Best Brewpubs Around Boston

The city of Boston only really has three brewpubs....so first we'll take a look at these three and a brewery in Boston as well as one brewpub in Cambridge worth visiting.

Beer Works
Beer Works is a pretty good place with two locations in the area. Each location typically has 12-16 craft beers on tap at any given time. They brew new beers every month so there is always a chance to try a new beer. They have a lot of typical beer styles, but also have some more exotic beers. Good examples for the summer of their more exotic beers are: Bunker Hill Blueberry Ale and Watermelon Ale.

A list of Beer Works current selection on tap can be found at their website. Food and beer are both reasonably priced as long as you avoid the seasonal specialty foods.

Location 1
112 Canal Street
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: (617) 896-2337

Location 2
61 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
Phone: (617) 536-BEER

RockBottom Resaurant and Brewery
RockBottom has a nice selection of beers crafted on premise, but you probably won't see anything too exotic here. They have a selection of brews which are permanently on tap and produce a new beer each month. The food and beer are tasty and the atmosphere is warm and lively. RockBottom also has the Mug Club which awards prizes based on the number of times you have visited....For example after 5 visits you get a pint glass with their logo, after 50 visits you get a BBQ set. So there are prizes after every five or ten visits. Check out their website for a map and further information.

115 Stuart Street
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: (617) 742-BREW

Harpoon Brewery
Although it's not a brewpub, Harpoon Brewery does have tastings and tours. Best known for their Harpoon IPA and UFO Hefeweizen, this brewery offers about 5 to 7 different beers at a given time. They also brew several soda's on premise. Tasting information and times can be found here. In 2007 Harpoon also began producing ciders brewed from New England McIntosh Apples (if you're interested in ciders check out my article about homemade hard cider.)

306 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA 02210
Phone: (617) 574-9551

Cambridge Brewing Company
Although this brewpub isn't in Boston, its not too far and worth checking out. This brewpub seems to have a bit more of a "restaurant feel" to it than most of the other brewpubs. However they have a decent selection of beers. Usually you can expect 5-6 house beers and another 4-5 seasonal brews. Don't expect anything too exotic, however, they do have some cask conditioned beers from time to time which are worth a taste. They also have good food with reasonable prices and a decent selection of wines. A map and directions can be found on their site.

1 Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: (617) 494-1994