Boston Trip - Downtown Crossing

-Blackmoor Kitchen is a short walk from the USS Constitution and has a very good tap list.
-Gordons Fine Wines across from Stoddards has a nice beer selection.
-Clover on the same street as your hotel is a good lunch spot that has a small local craft selection for about $5 a pint(super cheap for Boston).
-Other good downtownish options for beers aside from the obvious(Stoddards, Gingerman) are The Tap Trailhouse, Kinsale, State Street Provisions, Pastoral

 

Oh man, in my pre-craft, dirt-poor college days at Emerson I'd say the $2 pints of Bud at SideBar

 

Plus it is next door to Trillium, so two birds could be killed with one stone.

 

I like the idea of pairing Boston beer bars and breweries with nearby historic Boston sites! Here are my ideas (duplicating some of the above):

• Brewer's Fork -> USS Constitution & Bunker Hill Monument
• Tip Tap Room -> Harrison Gray Otis House
• The Ginger Man -> Old State House
• Stoddard's -> Old South Meeting House
• The Publick House -> JFK Birthplace National Historic Site
• Dorchester Brewing Company (or Worden Hall) -> Dorchester Heights National Historic Site

 

Wasn’t it PBR? And the 10 cent wings!

 

It could've been PBR. I remember the 10 cent wings at Crossroads. Those and the 1/2 price apps at Rock Bottom and Mccormick and Schmick's were a godsend. Speaking of Rock Bottom, they were doing some good to decent stuff 15 years ago. Looks like they've shifted to an IPA focused menu like everyone else. Wonder how it stands up these days?
https://rockbottom.com/locations/stuart-street/beer/

 

You’re 100% accurate. Bar is not conducive to standing in a small group when it’s busy. And the beers are the most expensive in the city.

 

Yes. This place is only for expense accounts, though imagine how busy it would be if it wasn't so expensive!

 

I've been consistently underwhelmed. It feels like a bar that wants to do craft beers, but can't let go of appealing to the masses.

 

The Salty Pig in Back Bay rules and has good beer on tap. It's pretty close to the Prudential Center which is the bog-standard "go up to the top of the really tall building and see out the sides" spot. Kinda-sorta tourist trap-y, but usually not very crowded and actually has a nice view of everything.

It's also pretty close to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, which is a fantastic art museum, if you're into that kinda thing. And the Christian Science Center, which is an amazing piece of architecture parked next to the ugliest building I've ever seen (yes, even uglier than City Hall).

Aaaaaaand... you can get a duck tour out of the Pru, which is uber-touristy, but surprisingly fun and a good way to get a guided tour of some neat historical stuff.

Walk the freedom trail, though. Even though climbing the Bunker Hill Memorial kinda sucks, you'll get all the history you could want on the trail.

 

Yeah, unfortunately their Fort Point location is just a tiny little space where you can buy cans,, and really there's barely room to do that. When you see it you won't believe that that's the original space that spawned so much hooplah.

Glad you got some good tips. Have a blast!

 

I'm not recommending to go there or anything, but Cheers wasn't that bad. I brought some friends there a couple of years ago at their request and I was able to get a pint of Wachusett's Larry for $7.00. It was 100% fine.

Otherwise, agree with everyone else here, Row 34 is king. If you can get an Uber to Lulu's in Allston get some awesome beers, cajun tots, and blackened brussels sprouts.

 

When you get to go to Fenway there is a funky place called the “Bleacher Bar” on Landsdown that has a garage door overlooking left field at the ball park. Very cool place. Unsure of a cool tap list.
Jacob Wirth http://www.jacobwirth.com/ is another spot I frequented while in school. While they don’t specialize in local beer they have been in business as a beer hall for a very long time.
Not far from Trillium Fort Point is https://www.icaboston.org/ and http://www.nonamerestaurant.com/ and http://www.whiskey-priest.com/. https://flourbakery.com/
Enjoy your visit!

 

Lulu's in Allston generally has 2 or 3 at any time. Boston is a tiny city, it'd be an $8 Uber.

 

I'd agree with this approach, and you can buy as many cans as you can carry at Fort Point so you can round things out in your hotel room with all the variety you like.

Canton doesn't even really have much of a "tap room" per se - it's more like a big lobby where they let you stand around and drink. Personally I'd be dissapointed if I shlepped all the way there just for that purpose (and you'd have to drive 30 - 45 minutes). I can't speak to the Substation since I've never been but it should be a better tap room experience since that's what it's built for (though it's just a temporary space so again don't expect anything too impressive). You can get there on the subway plus a bus in about a half hour.

If it was me, I'd do Fort Point cans for the hotel room plus Lulu's. Your call obviously though

 

Think folks have already mentioned it, but if you wanna do bunker hill it's a good call to get the MBTA river taxi from long wharf over to the constitution, 15 minute walk to bunker hill, back track 5 mins to Brewers fork for some great pizza, awesome charcuterie and a brilliant tap list, then wobble back down to the constitution and get your boat back across the bay.

 

Blackmoor is real solid too.

 

Another good place by Fenway which is a bit off the beaten path is Lower Depths. Good bar apps and a solid beer list, although nothing that will blow your mind. Just keep in mind that it's cash only, which kind of works to keep out some of the annoying millennials.