New England Must Haves

never knew that. But then again, I've never been blessed with ANY Oxbow! Thanks for the heads up

 

Also second Oxbow. A great brewery.

 

really? i'll have to check this out, the mayflower's i had were mediocre

 

Cisco woods series starting to reappear. Great sours.

 

A few MA recommendations:

Brewmaster Jack - Ambrewsia IPA & Total Eclipse porter
Element - Dark Element, Red Giant
Slumbrew - all of em
Mystic - have enjoyed all of these too.

I'll echo others - Jack's Abby rules!

 

I'm a big fan of porters and I try to taste a lot of the local offerings. I've never noticed this one so thanks for the heads up. It is pretty fantastic. Nice call.

 

Glad you liked it. The brewery is about a 20 minute ride for me and they do a pretty solid taste/tour too if your ever in the Plymouth area. I find their other offerings to be just ok, but the Porter is really good imo.

 

If he is in Worcester, he should just hit Julios in Westboro for a one-stop shop. Can't get Nebco, but will get an awesome cross-section of what is available in MA. If you don't get Smuttynose, ask him to grab you some Baltic Porter. Jack's Abbey beers are a must. I think Framminghammer is coming out soon, but Hoponius Union is incredible. Mass Rising and their 2nd anniversary lager are excellent. For Pretty Things, Meadowlark IPA gets lots of props. I really like Fluffy White Rabbits and Our Finest Regards. Be Hoppy from Wormtown is a great beer and is in cans with limited distribution. People rave about Maine Beer Co. - I'm not blown away and their pricepoint is too high IMO. Not sure if they are still on the shelves, but Allagash FV13 & Merveilleux saw distribution and are good American Wilds. Night Shift is making some decent Beliner Weisse beers. If you friend can get Ever Weisse, that would be a plus. As another poster mentioned, what are your favorite styles?

 

There is also draft available in limited quantities in the Philly area.

 

Oxbow is also dropping in NYC this weekend, also limited quantities

 

I had the oxbow farmhouse pale ale at a small bar in West Reading, PA over Thanksgiving. I saw they had it on draft and was shocked, since I cant get it here in NH.

 

One of the brewers has a Philly connection, one of the owners a DC connection.....so small quantities get dropped to select locales in both those areas.....NYC dropped this weekend, I think that will be even more infrequent than both Philly & DC

 

Kiwi Rising, Birth of Tragedy, Heady Topper.

 

Can't disagree more. Mayflower is drinkable but not in the same league as the other 2 you mentioned.

 

not for nothing but mayflower is mediocre at best.

 

Oxbow is one of the best breweries in the country. Don't forget Blue Lobster or Night Shift!

 

Mayflower seems to be getting a lot of crap. Not a huge fan of most of their beers, but I'll vouch for the porter - it's fantastic for a locally made porter. I'd put it neck and neck with Smutty, though below Founder's. Also if you like an occasional IPA that's multi-dimensional and not just the textbook overhopped exercise in American lupulin excess (read, you can actually taste some malt), Mayflower's is a pretty good everyday one too.