Recent Brewery Visits (2025)

I was in Providence a couple weeks back with a couple hours to kill and found myself in Buttonwoods Brewery. I didn't really have the taproom experience (though it looked nice), but I took home a mixed four-pack (they let you do singles): Dark mild, Czech amber, Czech pils, and IPA. IPA, to me, was the standout. Kind of old school citra, crisp hoppy type I like. Amber was really good too.

The standout was the bottle of saison I got. I want to call it the House Saison (honestly, I should have done this post after I got back). It was excellent. Like, why don't more breweries do a beer like this anymore? Saisons had their moment a few years back, but that was it. A moment. Reminiscent of Robert from Russian River (damn there I go hyping up RR again).

I may have to be back in Providence in August. Will return. I've done a couple down in Providence in the last few years (Long Live, Narragansett, Trinity, but this place was the best I've had down there.

 

Responding late
I Went to Ticonderoga, Granville, Whitehall. a very struggling corner of NY
As noted, lots of great efforts, but fighting great odds
I was especially impressed by Cigar Brothers in Whitehall.
Lots of pretty good beer.
Very enthusiastic owners
But no one else there that day besides me

 

I just got back from visiting Omnium Brewing in Nashua, NH. We picked it because it’s centrally located for 3 of us coming from different directions. The menus looked good and the ratings were decent but it’s in an old strip mall. We were all suspicious walking in.

After 5 hours of eating and drinking we left big fans of the place. Huge variety of beer styles with the IPAs that I tried all being good to very good. The kicker was that all 16 oz pours are $4 every Wednesday and Thursday. No matter the ABV or style.

The food was even better. A very unique blend of American pub options and Indian cuisine. Everything we tried was excellent and priced reasonably. A large pizza was $15 and loaded. Much better crust than TH IMO. The chaat appetizer was ridiculous is Indian food is your thing. Paired perfectly with the WCIPA.

Huge space with a few couches, tables and some bar seating. TVs with sports around the bar and good variety of 80s and 90s music playing in the background.

Honestly, think I’ll be going back for Fathers Day with the family. I hope they make it as it wasn’t very busy. They will get my businesses as long as they are open.

 

Buttonwoods used to be one of my go-to locals. They have a great lager game. I just don’t love the new space and their prices went up with the move, so I only go occasionally. That said, if you’re back in Providence, definitely check out Origin Beer Project. They are making some really well-crafted stuff. You can also hit Moniker across the street.

 

Thank for the recommendations (both look up my alley, which is decidedly "do they have more lagers than IPAs on tap or vice versa?" and it being the former). I'll check out how close those places are. Buttonwoods was a product of me sitting in a Hilton lobby with enough time for a side adventure, but not enough time for a side quest. It was like a mile away.

 

Went to check out Epigram Brew in Tyngsborough after catching a movie and had a solid experience.

Brewpub with a variety of different styles. Mostly decent beers with the rice lager and session IPA being solid. The star was the South Shore pies they make. I was blown away by a style of pizza I don't really care for. Spyglass is also 10 minutes away which makes this area of Tyngsborough/Nashua a nice beer excursion.

 

Need to second the love for Epigram here- it is a favorite of the 10 and 13 year olds because they love the food, and dog-friendly patio.

The beer is solid- I like the rotating sour that they have, as those are usually pretty refreshing. The raspberry lime rickey sour is a favorite.
The IPAs are decent, but if you want over the top juice bombs, Spyglass is only ten minutes away.

And as a South Shore transplant who spent many years living and working in Brockton and Bridgewater but now lives in the roast beef-filled town of Dracut, the bar-style pizza definitely scratches the itch when I need it. It isn't Cape Cod Cafe or Lynwood level great, but it is very good, as is some of the other food on the menu.

 

Not sure if this is worthy of its own thread, so I'll leave it here for now.

Harpoon Brewery opens new location in downtown Manchester, NH

https://www.harpoonbrewery.com/manchester-brewery/

https://massbrewbros.com/harpoon-to-open-its-first-brewery-and-public-house-in-new-hampshire/

Centrally located off I-293 in Manchester, NH, Harpoon is the largest tenant within Queen City Center, a brand new 30,000 square-foot entertainment destination bringing together some of the area’s most sought-after food and beverage, sports and fitness, art and music, and retail offerings all under one roof. Fellow tenants include City Club Golf, Barre Life, Clyde’s Cupcakes, Wicked Joyful, Ornate Beauty, GYK, Big Brick Productions, and Windy Films.

 

Have not visited yet, but was introduced to Mill 77 Brewing in Amesbury this past weekend. Not kidding when I say it was probably the best NEIPA I've had from a place I had not yet heard of...ever? Tried two different ones and they held their own with the TH I had right after. Anyone else had their stuff or been?

 

Been a few times and see their stuff fairly often on tap around the Boston area.

 

I got a chance to visit two new-to-me breweries in downtown Manchester NH yesterday.

