Timely/less obvious recs for Boston this weekend

CBC, Lord Hobo, and Atwoods are all within walking distance of each other.
Also reasonably close to a Red Line Subway station (Kendal or Central, depending on where you start)
Map in out on Google, you'll see.

Publik House and Deep Ellum are over in Brookline/Allston.

Other Side is closed

Cape Ann is a haul. If you're going that far, think about Smuttynose and Portsmouth Brew Pub in New Hampshire.
And The Tap in Haverhill.

I'd skip taking the car, as parking can be a bitch in Boston/Cambridge. Plus, who wants to drink and drive?

Good Luck

 

I don't know about the brewery, but Cape Ann and the North Shore are worth a visit. If you keep going you'll be in Portsmouth NH, home of Smuttynose (which makes better beer IMO) plus some great bars.

If you like history and the outdoors, that whole area has much to offer. If you mention some interests I'll make some suggestions.

If beer is your primary interest, Boston & environs is better.

 

You won't go wrong with either the CBC/Lord Hobo route or the Public House/Deep Ellum. I assume all will have some cool stuff (with the exception of CBC, only their beers on tap) leftover from events Thursday and Friday morning. Cbc to Lord Hobo is a shorter trip than Public House to Deep Ellum but not by much.

 

Im having the same dilemma...heading down early in the afternoon from Maine for NotF ! Taking advantage of having a few hours by hitting up Jack's Abby> Martys>Deep Elum>NotF... seems like this is doable. Would Marty's be the best bottle shop to pass through to find some Lost Abbey/Bruery/Pretty Things/Firestone/Boulevard etc... any other ideas for bottle shops would be much appreciated.

 

If you don't mind a ~ 45 minute drive, the Tap in Haverhill (brewpub with a relaxing outdoor deck) & the Ale House in Amesbury (beer bar in a quaint picturesque mill town) are a nice duo worth the trip.

 

The Portsmouth idea is not bad if you want off the beaten path. However, when the BA fests go down, places like Lord Hobo and Publick House seem to pull out some gems and have leftovers. I'm not planning on going to any of the BA fests this time around, but I'll most likely hit one of the peripheral events at the bars. Facebook pages for most of these bars have up to date details.

Also, if you want another idea of a day/side trip, the Armsby Abby in Worcester is great and down Rt. 9 from Julio's and the interstate.

If you are wanting a beer focused trip, you won't do much better than going to some of the places you mentioned already. If you want to change it up and stretch your legs, the Worcester or Portsmouth trip would do you well.

 

If you're willing to travel all the way to Cape Ann Brewery, I think you'd have more than enough to do with traveling around beer destinations in Boston/Cambridge (unless you're looking for some pretty scenario and such...)

 

No offense to the OP obviously, but is there no way to Sticky a "where to go in boston" on this forum?

 

Stickies for Hill Farmstead, Lawson's & Heady Topper questions are far more deserving a "sticky" for Boston queries IMO. More diversity in the subjective questions re. Boston than in the festivals &/or availability of the popular VT breweries.

 

I'd hope on the Red Line go to Central Square or Kendall Square and hit CBC/Lord Hobo if all you care about is beer. Cant beat that combo. You could see MIT/Harvard while your in the cambridge area if you interested in sight seeing.

You could also go the the fenway area (which is cool since its near Fenway park) and hit Lower Depths or Yardhouse.

I'd skip allston/brookline area (no reason to go to outskirts of city), this is also where I live currently, just not where I'd want to go if I were on vacation/travel.

I'd recommend hitting up the harpoon or sam adams tours on saturday.

Driving up to the northshore is a good idea as its quite beautiful. I'd highly recommend getting some fresh fried clams (full bellied, not strips) from either Woodmans or the Clam Box. Fresh local seafood. (any seafood you get in boston is not locally caught despite what ppl think). Both are relatively close to Cape Anne from what I remember.

Enjoy the city.

 

Yes, come out to Cape Ann Brewery! Their beers are generally excellent and they have a particularly nice selection on tap right now, including the last of the summer seasonal, Pineapple Express which is a pineapple beer with a smoked malt, plus the fall beers are out with a nice porter and the pumpkin and a couple variations on it. The food, while limited to typical pub fare and fried seafood, it always good.

The Smuttynose/Portsmouth duo is a good alternative but Gloucester is less crowded.

 

If you are going to drive an hour away, may as well be to Armsby Abbey. As of lunch yesterday, they had Hill Farmstead Abner and Edward on tap...

 

If you are heading north, you should take a pit stop to see the guys at Idle Hands Brewery in Everett (I think off Route 99). They are in a small warehouse and serve great Belgium style beers. And right next door is Night Shift Brewery. They have some off the wall stuff. I believe they are both open Saturday after noon.

 

Head to Bukowski's if you haven't been there. Reasonable prices for some kick ass brews.