All this week I will be writing about five different spots in Boston that I love.
Now I�m not talking about the corner of Tremont and Tremont (yes we have different streets with the same name) but rather about Bars, Restaurants, and Cafes in the Beantown area that I enjoy.
First on the list is one of my all time favorites Boston Beer Works
The original location is right outside Fenway Park, Home of the World Champion, Come from behind, Yankee Eliminating, Did I mention World Champion? Red Sox. (this isn�t to be confused with the World Champion Patriots)
Anyway, the Boston Beer Works started there and expanded to Salem and also a location in Front of the Bank North Garden (Fleet Center).
I love this location because they have very good food at reasonable prices along with an always rotating micro brewing selection of some of the best micro-brewed beers you could hope for. When you walk through the door you should noticed a very long lightly stained wooden bar accompanied by a sheet metal theme to give the feel of a brew house. In the back and walls of the restaurant are the beer incubators that are used to brew the beer on tap.
The wait staff is garbed in a typical black and white setup and the bartenders are beertenders serving anyone who wants a to drink any of their 20 tapped micro brews from their Beer Only Bar.
Atmosphere : The restaurant is in three different ideal locations. In Salem, it is the largest brewhouse near the whole Halloween Haunted area, and only one block away from the ocean. Meanwhile the Fenway location is never empty and is filled to the Brim before after and during game day. The Canal Street Location is not only the largest location, but its second floor also has a pool hall. Parking is a pain for the Boston locations but both are located directly off of the subway which is ideal for sampling multiple beers.
Food: The food ranges from some really good burgers, elaborate seafood dishes, without forgetting specialized salads and pasta meals. It�s a big step up from normal pub food, and just on affordable step below a fancy meal. You�ll never be disappointed by the American Themed class food with all different types of variants, particularly on their French fries. I have taken anyone I know to this location and they have always found something on the menu that they enjoyed. I have never tried the dessert.
Why you Should go or avoid this place: The ultimate reason you should go or avoid this place is the beer. The food is great and I honestly think that all but the true snob would not enjoy their meals there. Truth be told, if you like light beer that is not heavy or tasty, avoid this location. The only person who I remember having a bad time at the spot was a bug light only drinker who just had no desire to try anything new. Also, if you don�t like beer, they don�t have coke or pepsi but a local soda maker. And if you like mixed drinks, there is no bar, just beer. All their menu is designed with drinking beer in mind and so those who relish in the taste of some of the best microbrew around should come with open mind and open arms, but those who shy away from beer should avoid this restaurant.
The Beer: The Flagship and Namesake this really is the reason you keep coming back.
The Salem beers have different names to reflect the area, like the Northshore Nut Brown ale and the Witches Red, but I am going to list below the some of the rotating selection of in house brewed beers for the Boston Locations.
The sizes come in 16, 23, or the � Gallon take home growler. They are also brewing new Beers all the time and change every Friday. If I star a beer below I highly recommend it.
Check Boston Beer Works.com for more information
Accelerator Double Bock
A classic double bock. Rich and malty with slight hints of fruit (cherries in particular) from higher alcohols. Minimal bitterness and very full bodied.
Season: winter Color: reddish brown Alc./Vol: 8.0%
Allston Mild *1998 GABF English Brown Ale
A traditional English pub beer, this is a light bodied, slightly sweet brown ale. This is a classic session beer, with its low alcohol content and minimal hop presence adding to its smooth drinkability.
Season: all Color: brown Alc./Vol: 3.5%
9 Alarm Amber Lager
An American-style lager that is sweet and malty. Brewed with German malt and hops, this lager is full bodied with soft malt flavors and subtle hop character.
Season: summer Color: amber/red Alc./Vol: N/A
Back Bay IPA *1997 GABF India Pale Ale
A hop lover's delight, this American India Pale Ale is brewed with over 1.5 lbs. of hops per barrel. As with all IPAs, this beer is higher in alcohol, hop aroma and bitterness than regular pale ales, and you don't have to sail to India to enjoy it.
Season: all Color: copper Alc./Vol: 6.5%
Baker's Island Blond
A munich style "helles" (pale) lager. Smooth and creamy, this medium bodied lager has a subtle malt sweetness, but finishes clean with little hop bitterness or aroma.
Season: summer Color: gold Alc./Vol: 4.0%
Curse of the Bambino Ale (replaced by the Victory Red)
Straw colored light ale, brewed with rice to give a smooth, clean taste, and lightly hopped with a subtle bitterness. One of our featured beers @ BBW during baseball season, named after Babe Ruth and Fenway's infamous curse of the Bambino.
Season: fall Color: gold Alc./Vol: 4.5%
Bay State E.S.B. *1997 GABF Extra Special Bitter
Pale brown and malty, this ale is an Extra Special Bitter, our version of a strong English bitter. Our E.S.B. is brewed with English malts and is dry hopped with Kent Golding hops, imparting a pronounced hop finish.
Season: all Color: light brown Alc./Vol: 6.0%
Black Rider Lager
A schwarzbier, black lager. Rich, malty and roasty without hop bitterness, this lager is the German equivalent to stout.
Season: summer Color: black Alc./Vol: 4.5%
Beantown Nut Brown Ale
A sweet dark ale, medium body with chocolate and coffee overtones. Full flavored, but not as rich and heavy as most stouts and porters.
Season: all Color: brown Alc./Vol: 5.0%
Boston Common
A unique twist on the California common beers, or steam beer. Brewed with lager yeast at ale temperatures and then cold conditioned, to accentuate the ingredients. Subtley sweet maltiness with a hint of caramel, combined with a lingering hop aroma make this session beer anything but ordinary!
