Redhook Brewery & Cataqua Public House

AndyAvalanche

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

I've done this tour and grabbed a bite to eat here a few times. It's reasonably close to the Boston area, probably a little less than an hours drive. The tour itself is only a dollar, and you get to sample about 4-5 different beers and get a free tasting glass to take home. The tour guyd (Byron) is a pretty funny guy and he really loves his job. I have to say I was serously impressed at the quality control and cleanliness of the brewery. It doesn't smell like a brewery at all, I was shocked. Byron stated that the staff is held to a high standard about keeping the place clean. For anyone who's had thier beer in the past, they always offer the longhammer IPA, the ESB, whatever the seasonal is and generally 1 or 2 other beers depending on avialablity. I've heard a lot of people say they don't like redhook very much, but I think it'd pretty decent, it's inexpensive in my area and they don't have anything on the standard line that will blow your mind, but I think it's respectable. As for the big beer stuff I really like their black coffee stout and Tremblehook barleywine, both are excellent. As for the resturant section, I think it's pretty good. You can get any of the beers on tap, including the speciality beers and I thought the food was pretty good too. The gift shop has some pretty cool stuff in it as well, I think they have a pretty good marketing department. If you're in the Portsmith area, it's certianly worth a dollar and a quick stop, they'll be happy to see you and take care of you.

02-01-2010 04:09:20 | More by AndyAvalanche

Cavanaghty

Maine

4.53/5  rDev +18.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Been here a few times before, and I discover new brews everytime. Many beers on tap, and bottled, all of them are Redhook, Widmer Brothers, or Kona(all the same parent brewery I take it). Service is great with a friendly staff that is well versed is beer and very enthusiastic about it too. I decided to take the brewry tour and it was a great tour(of course there was only three of us on this tour so a little better than normal I would assume). The tour guid was funny as hell and very knowledegable. Food there is good and always has been, most of there food is cooked with their brews as ingrediants. Overall it was a very enjoyable experiance. They always have events and charitis going on. This is a must stop if you are in the area!

08-24-2012 19:20:26 | More by Cavanaghty

11millsown113

New Hampshire

4.2/5  rDev +9.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

came to this place wanting to take the tour and had a great time. has a fresh long hammer in the pub while waiting. the pub has a great atmosphere which makes you feel right at home. the tour is very fun because the tour guide is a complete nut. he has a lot of jokes and loves beer. I think he was drunk during my tour which made it even more fun. you sample every beer afterward and get a a lot of information on the beers and brewing. they give you a free 5oz sample glass and let you send a postcard from the brewery.

overall great tour, had a lot of fun.

12-18-2011 17:31:37 | More by 11millsown113

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.88/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

We visited Redhook in Woodinville when we were living out in Seattle. Upon moving to NH, we were looking forward to visiting the eastern sister to do a little 'mini-comparison.' It's amazing how similar the two facilities look and feel. The building is attached to the main brewery, and tours are given quite often for $1, which scores you a tasting glass and a sample of what's on-tap during the tour. Definitely fun. The beers are decent, and there is enough of a variety that there should be something for any beer drinker to enjoy. They do have limited releases from time to time that are usually pretty unique and tasty. The staff is usually pretty good, with the occasional outlier that you will get any place you go frequently enough. They are usually pretty knowledgable about beer, which is always a good thing at a brewery. Decent menu, with a range from vegetarean, burgers, seafood, salads, etc., and everything is priced fair. Nifty little gift shop, where you can find lots of interesting Redhook garb. There is a Redhook mug club, but our server informed us that there was currently a 2-year waiting list for it, so I really didn't retain many of the details about it. They also host quite a few events there, with a very good-sized outdoor pavillion available. They do outdoor movie nights in the summer months, and host quite a few concerts. I believe they also host the NH Brewers Festival each year. All in all, a decent place to visit while in Portsmouth. I still give the overall nod to the original in Washington, but this gives East Coasters a chance to enjoy the same atmosphere in the comforting confines of home.

09-02-2011 02:49:41 | More by GarthDanielson

kangarooAdam59

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

A/Q/V: I was impressed with the gift shop. It had its nostalgic looking labels of Red Hook's past beers. The pub had more than enough seating but I was there on a Tuesday for lunch so no cut on Red Hook for the lack of people. I think on a Friday night one might have to wait to be seated. I was thoroughly impressed with the tour (only for a dollar and I got to take home a beer sample glass) and had an awesome lunch there. I was impressed with the amount of their brews on tap - a very long bar area. Despite having typical pub food ie burgers, regular sandwiches and stuff of that nature, there were wraps too.

F/S/S: The food was quick and the service was great.

