Sometimes it is hard to believe that we are nearing four years of selling beer! It is pretty crazy to us (how did the time go that fast??!!), but also very exciting at the same time. So as we head into our fourth year, we are also beginning the fourth year of our popular Unafraid of the Dark program. For those of you not familiar with this program, here’s how it works… Starting in early January, we will begin releasing a unique batch of dark beer every two weeks, until just about the end of March. Each beer features an ingredient that is either grown at a local farm, lovingly raised in a local garden, or made (or recycled 🙂 ) by a local business. We’ll have six in total, which we hope is enough to get you (and us) through the coldest months of the year.
We will be selling Unafraid of the Dark IV cards starting this Tuesday, November 25th through the end of the year (or until we sell out). We think we have a pretty killer lineup of beers this year. As usual, we will pre-announce four out of the six. They are:
- Oh SNAP! A ginger molasses porter made with ginger from Wake Robin Farm (Stratham, NH)
- Sweet Potato Pie Milk Stout – made with sweet potatoes from Brookford Farm (Centerbury, NH)
- Rum Vanilla Bean Irish Stout – made with vanilla beans used to make a rum at Flag Hill
- Mexican Chocolate Porter – made with peppers from White Gate Farm (Epping, NH)
- A Dark Berliner-Style Beer made with concord grapes (from our friends Mimi and Steve’s yard in Rye, NH)
- Blueberry Stout (with blueberries from Brea’s Farm in Stratham, NH)
We will be announcing the remaining two beers once we finish some testing. Also, before we release each beer, we will give you full details on where the ingredients came from, how we brewed the beer, and other key stats (ABV, IBU, etc.). What we can tell you now is that all the beers will be made with the freshest of local ingredients we can find, and will have just the right balance of flavor and drinkability.
For those of you thinking, “YUMMY! Sign me up!”, here is what you need to know. Starting the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week (4-6pm), we will start selling Unafraid of the Dark IV “beer cards”. We’ll sell two sizes – full subscription and half subscription. A full subscription is equivalent to a full growler (or two growlettes). The half subscription is one growlette. The benefit to getting a card is that you get a guaranteed fill of each of the six beers during the two weeks that the beer will be on tap. Just stop by the brewery with your growler(s) during growler hours or during the special Unafraid of the Dark growler fill hours (Wednesdays 4 to 6 and Saturday 12 to 1) and we’ll fill it up for you. Not only do you guarantee yourself some delicious dark beer, but you get a nice discount by getting the card in advance!
To order your card, stop by the brewery during growler hours. If you want us to take your credit card details over the phone and mail you the card, we can do that, but we will add 3 dollars to the price of the card to cover some of the extra fee we have to pay for manually entering in a card + postage. If that works for you, give us a call at (603) 379-2317. Have questions about the Unafraid of the Dark IV card? Hopefully the following FAQs will help…
How much do the cards cost and where can I buy one? We will start selling the cards at the brewery on November 25th. A full subscription card is $86 and the half subscription is $45. The full subscription is over a 12% discount compared to buying each beer individually. The half subscription is over a 6% discount. Please note that the cards do not include the cost of the growler or growlettes.
What is a growler and how big are they? A growler is a large. reusable bottle used to transport draft beer. Our full size growlers are 2 liters, which is about 68 ounces, or just slightly over 4 pints of beer. A half growler (growlette) is about about 2 pints (32 oz.). Since our growlers have flip top closures, unopened they will keep carbonated and tasty for at about a month. Once opened, the carbonation level will depend on how much of the beer you leave in the bottle. If you slowly drink a growler over a week or two, you might find the fourth and final pint to be not so carbonated, but we find the beer usually doesn’t stick around that long! 🙂
Is the cost of the growler included in the price of the card? Since so many of our customers already have a Throwback Brewery growler (or two!), we decided not to include them in the price of the card. If you would like to purchase one, a glass growler is $13, our stainless steel growler is $25, and a half growler (growlette) is $6.
What if I don’t think I will like one of the six beers, could I swap it for another one? If for some reason you don’t like a beer, you can swap out one of the beers for another beer we have on tap (that is the same price or less), as an even exchange. If you would like to swap for a more expensive beer, then you will just have to pay the difference.
I already know I am not going to be around / I will be out of the area for one of the beers, will you put it aside for me? If you know that you can’t pick up on of the beers during the 2 week period, please call us to let us know, and we will put it aside for you. When you come in, give us your empty growler / growlette, and we will give you the full one. If you don’t have an empty growler, we will charge you for the glass, too. Think of this as a deposit— if you know you don’t want to own an extra growler / growlette glass, let us know and we will give you your money back once you give us the cleaned glass back.
Can I get more than one growler fill of a specific Unafraid of the Dark beer? You are welcome to purchase additional fills if you really like one of the beers. That being said, these are small, limited release batches, which tend to run out pretty fast. So you can purchase additional fills until we run out and / or need to save the remaining for the cardholders that haven’t filled up yet.
Do I really need to bring my card in each time I get a fill? No. Last year we kept everyone’s card in a little box right here at the brewery. Some folks preferred to hang on to their own card. If you do prefer to hang on to it, you will need to bring it with you, as it helps both of us keep track of what beers you have filled, and what beers remain.
Can I buy the card as a gift for someone else? Yes! We think that is a wonderful idea! If you want to buy more than one for yourself, we won’t judge 🙂
It is April 2015, and I have x punches on the card I didn’t use, can I come in and fill up on other beers? In order for this program to be manageable for us, the cards are only valid through the end of March 2015. As noted above, if you can’t make it in, or you can’t send one of your friends / family in to get your beers filled during the allotted time period, then please give us a call and we will put the beer aside for you.
