Mighty Squirrel taproom

Am I imagining things that I tasted their beer some years ago at a Wegmans, and they had a few "low calorie" beers? It looks like their portfolio has changed quite a bit, but after tasting a few then I was like no more and wrote them completely off. Mediocre would be an improvement over what the beer was like then...

 

Glad to see they pivoted away from “healthy” beer. Didn’t they do some protein infused nonsense?

I’ve actually heard some good things about the new taproom and beers. They’re in a pretty accessible spot too so I imagine I’ll see for myself sometime soon

 

First people I ever heard joke about how little you had to pay Brewers since there were so many people trying to get into the industry.
Have raised multiple rounds of venture capital, paying themselves six-figure salaries all the while.
Guarantee these guys are already looking to cash out of this venture.

 

Yup, that's how I remembered them.

I think I had a sip of my brother's New England IPA from them recently and it was decent.

 

Remember when buying direct from the producer of a good saved you money? Craft beer seems to have gone the other direction and consumers don’t seem to care for some reason.

 

I was very surprised to see they were opening a brewery when I happened to drive by their space a couple months back. They are one of those non descript seeming brands I see on the shelf and wonder how they keep their heads above water in such a crowded market.

I guess someone's buying.

 

The whole reason a place like Mighty Squirrel can open is the brewpub law and the anticompetitive nature of the alcohol laws in this state that allow them to charge $8 a beer and have people pay it. If they knew that it was going to take $5 pints to get people in the door, I really doubt the whole place would have gotten the green light.

Haven’t tried their beer yet, but given that it is in the same complex as my gym, I will probably check it out sooner or later.

 

This struck me as the city finally getting in on the brewery craze, and hitching their wagon to the wrong brewery/portfolio/vision and giving them a favorable deal.

Not gonna blame the founders for taking this deal, but I'm skeptical that it survives based on the size of the facility and the lack of different beers and a kitchen. IIRC it's 7,000 sf bigger than Trillium's facility in Canton.

 

Funny, I’ve never purchased Mighty Squirrel because I always felt like it sounded either like a suspiciously cloaked trying-to-be-craft brand from a large industrial brewer or some contract brew that’ll be here today gone tomorrow. Never cared to put the effort into researching who they were/are.

 

Living less than ten minutes away I was excited to have a new brewery in town but was a little deflated after hearing it was MS. The idea that a brewery would create a line of protein enhanced beers (since deceased) does not sound like a brewery in it for the art of making outstanding beers.

Before their official opening I enjoyed a can of Cosmic Distortion, their DIPA. I also noticed they had smoothie IPA, mango lasi, and fruited kettle sour cans on shelves. I stay far away from those styles except for DIPA.

Opening weekend I noticed they had a Czech lager (my favorite style), a smoked lager, and then a mix of 3 other NEIPA in various strengths. Headed down with the family and ordered the Czech first. There wasn't much Czech about it. Felt dry and extremely crisp which I don't associate with Czech lager. The smoked lager was next and I couldn't finish it. Not overly smokey just all around odd and disjointed. Last up was the NEIPAs. They weren't memorable and my wife couldn't finish her pour which is rare.

The space is cool but a little lifeless when we were there. Lots of concrete. I noticed they have a stage which would be cool to see live music there. They also posted on social media that they paln to release a new beer every week of 2019 in the taproom. So far I've noticed a lot of lactose and NE style IPA being released.

It's nice to have a brewery so close to home but I hope the owners are in it for the right reasons and not just to capitalize on beer trends like lactose IPA. Would love to see some succinct beers come out of this place. Not sure when I'll be back but I keep an eye out for their weekly releases in the taproom.

 

With all the social media around, if you haven't heard good things about a brewery, or haven't heard about them at all, they probably aren't good.

I'm sure there's outliers out there, but I imagine they're few and far between.

 

I live within 10 minutes as well and after trying a few different cans before they opened, probably won't be heading there any time soon. Beer styles and tons of VC money suggest looking to cash in....IMO