A recent release by Massvacation, Massachusetts’ Local Goods Inspire Fresh Journeys, provided the inspiration for this post. In it, among other things, they promote five microbreweries/brew pubs. This planted the seed of an idea. We had done a couple of very popular posts in the past about New England microbreweries (see Great New England Brews and More Great New England Beer and Ale).
So we decided to do Massvacation one better. Following you will find a listing of all the breweries, brew pubs, and major beer fests in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (at least all of them we could find).
Massachusetts Breweries
From big to small, there are breweries all over the state making an enormous variety of beer and ale. Most of these provide tours but you should check their website or call for tour specifics.
- Backlash Beer Company, based in Boston, brewed in Holyoke
- Berkshire Brewing Company, South Deerfield, MA
- Blatant Brewery, Bondsville, MA
- Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) – Boston, MA – Offer what is considered to be one of the best brewery tours in the United States
- Blue Hills Brewery, Canton, MA
- Cape Ann Brewing Co., Gloucester, MA – Tours and a pub with harbor views
- Cape Cod Beer, Hyannis, MA
- Cisco Brewers, Nantucket, MA
- