NERAX is back!!!

Thanks for the flag AlcahueteJ. I'm not going to be much help though unfortunately.

I've only ever volunteered on Saturday nights (the final night) so I've never taken them up on the free subsequent admission offer. I like Saturday because you can just stick around for the after party which has pizza and whatever hasn't kicked on offer.

I can say that volunteering is a lot of fun, everyone is super nice, and it's pretty sweet to get a couple of free half pours every half hour during the breaks on your shift

 

My favorite fest! Really looking forward to it. Seems harder to find cask ale nowadays...

 

Good to know, I haven't been there in a while. Now I've got an excuse!

 

hey folks,

Some of you might have received the email from Bill that NERAX isn't doing so hot on volunteers so far this year. He gave me the go ahead to post a heads up about it here. Please share wherever you think it might find receptive eyes and ears.

If you've ever thought about volunteering this would be a good year to start! It's super laid back and fun. You get a break every half hour and some tickets for free quarter-pours of beer that you are welcome to drink on said breaks. Also free admission to a future session and a free t-shirt (which in the past have been pretty badass with the Firkin Reaper guy on them).

If you've never been you might expect it to be a rather insular kind of crowd which isn't that receptive to newcomers but it's really the opposite - you really get the feeling that everyone there is excited to share and spread appreciation for cask beer. And if traditional British Ales aren't your thing there's always plenty of modern stuff too - even styles that might seem surprising to see on cask.

Lastly, I think the best perk is that you get to come to the staff party on Saturday night and help finish off whatever beer is leftover.

Here's the direct link for anyone interested. Again, please share freely!

Volunteer at Nerax 2023!

 

Signed up as a first time volunteer for this year and looking forward to it! Always have loved this festival. See y'all there.

 

You can choose whichever session(s) you'd like to volunteer at, and I believe they also need help with setup the weekend beforehand.

 

Just saw the email. This will not affect my attendance/volunteering. I've been wanting to go to this event for at least a decade. Just got a car again last April. I will be there come hell or high wadda.

 

@AlcahueteJ - Do you know if they’ll be posting a beer list?

 

This really sucks, what's worse is I can't make the new dates. I have flights & hotel booked, so the question is, should I still come to Boston? The Redsox have a couple of games that week/weekend. Anything else going on in Boston that would make it worth my while to still go? Any other beer events? I was going to be there Wednesday till Sunday.

 

Ugggh. In the same boat-- had a flight & Airbnb booked with some friends. Can't win here-- was supposed to meet up with these same friends for NERAX in 2020 when it got cancelled due to covid! Hoping to be able to make the new dates (fortunately the Airbnb is refundable-- need to check the flight options).

They did send the beer list in advance, or at least they did in 2011 and 2017 (the last time I attended).

 

Thanks for the response, Backbeat looks great. I've got a hotel at the seaport. Google maps says it's an hour and a half to 2 hours ride each way. Anything closer to the seaport?

 

lol that’s not even close. It’s maybe a 20-30 min ride. Just grab an Uber. Look on a map how close it is to Boston. Unfortunately besides the beer stops you probably know about in Boston, the city itself to me just isn’t that great for specialty beer. Take away 2 trillium locations, harpoon and a few bars and your sucking chowder and bud lights. Cambridge brewing co(technically not Boston) across the river is an option and area too

 

Being in the Seaport, I'd absolutely recommend a reservation at Row 34 for dinner one night and hit Trillium. Harpoon's facility over there is worth a visit too. Cisco runs a very very popular beer garden in the Seaport too, it's seasonal, not sure when it opens.

Keep your eyes on Long Live Roxbury, if that's open by then, I would recommend a trip.

There is an embarrassment of fun breweries in Cambridge/Somerville/Medford/Malden.

You being in town Weds-Sun it could be fun to take a day trip up to Salem/Beverly as suggested. Half hour commuter rail ride from North Station (there's a Night Shift gastropub next to North Station btw).

If you don't make it to Notch Salem, there's a Notch Allston on the other side of Boston from the seaport - 15 minute uber ride on the Mass Pike assuming no traffic.

 

I’m opposite where original dates didn’t work and now new ones I think I can swing. Probably Thursday night session I think

 

If you like either hockey or basketball, the Bruins are playing Thursday night and Celtics on Friday night. TD Garden is located literally above North Station, so you could piggyback a game on the way back from the commuter rail from the recommendations above. The advance tickets are steep, so what I'd do is watch Stubhub the day of for cheaper seats as folks want to get rid of their tickets. If you are traveling alone, single tickets have the best chance of dropping in price. But if the prices don't come down far enough, no harm no foul, there is the North End to the east of North Station/TD Garden where you can grab (Italian) dinner and pastry.

Edit: Or the Tip Tap Room in the other direction if you feel like getting a nice craft beer at a huge price.