Go Aeronaut Brewing

huh, I used to be really interested in aeronaut when they first opened up, but i havent been in a long time because the last few times it's been packed. I still follow them on social media, but judging by that they've become more of an event space than a brewery. I never see any posts about new beers they're working on, expansions, collaborations, what's on tap...it's all just concerts and parties.

 

It's a spot I have written off. The beer has always been far secondary to the space for them. It shows. If they can start making better quality beers I may give them another shot. I'm not super hopeful at this point.

 

I liked both of these posts because I fall somewhere in the middle. I went back to Aeronaut this past weekend after a few months, and it had been a few months because their beers have just been ok up to that point. Their recent Robot Crusher Pilsner was good so I decided to head back there and try a sampler. The beers ranged from good to forgettable to not good (this was the cask, and admittedly it was at the end and who knows how many days it had been going).

I honestly don't feel they're all that unique and diverse, to me, it's just a regular tap room. Hipster vibe, games, food trucks (stands?), friendly atmosphere...etc. I did like their lab that was open to walk through that I saw. As someone who's worked in labs for over 12 years and a lover of beer, this is interesting to me.

The only tap room that has seemed truly unique to me is Notch. It had the most "German beer garden/hall" feel to me. No samplers, you just go and enjoy a large volume of high flavor low gravity beer.

But I would say I like Aeronaut, definitely enough to go back again. I also partially agree with @Sweatshirt though. A Pilsner is always a good measure of a brewery's chops, and the fact I liked their Pils, tells me they're improving as brewer's.

 

If you could write down the modern day Cambridge/Somerville stereotype, it would perfectly describe the people and scene at Aeronaut. Not a bad thing, but to me it's almost a caricature. I've enjoyed some of their beers, but none have been great. I'll snag cans or drafts of Nandu at certain bars if the price is right. But I've never felt comfortable at their tap room, and I love brewery taprooms. Mystic is the gold standard around Boston for me, but even that can be packed on weekends now.

 

Yeah, Aeronaut is fairly straightforward. If you hear "late 20something from Somerville" and think "I am that or am friends with such a person," probably check it out. If that caused your face to scrunch as you envisioned a negative stereotype, you can probably pass.

 

I'm well past my 20s sadly but I've always liked the vibe at Aeuronaut - it just feels like people are excited to be there and that a lot of folks know each other. I haven't been in probably 6 or 8 months though so maybe it's gone past a hipster tipping point since then.

I haven't had a beer there that I've loved but I also haven't had anything I thought was bad. I'll be interested to check out the new IPA.

If I remember correctly their original shtick was that they were really going to experiment a lot with house strains of yeast (and maybe one of the founders is a chemist or something?). Did that ever come to pass in any way?

 

I'm going to stick my neck out for Aeronaut here too. Yes, they have a hipster vibe, and yes, they their beer is usually more in the decent category than the great category. But the space is really large and I like the atmosphere of everything going on there. What hasn't even been mentioned here is how many people live within walking distance of the brewery (myself included), and to me that is huge. I'm struggling to think of another brewery in Boston area that can hold this many people and is within easy walking distance of so many. I'm very much against drunk driving, and being able to go there with friends when I want to have more than a beer or a flight of tasters fills a big need for me.

 

I've never had a beer from them that was better than "this is pretty decent". The space is cool but after a couple rounds the thought of walking to Cambridge Brewing for much better beer in a more comfortable set up wins over what Aeronaut is offering.

 

CBC is a good call. Strangely I forgot about them, despite going there all the time .

 

It is hard to call the Boston area a great beer town when so many people don't live within walking distance to a brewery. Turtle Swamp Brewing is opening soon down the street from me and I've already said to myself and others that I'll be there often even if the beer is just decent like Aeronauts, so I understand your appreciation of Aeronaut.

 

That's a really interesting point I hadn't thought of that helps explain the feel of the place I was trying to describe. I guess you could say it feels "neighborhood-y" since so many people can just pop in without it being much of a destination sort of trip?

 

This is a moot point for me now that we have Uber Pool. With Uber Pool Nightshift, Mystic, Idle Hands...etc. are all typically only a $3-6 Uber Pool away, split between two people. I don't even take the T anymore, even to go to Cambridge. Ends up being the same cost.

Ironically Aeronaut isn't close to a T station. Not as close as the Slumbrew tent (if you consider that a brewery) at Assembly, CBC, or Idle Hands.

Earlier this year I went to Nightshift (waited in line), then Lamplighter (grabbed the last two seats then a line developed), and then went to CBC. It was busy, but not packed, grabbed seats near the bar no problem. And it was the night of their Barleywine Festival.

This tells you something about who's going to many of these tap rooms, because in my opinion, CBC has better beers overall (in a wider variety of styles) and definitely has far more experience than most of these breweries.

 

I live very close to Aeronaut and I don't go because the beer is so sub-par. Proximity does not outweigh quality.

 

I've been really enjoying the canned offerings from Aeronaut like Hop, Hop and Away and Robot Crush. Really killer beers. Both have been go to's for me when picking up fresh local cans from Redstone.

 

Hop, Hop and away is the only beer I've been able to try from them, and was rather impressed for a session.

 

The issue for me with Hop, Hop and Away is that we have Whirlpool, which in my opinion is a better beer. I like Hop, Hop and Away but I haven't felt it offers anything that's different enough (in a good way) than Whirlpool to make me buy it more often.

There's also WAY more Whirlpool hitting liquor stores, and it's a lower ABV at 4.5%, making it more sessionable.

I've picked up Robot Crusher a few times though, and I also like Pfaffenheck. That's an example of two beers in the same style that may be slightly different, but I enjoy both.

 

You're aware that their pilsner just won gold at the GABF, right?

 

Hell, I live in Belmont. I don't think the town would ALLOW a brewery to open inside it's borders.

 

So they have one beer good enough to gold in a smallish style category of a tiny percentage of brewries that decide to send beer in? Amazing. Doesnt change a thing about what I said.