Navigation Brewing Company

I've visited a few times, and the vibe of the place is very variable - sometimes it's practically empty, and sometimes it's packed. It's in a warehouse, most of which has been converted into artists' studios - worth a visit before or after the beer. A variable selection too, with sometimes only a few beers on tap, while at other times a wide range.

 

 

 

 

 

 

not much on atmosphere, but such good beer! located in an old warehouse/mill building about a mile from downtown lowell. the testing room has maybe a dozen wooden barrels that serve as tables, along with a small bar and a drink rail, all with bar stools. i drink ipas and stouts, and i find everything these guys make to be exceptional. they do not serve food, but there is usually a food truck out front or you can bring your own. they have bands on fridays and saturdays; with the brick walls and high ceiling it can get loud. the best time to visit is summer when they open the garage door and overflow onto a patio area. but anytime is a good time for their new england ipas. they rotate their ipas very quickly, so if you find something you like, get a growler. chances are there will be a different ones the next time you visit. they will fill generic growlers, as long as it has no other brewery's markings and clearly says 64oz. western ave can be a little hard to find - off school street and hard up against the railroad tracks - but you will be glad you did. note they are open thursday to sunday.

 

 

 

First went here around 3pm on a Saturday in search of a growler for Father's Day. Alas, they didn't have any growler bottles, and I didn't have a blank one, but I stuck around for a pint of their IPA anyways, and made conversation with the bartender. At the time, the place was dead - only about five patrons, but as I said, it was a Saturday afternoon.

I returned on a Friday evening with a friend and the place was hopping - completely packed and a country-rock band playing. There were four beers on tap - a summer ale, a coffee porter, an IPA, and a new APA. Weirdly, they close at 9, which was a little disappointing, but I really enjoyed my visit.

Swung by here on 14JAN17 with Alewife for some post-lunch libations....

Easy to find the warehouse it was located in, but a bit hard to find the actual entrance, as signage was rather small. Finally came across it in a secluded, back corner of the large brick structure... Entered to find a cavernous, white-brick warehouse-type space. Just ahead-right was a small bar with their taps. Behind the bar was a large storage area with coolers, fridges and kegs. To the left were old, full-sized beer barrels serving as tables, with basic metal chairs around each. Also about were a juke box, a table hockey set-up, and other small table games. The place really was cavernous, about 3-stories high; they could/should make use of that upper level open space for storage and expand for more tables below. They only had 3 biers on tap this visit - an APA, a Winterwarmer, and a Russian Imperial Stout. I had 2 of the latter while The Lady had a Winterwarmer and a RIS. Both biers were quite solid, the RIS having solid roasty action. The Warmer was also good, with a heavy lean towards orange peel. Service was A-1 all along... They don't have food, but many patrons were dining on stuff brought in from local vendors and food-trucks. Nav is also dog-friendly. Pretty cool place, overall, and I'd go back if visiting Lowell... Prosit!

3.76/5 rDev -4.20%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$

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