BREWERY SCENE
by Jeff Rogers
In case you’ve been living in a cave and haven’t noticed, the Country & Western theme is having a moment. OK, it’s been having a moment for a decade or more. Now it’s full-on present and on the verge of taking over. Is that a bad thing? Maybe if you’re seriously old and grumpy. But for the rest of us, even those of us who didn’t grow up with it, we can see the attraction. Who doesn’t love denim? Worn-in boots? Acoustic guitars? Come on, have a beer and relax.
In Manchester we have Bonfire on Elm Street, with their awesome table in the back of a pick-up. We also have The Goat on Old Granite St., a larger venue with frequent live music.
Nashua’s newest and biggest iteration of this trend is Lost Cowboy Brewing Co., which opened this summer. They’re in a great location on Amherst Street (aka 101A), a spot that used to hold a campus of SNHU, then sat empty for a while, before Michael Buckley saw and acted on its potential.
Yes, the Michael Buckley of Michael Timothy’s Dining Group, owner of
- Buckley’s Great Steaks, Merrimack
- Mike’s Italian Kitchen (formerly Michael Timothy’s), Nashua
- Surf Seafood, Nashua, Portsmouth, & Woburn
- Buckley’s Bakery & Cafe, Merrimack & Hollis
Now Lost Cowboy Brewing Co. joins that list. So right away you can see that there’s some experience and resources behind this effort, and, fairly or not, that brings some expectations into play.
Let’s get one thing out of the way. Despite the third word in its name, Lost Cowboy Brewing Co. is emphatically a restaurant first. I spoke with Doug Stadtman, the general manager, and he made a strong point of that. He described Lost Cowboy as intentionally different from Michael Buckley’s other efforts. He described the addition of a brewery as an explicit effort to try something new, with a willingness to take feedback, adjust accordingly, and continue to improve.
Space
The space, both indoors and out, is immediately impressive in size, design, and accommodations. The building is just off a pond and has a patio with some tables just a few yards from the pond’s edge. I sat out there on my first visit and it was a great spot, with the building between the patio and the road so traffic noise was not bothersome. (A welcome respite from Elm Street in Manchester!) One fire pit surrounded by chairs looked especially alluring. Direct sun on an afternoon might be a bit much. Staff suggested that the current configuration of the outdoor space might be revised in the future.
Their indoor space is also impressive, mostly a single massive dining room with many tables and an extremely long bar, and providing views into the food prep area and into the brewing area. The bar and furniture arrangement provide a natural partitioning to the space, with some high tables and some low, and a seating area of over-stuffed leather chairs in front of a stone fire place with mounted deer and elk heads, lending a western hunting-lodge ambiance. Total space inside is 17,000 sq. ft. and seats about 350 customers.
GM Doug Stadtman said that they were intentionally keeping the price point a bit lower than some of Michael Buckley‘s other restaurants, so that coming here is less of an occasion compared to Buckley’s other spots. Nevertheless, they definitely are still a nice place, not a hole-in-the-wall. Some Country & Western-themed places play up or even embrace their tackier side. Lost Cowboy does not. Think clean jeans, not dirty jeans.
History
As related to me by staff, the Buckley family has long been in love with vacations out West, and for a while have been playing with the idea of being able to convey some of that feeling to local New England customers. Lost Cowboy Brewing Co. is the culmination of those thoughts. I have to admit, I did sometimes wonder if I’d mistakenly wandered into the set of a western being filmed (for unknowable reasons) in Nashua, NH. Dream logic come to life. At any moment Hoss Cartwright or Matt Dillon might tap me on the shoulder. But then a glance at the restaurant tables brought me back to reality. Whew!
Food
I tried just one app on my second visit, the Blistered Shishito Peppers. While the plate was enough for four, I polished off most of them myself. They were pretty darn good. But I am a sucker for anything containing the words blistered, smokey and paprika in the description.
On a previous visit I tried the Buffalo Cauliflower and Fried Green Beans, also both good.
My current unfulfilled desire is to try the Lost Cowboy Corn Dog, described as a “brisket burnt end and jalapeno hot dog.” My mouth waters just writing that. Clearly I have to visit again!
I hear that the prime rib might be worth a try. The GM mentioned that today you can buy kitchen equipment specifically to prepare prime rib for a bit over $10,000. But for Michael Buckley, that was not good enough, he had to go to France to buy something at a higher level. Intriguing!
Beer
During my second visit I had a flight of four 5-ounce pours. In addition to the beers shown on their menu, they had one brand new pale ale not yet listed, so I tried that one, plus two recommended by the bartender, and the American lager. My notes below….
Lost Cowboy American Lager – 4.5% ABV
Slight taste of caramel. Very clean mouth feel.
Pale Ale (new) – ? % ABV
Very slight cloudiness. A sensation of butteriness. Slight tang of salt?
Double Barrel IPA – 7.0% ABV
Amber color, clear, clean mouth feel. Definite bitterness. Wee bit of cattiness.
Road to the Sun Grapefruit IPA – 5.5% ABV
A little sweet, even less sour, definite citrus. A little cloudy. Great summer beer.
I found the beers had improved over my first visit, back in June. I should also note that besides their own brews they also offer a rotating list of a few beers and ciders made by other brewers. They also offer a full bar and cocktails. My bar neighbor had a blood orange margarita and loved it.
Data
Lost Cowboy Brewing Co. is located at:
546 Amherst St
Nashua NH 03063
Phone Number: 603-600-6800
Hours:
Mon – closed
Tue-Thu – 4-9pm
Fri – 4-10pm
Sat – 11-10pm
Sun – 11-9pm
Reservations are available only for parties of 7 or more.
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