Notch Brewing

Microbrewery in Salem, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
Associated with 2 Venues

Established in 2010

Contact
283R Derby St, Salem, MA, 01970, United States
Description
Launched in 2010, Notch Brewing – named for the nick made to keep a record when you're having more than one – was the first brewing company in the U.S. to focus exclusively on session beer. At the time, we simply wanted to brew the beers we loved to drink because finding them was a challenge. Session beer has been enjoyed in every great beer brewing nation for centuries, yet in the U.S. it was overlooked. So we set out to brew the world’s classic session styles from the Czech Republic, Germany, England, and Belgium, as well as explore how session beer could fit with the U.S.’s hoppy beer infatuation. Over a decade later, we have a brewery built on the back of session beer and it’s proven two things: beer consumers like options, and session beer is a great one.

     Show


7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Can to stange glass.
Appearance: clear yellow color with light carb seen rising to fill a two finger white foamy head which ended up trailing off and left a little bit of lace
Aroma: fruity estery tones, biscuits, earthy to floral qualities, sly spicy hop tones
Flavor: meshes the prior noted aromas to a malty sweet fruity estery character and a subtle spicy underneath; finishes crisp slightly dry malty sweet
Texture: medium bodied, sessionable, very smooth along the tongue
Overall: nice Kolsch I would have again.
Tried from Can on 22 Feb 2026 at 14:33

7.6/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Can to lager glass.
Appearance: yellow color with some transparency and a three finger white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: lemon, grassy, floral hoppy tones with a clean crackery malt
Flavor: blends the prior noted aromas to a fine sweet quality; finishes semi-lemony & grassy
Texture: light to medium bodied, sessionable, fairly smooth along the tongue
Overall: nicely done German pilsener worthy of coming back to.
Tried from Can on 22 Feb 2026 at 14:20

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Can to lager glass.
Appearance: yellow semi-cloudy color with a two finger white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: herbal, floral, grassy, lemony hoppiness - subtle spicy character underneath with clean crackery malts
Flavor: blends the prior noted aromas to a semi-sweet to underlying spicy vibe; finishes floral/grassy hopped to a crisp malty vibe
Texture: light bodied, very sessionable, pretty smooth along the tongue
Overall: nicely done Czech lager worthy of coming back to.
Tried from Can on 22 Feb 2026 at 14:06

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Can to lager glass.
Appearance: dark maroon/brown color with a two finger off white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: nutty, caramel, toasty, dark bready, earthy spicy and a little bit of biscuit
Flavor: blends the prior noted aromas to a nice dark malty sweetness; finishes dark bready and nutty
Texture: light to medium bodied, sessionable, good smoothness along the tongue
Overall: good Dunkel lager worthy of coming back to.
Tried from Can on 22 Feb 2026 at 13:56

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Can to mug.
Appearance: deep copper color with a finger and a half of white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: toasty to grassy and slightly herbal with a biscuity malt backbone
Flavor: blends the prior noted aromas nice and malty sweet; finishes semi-malty and toasty
Texture: light to medium bodied, sessionable, smooth along the tongue
Overall: seems like a cross between a festbier and a Marzen, either way, I'd still come back to.
Tried from Can on 22 Feb 2026 at 13:38

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Can to mug.
Appearance: copper color with a two finger white foamy head which trailed off nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: herbal, floral, grassy hops with some subtle honey and clean cracker malts
Flavor: blends the prior noted aromas to a malty sweet quality; finishes crisp and malty
Texture: light bodied, sessionable, very smooth along the tongue
Overall: nicely done Helles lager worthy of coming back to.
Tried from Can on 22 Feb 2026 at 13:25

7/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 7
Reviewed from notes.
Can to becher glass.
Appearance: copper color with some transparency; two finger white foamy head which trailed off nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: light melon and/or some floral hoppiness, clean bready malts
Flavor: blends the prior noted aromas to a sturdy sweet malty vibe; clean finish of malts
Texture: light bodied, sessionable, smooth along the tongue
Overall: nice enough for a cold IPA though the style is more or less just a rebranded version of IPL's
Tried from Can on 22 Feb 2026 at 13:12

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Can to lager glass.
Appearance: copper to yellow color with transparency to it and a two and a half fingers of white foamy head which dissipated nicely
Aroma: floral, herbal and grassy hops with a light clean semi-biscuity malt bill
Flavor: meshes the hops to the malts semi-sweetly with a clean crisp finish of the same
Texture: light bodied, sessionable, good smoothness, and the carb is done right
Overall: nicely done Czech lager I'd return to.
Tried from Can on 22 Feb 2026 at 13:00

7.6/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
16 oz can. Aroma shows me chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt. Flavor shows a good amount of coffee with chocolate and roasted malt nuances. Hints of char. Pretty good flavor given the ABV level. Nicely dry texture in a medium plus body. Good!
Tried from Can from Greg & Jane's Beer and Wine on 21 Feb 2026 at 21:34

7.4/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Pours clear gold into a willi. Bright white head with medium retention recedes to skim surface. Sour rice aromas. Crisp with sweet rice and mild lemon front to back. Medium length pith finish.
Tried on 08 Feb 2026 at 23:31