The Able Ebenezer Brewing Company opened its doors in the summer of 2014, when former US Army Officers and aspiring entrepreneurs set out to pursue their ambitions. Motivated by their combined abilities, inspired by local New Hampshire revolutionary history, and driven by their love of beer, the Able Ebenezer Brewing Company was formed.
Able Ebenezer's name is branded from the inspirational actions of local New Hampshire citizens who rallied behind Ebenezer Mudgett in 1772 to defy British oppression. History remembers this event as the Pine Tree Riot.
Ebenezer was a colonial citizen from southern NH. He was known as a hard-working man, making a living as an inn-keeper, merchant and licensed liquor retailer. New Hampshire being a state rich in tall White Pine trees, Ebenezer also made a living logging.
Enter the Pine Tree Law: In the 1700's, the British (whose nation had become nearly completely deforested) passed a law mandating any White Pine tree greater than 12 inches in diameter was property of the British government. This law was considered by working colonists to be more offensive than the Stamp Act and Tea Tax because it directly seized a prized colonial commodity that grew on their own land. Loggers and Mill Owners in southern New Hampshire obeyed the law, until Ebenezer Mudgett took a stand.
British law enforcement issued a warrant for the arrest of Ebenezer, who had been found in severe violation of the Pine Tree Law, possessing 270 logs ranging from 17-36 inches in diameter.Â
They organized a posse in Derryfield (now Manchester), and proceeded west to hunt down Ebenezer. On the evening of April 13, 1772, Ebenezer organized and rallied his fellow citizens, arguing that they shouldn't be forced to blindly give up what was rightfully their property. The following morning, Ebenezer and his men staged what has come to be known as the Pine Tree Riot. They blackened their faces, stormed the inn where the British camped, fought them and drove them out of town. The men were subsequently labelled "notorious offenders," and the military was dispatched to respond. When Ebenezer and his conspirators were finally captured, the New Hampshire courts let them go free. This marked the first event whereby both colonists and local government engaged in an act of civil disobedience against British oppression.
The Pine Tree Riot became an inspiring event for the riots in Portsmouth and the Boston Tea Party, and the NH White Pine tree became a symbol used widely on flags during the American Revolution, first seen at the Battle of Bunker Hill
Ebenezer went on to fight on behalf of New Hampshire in the Revolutionary war, repelling the British Saratoga Campaign in upstate New York at Ticonderoga, and in Vermont at the Battle of Bennington.
For these reasons; the courageous actions of a common citizen and his display of sheer individual ability, we establish ourselves as the Able Ebenezer Brewing Company.
