Put your differences aside at To Share neighborhood brewery

    Looking southwest across Union Street toward To Share. Photo/Jeffrey Rogers

    MANCHESTER, NH – If you live in or near Manchester, but you have not yet been to To Share brewery, then I am overcome with sympathy for you, mixed with a healthy dollop of outright pity. No, wait, maybe it’s just plain puzzlement. What the Hefeweizen, man? It’s not like they’re hard to find. Head north on Union Street then you really have to work to miss them. Map below.

    To Share Brewing Company, billed as “your neighborhood brewery,” is the brainchild of Aaron and Jenni Share. Aaron has roots in the Delaware and North Carolina area, while Jenni hails from the vast midwest, having lived in both North and South Dakota. They met in Washington, D.C., and began to live happily ever after, but then a software job in Manchester snaked out its tendrils to them and began to reel them in. Soon they moved to Manchester. They loved the city, put down roots here, and decided that they wanted to give back by providing great craft beer to the citizens of New Hampshire. Thus was born To Share Neighborhood Brewery.


    The Space

    The main taproom at To Share. Photo/Jeffrey Rogers

    The interior is industrial. Red brick and corrugated steel. Exposed overhead air ducts. Glass, iron and concrete. Softened a tiny bit by a wooden bar top, a bit more by analog tunes coming from a sizable vinyl record collection. But glance to the south and a giant mural filling the wall quickly dominates your impression of the room, portraying a space alien and robot clinking their beers together — clearly having just settled interstellar war. Whew, close one!

    To Share beer brings peace to the cosmos. Photo/Jeffrey Rogers

    The mural wonderfully illustrates a paragraph from their website: “To Share Brewing Company is about community and providing a safe space for all people to put their differences aside and come together over a pint of great, locally produced craft beer.”

    Happy customers.
    Mugging for the camera.

    The room is softened further by clusters of smiling patrons. One wandering dog (named Blue) greets newcomers with a sniff and, for the lucky, a lick. On a recent almost-100-degree day he was belly down on the smooth concrete floor, making me jealous.

    The main door faces Union Street, adjacent to a tall glass-paned garage door. Entering the main door, you see the bar straight ahead. This main room holds five tall four-person tables, one low six-person table, two long medium-height tables for eight. On the wall behind the bar is the list of their current beers, typically about 10.


    To the right of the bar are the records and turntable.

     

    They are happy to play requests (their website lists all albums in their collection, roughly 900), and you are invited to bring your own albums.

    Jam Tomorrow plays at To Share. Photo/Jeffrey Rogers

    Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits was the soundtrack for my last visit. They also host occasional live music, such as the pictured performance by local duo Jam Tomorrow.

    To the left as you enter is a smaller room for games, maybe one-quarter the size of the main room. It holds a few board games, one pinball machine, one shuffleboard table, and a full wall of chalkboard for the graphically inclined. Also, three tables that will seat six each, two high and one low. This space can be reserved for meetings or discussions of up to 30 people. (The entire brewery can be booked for meetings of up to 80 people.)

    To Share outdoor seating. Photo/Jeffrey Rogers

    To the right of the main room is a side door leading to their outdoor space, an alley-sized area on the north side of the building. This space holds five five-person tables. A six foot high solid fence grants the neighbors some privacy.

    Behind the bar, and partly obscured by a wall, is their 7-barrel brewing space, where the magic happens. Tours are available, just ask.

    They have parking for three cars in front, more on the south side of the building, and plenty of nearby on-street parking.


    The Food

    Food is typical brewery fare — tacos, taquitos, mac & cheese, potato skins, 1/4 lb. hot dog, chicken nuggets, etc. During our last visit my wife got the 1/4 lb. dog, done chili-cheese style, and offered to share it with me. But I was a little slow finishing my conversation, and by the time I made it over to her, the dog had disappeared. Darn! But, you snooze, you lose. She assured me it was delicious.


    The Beers

    They typically have 10 of their own brews, plus a few offerings from elsewhere, such as a cider or a non-alcoholic beer.

    Beers available on my last visit:

    TitleStyleABV %Availability
    Use Less WordsPilsner5.6On draft and 16oz 4-pack
    Secret Wizard Handshake HurricaneSour Ale5.4On draft and 16oz 4-pack
    Hugs & Belly RubsCold Brew Coffee Stout7.1On draft and 16oz 4-pack
    See SunSaison7.5On draft and 16oz 4-pack
    For Heck YeahAmerican Light Lager4.0On draft and 32oz Crowler
    Gold CivicNEIPA6.7On draft and 32oz Crowler
    SwotterDIPA8.0On draft and 32oz Crowler
    Baby SwelugaAmerican IPA5.0On draft and 16oz 4-pack
    Secret Wizard Handshake PrideMango and Pink Guava Sour5.4On draft and 32oz Crowler
    Secret Wizard Handshake Cara BerrySour Ale5.4Can Pour and 16oz 4-pack
    Citizen Cider Unified PressCider5.2Can Pour
    Woodland Farms WestNon-Alcoholic IPA0Can Pour
    — To Share Beers in late August 2022 —

    My current favorites? Use Less Words is a very tasty pilsner. Hugs & Belly Rubs will definitely satisfy any coffee yearnings you may have. Bably Sweluga is a great American IPA. All three versions of Secret Wizard Handshake are good, but the Mango and Pink Guava version is a truly outstanding sour.

    To Share is located at:
     720 Union St., Manchester NH 03104
    They are open:
            Wed. 4-8 
            Thu.-Fri. 4-9 
            Sat. 1-9 
            Sun. 1-7
            (closing times approximate, based on business)
    Website: https://www.tosharebrewing.com
    Email: info@tosharebrewing.com