Somerville Brewing (2019)

This place always confused me. Are they called Somerville Brewing? Slumbrew? American Fresh? Why have three names? Seems like such a branding nightmare.

 

Is it though? No different than the Boston Beer Company/Samuel Adams.

 

Do they ever brand anything with Boston Beer Co though? It's just a corporate entity--it's never part of consumer-facing branding. The word "Boston Beer" don't appear on the Sam Adams homepage. Contrast that with Somerville Brewing, where all three brands are at the top of the homepage:

 

I'd say that the only reason people know about Boston Beer Co is because they threw it out as a tagline on every single Sam Adams tv commercial they had for about 25 years or so. If you visit the brewery for a tour or whatever, they dont call it Boston Beer Co Brewery, they call it the Sam Adams Brewery.

 

American Fresh Brewhouse sounds so meaningless. Of course it's American and It's a breweries taproom so i'd expect the beer to be fresh. While "Slumbrew" might sound unappetizing to some, i'll usually just ask my friends if they want to go to the slumbrew at assembly/union square rather than the "american fresh brewhouse."

 

Weird tangent for this thread to immediately take.

Slumbrew is the best of the names, but as a reference to "Slummerville" doesn't work quite as well in the new bougie version of the town that currently exists.

 

Slumbrew is a bit easy to overlook but I almost always enjoy their beers.

Sorry to see the tent thingy go since that was a fun spot, particularly in the winter when it felt a bit like a glorified version of sitting around a campfire. I do have to say that the one time I went to the full brewpub at Ass Row I found it off puttingly expensive.

 

I don't remember the prices.

 

I don’t make my consumption decisions based on names but to each heir own. I appreciated the pitch/info. I also appreciate their hustle. The free glass is a nice touch that is also brilliant. Big dummies everywhere still charging for that vessel that generates a huge profit margin.

They hit more than they miss. I’m a fan.

 

Slumbrew is completely fine if not unremarkable.

They had some interesting contenders for a "flag ship" brew during the bomber-era but nothing ever materialized into a compelling offering.

 

I was wondering what went on with their distribution, my local dumpy grocery used to carry them all the time, but haven't seen anything from them in like a year.

 

Loved the Yankee Swap beers that come around once/year and purchased 2013-2015, but for whatever reason of availability or where I shop haven't scored any the last few years. Would like to revisit some of these new brands.

My issue with anything in Somerville is the "small New England" mentality. Driving from RI to Fenway Park/Mass Pike and points south is no biggie and falls within my one hour radius, but then going over to Cambridge and Somerville FEELS like the other side of the world haha.

 

You're not alone. I live just south of Boston and it feels like the other side of the world from here, too!

 

Assembly is right off 93 so it’s not bad. Easier than getting to Fenway in my opinion. And free parking.

I make a day of it. Get movie tickets, head to Slumbrew for a couple beers, see the movie, put my name in at Smokeshop, head to River Bar for a drink on their patio, drink Trillium and awesome BBQ at Smokeshop.

 

It's too bad they don't allow memes here since you'd provide a treasure trove of opportunities. Maybe you could just change your avatar to Jeff Bezos or Scrooge McDuck?

 

That fits my memory too, and as others have mentioned it seems like their distribution might have actually shrunk since those days as well. I wonder if their plan all along was only to get enough exposure for the beer to build interest in the brewpubs? Caitlin mentions "future locations" for the brewhouse above so maybe that's really where their focus is rather than fighting for crowded shelf space. Hopefully they're not planning to franchise

ETA: It just occured to me that Flagraiser IPA was probably intended to be the flagship but the timing turned out to be just on the wrong side of the changing IPA winds.

 

I should clarify timing: weekends are fine going up I-93, often I'll go that way and the Tobin to get up to my family in Maine. However Fenway is much easier than north of the Charles weekday afternoons/evenings when the southeast expressway is a parking lot. I simply either take VFW Parkway/Jamaica Way or worst case hop onto I-90 or Rt 9 from 128.

Unfortunately from my experience of a month-long commute to visit a family member at Mass General daily, I know the cutoff time to get past the Rt 3/I-93 split in Braintree is 1-1:30pm, after which the travel time increases exponentially!

 

Ooo I like the Scrooge McDuck idea. I don’t even drink Ritterguts anymore (although it’s really just because I like the picture).