Redhook Releases New 'American Independence Ale'

Today was (another) day for the history books in Exeter, as beer was poured at the Folsom Tavern for the first time in more than 100 years.

Scores of people came out to celebrate the release of Redhook's new American Independence Ale, which honors Exeter's .

The event coincided with the museum's season opening, which was held Wednesday.

Beer lovers came out to taste the beer as it was tapped at the Folsom Tavern, which was built in 1775 and where colonists gathered to drink in the days leading up to the American Revolution.

The beer is another in Redhook's "Brewery Backyard" series. Redhook was inspired to create the beer based on colonial history. Leading up to the American Revolution, colonists were frustrated over the high taxes placed on imported ale, so they began brewing beer in their homes.

American Independence Ale is a pale ale brewed in the spirit of the colonial era – when brewers discovered using coal to cook hops made for a cleaner-looking beer that could be imbibed in clear glasses. Redhook used its own hops grown near its brewery in Portsmouth.

The demand for the new beer was so high tonight that the kegs ran dry minutes after they were tapped.

Beer lovers, however, continued on a special "Independence Ale Trail" through downtown Exeter where they could drink the beer at the , , and the .

The ale will soon be available to the public at bars all around New England. It will also be served at several events in the Seacoast area during the summer and fall – including the in Exeter next month.

“Beer was a critical ingredient to local 18th century political debates and we’re excited to celebrate the region’s patriots who launched the American Revolution with an American home brew in hand,” said Randall Hammond, president of the Board of Governors of the American Independence Museum. “Redhook was the perfect partner for the American Independence Museum. As an American beer revolutionary, Redhook would have been a true patriot raising his tankard of beer and not only helping to sharpen the edges of an argument, but his bayonet as well.”