March is Maple Month, the time of year when the first batches of sugary sweet sappy goodness flows from our summits to our seas in New Hampshire and into hundreds of sugar houses where it is handcrafted into 100% Pure New Hampshire Maple Syrup. As you may know, people celebrate this annual event by visiting sugar houses to get a first hand experience at the transitioning of sap to syrup and to taste and enjoy as much fresh syrup as possible. In fact, it is not uncommon for a rural sugarhouse in New Hampshire to have more than 2,000 visitors on a weekend day in March.
Until now, the seacoast region of New Hampshire has not created an opportunity for the communities to enjoy March Maple Month. This changes this year with “Maple Madness” here at Throwback Brewery, with local businesses bringing the sugar house experience to our farm here in North Hampton. ‘Maple Madness’ is a collaborative effort between us, Chris Olsen -owner of Syrup By The Sea in Portsmouth, and event coordinator Brent Beckett- owner of Brand One Strategies and Solutions. Olsen is one of the only larger scale producers of maple syrup in the greater seacoast area. He also serves on the NHMPA (New Hampshire Maple Producers Association) and is the New Hampshire representative to the rest of the world for the industry.
On Sunday, March 13, from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m our farm will become the setting for a sugary, frothy, hoppy, maple filled celebration of Maple Month. Included in the event will be maple based menu items from the our kitchen, our maple-kissed wheat porter on tap, live music performed by local favorites the George Brown Duo, and, of course, maple syrup for sampling and for sale. Olsen will have an evaporator at the event which will allow people to see the real-time process of sap being turned into syrup. This is a fun-for-the-entire family event that will also include activities for kids, including free tasting of the freshest syrup available. So come on out to our brewery and celebrate one of New Hampshire’s time-honored traditional and natural products that would have previously required a road trip north or west to experience. This particular Sunday will start a local tradition of celebrating beer and syrup!
