BDB Rating - 86
Branch and Blade is easy to get to and quite close to Keene Ice. They have ample parking and a great expanded outdoor space for patrons (deck, very large tent and other spaced out picnic tables). The place was busy which is always a good sign. We didn't have a ton of time but wanted to quickly check out a few beers and purchase the best ones to-go. Understandably so most places don't (or aren't allowed to) currently offer flights so you really need to do your research ahead of time or throw your faith in the first person you talked to from the brewery. This is where things fell short. We believe if you ask anyone from a brewery what is your "flagship', "best" or 'most popular beer", they should be able to immediately name 2-3. Instead we got "what do you like?". We said everything...we like every style (we even have our favorites when it comes to sours ...but the list is short). We still didn't get any real recommendations so without being able to get any samples, we just got a full pour of Rumination 11...they have a series of them so we went with it. It was an enjoyable NEIPA...not in the phenom-range but certainly above average. Inside we found the staff a lot more helpful. We asked again about beers available to go and got the recommendation for Rumination Twelve and Born Sinner...will try to update once we try them but they have some cool artwork so we hope the beer is as interesting as the can designs.
Overall this is a solid brewery with a broad selection of beers being offered. If with a group, check beforehand to make sure they have a beer available which should please everyone. Without samples or flights, it feels a little like a roll of the dice and also limits what anyone may buy to-go.
