Craft cocktails and local brews are the foundation for the Granite State, so grab a cold glass and toast to the best bars, breweries, wineries and brewpubs in NH

Editor’s Picks  

Stormy Brews

Black Cloud Brewing in Keene has rolled into town with sharper flavor, louder energy and zero apologies. Each of their brews rotate seasonally and have weather-inspired names, including “Surge” and “Bluebird Day.” They also have a menu of pretzels made from the grains from the brewery, pizzas and salads. blackcloudbrewing.com

Beer of the Brave

Pints with a Mission, a collaboration between Bedford nonprofit Swim with a Mission and Londonderry’s 603 Brewery, helps support the needs of New Hampshire veterans. Mission Forward IPA “is more than a beer — it’s our way of giving back to the men and women who gave so much.” Find it at Common Man Roadside and Tuscan Market locations. SWAM.org

Readers’ Poll Winners

Best Beer Store

Littleton Food Co-op
Littleton
littletoncoop.com

Best Breweries

Brewery – Concord Area
Northwoods Brewing Company
Northwood
www.northwoodsbrewingcompany.com

Brewery – Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
Flying Goose Brew Pub
New London
www.flyinggoose.com

Brewery – Great North Woods Region
Copper Pig Brewery
Lancaster
www.copperpigbrewery.com

Brewery – Lakes Region
Kettlehead Brewing Company
Tilton
www.kettleheadbrewing.com

Brewery – Manchester Area
603 Brewery and Beer Hall
Londonderry
www.603brewery.com

Brewery – Monadnock Region
Post & Beam Brewing
Peterborough
www.postandbeambrewery.com

Brewery – Nashua Area
Spyglass Brewing Company
Nashua
www.spyglassbrewing.com

Brewery – Salem Area
Kelsen Brewing Company
Londonderry
www.kelsenbrewing.com

Brewery – Seacoast Region
Stoneface Brewing Co.
Newington
www.stonefacebrewingco.com

Brewery – White Mountains Region
Schilling Beer Co.
Littleton
www.schillingbeer.com

Best Brewpub

Woodstock Inn Brewery
North Woodstock
www.woodstockinnnh.com

Best Distillery

Flag Hill Distillery & Winery
Lee
www.flaghill.com

Best Restaurant With Best Beer List

Thirsty Moose Tap House
Merrimack, Manchester, Exeter
www.thirstymoosetaphouse.com

Best Restaurant With Best Wine List

Bedford Village Inn & Restaurant
Bedford
www.bedfordvillageinn.com

Best Restaurant With Best Cocktails (tie)

Copper Door
Bedford and Salem
www.greatnhrestaurants.com

Americus Restaurant at Labelle Winery
Amherst
labellewinery.com

Best Wine Shop

Wine on Main
Concord
www.wineonmainnh.com

An investigation is underway after police said a teen girl was shot in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

According to the Atlantic City Police Department, on June 2, 2026, around 11:43 p.m. officers responded to the 600 block of New York Avenue after receiving a report about a shooting.

When officers got to the scene, police said they found a 16-year-old girl shot. She was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Police said anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Atlantic City Police Department Violent Crimes Unit at 609-347-5858 or to submit an anonymous text tip to tip411 (847411), begin the text with ACPD.

Chatbots on five different websites claimed to be licensed to practice medicine in Pennsylvania when prompted by Spotlight PA — the same kind of output that led the Shapiro administration to file a lawsuit last month.

A task force under Pennsylvania’s Department of State has been working since February to identify AI chatbots posing as licensed professionals and misleading users. Based on that work, the administration filed suit against the role-playing site Character.AI.

Mirroring the investigation detailed in the Department of State’s lawsuit, Spotlight PA had conversations with AI characters on websites Talkie, Janitor, Kindroid, Replika, and Nomi.AI. All provided a false Pennsylvania medical license number when prompted, a key part of the state’s argument in its lawsuit against Character.AI.

