Top Breweries in MA

Not having Jack's Abby in the list is suspect :-).

 

Sure is, best MA brewery that you can pretty much buy beers from any place, any time.

 

Because their overall rating is 3.96 and therefore doesn't make the cut. Seems that's really all this list uses to judge...superficial, but most lists are.

Only weird that Clown Shoes is included since they don't have their own brewery and aren't "open" per the criteria...yet at least. No knock on the beer quality though.

 

If you produce mostly "New England-style" IPAs and various riffs on the same beer using differnt hops, that inflates your ratings.

There's no good measuring stick from a statistical standpoint. Personally I put Notch and Jack's Abby as 1 and 2.

 

BA reviewers and this list punish breweries who make anything other than a IPA, stout or sour or make their beer widely available. Any top 10 MA list without Jacks Abby and CBC isn't worth a look.

 

Isn't Notch Left of the Dial brewed at Two Roads in CT?

I know it's a MA brewery, but odd to see that particular can pictured

 

May have been in the past, but they have their own brewery in Salem now. What's odd about the can?

 

Pretty sure all the distributed stuff is still brewed at Two Roads.

 

Harpoon left off? Only the oldest craft & probably highest volume in MA, but sure, they're inconsequential <eye roll>. And try to get on a tour (or a seat) at their tasting room, even on a Tuesday.

These types of lists are stupid.

 

Had a fresh harpoon IPA for the first time in years the other day...WOW, well made beer.

 

Notably, this is not a list of the oldest, highest volume, or most consequential breweries in Massachusetts. Or the ones with the busiest taprooms for that matter.

 

I've gone on the harpoon tour twice and had a seat in the tap room 5+ times with little issue...all on weekends. Not sure how this is relevant.

Nice to see Mystic on a list. There are some really notable omissions, but change the parameters in targeted ways and I could fit any brewery I wanted onto this list. Such are lists.

 

IMO, Clown Shoes at #4 is silly. Never was much of a fan. I'll give a mention as well to Jacks Abby missing. List is good though overall.

 

I disagree with Clown Shoes and Notch being on that list. The Harpoon talk is silly. The one brewery that I think should be on there is Mayflower. Almost everything I've had from them have been above average to great.

 

Mayflowe is a solid choice as well. Maybe even Ipswich.

Notch deserves to be there, the styles they're doing at sessionable ABVs is very impressive. Even more impressive is that they're on this list period, considering it's based on ratings and everything they do is 4.5% or lower.

 

These lists are always great for getting a discussion going.

IMO, it's hard to argue that Trillium and Tree House aren't two of the best breweries in New England (or U.S.A) right now, but I'm amazed at the number of different styles that Jack's Abby and Night Shift brew. They both really cover the spectrum and usually brew very good to great beers. Sure there are a few clunkers in there, but for the most part their line ups are pretty solid.

I've recently become a pretty big fan of Mystic and seek out their beers every chance I get, so nice to see them on the list (they're a little under rated, IMO). I'm a sucker for BA stouts so seeing Clown Shoes on the list is fine by me but I get why people disagree.

All in all it's a good time to be a beer drinker. Hard to keep up with the beers being brewed just by MA brewers.

 

Harpoon beers are dated and mediocre for the most part. Enough with the nostalgia vote.

 

Sorry, didn't really mean to stir the pot here, but I guess I just didn't realize Notch was that big versus others in MA, and what I've had by them was brewed in CT. Maybe with the new spot in Salem they will bring everything in house soon.