Must Stop Breweries in Mass

Big Elm in Sheffield, Berkshires, MA makes the best Porter in the world. They are open for tours on Saturdays only.

 

Where are you staying? I like Night Shifts taproom but it closes at 11 and is outside of the city so you wouldn't have much time there and there is nothing else around that area of interest at that hour. I'd go to Kendall Square for Cambridge Brewing/Lord Hobo/Meadhall or Downtown for Gingerman/The Merchant/Stoddards instead. Those places will be open later and are in better locations. You can get cans of multiple Night Shift beers all over the city including Fort Point Market.

Hit up Row 34 next to Trillum. Great tap list and seafood.

 

@kinopio I am staying at the Boston Hilton Downtown. And as I see it, looks like we will be sans car so it's just a matter of Uber from place to place. So anything relatively outside of the city will probably be a pass. Night Shift was as far as we were committed to going given the lack of overall time.

Since we are going to Fort Point Market (it's a given) - just pass on Night Shift can get the cans then?

I've never been in Boston, so right now I'm not sure if you all those places you are mentioning are in the downtown area or not. Still need to do some homework.

 

@beertoro I did quick Google maps search of the places @kinopio mentioned since you mentioned you'll be using Uber as your primary mode of transportation.

Night Shift - give or take 5 miles/15 mins, depending on route, from your hotel.
Cambridge Brewing Co. - 3.5 miles
Lord Hobo - virtually the same as CBC as they are within walking distance of each other.
Meadhall - again similar range as the two Cambridge spots mentioned above.
The Gingerman - 0.2 miles from your hotel, so you can walk there.
The Merchant - 0.4, another spot within walking distance.
Stoddards - about a mile away. Walk or Uber.
Trillium/Row 34/Fort Point Market - about a mile away in opposite direction as above. These 3 are all in a row next to each other. Walk or Uber.

 

As MattOC mentioned Gingerman/Stoddards/Merchant are all very close to your hotel and I believe will be open till 2AM. That'd be a good bar hopping experience downtown. If you want a liquor store that night with a good beer selection the Gordons Fine Wine on Temple Street across from Stoddards appears to be open till 11 on fridays. They have Trillium and plenty of other local stuff. If you wanna save $ you can take the Silver line from the airport to South Station near your hotel for free.

 

Oh man, @MattOC and @kinopio, both your posts are absolute gold and exactly what I needed. I'll let the lady know then.

I actually like the combo of Cambridge Brewing/Lord Hobo more. I had Boomsauce last week in CT and would love to visit them. And thanks for the Silver line tip. That's the one thing we were struggling with.

 

Thats what I would do with that time frame for sure.

Edit: I didn't read all the responses if you are not going to night shift you can get their cans at the liquor store directly next to Trillium they have a great selection of the "non tap room" stuff, morph, santilli, furth, whirlpool and awake usually. Sometimes the 87 too.

 

Re-bumping this one. Flying in on Friday night. Bringing in an empty carry on suitcase and will try to fill that up and then check it once flying back.

Any food recommendations for Saturday?

 

Just to repeat some recommendations already in the thread: If you're going to stay near your hotel, Row 34 is a great option (primarily for seafood) with a first rate tap selection, and basically next door to Trillium. If you're into cocktails, Drink is a terrific stop, though I'd recommend it for a pre-dinner drink rather than a nightcap, since it gets absurdly busy as the night goes on.

If you want to make Saturday your Cambridge night, there are good options at both CBC and Lord Hobo. Check out the menus to see what you'd prefer. CBC is more traditional American brewpub fare, Lord Hobo goes for a gastropub vibe. I have not had great experiences with Meadhall's food, but that may have changed since the last time I gave them a chance. State Park (across the plaza from CBC) has an eclectic menu including an absurdly fiery and delicious Nashville-style hot chicken.

It's not at all a craft beer thing, but I'd be remiss not to mention that, IMHO, the original Pizzeria Regina's is one of the few 'tourist' spots that's worth the visit (and a good excuse to stroll through the North End). Nothing like a well-done pepperoni & a pitcher of some otherwise unremarkable American light lager.

 

Looks like for now, we're doing:

Friday - Lord Hobo/CBC
Saturday - Harpoon/Trillium/Fort Point Market

We fly into Boston at 8 PM on Friday so we figured LH/CBC are right next to each other and close late, so why not there?
Might definitely look into Row 34 since the lady loves her some seafood as well.

 

Keep an eye out for Down the Road Brewing. I have been impressed with both the pale and IPA. Now in cans. Not sure if they are open in Everett yet.

 

Just to add to this a bit. Lord Hobo/CBC aren't downtown. They are in Cambridge, which isn't that far. Good options for sure though. And for Night Shift, most stores don't have all of their beers on the shelves all at once. And rarely do they have The 87 DIPA which is my fave of their regular beers. The brewery will have them all available in cans though. And it really isn't that far there & back from where you are staying. As for bottle shops, some other good local-ish shelf options...

Stoneface
Jack's Abbey
Castle Island (although their best couple of beers are brewery only)
Aeronaut
Wormtown

 

I was not prepared for Fort Point and Trillium. Checking two suitcases back. Trillium, Night Shift, Singlecut, Aeronaut, Wormtown, and Lord Hobo are coming home and that's not all of them. Jesus.

 

Don't forget Mystic and Deciduous at Fort Point Market too

 

Back home, all of my bottles survived the luggage. Will say more later.

 

So, we arrived and went immediately to Lord Hobo. I was confused when I arrived, I thought it was THE brewery, which tells you how much I researched. It was great though. Our waiter and later waitress were excellent. We had all of the Lord Hobo beers and then I noticed they had Jack Abby's Smoke & Dagger Nitro on tap. By then, we ruled out Cambridge Brewing Co. It was already late and we were pretty into the beers there. Their selection of just not Lord Hobo beers made it an easy decision. A couple finished the Mug Club they have there and were told by "the owner/manager" that they had to come up to the bar and sing a song. They literally "meowed" the theme to Game of Thrones. A lot of people joined in and held up their mugs in the air. It was awesome.

Saturday we went to Bostonia Public House for brunch, then walked to Fort Point Market and Trillium. Um, I bought a lot. We had to drive back over to put the beer in the hotel. Went right back out and headed towards Harpoon. Stopped at The Whiskey Priest. Got Hoponius Union on tap there. Made it over to Harpoon and came into the longest line I've ever seen. Apparently the wait to get in would be an hour and a half.

Went to another bar around the area instead. Ended up at a hookah bar called Tangierinos. Pretty awesome. The only thing I managed to do that we had planned was Lord Hobo and Fort Point/Trillium. Don't care, still was GREAT!

 

Sounds like a good trip. Those BA Framinghammers should be in way more demand than they are, they are delicious.