Season: all Color: deep gold/light copper Alc./Vol: 5.0%
Boston Garden Golden
A classic American amber ale, a well balanced blend of malt and hop flavors with a subtle bitter finish from both the hops and roasted malts. Discover America's brewing renaissance with our flagship beer.
Season: all Color: gold Alc./Vol: 4.5%
Boston Red
A classic American amber ale, a well balanced blend of malt and hop flavors with a subtle bitter finish from both the hops and roasted malts. Discover America's brewing renaissance with our flagship beer.
Season: all Color: red Alc./Vol: 5.0%
Boston Victory Bock
A traditional German Bock beer, rich, smooth and strong, with pronounced malt flavors and a deep russet color. This beer was originally brewed in celebration of our legal victories over Samuel Adams.
Season: winter Color: brown Alc./Vol: 6.5%
Bunker Hill Bluebeery Ale**
A sweet, very light, golden ale made with fresh Maine blueberries to produce a big, blueberry aroma.
Season: all Color: gold Alc./Vol: 4.0%
Castle Rock Raspbeery Ale
A refreshing golden ale made with over 200 lbs. of real raspberries. This beer has a reddish hue or blush and a strong raspberry aroma and flavor with a touch of tartness.
Season: varies Color: gold Alc./Vol: 5.0%
Crimson Clover Irish Red
Traditional Irish style pub ale with a lucious red hue and a biscuity malt flavor. Brewed with imported Maris Otter malt, red malts and wheat, then hopped with traditional Kent Goldings and Willamette hops for a balanced bitterness.
Season: winter Color: red Alc./Vol: 5.0%
Curley's Irish Stout
Brewed like the stout that made Ireland famous and named after Boston's most memorable mayor, this beer has a lot to live up to. Brewed with roasted and flaked barley and Kent Golding hops, this ale is smooth, rich and very dry.
Season: all Color: black Alc./Vol: 4.0%
Fenway American Pale Ale
A quintessential American pale ale, brewed with a blend of American hops. This copper colored ale is well balanced and pleasantly bitter with a spicy-citrus hop aroma, produced by a blend of Cluster and Cascade hops.
Season: all Color: copper Alc./Vol: 5.0%
Haymarket Hefe Weizen*
Hefe Weizen is German for wheat beer with yeast. This golden ale utilizes a German yeast to give this beer its signature flavors, both a banana, fruity aroma and a crisp, spicy clove finish, and is served unfiltered to produce its cloudy appearance.
Season: spring/summer Color: orange/gold Alc./Vol: 4.5%
Hercules Strong Ale *1994 GABF Barley Wine
The port wine of beers. Barley wine, meaning literally a wine brewed with barley. This beer is quite strong, with a fruity, floral bouquet and a warming, bitter finish. Meant to be sipped as an ap�ritif, rather than quaffed as a beer.
Season: fall/winter/spring Color: copper Alc./Vol: 11.5%
Hub Dry Draft
A light bodied, golden ale, brewed with flaked maize and fully fermented to leave no residual sweetness, (hence "dry"), producing a beer with no aftertaste. A perfect companion for flavorful food or for refreshment on a hot summer day.
Season: all Color: gold Alc./Vol: 4.5%
Kenmore Kolsch
Kolsch is a beer style which originated in Koln (Cologne), Germany. Its a crisp golden ale, brewed with a portion of wheat and lager malt to add to its clean, dry palate.
Season: all Color: gold Alc./Vol: 4.5%
Limerick Irish Ale * (comes green!)
Our ode to St. Patrick. This light ale is brewed by adding boiled potatoes to the mash as an additional source of starch. This beer has an earthy malt aroma, light body and a very dry finish.
Season: st. patricks day Color: pale copper Alc./Vol: 4.5%
Oktoberfest Lager
A sweet, malty lager brewed annually in celebration of King Ludwig 1 of Bavaria and Therese Van Sachsen-Hildburghausen's wedding in 1810. Brewed with German malt and hops, this lager is full-bodied with soft malt flavors and subtle hop character.
Season: fall Color: amber Alc./Vol: 6.0%
Patriot Pilsner
A Czechoslovakian Pilsner in the tradition of the first golden lager, Pilsner Urquell. This deep golden lager is brewed with an abundance of Saaz hops, producing a clean, crisp, dry lager with a refreshing noble hop bitterness.
Season: summer Color: gold Alc./Vol: 5.5%
Pumpkinhead Ale *
A Beer Works Favorite! Pumpkin is added to the mash tun and kettle to give this beer its unique color and sweet palate. Vanilla, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg are added to the kettle and during conditioning to produce its wonderfully decadent aroma.
Season: all Color: orange Alc./Vol: 5.0%
Summerworks Ale
Our tribute to America's great beers, this medium bodied golden ale has an assertive hop character much like the classic Bushwick Pilsners, without an overwhelming bitterness. "Just the kiss of the hops" to coin a phrase.
Season: summer Color: gold Alc./Vol: 5.0%
Watermelon Ale **
Our salute to summer ale. A refreshing light ale brewed with an all natural watermelon flavored extract, and garnished with a slice of watermelon on every glass.
Season: summer Color: gold Alc./Vol: 4.0%
White Christmas
One of our two XMAS beers, this ale is brewed with whole figs and ginger root to produce a sweet, rich full bodied brown ale with just of hint of ginger to give it some zing.
Season: winter Color: brown Alc./Vol: 5.5%
Winterworks Holiday Ale
A Beer Works Classic! Rich and strong, this tawny red ale is brewed with vanilla bean, cinnamon, and orange peel to give it a decadently sweet flavor, in combination with its warming alcohol undertones.
Season: winter Color: amber Alc./Vol: 7.0%
Overall this might be my favorite place to eat and drink in Boston and I would consider myself a regular.
