Hidden Gems

Hardly undiscovered but Jack's Abby and Castle Island.

 

Percival Beer Company just opened in Norwood and Widowmaker just opened in Braintree, too. I also think one that tends to be forgotten about is Barrel House Z in Weymouth. It's a good spot in my opinion particularly if you aren't just chasing IPAs.

 

Springdale is also great - same building as JA. And Exhibit A is great, too, and within five minutes of JA/Springdale.

 

This is the answer. Not on the low, but great beer no lines. Also Springdale, notch, Cambridge brewing, honest weight, and idol hands.

 

CBC flies under the radar and does some fantastic beers across multiple styles.

 

Cold Harbor is highly underrated, also Mystic, Ipswich and just under an hour North is Throwback Brewing which is pretty fun to go to. Additionally If you are thinking on going to Ipswich, wait a month or so because a massive new brewery is opening down the road, True North.

 

I'll second Cold Harbor in Westborough, also Medusa in Hudson has a great little tap room and some excellent beers on tap.

 

Head an hour north to the Seacoast of NH for Stoneface, Deciduous, Great Rhythm, Tributary, and Garrison City.

 

Is Cold Harbor still serving pints through the growler fill hoses?

 

Lots of good suggestions in this thread for you. In my opinion, since you said you like any style of beer as long as it's made well, my top recommendation would be Cambridge Brewing Company since that is EXACTLY what they do (at one point or another, they make virtually every style of beer and each is impeccable). I also think it's the best brewery to visit, mainly because it doesn't feel like you're hanging out at a brewery.

My other recommendation would be to get familiar with all of the liquor stores within 30 minutes or so of you with decent craft inventory. Unless you're hankering for the cavernous, cement-walled ambiance afforded by most of our industrial/office park-situated breweries, you can get a decent segment of your locals in stores (Night Shift, Idle Hands, Mystic, Lamplighter, Castle Island, Mayflower, Exhibit A, Jack's Abby, Notch, etc.) as well as take advantage of Massachusett's phenomenal distro (over 80% of the beer I drink, even the local stuff, I get from stores, not breweries). Then you can make the occasional brewery trip for non-distro stuff to fill the gaps.

 

Exhibit A's my number one brewery in the area right now. Killing it with the IPA's, Sunday Paper is an incredible imperial stout, and Briefcase Porter is absolutely fantastic for fall.

Other than that, I'd say Start Line is definitely worth checking out. Hop Load Citra is a fantastic beer.

 

There's something like 100 breweries with taprooms in Massachusetts right now, and even more without. Not even counting brewpubs.
I would recommend grabbing a copy of Yankee Brew News or Ale Street News when you see one (they're all over) and start going down the list.

 

Medusa is probably my favorite spot for some after-work beers. Great beers, great vibe, not too loud. Nice spot.

 

In order of less to more hidden, all worth checking out: Castle Island, CBC, Notch, Idle Hands, Honest Weight, Winter Hill, Gentile.

 

Nice that the South Shore of Massachusetts has gotten its game together. Lots of good, fun options for breweries and taps.

 

Soooo many breweries within an hour of Boston. Anyone keeping a brewery map for the area?

 

Decided to google it. This looks like a good place to start.

https://craftbeerboston.com/breweries-map/

 

massbrewbros.com has beer maps for all of mass separated by region and updated pretty frequently:
http://massbrewbros.com/metro-boston-region/