Have beer? Will travel
Boppin’ between Boston-area breweries a few Saturdays ago, I realized a few things.
First, beer breweries are popular places to check out – even if it’s freezing cold outside and parking can pose a challenge.
Second, there are some good beer makers in Massachusetts.
I appreciate a good beer, whether it’s drinking it on a porch during summertime or warming up with one at dinner in the colder seasons. It being January, I decided to head north to Boston and check out firsthand the two main breweries in the Hub, Sam Adams and Harpoon, then hit the Blue Hills micro-brewery in Canton which was a rather convenient stop on the way home.
“Bottoms up!” I thought. And despite the early hour, I set out – with a designated driver, of course.
Stop 1: Sam Adams Brewery, Jamaica Plain
When I got to this brewery shortly after 11 a.m., it was already packed. Tucked away in a residential area of JP, you enter the brewery through the gift shop and awards room. The ceiling is decorated with banners and beer varieties and the numerous awards Sam Adams has garnered were on display.
Plaques and mementoes depicting the start of the brewery can be found throughout the room, a major upgrade from a few years ago when visitors entered the brewery on a different side and essentially just walked through a bland hall.
When your tour group is called, you walk through a purple tunnel reminiscent of a hallway from Willy Wonka then embark on your magical journey into the land of Sam Adams beer.
Our tour guide cracked several jokes as he led us around. The majority of the brewing for Sam Adams takes place in Pennsylvania and Ohio, so I didn’t really feel like I was in a brewery, though you do learn about the brewing process.
In the Ingredient Room, the guide showed us the difference between hops and malts, and even let the crowd eat some of the grains and rub it in their hands. The malt we tried was “caramel 60,” and the taste of caramel lingered in my mouth after I gingerly chewed the small piece of grain. The smell of hops lingered between my somewhat sticky palms throughout the rest of the tour.
At the end, the group was brought into the Tasting Room, and despite still being somewhat early on Saturday, everyone was eager to quaff the various brews. The guide handed out several pitchers of beer, and we were encouraged to fill our glasses as he went over cloudiness vs. clarity and the importance of maintaining clean lines from keg to tap, which is something that was also stressed at our next stop, Harpoon.
Stop 2: Harpoon Brewery, Boston
Just past the Seaport Hotel, the Harpoon Brewery can be difficult to get to, but it’s hard to miss the giant facility with its iron fence and colorful, red-and-white smokestack that greets you at the entrance. The brewery – where they also make UFO beer – was just as packed as Sam Adams had been, and by the time I got there about 2 p.m., the employee was telling people they were going to have to wait until almost 4:30 for a tour.
Harpoon Brewery was highly educational, and it was clear you were in a working factory. The floors were wet, the machines were cold to the touch (part of the brewing process), and there were signs of human workers – a face mask hanging from a tank and half-filled buckets left from the day before.
The tour guides, after sterilizing the spout with a blow torch, let participants sample “green beer.” No, not the stuff you get on St. Patrick’s Day. “Green” is an industry term for beer that’s almost finished brewing, but not quite there yet.
It was a crisp, smooth tasting IPA.
Like Sam Adams, the guides at Harpoon led visitors back upstairs to the tasting/waiting room after the tour. There, we were crammed together to enjoy different beers.
It was so busy it was hard to hear what the bartenders were saying, and they didn’t really discuss what people were drinking beyond the name and type. It wasn’t very controlled in the tasting room, and there were hints of chaos as store patrons refilled their growlers (half-gallon glass containers) while others ordered their free samples. There was no place to sit and enjoy the beer, either, but I left with the impression that I could have stayed much longer than I did and continued sampling.
But I wanted to get to the Blue Hills Brewery, and I didn’t want to go there drunk.
Stop 3: Blue Hills Brewery, Canton
It’s very easy to miss the Blue Hills Brewery. In fact, we drove past it and into Stoughton. Blue Hills is nestled between other shops in a small strip of stores. There’s a small counter set up to serve beer and some seats to relax on, but there’s not much room once inside.
Yet Blue Hills offered a personal, friendly atmosphere with servers that were proud of the brewery and the beer they were serving. Patrons – and there were many – gushed over the taste and different varieties of beer available.
Blue Hills doesn’t offer tours, just tastings, but I was able to sample several beers in a small plastic cup. The samples were smaller than those in Boston, but the beer was better. I’m not a stout drinker; I fully admit that I prefer ales. But that may be because I never had the right one. I sampled Blue Hills Three Peak Holiday Stout, which boasts that it’s brewed with a lactose enzyme, and enjoyed it so much I brought two bottles home with me.
When the server learned about the story I was working on, they invited me to the back to check out the brewery process. They were open about their methods and allowed me to get very close to the machines. It’s a small operation, but their beer was interesting and delicious.
Full disclaimer: I have been a Sam Adams girl for years. When I go to a bar, if they have a variety of Sams it’s a good bet I’m going to order whatever the seasonal beer happens to be. So, admittedly, I started my Saturday beer tour biased.
I left still favoring Sam’s, but I learned a lot about beer. Here, in this beer fan’s estimation, is how the breweries shook out:
Sam Adams: Best beer overall, best tour.
Harpoon: Most educational.
Blue Hills: Friendliest, best craft beer.
Boston jumped full-stein into the beer business in the 1980s, and I’m proud to say that I come from a state that offers two nationally known beers. It’s too bad that Blue Hills isn’t as widely known – their winter stout is the best I’ve ever had.
Remember, I did no driving; I had a designated driver that took me to each brewery. If you aren’t going to take some sort of public transportation, you should do the same. At Sam Adams and Harpoon, there is a fee to take the tour but the proceeds go to area charities. You also receive souvenir glasses.
Cheers!
MEREDITH TIBBETTS can be contacted at [email protected].
If you go:
Samuel Adams Brewery
Address: 30 Germania St., Jamaica Plain.
Tours: Mon.-Thurs., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission: $2 suggested donation benefiting local charities
Contact: 617-368-5080, www.samueladams.com
Harpoon Brewery
Address: 306 Northern Ave., Boston.
Tours: Sat. 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun. 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission: $5, benefits Harpoon Helps charity
Contact: 617-574-9551, www.harpoonbrewery.com
Blue Hills Brewery
Address: 1020 Turnpike St., #3B, Canton.
Tours: None, but complimentary tasting Wed. 5 to 8 p.m., Fri. 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., Sat. 2 to 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
Contact: 781-821-2337, www.bluehillsbrewery.com
All About Beer with Bill & Sheila
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