Kate the Great Day – Portsmouth Brewery New Hampshire

In this episode we travel to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to join a crowd of fellow beer enthusiasts at the Portsmouth Brewery for Kate the Great Day.   Amy chats with brewmaster Tod Mott about the mysteries of Kate, and talks to many of her fans from around the country.  (Yes, this is supposed to be our Thursday post, we got excited and posted it early!)

Brewmaster Tod Mott is the creator of this epic Russian Imperial Stout.  To many in New England Tod is the King of Craft Brewing, this is pretty evident when you see the hundreds of beer fans from across the country lined up outside of the Portsmouth Brewery to try to get a taste of Kate.  Tod has been brewing beer in New England for many years and help spur the microbrew revolution in the 1980’s.  He has been a mentor to many young brews through out New England.  If any brewer deserves this kind of fame for having brewed such a great beer it is Tod Mott.

The question that many want answered is “Is Kate really that Great or is this just a bunch of hype?”  Both Brewmaster, Tod Mott and Owner, Peter Egelston seem legitimately (and of course pleasantly) surprised by the incredible following this beer has grown to have.  They both attribute Kate the Great’s success and fame to a combination of word of mouth and internet sites like Beer Advocate where users have rated this beer favorably.  After tasting Kate ourselves, we would agree with the many positive reviews that she has received.  Kate the Great is certainly a delicious and well balanced representation of an Imperial Stout.  Of course, that’s just it… it’s all just a matter of opinion.

In all the trip and experience at the pub for this event was a lot of fun, which is what any beer adventure should be!  The energy was high and the attendance was impressive at this red carpet event.  Not only was the room packed with beer enthusiasts from around the country, but mixed in were an “A” list of brewers and other beer world celebs.   We hope you enjoy our video of our day with Kate and we look forard to seeing you there next year!