Yankee Brew News Archive

Brewpub Review: Flying Goose Brewpub at Four Corners Grille

Originally Published: 12/96

By: Mark E. Hall

Part of my job as district manager for one of the Maine brewers is driving around the beautiful states of Maine and New Hampshire to service my distributors and their sales areas. This past summer I had the opportunity to visit (for me) previously uncharted areas of the state of New Hampshire. To slightly modify a phrase my grandfather once used: "This place has more trees than Carter has pills".

In New Hampshire, once you're away from the smaller "urban" areas, all you see are lakes, mountains, and trees. With the exception of the highways cutting through the state, everything is green (in the summer, anyway) and no exception is the Lake Sunapee/New London region, home to one of the region's newest brewpubs, the Flying Goose.

Officially known as The Flying Goose Brewpub at Four Corners Grille, the brewpub portion was constructed and finally put into action in July of this year. The Four Corners Grille, owned by Tom Mills, has been in operation for a little over three years, and previous to his ownership was known as The Gray House Restaurant 7since the mid-1970s. Before the Gray House Restaurant, the site was simply home to a gray house.

The Four Corners Grille started out as a family restaurant, and their goal in addition to great food and atmosphere, was to come out with a natural line of sodas for which they are still working on. Head Brewer and now co-owner Scott Brown originally came to the Four Corners from the Ipswich Brewery in Massachusetts to consult on the brewing side of things (he still divides his time between the two).

You may wonder how Scott ended up in the Lake Sunapee region. He originally grew up in New London running the town beaches in the summer while donning additional layers for the ski patrol in the winter. He also worked for co-owner Mills while in grade school. While at photography school in Boston, he became interested in the Ipswich Brewing Company as he liked the type of beer they were making. One day he walked through the doors of the brewery and asked for a job. After starting at Ipswich, he was on his way.

While working at the brewery plus splitting time as a computer consultant, he heard Mills was interested in putting in as microbrewery. He soon began to consult on the brewery and then became a partner.

His seven barrel system, located in the basement ( a former ice-cream parlor)was revamped in March '96. It is virtually all remodeled equipment that includes a dairy tank (mash tun), soup kettle (brew kettle), soda company tanks (hot/cold liquor tank), heat exchanger (from Ipswich), brew pump (from a dairy), and a whirlpool which he purchased from Ipswich. Two barrel fermenters from New England Brewing Systems were doubled in late August, bringing the total to four. The "cold" liquor tank, supplied by town water, isn't cold enough so it is chilled further by glycol supplied by two 55 gallon drums. Additionally the glycol is used for the heat exchanger and fermenters.

All beers are on a 28 day production cycle, which include 3 weeks of natural carbonation in the primary fermenter and one week chilling in the serving tank. This is longer than most brewpubs, but according to Scott, "anything done to shorten it, would compromise quality". His 100% natural products contain no finings or additives.

Scott, a self proclaimed hop-head, uses a myriad of hops in his creations. To date, he has served four beers including Weetamoo(Wheat-ah-moe) Wheat-4.7% ABV, Weetamoo Raspberry Wheat-4.7%, Split Rock Cream Ale-4.2% which is served through a "Guinness Aerated" tap, and Pearly Town I.P.A.-5.0%.

Although I'm not an advocate of fruit beers, the raspberry was more mellow than I expected and I quite enjoyed it (only one thank you). Scott is planning on producing a smoked ale plus a seasonal using their own hops. Of the four beers, three are served from tanks, while one is kegged off.

The bar upstairs made of native pine and brass houses a fifteen tap system serving varied styles in addition to their own. Scott said, "there are a lot of good quality beers out there and we like to make them available to patrons".

The ceiling above the bar, which used to house offices upstairs, was knocked out and replaced with a cathedral ceiling complete with old barn beams. Additionally, the bar contains two smoke eaters for smoking patrons. Not to be outdone, is the 160 seat non-smoking dining room which comes complete with an awesome view of Mt. Kearsarge. Here you find beautiful stained glass window doors and a room containing old New England artifacts, a working fireplace, plus another cathedral ceiling. Total New England charm.

Looking at the mountain, you can't miss the hop garden where Scott is growing Cascade, Willamette, and Fuggles hops for use in future batches.

The menu itself is another reason to visit. Laced with soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, and traditional pub grub, their "main street" selections served with baked potato, rice pilaf, or grille fries offers the chance to try something a little different. Looking over the selections which included Stockyard Sirloin, Lamb Shish-Kabob's, & St. Louis BBQ Style Ribs, I opted for the Venison Schnitzel which was served with a Juniper Berry and Coriander Brown Sauce. They get their Venison from a local farm in nearby Hill, New Hampshire. Their breads, made with beer yeast and grain, made a nice complement to the meal.

In addition to the food offerings, the menu had a section on the brewing process and descriptions of 18 beer styles. The food, beer, and ambiance are great, and the view can't be beat.