Best craft beer bar Boston

Row 34 has great selection though not necessarily from NE.
Merchant and Stoddard's are good options and are about 5 min apart.

Where in Boston are you staying?

 

Unless you only want hops, go to Cambridge Brewing Company. If you can still drink more after going through their beers, Lord Hobo and Meadhall are just a couple blocks away.

 

Be specific, what are you looking for? Tons of places in town to extract large $$$ from you.

 

And where are you staying?

 

2nd the recommendations for Row 34 and CBC, although neither one will give you the large variety of statewide beers you are looking for. You might try The Ginger Man. It's become one of my favorite places for beer in Boston - large tap list, large bottle list, comfortable space and knowledgeable staff.

 

Lulu' in Allston is always pretty solid, they have Epiphany on tap and Scaled on the up next. Five Horse Tavern in Davis Square is also always a good choice, the one in Southie doesn't have as strong of a tap list IMO. Publick House in Brookline has a nice selection too.

If you'll only be in Boston proper, Row 34, as mentioned above, is a must.

 

Row 34, Lord Hobo, Worden Hall, Sunset Grill, Publick House, Brewer's Fork. Any of those.

 

So many good options, I'd base it around where you are staying. If you're staying downtown, Ginger Man is hard to beat. If you're in Cambridge, CBC or Lord Hobo. If in Allston/Brighton, then Sunset, Lulus, etc. If near the seaport, Row 34. If in Beacon Hill, Tip Tap?

 

Tip Tap Room is a short walk from North End and will typically have some local beers.
Beermenus is used by quite a few Boston area bars so you could always look there to find some options.

 

North End is a bit of a craft beer wasteland. Ginger Man would be my vote.

 

There's nothing in North End proper, Gingermam is very close however

 

Without a doubt, Gingerman

 

Dinner at Row 34, and then drinks at Gingerman on your way back to the North End.

 

Trillium is next to Row 34, so you could also grab a few cans at the brewery to bring back to your hotel.

 

All these votes for Gingerman have me surprised. I went there after the Copenhagen Beer Fest Sat day session and it was a disaster. Service was incredibly slow and we never got napkins with our sliders. We had to go up to the bar and grab cocktail napkins to eat with. Food was borderline inedible to boot. Really the worst bar experience I've had in Boston in a long time. I know they had issues with service when they opened but that was months ago. Doubt very much I'll be back anytime soon.

 

If this is what you're after, and you want beers (hoppy and higher rated) that are local/regional, I'd say Five Horses Tavern in Davis Square is your best bet. Currently on tap (at least from their website, which I find is typically fairly accurate)...

Cask:

Stone Enjoy By 10.31.16 Tangerine (not local, but just in case you're interested)

Draft:

Trillium Scaled and Congress Street IPA, MA

Foundation Epiphany, ME

Peak Organic The Juice, ME

Singlecut Billy Fullstack IIPA, NY

The Tap Solar Plexus, MA

Stoneface India Rye Ale, NH

Allagash One T (and White of course), ME

Oxbow Farmhouse Pale Ale, ME

Deciduous Neoponic, NH

Cambridge Brewing Company My Mind Has a Mind of Its Own, MA

Jack's Abby Wet Hop Lager, MA

And just for good measure, they also currently have Half Acre Daisy Cutter on tap. Unfortunately no Nightshift currently, I think they had Morph on earlier this week/last week. So, maybe you'll get lucky and when you get there they'll have a Nightshift keg on.

If I were you, and if it's possible, I'd Uber it over to Nightshift, they have an incredibly solid tap room (plus Bone Up Brewing is over there now). Then head to Five Horses in Davis (~10 minutes away) to get your fill of local brews, and maybe some dinner...their KFCGH (Kentucky Fried Cornish Game Hen) is out of this world. And if you don't want that, Tenoch is right on the corner, for a torta.

From there you can hop on the Red Line back to the North End (or just use Uber/Lyft, I don't even use the T anymore, especially if I'm with someone else to split the bill). Maybe hit up Gingerman too for a night cap?