Woodstacker Brewery
This is pocket-sized taproom on the Elm Street "strip" with welcome AC on a hot Sunday afternoon. Five beers on tap with a really nice diversity of styles: english brown, double NEIPA, table beer, landbier, and a smoked cream ale. I loved the "English Premiere Beer" brown ale. Woody and nutty with notes of roasted malt and milk chocolate. The "Buxton's Italian Table Beer" is super quaffable at 3.6%, with a bit of a witbier feel to it. Perfect for summertime. Woodstacker gets points for their unique glassware with gold accents. To-go beer is sold in growlers. The taproom has nice vibe, no food but does have a small area of vintage clothes and crafts for sale. I'll definitely be back here.

Republic Brewing
This is a big, generic brewery space with lots of tables. Saw a few couples and families with kids enjoying the space and games. The tap list had five NEIPAs, a sour, and a Kolsch. The Kolsch quenched my thirst, but I'll need to revisit when I'm in the mood for an IPA. A couple of varieties were available in cans. They have a nice looking food menu with farm-to-table burgers and tacos, but I did not partake on this visit. They have a small dedicated parking lot.

In the past, I've enjoyed To Share Brewing, another downtown Manchester spot with a funky taproom, if you're looking for another reason to poke around New Hampshire's biggest city.

 

My wife, infant son and I went to Fort Hill Brewing in Easthampton, MA yesterday and honestly had a pretty terrible experience.

My wife and I walked in with our son in a stroller, she took a seat at a high top with him in the stroller next to her and I went to get us a drink.

I walked up to the ordering area of the bar to order, there was one person ahead of me ordering, and I was looking for the menu. The bartender pointed at me and I mentioned I was waiting to see the menu and she pointed to some signs behind me (which I missed.) Then after the other person ordered I got up to the bar and she once again just pointed at me.

We got our beers, Jigsaw Jazz DIPA and a Pilsner, and they were pretty good! the Pilsner was significantly better than the DIPA. But the entire time we felt that we weren’t quite welcome, from both the staff and the clientele. My son didn’t make a peep the whole time he was there, so it’s not like our party was making a scene or anything.

I ended up quickly finishing my beer and then we left half of my wife’s beer behind at the bar, just because we didn’t feel like it was a place for us.

We’d gone there before before we had our kid and always had a pretty good time, and enjoyed the beer, but this visit was honestly kind of unsettling. It was a feeling that I haven’t felt at a brewery before, which is not being welcome.

Seems like it may have transformed into a townie brewery, which is fine, but it just never used to be like that. I was hoping to bring home some cans of Fresh Pick, because I assume they’d be fresh there instead of the ones at the liquor store near me that aren’t dated, but we ended up just leaving instead.

 

I haven’t been there in years, but I never had a bad experience when I visited. Last time I visted, the place was mobbed. Other than the oddly nonverbal bartender, what did the patrons do specifically that made you uncomfortable? I’m just curious. I am in the Northampton/Easthampton area quite a bit, and I have always enjoyed the friendliness and welcoming attitude that I’ve encountered. Some of the more eccentric people out there sometimes overly friendly!

 

We got some stares from the (mostly) older clientele, and just some cold shoulder stuff. I dunno. The “vibe” for lack of a better term was weird.

 

That kind of environment doesn’t sound inviting.

 

so interesting. two trips here were within the last year and i felt something similar last time. friend and i met there cause it's in the middle, we're not from town. there was definitely a look and feeling from the bartender when we took two recently-vacated prime seats at the bar. i kind of got the feeling that the outdoor side area was for the pleebs and the inside bar area was for regulars..

in all fairness though, was this ever not a townie brewery? even back when they first released the canned rauchbier in the generic can with the black pull tab and i made my initial visit (2014?) i remember the feeling of the record scratching when i walked in.. but i never felt unwanted there until my last visit

i think it really just boils down to server attitude. i had the same server on my last two trips there and it was a middle-aged woman with longer hair and i think glasses who was pointy and somewhat rude as you described.

i've been to plenty of breweries where the clientele can be elitist and/or unwelcoming. can't really hold that against the brewery though. also, it can be a matter of perspective as your report had a lot of I FEEL without any specific actions taken by the regulars.

 

It blows that they don't date their cans. I only see it at Total Wine near me, & won't touch anything there without a date on it.

 

Made a recent trip to a pretty new brewery in Lyman, Maine - On A Plain Brewing. Location was super cool, in a totally rural area, mix of farms and residential, about 15 minutes west of Biddeford or 30 minutes southwest of Portland. They built a nice new barn / brew house / taproom on their existing property, so felt a lot like chilling in someone’s big wooded backyard, except with beer. I mean, I guess that’s actually exactly what it was.

I went in with frankly low expectations for the beer itself, but it was quite good! Definitely would be worth a stop if you’re looking for something very chill away from the normal tourist crowd spots. They are clearly big Dead/Phish fans based on the beer names — and the day we went they had live music and food — but I don’t think that’s the norm. Would be a good spot for letting kids run around, tossing a ball, etc. We had a blast!

https://onaplainbrewing.com/

 

Crazy a small off the beaten path town like Lyman supports two breweries. My sister lives there, and we have done Funky Bow a few times in the past. Will have to check this place out the next time I am in the area, thanks for the heads up