Boston Area Breweries Beyond The Usual Suspects?

Mystic, Idle Hands, and Lamplighter are probably my favorites without getting too far outside the city.

 

Proclamation isn't too far north from Tilted Barn (Warwick)

Buttonwoods isn't too far north from Proclamation (Cranston)

Long Live Beerworks isn't too far north from Buttonwoods (Providence)

All are very well thought of in the area! Great beers (obvious emphasis on NE IPAs) and service.

 

Not really up and coming or unknown but Jacks Abby brewpub in Framingham (~30 mins from downtown) is a great place to hang out and eat if you haven't been there and they have a variety of non-IPA beer styles (some better than others). You can also try all the Springdale beers there which I haven't liked much but other people seem to.

 

If you go to Mystic and Idle Hands you'll be right in the same area as Nightshift and Down the Road which are both worth a visit if you're in the area. Both have cool spaces and a wide variety of solid beer (Down the Road's space is cool because it contains pinball, otherwise Nighshift is the much nicer taproom).

ETA: Agree with the poster above me. It's a little further of a drive but Jack's Abby is a must visit, especially with Springdale in the same building.

 

Awesome. And just FYI, Springdale actually has its own separate space in the building which is more of a funky hipster styled bar. You really get two entirely separate tap room experiences for one.

 

For great IPAs plus other solid beers (further than your range but thought worth mentioning):
Brick and Feather in Turners Falls, MA
River Roost in White River Junction, VT

I’ve heard Fox Farm in Salem, CT is a great spot but haven’t been yet.

For in your range:
There aren’t a ton of other notable MA breweries that are under the radar but I thought Stellwagen in Marshfield was decent/interesting. Also, in Amesbury, Brewery Silvaticus has a great vibe and solid European style beers. Some people will likely mention Notch in Salem, MA which does solid lagers and has done some pretty good IPAs as well.

Keep an eye out for the opening of Vitamin Sea - supposed to make great beers, haven’t seen an ETA on the new brewery though.

 

Big fan of Jacks Abby and Medusa (another 20-30 minutes west of JA) if you head out that way. Medusa does a pretty wide range of styles.

 

If you do head to Framingham check out Exhibit A.

 

Jack's Abby and Exhibit A aren't that far from the Commuter Rail if you don't have a car.

 

Some of these have been recommended already, but here's some of my faves in the greater Boston area (excluding Tree House/Trillium):

Cambridge Brewing Company
- Brewpub (full restaurant) in Kendall Square that really excels at all styles, especially wild ales (in my opinion, they make the best wild ales in the state). Usually has something on cask as well.
Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company
- Framingham brewery in Jack's Abby's original spot (and 5 minutes from Jack's Abby's new spot). Great kolsch, plus good hazy IPAs. And the rotating Leitmotif saison/sour series has had some gems.
Idle Hands Craft Ales
- Malden brewery that makes great lagers and IPAs, plus some solid wild ales.
Jack's Abby Brewing
- Framingham brewery with full restaurant. Lagers only. BA Framinghammer (plus variants) and the Maker series are great, clean barrel-aged beers.
Mystic Brewery
- Chelsea brewery with excellent IPAs (especially the doubles/triples) and saisons (wish they'd release more of them...).
Notch Brewery
- Salem brewery (a bit of a haul from Boston) that likely makes the best lagers in the state, as well as some good IPAS. Everything is low ABV (sub-5%) as well, except for their Voll Projekt series (which still aren't that strong).
Springdale Barrel Room
- Framingham brewery that is the ale offshoot of Jack's Abby (and is right next door). Large, echo-y/noisy space, but good IPAs and lots of sours on tap.

 

Widowmaker in Braintree is a solid choice. Donut Shop stout and Fun Time Boy DIPA are two of my faves they off, just put out a fresh batch of their 50 Year Storm. Also a little further south in Marshfield is Stellwagen, just put out a South African hopped IPA which was tasty!

 

By distance from downtown:

Lamplighter - Cambridge
Aeronaut - Somerville
Mystic - Chelsea
Idle Hands - Malden
Widowmaker - Braintree
Exhibit 'A' - Framingham

Bar with great selection:
The Publick House - Brookline

 

I'd offer up Dorchester Brewing Co. in Dorchester. It's in Boston proper, right near both 90 and 93, and easily accessible via the Red Line. They not only brew their own, but contract brew for others such as Evil Twin and Radiant Pig, and you'll find all of these in their tap room.

 

Backlash Brewery is less than a mile from Dorchester Brewing. Its one of the nicer taprooms in the area, there are games to play and the beer is legit.