John Harvard's (Cambridge) removing brewing equipment

It is a shame, but as you allude to they needed to change with the times. It's been years since I last visited. In the mid-2000s, I used to stop by the Harvard Square location on a semi-regular basis because they sometimes had decent English-style beers on cask. But then on a visit in about 2008 I was joined by a huge cockroach that came barreling up from behind the bar. I told the bartender and he was unsurprised, saying that they couldn't get rid of them in that downstairs location. (Ugh.)

I didn't return until after their 2012 renovation (and fumigation, hopefully?), when I was drawn there for a group outing. Didn't see any cockroaches, but found the beer offerings to be very mediocre.

 

Meh, Doesn't mean all that much. Just a different set up. I still go to JH here and there when I'm around them. Not everyone is going to make juice bombs.

 

Bummer. That explains why they only had two house beers and 4-5 guest beers on tap (Wormtown, Smuttynose, etc) when I visited in mid-December. Here's hoping they continue to serve cask ale.

 

I too dined with said cockroach - also at the bar. He crawled up the ketchup bottle. Haven't been back.

Too bad, 15 years ago they made a killer milk stout that friends and I would stop in for every Monday night.

 

Would just like to add that Long Island location referenced in the article (Lake Grove) closed at the end of December. Most of the info about it's closure suggested that it was more about the location being redeveloped (and it has, a Shake Shack and Chipotle will take over) and not business related. But with the MA location changing as well, it's certainly not the best look.

 

I've had many solid nights there, and I always dug some of the cask offerings. The mild on cask was particularly delicious in the past, and they always had decent sessionable offerings. I also really loved the lay out for some reason, it was always very inviting and comforting, especially on a cold winter night.

The beers did seem a bit subpar the last time I was there (I have no clue when that was, but likely in the last year or two). I stopped in with my brother last year and walked out when the entire menus was high abv beers, and nothing that piqued my interest.

I'll likely still swing by when they re-open if for nothing else then to wax nostalgic and out of morbid curiosity.

 

Down to 1 brewery in Cambridge, and only 4 in Boston (1 of whom Trillium had to expand outside the city)

I don't know what force or combination of forces prevents it but for as good as that area is for craft beer, it's never been friendly to breweries

 

It had a long run as a brewpub in one of the most expensive retail neighborhoods. It will continue in some form, I'll drop in for a pint for memories and because I like the space.

 

On the bright side: Lamplighter Brewing is supposed to open on Broadway in Cambridge this spring.

 

Right, it's not that bleak. Aeronaut and Slumbrew seem to be doing fine in their locations not far from the Cambridge/Somerville line. And at some point this year we'll hopefully be seeing Winter Hill Brewing opening deeper into Somerville.

 

For a start: high rent, small spaces, ancient buildings needing massive renovation, no parking.

 

yeah Somerville is doing fine, Everett is doing fine

But Boston/Cambridge - Harpoon opened in 86, CBC in 89, first Beer Works in 92. Since then in 24 years, the second Beer Works in 2001, and Trillium in 2013 (and they've had their problems with the city). Others have come and gone, or just stopped brewing (Brew Moon - Rock Bottom - a non brewing Rock Bottom), the sad story of Commonwealth. Wasn't Boston Bowl brewing for awhile?

Other cities/towns in that same time frame, Everett and Somerville as mentioned, Portsmouth & Portland, Framingham, Worcester on and on, breweries have been opening and seeing success everywhere from small town to city. Boston's lucky Trillium was willing to push through all of the construction problems (remember that blog) and licensing problems, or there wouldn't be a new spot since 2001 (and that one a second location)

 

Isn't part of the issue just down to how big city lines are delineated here in the East? Out in the sprawling west (I'm thinking particularly of Chicago) places like Everett and Somerville would all likely be technically within the city limits.

Boston proper is mostly a collection of places that are some combination of uber expensive, hard to get to and park at, or poor and underdeveloped. That latter point begs the question a bit and opens a whole laundry list of historical issues in the city.

 

Boston Bowl is still brewing. The brewery is called "Deadwood Brewery". They offer both onsite consumption and growlers. I tried their IPA for the first time a few weeks ago. Not eager to repeat that experience again...

 

Blah ... they've been off the radar for a good while. Last visit was really fucking depressing, a shame as there are many good memories there. No need to visit there anymore IMO.

 

The lack of new brewpubs/breweries opening in the city is not a Boston-specific issue. It's something you're going to find in any thriving big city on the East Coast, where rents are high, spaces are limited, and resources are scarce. Look at NYC: I can't think of any new brewery/brewpub that has opened on the island of Manhattan in the past five years. (There was small "gastrobrewery" near Soho, but that closed last year). Instead, new places like Threes Brewing (brewpub) and breweries like Singlecut, Other Half, and Sixpoint all opened across the river, in Brooklyn or Queens (Singlecut), in neighborhoods that have lower rents and large spaces.

It's the same in Boston, where the Idle Hands, Night Shift, Mystic, and Trillium all needed to find spaces outside of the city in order to thrive. (Remember, when Harpoon opened in the Seaport district eons ago, it was a barren wasteland out there. Similarly, there wasn't much going on in Kendall Square when CBC opened.)

 

Thanks for the mention. Somerville Brewing (Makers of Slumbrew) is MICROBREWERY and expects to hit 2,000 bbls this year. We are very happily operating with 2 locations in Somerville. Our new brewery + Taproom is only a couple of miles from downtown Boston and we have Parking and food!! Our plan is controlled growth while playing down a very modest amount of debt. Our focus is on making great beers and new friends. Thanks for the support.

 

If there is ample parking and cheap enough rent to open a large brewery anywhere near a city's center then that means that city is a complete disaster that was planned poorly and has no one that wants to be there.

 

Ahh, Commonwealth, such fond memories of that place