Tributary Brewing Company

Microbrewery in Kittery, Maine, United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: Tributary Brewing Company

Established in 2014

Contact
10 Shapleigh Rd, Kittery, ME, 03904, United States
Description
One Tributary Leads to Another… that was the aha! moment when Tod Mott and his wife, Galen came upon the name of their new brewery. Tributary Brewing Company is Tod’s long-held dream of brewing his own beer and having his own place to serve it. Tod has been a master brewer for over two decades, working with some of the region’s most renowned breweries. Most fans know him as New England’s brewing legend, the creator of the original recipe of the highly acclaimed Harpoon IPA, and Portsmouth Brewery’s cult-status, Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout.

We find the inspiration for Tributary beer in the landscape of Southern Maine, with its winding brooks, salt water marshes, and tidal rivers converging into the mighty Piscataqua River. Tod and Galen are passionate environmentalists and understand the critical importance of good, clean water.

Water is the most vital component in the brewing process; Tributary is our metaphor for the delicate brewing process. Tod’s skill, ingenuity, and creativity, combined with our mission to preserve this way of life, results in small batches of Tod’s favorite recipes for traditional, well-balanced, full-bodied beers — many of them! Tributary’s home is the coastal town of Kittery, Maine. We use only the finest malt and hops in our brews for beer lovers locally and beyond.

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7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Draft at the source. A near clear deep golden color, lasting white head. Aroma is rock candy, yeast phenols, mild wheat. Flavor has a wheaty, yeasty back bone with the sugar showing toward the finish. Slightly drying texture. 8.5 % the ABV is hidden nicely. Ends a bit sweet. Overall, pretty much spot on for the style.

Tried from Draft on 02 Nov 2017 at 09:48


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Draft sample at the source. Almost clear, orange in color. Aroma and flavor are a ditect match. Mild gourd, subtle spice, good malt backbone. Has a mild earthy hop presence toward the finish. Thankfully the spice is easy. Mild cinnamon, subtle ginger root. Good for the style.

Tried from Draft on 02 Nov 2017 at 09:42


6.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Taster pours at NH Brewfest (2017) and Powder Keg Beer & Chili Festival (2019). Appearance is clear, gold-light brown with slight orange, trace lazy sparkle, 1/2-finger width head, light lacing. Aroma is surprisingly weak sweet floral and bready malt--more malt than hop. Taste is light floral/fruity sweet with cracker/biscuit malt toward the end. Palate is light bodied with thin texture, soft carbonation and finish as taste. Overall, this is thin and not very robust. It's disappointing and misleading with a name like hop harvest that this is neither juicy nor bitter nor hoppy, but perhaps that has more to do with fairly boring hops than their freshness.

Tried on 30 Oct 2017 at 20:59


7.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Taster pour at Powder Keg Beer and Chili Festival. Appearance is mostly opaque black with dark brown around the edges, 1/2 finger width light brown head, light lace. Aroma is deep dark roasted malts, chocolatey, maybe a whiff of oyster. Taste is roasted malt, lightly smoky, dark chocolate. Palate is medium bodied with thick texture, average-to-lively carbonation and dry (like a baltic porter), balanced sweet and bitter finish. Overall, this was good but the oyster contribution was too muted.

Tried on 08 Oct 2017 at 22:23


4.9
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5

Draught at Ginger Man Boston, 6/21/17.
Rich copper-amber body is topped by a beige head of low retention. High clarity.
It’s not a banana/bubble gum-bomb, but it’s also severely lacking in anything particularly interesting. Some nutty, bready, earthy malt notes give way to peach and light pineapple, as clove asserts itself towards the finish. Malts get a bit "big" with warming/breathing and honey and caramel begin to interrupt the yeast character. Clean, though, and not boozy.
Sweet, caramel-laden malts indicate they are going to be a problem right away, and the clovey, bready, slightly sourish (not bacterial sour) notes of the phenol plus specialty malt quickly go to work on fatiguing the palate. Thick, rich and with nothing particularly enjoyable in the ester department; mostly peach with an afterthought of apple. Strong nuttiness on the end with lingering clove and low (too low), somewhat unfocused carbonation that exacerbates the already overly sweet, malty character of this "saison".

Tried on 15 Aug 2017 at 17:38


7.3
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Sampled @ GBBF 2017, Day 3. A slightly hazy amber beer with a small off-white head. Aroma of orange fruits, zest, grapefruit, intense bitterness. Taste of bitter orange fruits, zest, tangerine, medium bitterness.

Tried on 10 Aug 2017 at 15:34


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Cask gravity at GBBF 2017. Hazy amber colour no real head. 5.3% abv. Light carbonation but rest is a decent citrus apa. Quite light. Some sherbet. Likesble enough.

Tried from Cask on 10 Aug 2017 at 08:02


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle thanks to Brandon. Pours black with small beige head that lasts. The aroma is strong roasted malt, dark chocolate, wood, bourbon. Medium body, roast, cocoa, wood, boozy, dry finish, very good.

Tried from Bottle on 09 Aug 2017 at 23:05


6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Cask gravity @ GBBF 2016. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty chocolate aroma. Roasted malty chocolate caramel flavor. Has a roasted malty caramel and chocolate finish.

Tried from Cask on 04 Jul 2017 at 10:22


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

Cask at Cask and Vine 300 Pints Fest Somewhat hazy deep yellow color. Huge earthy citrus and light pine with bits of stone fruit. Sweet bready malt deep underneath, my favorite ipa of the day.

Tried from Cask on 21 May 2017 at 16:58


Brewery Stats
Score 6.93
Beers81
Ticks171