Heading to Cape Cod...

Vineyard is far more fun and laid back IMO. Go to Nantucket if you want to window shop for jewelry or paintings.

 

I find Nantucket more manageable for a day trip. Hit one of the beaches, then Cisco and then hang around downtown before your ferry back.

 

If I were only on the cape for two days, I'd stay on the cape, there's plenty to do there.

 

Yeah, I missed the 1 night aspect ... Definitely would not trek out to one of the islands ...

 

What town are you going to?

 

Red Nun was decent but nothing great. I asked for a Hoponius Union and the guy walked over to the taps and turns and goes "what was that you wanted again?" I told him and he goes "oh you want a Jacks Abby". I wanted to say "whaat is this the Cheesecake Factory?"

 

Honestly, on the Cape ... you really will have to enjoy Red Nun (Dennisport), because there's not many places better for craft beer. unfortunately.

Certainly (particularly in Provincetown) there are better places, but in the area of the Cape ... there's not much of a craft scene, at all.

 

If you come to Cape Cod expecting a Boston beer scene, you will be disappointed. The Cape is also struggling with a summer worker issue - where there are lots of open positions and not enough people to staff them - of course that's no excuse but its the cause of some issues across the cape these days.

Cape Cod is a very laid back place which often equates to slow to change. Many who live here and come here every year want/try to keep it that way. It's intentional. That bugs some people, and in the end they are the ones that don't end up enjoying it here. There is a massive influx of people for about 12 weeks and then the rest of the time its (again) very laid back.

The craft beer scene has certainly grown over the years (we've been here 18, and in business for 12), but you still find restaurants that serve one distributors line up end to end, or in some cases just beer from the "big boys". you do still hear: Its worked for years.. so why change it? There are some great beer bars popping up here and there - but don't expect each town to have multiple craft beer bar options. Red Nun Dennisport is a great suggestion in the Dennisport area. In Hyannis there are a few more.. BBC Hyannis, Tap City Grill, Portside Tavern to name a few. Provincetown has the Nor'East Beer Garden, and the 1620 Brewhouse to name a few. There are also plenty of local package stores carrying lots of great craft beer. A BA search will help you find those. And we have a growing brewery/brewpub environment with us in Hyannis (Cape Cod Beer), Devil's Purse in Dennis, and now Hog Island Beer in Orleans...and of course Cisco on ACK and OffShore and Bad Martha on MV. Which is a lot for little ole Cape Cod....

Cape Cod has so much to offer in terms of scenic and cultural beauty - just *try* to be open minded about it and you'll have a great time. If you try to make it something it's not you'll be disappointed.

 

Awesome! I will stop by for a beer when I'm in Hyannis beginning of August.

 

I would suggest the Tap City Grille in Hyannis. They had an excellent tap list and the food was great. Best place I went to on the Cape last week.

 

So I stopped by Hog Island, the new brewery in Orleans. Some may know that they also own Jailhouse Tavern on the same site. Jailhouse has a pretty good tap list, but interestingly no Hog Island is available. I found that they can't keep up with demand at the brewery next door to supply any to the restaurant.

We stopped by late ~8:30 and they only had two beers on tap, their pale ale and their stout. I thought the stout was pretty good, maybe a tad thin, but still nice roasted notes. The pale had some nice fruit notes, but felt pretty malt forward. I think this could turn into a really nice pale with some fine tuning. I missed out on the IPA and wheat.

There front lawn is really nice with Adirondack chairs, picnic tables and corn hole. They also have live music.

On a side note, I had Devil Purse's Kolsch and thought it was really good. I had only had their ESB prior to this year.

 

Made my first visit on Sunday and came away happy. They had an IPA and a stout on. As above, I found the stout a bit thin. The IPA, like the pale was malt forward but I thought very good. Had a sample of each ($2) and then went back for a pint ($7) of the IPA. Crowlers were pricey I thought ($14). I bought one anyway because my wife had not come and she liked the IPA, as well, when we opened the crowler that night.

The space is great. They share an indoor / outdoor area with a satellite bar for Jailhouse (10 taps, all craft). The indoor space has shuffleboard, foosball, ping pong, and a couple other games plus a bunch of seating. The outdoor area is quite large, 2 cornhole set ups going plus a bunch of seating.

We had 4 adults and 2 kids (5 and 8 yr olds) and found the space to be great for a family or decent sized group. Will certainly go back when back on Cape in a few weeks.

 

Devil's Purse again expanded hours (seemingly exclusively for August). Announced on fb yesterday.
Mondays 10-5 for growler/crowler/bottles (if any) only (merchandise too but not tasting)
Tues - Fri 10-12 - same as Monday
Tues - Sat 12-6 - full service

 

Anyone know of any liquor stores that carry local beer to take with me? I'm staying in Hyannis but am in Provincetown for the day.

 

Moonshine Liquors is in Hyannis. Probably the best bottle shop on the Cape. Not a lot of great local beer per se, but plenty of stuff you can't get in Illinois.

 

Had the Devil's Purse Kolsch on tap at the Lost Dog in Dennis. Very nicely made. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

 

Devil's Purse made it to Lost Dog. Nice ... they still didn't have it the last time I was there (which admittedly has been several months).

 

are the jobs not still swarming with Bulgarians, etc.?
::turns thread political::
perhaps a humanitaiarn-focused staffing agency could use a bunch of newly arrived refugees for jobs like shuttle driving, table bussing, beach parking, and what. Who knows, bringing in flavors from the other world could really start some interesting beers brewed.