Smuttynose Hayseed

At last, a brewer proud to make a table beer – and then serve it at a farm-style restaurant at the brewery.

A grisette, Hayseed is sparkling seasonal refreshment brewed with wheat as well as barley and some oats. At 3.8 percent, it’s meant to quench a thirst from hard work. With a citrusy nose and taste derived from French saison yeast, Hayseed re-creates the beer style once popular with French miners.

What about that name and the woman on the label? The term grisette was originally associated with female farm workers in France in the 1600s and later it came to be the name for independent, young Bohemian women in Paris. So, a New Hampshire take on a piece of social history – and very well done!

-- Jonathan Ingram