Bacon & Beer Festival, either. Happening on June 27, from 1:30-5 p.m. at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery (221 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack), the 2025 festival will benefit the High Hopes Foundation of NH. Tickets are $70.90 in advance and $85 at the door.

Guests can drink local brews, eat bacon dishes from North Country Smokehouse in Claremont, and enjoy live music from Nashua band The Slakas while raising money for an organization that provides life-enhancing equipment and assistance to the state’s chronically ill children.

New Hampshire’s brewing history 

All these celebrations stem from New Hampshire’s long history of brewing beer. In the 17th century, ale and beer were a big part of the daily diet in New Hampshire and the rest of the colonies. And it wasn’t just for grown-ups. Adults and children alike turned to the brew when drinking water could cause severe illness, according to the North American Brewers Association. In the early years of the colonies, most of the brewing was done at home and continued legally until home brewing became illegal.

By the 19th century, commercial breweries were popping up all over the country. The Frank Jones Brewing Company opened in Portsmouth in the 1860s, and 20 years later, it was the largest ale producer in the country. A century later, mega-beer manufacturer Anheuser-Busch chose Merrimack to open a plant along the Merrimack River.

However, homebrewing came to a halt when Prohibition began in 1920, making the practice illegal. It would take nearly another 60 years for President Jimmy Carter to make home and craft brewing legal once again, and the craft brewing boom began in earnest. In New Hampshire, its popularity continues to grow.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.