I've searched up a bit on where to go during our trip to Boston. So far I'm thinking Cambridge Brewing, Night Shift Brewing, Lord Hobo, Publick House, Trillium, and Jacks Abby are the must stops for me. I'll probably just swing by Jacks Abby on the way in or the way out and I know Trillium is just an in and out bottle purchase. We're also going to a game at Fenway. I've heard the trains are good for getting around but how late do they run and are all the other places mentioned close to stops or are some of these out of the way? I will have a car as I'm driving from OH but I figure parking is a nightmare so I don't know if I will touch it once we get there. I've also heard Mead House is good but I'm not a mead guy (assuming its all mead). Any suggestions on which area would be a good spot to stay the night for the weekend? I have been looking at sites like FlipKey, AirBNB, HomeAway, etc. So far everything seems outrageous in price. Just want to find a semi affordable spot to stay that has close and immediate access to the train assuming I can get to these places easily by taking it. Any other stop suggestions are more than welcome. It doesn't seem like there are a lot of places directly near the ballpark that are worthwhile stops, is this accurate?
You definitely want to avoid driving in Boston as much as possible - even if you weren't drinking you'd probably feel drunk with all of the one way streets, confusing street names, etc. The T (subway) is generally pretty good at getting you around the city and with the exception of Jack's Abby all of the places you listed are pretty T-accessible and also probably no more than a $10 Uber ride to any of them. The T runs until 12:30 I think? The T is something of a hub-and-spoke layout. Publick House and Fenway are both on the Green Line (West of downtown/hub), Cambridge Brewing Co, Lord Hobo, and Mead Hall (which has a ton of beer actually) are all on the Red Line and walking distance from each other (North of downtown/hub) and Night Shift is on the Orange Line (also North, different train line). Trillium is not super easy to get to from the T but a pretty manageable walk from downtown. You could drive there too. Purely from a T accessibility standpoint you'd want to stay downtown since you can get to any of the Green/Red/Orange lines but that's going to be super expensive. You hit most of the must-gos in the Boston area in my opinion. You could potentially try to hit Tree House on your way into or out of Boston, or stop for a meal at Armsby Abby in Worcester.
Even though it's a couple of years old, I highly recommend reviewing this thread: http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...-guide-summer-14-edition.182136/#post-3852460. Note that late night service on the T has been cancelled - aside from walking (Boston is a very walkable city) Uber is the best alternative. Add Row 34 to your list, especially if you're planning to hit Trillium in Fort Point. There aren't many cheap places to stay in Boston, but these two hotels are close to the center of the city and sometimes have affordable pricing: https://harborsideinnboston.com http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bosfp-residence-inn-boston-downtown-seaport/
Trillium is 1/2 of a mile from South Station and 1/3rd of a mile from the Courthouse on the Silverline. Not an easy walk when hauling a 40 lb. case of bottles, but it's more accessible on the T then any other brewery in Boston.
The T stops around 12:30AM now. Definitely leave your car at your hotel and use the T, uber or walk. Every place you listed is within a 10 minute walk of a T station(except for Jacks Abby, good idea to hit that on the way in or out). Yeah, Boston is one of the most expensive cities in general and that includes hotels. Based on where you are going for hotels I would suggest downtown, Back Bay or Kendall Square and for Airbnb I'd suggest South End, North End or Fenway/Kenmore Square.
Thanks for the tips. Good to hear that the T will take us to all our stops. I think 12:30 AM is plenty late so as long as we get back to our hotel / rental by then we can just hit local bars if we want to stay out. Speaking of which, how late are Boston bars usually open to? Can you get a weekend or day pass to use for the train? Are there a ton of different lines you need to know (here in Cleveland we just have red line and blue line) or is it just one big loop with a bunch of stops?
That's because there are only 3 breweries in Boston - and I'd argue Harpoon is more T accessible Living on the Green Line I just walk to Park Street from Trillium but if I'm getting a case of bottles I drive.
Day ($12) and week ($19) passes are available for MBTA subway and local buses which will get you just about everywhere you need to go. You can purchase them vending machine in almost all subway stops. http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/passes/ The MBTA has four main lines (Red, Green, Orange, Blue) plus the Silver line (bus on a dedicated lane) that runs to the airport. The lines radiate out from a central hub. I would recommend loading Google maps on your smartphone and using the transit option for directions. It knows the lines and schedules. Works really well for most situations (and even usually warns you about delays).
Staying near Kendall / MIT is probably your best bet as it's on the Red Line, near Lord Hobo and Cambridge Brewing, and makes all those other places mostly accessible. Since everyone else is plugging driving, I'll just add that Boston is relatively walkable if it's a nice day out. From Kendall to Fenway is about a 35-minute walk and takes you over the MIT bridge, which is a nice view. Kendall to Trillium is about a 50 minute walk that takes you through most of downtown Boston and Boston Common. I wouldn't walk back from Trillium, but it's not a bad Uber back (or as others have mentioned, make the half mile walk back to South Station which is on the Red Line with Kendall / MIT).
That's what I was leaning towards right now. Is the MIT area basically south Cambridge? This would be the weekend of May 20-22 so I'm hoping it will be nice out.
MIT is the south of Cambridge, but if you're looking at AirBnBs describing themselves as "South Cambridge" I would guess this means Cambridgeport. This isn't too far geographically from Kendall but does mean you're probably walking at least half a mile to get to anything from where you are, and has a different feel from Kendall. Looks like BC graduates Monday the 23rd and Harvard starts events Tuesday the 24th, which is likely pushing prices even higher than usual.
Whenever people ask this question I always recommend the Holiday Inn Boston/ Bunker Hill, which is effectively in Union Square Somerville; or the Somerville La Quinta. Both are slightly outside the main downtown Boston area, and so are somewhat cheaper, and both are walking distance to the orange line, while also providing easy, included parking. The Holiday Inn is not far form Union Square, which has the Independent (beer bar) Bronwyn (german-centric beer bar/ resto), Backbar (cocktail bar) Slumbrew (brewery), plus restaurants, another brewery slightly up the road, etc. Sometimes those Kendall Square hotels have decent prices as well.
The latest bars can be open until is 2AM. The best place for late night food is Chinatown where some restaurants are open until 4AM. When using the T get a Charlie Card instead of using the paper ticket since the fares are cheaper using the card. You can usually get them at T stations by asking an attendant or at convenience and grocery stores.
Best beer bars near the ballpark are Yard House and Lower Depths. There is also a Beer Works brewery and several other bar/restaurants with good beer, but that are not specifically beer bars (Tasty Burger, Citizen Public House...).
if you want a cheap hotel that's pretty T-accessible, i recommend braintree motel 6. it's basically across the street from the red line. only problem is that when you come home, you wanna make sure you're on a braintree train and not an ashmont train. the red line splits on the southbound track.