06-01-2011 20:11:50 | More by kangarooAdam59

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.88/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

When you walk in you the gift shop on your right and a curved, wooden bar with decorative labels from Redhook's past beers pasted in a line across the top. Scattered throughout the rest of the room you see several tables for two and booths for more. There is a rustic look with chalkboards and a cozy lounge area with a fireplace. I sat at the bar. There were about a dozen or more beer choices on tap including their signature brews as well as some that are only found in the pub. The menu was typical burger, sandwich, appetizer fare and not all that badly priced. The service was quick and willing to answer questions. Brewery tours are a dollar.

04-30-2011 22:55:22 | More by puboflyons

WoodBrew

Illinois

2.86/5  rDev -25.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 2.5 | $$

Red Hook Brewery resturant is a typical add on place to a big brewery. The interior is very basic, kind like a Perkins or Denny's with a bar. The bar area wasn't that big, which caused us to have to lurk for either a stool or high top. The place was hopping, very popular so I have to guess the food is good because to me the beer is solid, but average. My biggest issue is that several of the beers tasted the same. Red Hook only had six beers on tap, one was a barley wine and one was the Longhammer IPA, the others all tasted the same. The service was fine, nothing to complain about and nothing really write home about.

04-05-2011 01:49:00 | More by WoodBrew

Chincino

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

I visited the Redhook Ale Brewery in February 2010. The atmosphere was nice and had a typical New England lodge feel to it. Unfortunately, we missed the tour as the tours didn't run on Sundays at that time anyway. If I go back, I'd make sure to check the tour times before going because I've heard the tour is quite good.

There was a beer club that the Brewpub offered, but it was very exclusive and expensive to join. It was a "mug club" and there was a waiting list to join it unless you won a spot via a lottery drawing. So unless you're a local and/or a huge redhook fan, it didn't seem worth it to join the club.

There was a moderate selection of beers on tap and the IPA was good, but not extraordinary. There were about 6 or so beers on tap that day.

The food was average pub food, nothing exceptional. I'd recommend eating at the Portsmouth brewery or another restaurant in the area over Redhook.

Overall, I'd say this place is worth visiting to stop by if you're in the area, but I think the Portsmouth Brewery is a much better place overall.

11-21-2010 03:26:44 | More by Chincino

TimWithNumbers

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $

Those of us that remained following a bachelor party in town the night before stopped in here for one last bit of fun (and maybe a little hair of the dog). We were greeted promptly by the tour guide at the front desk, who ID'd us, set us up with our tour stickers, and directed us to the bar while we waited for the tour to begin.

The bar/restaurant area itself visibly resembled what you might find at a ski lodge, or something of that sort. Two of my companions had a drink during our 15-20 minute wait, and were served quite promptly, while I opted to wait for the sampling session.

The tour itself was much shorter in terms of the actual educational session than other tours I've been on, taking us to two major locations within the brewery before proceeding to the sampling room. However, the tour guide was much more knowledgeable and passionate about craft beer than other tours I've taken, at both the macro and micro level. He also seemed, refreshingly, to enjoy his job, injecting personal flare and a series of jokes and jabs into his dialogue.

The sampling session took much of the time dedicated to the tour. Two pitchers of each beer to be sampled (five, in all) were poured at a time, the pitchers passed around to be poured into individual sampling glasses to be kept and taken home as a souvenir. Most of the beers were good, at best. I'm not personally a big IPA drinker, which seems to be this brewery's flagship variety. Two of the samplings, however, will have me seeking them out in the future, in particular the ESB and the Blackhook Porter, the latter being my pick of the tour.

Overall, for a dollar, you get quite a value - a short, albeit informative and lively tour, a neat little souvenir, and more variety in samples than you'd be apt to find at, say, Anheuser-Busch. The building outside is much larger than the actual area you wind up seeing, which can lead to be deceiving, but in the end, if you're in the area, this is a good hour or so well spent.

08-30-2010 16:09:48 | More by TimWithNumbers

kingcrowing

Vermont

3.34/5  rDev -12.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Came here with a few friends for the tour. The tour lasts around 40-50 minutes and it costs $1, you get a tasting glass to keep and we got to sample 5-6 different beers, very much worth the $1 if you can get on a tour. The guy giving the tour was a pretty funny old guy. You can tell he uses a lot of the same jokes and whatnot but it was entertaining.

The beers are all fairly mediocre, nothing is amazing but nothings that bad either. I didn't eat there so I can't speak to their food but it looked pretty good. The bar was really large, they had 1 or 2 casks as well as a large selection of their beer. As others have said, it's worth hitting but if you only have time for one place Portsmouth is a bit better for a brewpub.

The actual brewery was very sterile and factory-like whereas Smuttynose was much more micro feeling and more home-y.

08-23-2010 15:01:00 | More by kingcrowing