Portsmouth Brewery Announces A Change in Head Brewers

Discussion in 'New England' started by Jason, Jul 13, 2012.

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  1. Jason

    Jason Founder (0) Aug 23, 1996 Massachusetts

    Update: Peter Egelston, president Smuttynose Brewing Company, followed-up on the below press release regarding Tod Mott's departure with the following blog post: Tod Mott - A Farewell and Appreciation.

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    Portsmouth, NH (July 2012) - With a mixture of gratitude and sadness, The Portsmouth Brewery announces the resignation of Head Brewer and New England brewing legend, Tod Mott, effective July 19. At the same time we are excited to announce the return of Tyler Jones to The Portsmouth Brewery as its new Head Brewer.

    When Tod began his eight and a half year tenure as Portsmouth's Head Brewer, he brought years of pub brewing experience, deep beer knowledge and an even larger amount of infectious passion for his craft, one of his strongest attributes. This latter trait was vital in creating the strong beer culture that now exists at the Portsmouth Brewery, arguably his most significant contribution during his time at the helm.

    Beyond staff and customer education, another large component of the Mott-created focus on craft beer culture were his beers. One recipe he brought from a previous brewpub was a strong, dark imperial stout which became one of the most sought after beers in the world, thanks to rabid interest from the online craft beer community. While Tod brewed the beer, the staff at Portsmouth Brewery created the "Kate the Great" brand to include a large release event that incorporated gubernatorial proclamations, custom-printed scratch tickets and tens of thousands of dollars in donations to local and regional non-profits.

    Many folks are curious about the future of this cult beer, so we'd like to be clear. Tod came into Portsmouth Brewery with the imperial stout recipe and he'll also leave with it; Portsmouth Brewery retains the rights to the intellectual property known as "Kate the Great," including the name and branding. Tod has plans to brew this beloved beer again, it'll just have a different name. At the time of writing this release, future plans for "Kate the Great" have yet to be decided by Portsmouth Brewery.

    Tod also introduced a number of new beers to the Portsmouth Brewery repertoire, including one of New England's first wet-hopped Harvest Ales. He also won three Great American Beer Festival medals, oversaw improvements and upgrades to the brewing facilities and trained seven assistants who are all still gainfully employed in the brewing industry.

    The entire family of Portsmouth Brewery would like to thank Tod heartily for eight and a half years of service, countless laughs and millions of delicious pints. We wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future.

    For those of you who have been around Portsmouth Brewery over the last few years, it won't come as a great surprise that we've chosen Tyler Jones to be Portsmouth Brewery's next Head Brewer. For those of you that aren't as familiar, Tyler was Tod's assistant brewer for four years before moving across town for a brewing position at Smuttynose in December of 2011.

    In addition to a brewing degree from University of California-Davis, Tyler has a great set of practical brewing skills, a long home brewing tenure, as well as an outgoing personality that's such a vital component of his new job. He also has an excellent beard. As Tyler comes on board, his initial game plan is to offer more Portsmouth Brewery beer on tap. With his plan to increase house-brewed offerings also comes a new focus on creativity. Tyler has already created several highly regarded beers for Portsmouth Brewery including "Gose", "Ginga Ninja" and "Berliner Weiss" which is currently on tap. The creative enterprise will extend to Tyler's assistants, Brian Routhier and Matt Tarpey. "They're talented brewers and I want them to feel a part of creating new beers," said Jones, "and we won't shy away from brewing an Imperial Stout either."

    Mott's last day will be on July 19 and will include a torch passing ceremony and toast. Details will be announced on our Facebook page.

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  2. FrankLloydMike

    FrankLloydMike Maven (1,284) Aug 16, 2006 Massachusetts

    Oops. I just posted a link to this in the Tod Mott leaving thread.

    Tod Mott's persona, passion and enthusiasm have been a huge part of what I associate with the Portsmouth Brewery and the beer scene in the area. I'll miss his persona and passion, and I hope Tyler and his crew of assistants can keep it up!

    I was also really excited to read that Tyler will be focusing on offering more house-brewed beers on-tap. Much as I love the PBrew, the complaint I've heard most and often share is that often times there are only a handful of house-brewed beers on. I know they have space constraints, so I'm not sure what the prospects are exactly, but I'm glad to hear it will be a goal.
     
  3. ajthegreat

    ajthegreat Initiate (0) Nov 11, 2010 Vermont

    Tyler is a great dude and a really good brewer and he and Tod have a great friendship. I look forward to trying new stuff and seeing what Tod decides to come up with in Maine. I hope that they do not try to continue the Kate the Great stuff and realize that all of the fan-fare surrounding it was about the beer, not the brewery. It was good while it lasted. It is important to note that Matt and Brian are also really good brewers and I think they will play an very important role moving forward as assistant's.
     
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  4. EnronCFO

    EnronCFO Pooh-Bah (1,969) Mar 29, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Yeah, I certainly hope they don't try to recreate Kate Day with a different beer. Definitely excited for Tyler, he's a great guy and brews some fantastic beers (Ginga Ninja was one of the best beers Portsmouth has ever made). Hopefully some of my favorite beers like 5 C's IPA and Holidaze Porter will continue to be in rotation, but will be cool to see what Tyler develops as well. And we all know that Tod's new brewery project (if he decides to launch one) will be an instant hit. I can't even fathom the stuff he could create without the pressure of turning out Dirty Blonde Ale all the time!
     
  5. Auror

    Auror Pooh-Bah (1,641) Jan 1, 2010 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    This makes me really glad I got up to Kate Day this year. Also glad I have a '12 bottle kicking around.

    Best of luck to Tyler and the rest at Portsmouth Brewery and to Tod in his new ventures.
     
  6. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Update: Peter Egelston, president Smuttynose Brewing Company, followed-up on the below press release regarding Tod Mott's departure with the following blog post: Tod Mott - A Farewell and Appreciation.
     
  7. Sesmu

    Sesmu Zealot (744) Feb 28, 2007 Massachusetts

    if it's not supported by the product, which it won't be, then I don't really understand the value of this supposed intellectual property...
     
  8. FrankLloydMike

    FrankLloydMike Maven (1,284) Aug 16, 2006 Massachusetts

    The Portsmouth Herald has a short article today about the changing of the guard at the Portsmouth Brewery yesterday. From the few photos I've seen, it looks like it was a good time, and a great send-off for Tod Mott and welcome for Tyler Jones. Seacoast Beverage Lab also has a write-up, and I believe will be posting audio of the speeches sometime in the next several days.
     
  9. phingdong

    phingdong Pundit (936) Aug 24, 2010 New Hampshire
    Trader

    It was a good time yesterday. Nice speeches, some teary eyes, and Tarnation on tap. 'Twas a nice farewell and thanks for Tod, and a celebration for Tyler. Looking forward to what both of these guys have up their sleeves for the future.
     
  10. jjnasty

    jjnasty Devotee (325) Oct 3, 2008 Massachusetts

  11. FrankLloydMike

    FrankLloydMike Maven (1,284) Aug 16, 2006 Massachusetts

    Portsmouth Brewery has posted video of Peter, Tod and Tyler's speeches:

     
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