Distraction Brewing in Roslindale

Exact same thoughts. Stopped in yesterday. Place was busy, IPA was decent and showed some promise. Pale ale was not great. Didn’t try the others. Carbonation seemed to be an issue. My pours were pretty flat, saw others with nice foamy heads. Very small space inside, more like an intimate coffee shop almost. But I liked it overall. Nice people, big windows, bright space and very neighborhood-y.


There’s a cool coffee shop/beer bar on the same block that has a really good taplist and can list too.

 

I'm glad you mentioned this! I had no idea the Square Root had beer. Just looked at what they carry and I'm pretty psyched about checking it out. I figured I'd try Distraction eventually, but their neighbor might make me check both out this week some evening.

 

Yesterday was my first time. It was honestly one of the sneaky best tap/can lists I've seen around, particularly for a place that small. Plenty of hoppy stuff from the usual players, but they also had Switchback's Marzen on draft served in proper mugs for $7.

 

Yes, the beer buyer is on point. He is very passionate and happy to discuss the beers he has available and provide a solid recommendation.

He is a great assest to The Square Root and the neighborhood in general!

 

Is he... you?

 

@EnronCFO

Sorry to disappoint, but negative.

Suffice to say, I live several streets up from the Square Root. My wife and I will walk down grab a pint and chat with the buyer when he's pulling handles.
It's a nice little unpretentious spot...admittedly, I'm a bit biased.

Cheers,
Hartfordwhaler

 

Sunday was my first time and I’m sure I’ll be back. Have a friend in the neighborhood that I visit frequently and she loves the place. Owner said this past weekend was the busiest since he opened. Hope people continue to support them and Distraction. Two good local spots, plus Turtle Swamp around the corner. TS beers could definitely use some work though.

 

Amen, to EnronCFO and Kevturner'sbootburn.

All of the points are spot-on.

I too miss the Trillium sub station as well! That was a great 5-months, rough on the wallet but fun nonetheless.

Cheers, boys!

 

I went to Distraction on Saturday and was quite impressed. It’s a nice modern looking taproom, small but warming and welcoming (friendly staff). Their beers was very reasonable $5.50-7 and they offered half pints (which allows you to try all the offerings). As for the beers themselves, I loved their brown and tripel. Two very underrated styles that have suddenly gone extinct from the over saturated haze/sour craze. The brown ale had a nice head with a sweet almost maple malt flavor and the tripel had a floral banana clove taste (almost wheat). As for the pale ale and IPA, they tasted like a work in progress. The pale ale was light but lacked a little in malt and the IPA wasn’t piney or dank enough. Though they showed promise and I bet in a few batches will be real good (Widowmaker were the same at first, now they’re great). Overall I was impressed and look forward to trying other styles and tasting their progress, it’s a great spot in an overlooked neighborhood in Boston.

As for Turtle Swamp, I strongly disagree with the three others. I in fact do like their beers, as they tend to brew more malt flavor styles (English and German). I think both their porters (JP and the imperial) are as good as any porters in the market, and their bitter is divine too. I also enjoy their German style ales (hopfen marzen ale and the cooper kolsch 02130). I understand we all have different taste buds, but I’m personally tired of the haze and sour craze so I enjoy breweries that cater to old favorites. I do think the Orange Line (their haze ipa) is pretty standard to the others in the market but the Toll Gate (their piney English style IPA) reminds me of the great bitter ones we got 10 yrs ago. Also I have to give credit to the owners for establishing such a neighborhood vibe at both JP and Roslindale locations, and also fair pricing beer $6-7 range (which is obscure in a taproom in the city limits). It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the place fulfills my palate for some pre haze craze styles. Also, if they’re reading this please bring back the “Turtle Pond” (Black IPA).

 

I actually really liked the marzen they had on. But, it's tough to get a crowd to go to Turtle Swamp when their hoppy beers are not up to par or "on trend". Orange Line is one of the worst NEIPAs I've had in the area. If they got that right, I can see it doing very well. My friends in Rozzie want to hang out there, but it's become a "the beer isn't great, but it's a cool space and we want to support them" kinda thing because of the lack of a good IPA.

One last thing on Turtle Swamp in the substation: For the love of god get some more stable tables and benches. Wobble city.

 

I understand that, it’s a preference thing. If I was meeting people that were looking for hoppier selections I would recommend Trillium or Widowmaker. Have you tried the Toll Gate? It’s more of a piney IPA with a caramel malt backbone. Though if you want them to improve, let them know. Breweries are always looking for feedback, Widowmaker and Lamplighter might be the two most improved companies in the last few years. Decent at the start but constantly progressing, mainly from more experience and feedback.

 

Turtle Swamp Porter is legit. They do British styles well.

Hopefully Distraction will have a sweet beer garden next year when the street they are on becomes pedestrian only.

 

Agreed. Nik's Bitter is one of the best English pale ale/bitters around. I'd love to see them expand on this and do a mild and some other English-style beers.

I've only had a chance to stop in at Distraction once so far, and had the Brown, which was very good.

I miss the easy access I had to an extensive, good beer list like Canary Square when I lived in JP, but Square Root, Distraction and Turtle Swamp make for a nice grouping in Rozzie Square.