The Finer Brews In Life: Rapscallion

The folks at Rapscallion Brewery in Milford, N.H. pride themselves on being a local brewery -- not a domestic or microbrew house, but a brewery only for those lucky enough to live (or at least drink) in New England.

Their trademarked motto, which is proudly displayed on the Rapscallion Web site, reads, "Reducing our dependency on foreign ale one pint at a time." This is a very poignant quip that has an important environmental message embedded within it. This modest little beer represents a solution to the growing problem of "food miles" in this country. They don't sell to establishments outside of New England and it isn't their ambition to do so. It is important to the company that they stay eco-friendly without ruining the freshness and integrity of their product. Oh, and the beer is pretty good too.

The Rapscallion Honey Ale is a moderately sweet beer. From the tap it is usually poured into a large snifter glass, which I don't particularly enjoy. I would rather have a brew in a nice big pint glass. Luckily, if you frequent Café Four Twelve, that is exactly what you'll get. The appearance is a light brown with a small ivory head that dissipates quickly. This American Pale Ale has a pretty fantastic aroma. There are some butterscotch notes and it smells more like something from which you would get a sugar high. However, upon drinking it, you will notice the infusion of wildflower honey does not overpower it with sweetness. It is subtle and drinkable, the perfect light session beer.

What you are met with in this brew is a moderately full and flavorful beer that is unassuming. It won't make you go "wow," but in this case that's a good thing. It's almost a relaxing flavor, comparable to a sleepy-time tea. One could easily drink many of these without getting sick of them. They aren't going to weigh you down too much either. And most importantly, it's not as girly as it sounds. The hops and yeasty finish let you know you're drinking a beer.

If you enjoy this choice I suggest checking out the Premier, which is better but not produced currently in high volume. The brewery is trying to gradually bring old favorites back from the chopping block. After a couple of management changes in the past some great choices got cut. However, The Squealing Pig on Mission Hill in Boston still carries most of them and on Monday nights Rapscallion sponsors a Kung Fu movie night beginning at 10:00 p.m. So, after taking your special someone out on Saturday, guilt her into watching Kung Fu with you in Boston. You deserve it.