Wachusett Brewing Opening Satellite Taprooms

Nice, I'd check out the Harvard Square location.

As I've said before, Harvard Square really needs a brewery.

 

I really thought Wachusett would be the first to get pushed aside by the wave of new MA breweries that's come along in the last ten years or so. Quite the opposite, it seems.

 

Agreed. I'll admit I haven't gotten anything from them lately, but for a good stretch of time their IPA was my daily drinker beer. And nothing bets their Country Ale after a day skiing at Wachusett (no relation...) I tried the IPA there a couple times and if anything it seemed TOO fresh (if that's possible; I think it was still a bit green.)
I visited their place years ago, I lived in Hudson at the time - not too far and this was before Hudson became the go-to place it's become now. Great little (at the time) place with a cool atmosphere. Haven't been since the expansions, though. Should get out there next time I have a chance.

 

They did a really great job with the Wally series. A damn tasty NEIPA that you can afford AND get all day every day at any normal liquor store

 

Just grabbed their mixed Wally twelve pack this weekend and totally agree. I'm not sure "Wally Juice" really justifies its existence but they seem to have absolutely dialed in regular Wally since the last time I had it (near the beginning). The double was good too if you like 'em boozy.

 

I think they've always been smart. They've never over leveraged themselves. They've released beers with tie-ins to local sports. They basically re-invented themselves over the past few years by introducing new beers starting with Wally and then turned a boring brewery into a pretty cool place to visit.

There's a soccer field across the street that I've gone to for away games for my son for years. With the changes to the brewery I know a lot of parents now run across the street either before or after. It used to be pretty quiet but now its packed whenever I've gone by. Historically there hasn't been a lot of competition due to other breweries nearby, though that's starting to change a bit. I think they've had a beer garden in Boston as well the past year or two. Overall just smart moves. They kind of fill that niche of wanting something a little more craft than Sam Adams but not quite as trendy as an expensive and tiny micro brewery. They've got a good variety of beers as well, not just all IPA's or sours.

I used to drink a lot of their beer "back in the day" but will still try their beer here or there and definitely would stop by their brewery if I am in the area. My wife actually just picked up a 12 pack of their summer beer now that Sam Adam's changed their summer beer. I'm glad to see they are doing well.

 

Do they still make their regular old IPA with the purple label? I'm guessing it got shafted in the haze craze...

 

Its in their retired list but they still have some non hazy IPA's like Larry and Green Monsta. Lots of their old beers are retired now. I think Green Monsta and the purple label IPA were pretty similar in taste and ingredients. Kind of makes sense that they went with Green Monsta given their other sports related named beers.

 

I *think* it still showed up as recently as this winter in their IPA 12 packs that had it, green monsta, larry, and the light. But now that you mention it, I wonder if that mix pack has been put aside for the new Wally one. I'll have to pay more attention next time I'm at the store.

ETA: oops, mathewp got their first. Guess it's gone. I wonder if they'll still do an old school IPA 12 pack with something in its place?

 

The light IPA shows up as retired as well, I think the Liquication took over for that. Similar beer but guessing "Light IPA" got killed in their more marketing focused change up over the past few years.

 

Yeah... kinda. I'm gonna guess that if we could look into their email history, we'd see quite a few to their legal council with titles like "re: intellectual property, exact limits of".

 

Probably unsurprising. I bet it must irk them that they were actually ahead of the session IPA train but couldn't make it stick. I'm not a session guy and I always thought it was decent for what it was.

 

I've always wondered whether they had to pay any royalties to the respective teams. Doing a quick search does seem indicate they are just skirting the limits as you say: https://www.daytondailynews.com/spo...out-stealing-likeness/DGYWw22pRw8PYUsblLkZKN/

My guess is they were going to try that with Wally (e.g. the Red Sox mascot) but probably couldn't figure out a way around it. While searching I also came across an article from early 2012 about their newly acquired canning line. They got into canning beer early and even contract canned for other breweries. It's kind of like they asked themselves "What would Smuttynose do?" and then did the complete opposite

 

Sounds like they're doing better now...

https://www.bostonglobe.com/busines...-turnaround/G6TfsmS6f18VT2oyT64JGJ/story.html

 

I went for a tour at Wachusett back before they expanded things to make it more of a destination (I was the only person on the tour) and the woman told me that they were doing Smuttynose's canning for them. Given that Smuttynose had recently completed their big new brewery that was a bit of a headscratcher at the time.

 

Thanks for the link.

Sounds more like a hope/plan for the future than an assessment of their current status though. Can't say I like those new cans - too busy and a lousy font.

 

Looks like Wachusett's font

 

Replacing the Finest Kind branding but keeping the beer itself kinda seems like the worst of all worlds to be honest.

 

I think it's better than their previous can and bottle art, but that isn't saying much. It's still not clear how they are going to grow, I don't see anything out of them that is exciting. They are buying the 7th Settlement brewery in Dover for their Smuttlabs beers. Kind of odd since its unlikely they need any more brewing capacity and are likely not using what they have (unless their contract brewing is going like gangbusters). I've said it before what's the purpose of a second brand for experimental beers? If people weren't rushing to a beautiful location in Hampton for Smutlabs beers what makes them think people are going to rush to a mill in Dover that couldn't sustain the previous brewery? Anyhow, we will see. Would love to see them succeed but just seems like they are just bailing water rather than plugging the hole in the boat...