Spotlight PA checked responses from these bots after reviewing online articles and digital message boards to find 10 popular companion and role-playing AI chatbots. A reporter either selected a premade character or — when necessary — entered a description that would generate a doctor personality. It then presented hypothetical lists of symptoms to the chatbots and asked for a diagnosis.

Some of the most popular AI large language models, like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini, did not claim to be licensed medical professionals under the same circumstances. Only a handful of role-playing websites did so.

Replika and Nomi require their users to create characters. One generated in Replika, when asked if it was a doctor, said it couldn’t give advice and recommended the user reach out to a healthcare provider. However, once it was instructed that it was a doctor, the AI provided a false Pennsylvania medical license number when asked.

“Let’s focus on getting you feeling better, shall we?” it said.

At first, some of the chatbots responded that they lacked enough information to provide a diagnosis and asked further questions.

“Dr. Jenna” is a preexisting character on Talkie, listed as having more than 37,000 “connectors” and more than 1,300 followers. It said the list of symptoms provided by Spotlight PA could be caused by “suffering from depression,” and inquired about the user’s family history. Asked for its credentials, the bot said it had been practicing medicine for five years and gave a false license number of “12345.”

Many of the websites, including Character.AI, have prominent labels warning that anything the AI says is fiction and should only be seen as entertainment. The other sites issue similar disclaimers in their initial terms of service, saying users are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the technology’s claims.

Jennifer Kraschnewski, a physician and director of the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute, told Spotlight PA she isn’t convinced the disclaimers actually get through to users. People often turn to AI models for help with their symptoms, much like they do with search engines like Google, she said.

“Incorrect information in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to interpret that can be concerning,” Kraschnewski said. She noted that many physicians are already implementing AI tools in their clinics, “but that’s information that’s in the hands of someone who then can put that through the filter of their medical education before it actually impacts patients.”

Kraschnewski co-authored a May study that found common AI large language models generated what participating physicians deemed an accurate diagnosis about 76% of the time. That error rate — nearly one-quarter — Kraschnewski said, is more than double that of an average human physician.

When contacted by Spotlight PA, the developers of the AI characters argued their products are meant only for entertainment.

“Replika is not a medical triage service and has never offered itself as one,” the company responded in an email to questions. “Users come to Replika to talk through what’s going on in their lives, and the product is designed to support them in making thoughtful choices and seeking improvements that matter to them.”

Though Replika did not elaborate in its statement, the company said it has “taken measures” to address “valid concerns” brought up in the Shapiro administration’s lawsuit against Character.AI.

Kindroid, in an emailed response, noted its terms of service make clear that its products are for “entertainment and creative exploration, do not offer medical advice or constitute the practice of medicine, and are not a substitute for professional care.”

“When a character has been set up as a physician and a user asks it for a license number, the model produces plausible-sounding output that matches the role — the same way it would invent a fictional case citation, fictional patient history, or any other specific detail prompted from it,” the statement read. “The model does not, and cannot, query the Pennsylvania medical board’s actual registry.”

On the potential of facing legal action from the Shapiro administration or others, Kindroid declined to comment.

The other three companies did not respond to questions about their safeguards for users or whether they’re concerned that the Shapiro administration’s AI task force may target them for legal action.

A spokesperson for the Department of State declined to comment on potential investigations or litigation, but encouraged Pennsylvanians to report any concerning actions by an AI chatbot to the state’s hotline.

“Millions of children and teens across this country, including many here in Pennsylvania, are relying on these chatbots for information, and we need to rein in this AI technology that is preying on our kids,” said Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Shapiro. “Pennsylvania will continue leading the way in holding bad actors accountable and setting clear guardrails so people can use new technology responsibly.”

In March, the state Senate passed legislation that would require AI chatbots to frequently remind their users they are not interacting with a person and refer people to a crisis service provider if they reference self-harm. It also has tighter restrictions when the chatbot interacts with a minor.

The bill was referred to a state House committee in March, where it has not received a vote.