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.

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8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Brighton draught, 6/6/25.
As pictured.
Crusty sourdough with tempered, herbal hop. Yeasty and mineral rich, though somewhat muted as a result. Clean with no discernible pitch. Good malt backbone, with light honey and more sourdough emerging as it warms.
Soft, malty with a strong herbal hop spiciness. Good bitterness and tons of malt depth for its size. Yeast character is lively, with cellar must and mineral. Lingering sourdough and bitter, herbal hops. Very balanced and drinkable stuff. Very no frills.

Tried from Draft at Notch Brewing Company - Brighton on 06 Jun 2025 at 18:59


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Pours clear gold into a willi. White head with good excellent retention recedes to coat surface. Biscuit and caramel aromas. Medium bodied with hot caramel and honey front to back and into the lasting, earthy honey multigrain finish. One-dimensionally good.

Tried from Crowler at Notch Brewing Company on 23 May 2025 at 21:42


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Brighton draught, 5/15/25.
Clear, bright golden-brass. Small-to-medium, white head.
Rich nose full of honey-like malt, little/no toast and lots of spicy hop (but not too much). Clean and with good minerality.
Zesty, and malty with a soft, supple texture and good attenuation on the finish. Honey, zesty herbs and spices with ample but not overdone bitterness.

Tried from Draft at Notch Brewing Company - Brighton on 16 May 2025 at 14:41


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6.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 6.5

Brighton draught, 5/15/25.
Heavily hazy, dull bronze. Medium-sized, white head.
Juicy, fruity, slightly punchy with pineapple and light spruce juice. Some floral notes, but no resin or chalk. Light earthiness and lots of mineral. It's about par for the course for Galaxy these days. Not too much acidity.
Soft, dry, buttery, with heavy biscuit and cracker, light pine, light grapefruit and lots of mineral and earth. Not sure why there's so much diacetyl in this, but the body is pretty thin, creating more problems. Heavy, heavy cracker. Zero comfort or softness from anything at any point. Notch seems to have lost their way with ales, but I guess it's understandable.

Tried from Draft at Notch Brewing Company - Brighton on 16 May 2025 at 01:12


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7.8
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Brighton lukr, 5/15/25.
Clear copper-amber. Creamy, thick, beige head.
Hint of dry toast but big mineral and ample base malt. Bit of caramel to sweeten the deal. Low but daintily hopped. Clean. Lots of mineral.
Toasty but not scratchy or overdry. Lots of softer base malt to even out the texture with toasty popcorn and hints of sweet caramel. Super low hops here. Usually I don't think it matters but I would like a bit of brighter respite from caramel and toast. That said, it's clean, mineralesque and drinks wonderfully, nonetheless.

Tried from Draft at Notch Brewing Company - Brighton on 16 May 2025 at 00:51


7.8
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Pours dark caramel into willi. White head with good retention recedes to coat surface. Caramel and multigrain aromas. Sweet with caramel and golden syrup front to back. Dry, toasted multigrain finish.

Tried from Crowler at Notch Brewing Company on 26 Apr 2025 at 22:26


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Pours clear gold into a willi. Brightwhie head with good retention recedes to coat surface. Straw, hay and lemon aromas. Crisp with sweet hay, biscuit and straw front to back. Dry, medium length finish.

Tried from Crowler at Notch Brewing Company on 26 Apr 2025 at 22:15


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7.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Brighton draught, 4/20/25.
Clear brass. Small, spotty, white head.
Rich corn and big graininess from the barley with low hop, rich yeast and lingering vanilla and white bread.
Flour/powdered sugar notes up front are off-putting but its soft and malty with good depth on the end and good attenuation. Rich grains, corn, vanilla, malt and such make it very robustly drinkable but never quite shakes the weird flour character up front.

Tried from Draft at Notch Brewing Company - Brighton on 20 Apr 2025 at 20:22


8.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Brighton draught, 4/20/25.
Clear, blonde-brass. Small, white head.
Herbal hops with dainty honey, mineral-rich yeast and lingering bread. Clean and malty.
Malty and rich with a round deep texture and mild herbal hops notes. Some yeast with a rich malt finish, good attenuation and lingering yeast and light herb.

Tried from Draft at Notch Brewing Company - Brighton on 20 Apr 2025 at 20:18


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Undated cans drunk 4/4/25.
Dark mahogany-chestnut. Clear. Small, dark beige head.
Clean kolsch yeast, somewhat obscured by the dark malts, though it's only lightly chocolatey, without any major roast. Fruity, with a smattering of herbal hops.
Clean and chocolatey with a bit of chew to the body and good attenuation. Fresh yeast, fresh herbal hops and lingering fruitiness and chocolate.

Tried from Can on 06 Apr 2025 at 12:38