Notch Brewing (2021)

In Brighton now and I have to say I love the space. Everyone's comments convinced me I needed to come up. Open, airy, reminds me of the German biergardens I have been to. The grodziskie is exceptional.

 

Busy this afternoon?

 

Most tables have people at them. It seems full but not crazy. I was able to get beer from the bar within five minutes.

 

Yeah I’ll be going on Wednesday, possibly with friends but by myself if need be. Would kill to have the mild or bitter on, but if I have to go again every week I will.

 

Made my first bike over today. Unfortunately there weren't any cans to-go, but I must have convinced myself that there was supposed to be. Fire walk with me is an incredible beer. I think something that's underrated about this location is the 0 minute wait to get in.

 

My guess on the cans/bottle to go was there actually wasn’t any when the Brighton site went live and the info was carried from the Salem webpage when I posted it above.

 

I was joking with a friend on Friday “imagine if trillium opened this instead of Notch.”
There’d be a line down the street and the crowd would be annoying. So far, Notch has captured the feel of a friendly neighborhood beer garden and taproom very well. Within an hour of the rain stopping on Friday the place got busy but it never felt packed or crowded. And the crowd was chill. No haze bros trying to flip cans in trades, no kids running around. And I was there for a long time.

 

Were there no kids at all or just no kids running around? I thought Notch banned kids.

 

I only recall a stroller or two. Didn’t see any kids.

 

Chris mentioned on here back in May that before the pandemic they didn’t sell many cans from the brewery, so once they opened back up without restrictions they wanted to focus on the taproom experience.

Maybe the highlight of my pandemic was getting ups boxes full of Notch. At least now I can go to Brighton to drink a few liters.

 

I thought I read kids are allowed except after 6 on the weekends.

Place is just fantastic. The level of busy so far is ideal - looks like a full house, Notch hopefully raking in cash, but rarely longer than a 2 minute wait for a beer (if that) and no struggle to find a place to sit. And it goes without saying at this point, but the beer itself is unbelievably good.

I hope the opening of the other spots in the Speedway adds to the experience rather than detracts. Like, I love Bow Market in theory and have only had good times there, but good luck if you want to go there on a nice Saturday. This seems literally twice as big, and is a bit more off the beaten path, so I'm optimistic.

 

My wife and I rode our bikes on the Charles for awhile, then biked over to Notch yesterday afternoon. I had the Standard and Tmavy on draft, while the Mrs who prefers IPA’s, enjoyed Left of the
Dial, and the Voll projekt Keep your cool. I had a sip and didn’t love, but she liked it.
Great space and atmosphere, and extremely easy to strike up a conversation with a neighbor due to the communal aspect of the outdoor seating. Oh, and the table service is great, so quick and efficient!
Saw Chris walk around as we were leaving.
We’ll definitely be back, and the fact that I can tie in a little exercise with the bikes, I think it’s an easier sell with Mrs.
Here are a couple of pics I posted yesterday on the what beer are you drinking thread.

 

I’m joking about kids. We have a toddler, but I love the kid hating crowd.

 

Yup, Bow is awesome but can be hard to get into sometimes. Although I went yesterday early afternoon and it wasn't crowded at all.

Was there a Sunday afternoon last month too, and same thing. So maybe it's died down a bit now that everyone isn't looking for outdoor seating due to the pandemic?

 

Went to Notch Brighton twice yesterday, so happy this is 2 miles from my house!
Great space and really great service. Had Tmavy, The Standard, Garageland and Teenage Riot. The Standard on draft is heavenly. I know Notch is not really trying to be an IPA place, but I love the twist they put on these (using German hops or using a Kolsch yeast) and they are really great.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed Brighton yesterday. Service is top notch. Fire walk, the standard, grodziskie and the hefeweizen were excellent. The printed menus, that are very informative, are a nice touch in the days of qr codes. It seems like it'll have a Bow market feel once the other businesses are up in running.

There is something nice about drinking by the water in Salem but driving distance from Maine is nearly the same so it'll be another great spot to hit. And close to Brato. A homerun!

 

There were many toddlers running around on Saturday. It was very entertaining. Great space with lotsa potential, and a short walk to the Night Shift beer garden on the Charles River. And not far from Brato Brewhouse which I also like a lot.

 

Aeronaut also has a beer garden about a half mile east on Western Ave.

I used to work on Soldiers Field Rd, and my company moved to Medford with 7 or 8 breweries nearby, but it looks like our old hood is catching up.

 

And the tap list would be 20 variations of the same IPA, a few sours, and a whole lot of stouts with cocoa nubs (ok I know that's an exaggeration). I don't have anything against breweries like Trillium but at this point there are so many places doing the exact same thing, Notch is a nice change of pace. I love and drink a lot of NE IPA's but I'm finding it harder and harder to get excited about new ones (or spending $4-7 per can), likewise with Stouts. I am excited every time I see a new Notch beer though and have no concerns paying good money for their beer.