Deciduous opened to the public in August of last year, joining a budding Portsmouth-area beer scene that includes Portsmouth Brewery, Earth Eagle Brewings, and Stoneface Brewing Co.

Cofounders Frank and Maryann Zagami and Dave Sakolsky designed the public space of their Newmarket, N.H., brewery down to the last detail. The centerpiece is a gas fireplace, flanked by wooden beams running floor to ceiling. Patrons are encouraged to sit — on a couch, in booths, or at long, shared tables, sipping their beers as natural light pours through the windows.

Deciduous Brewing Co. thinks it has the best tap room in New England.


“We’re billing ourselves as a constantly striving boutique brewery,” says Frank Zagami.

What that translates to is a brewery that’s bigger than people think. Sakolsky brews on a 15-barrel brewhouse, above average by the standards of many small breweries around New England. But Deciduous is not a production brewery; it doesn’t run 24 hours a day, and the beers Deciduous has made so far aren’t aimed at a mass audience. Deciduous is just as likely to brew a mosaic-dry hopped saison as it is a gose or what Sakolsky calls a “pseudo-lambic,” aged on Sicilian oranges.

“We’re a brewery that’s not focused on one style,” says Sakolsky, who adds that he’s “really into low-ABV sours.”

“We appreciate flavors across the board, and we try to let the consumer know as best we can what they’re getting into.”

Many Deciduous beers are a product of blending, combing several varieties of beer aged for various lengths of time into a finished product of the brewer’s choice.

“The typical turnaround time on our beers is longer than most production breweries by a couple of weeks or more,” says Frank Zagami. “They’re really well cared for.”

Visitors to Deciduous can choose from an average of six to eight beers on tap and three in bottles. That distinction is intentional. The brewery bottles products it feels will condition well in that packaging. Beers intended to be consumed fresh flow through nozzles into growlers or sampling glasses.


Zagami says the goal for the brewery in the next year is to produce 750 barrels of beer aged in stainless tanks, and 750 barrels aged in oak.

Deciduous sent its first shipment of beer to Massachusetts in early March. Moving forward, the founders expect semiregular shipments to the state, to places like Stoneham’s Redstone Liquors (781-438-9265, redstoneliquors.com) and Cambridge’s Lord Hobo (617-250-8454, lordhobo.com).

Deciduous Brewing Co. (12 Weaver St., Suite B, Newmarket, N.H., 603-292-5809, facebook.com/deciduousbrew) is open Thursday through Saturday.

Gary Dzen can be reached at gary.dzen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GaryDzen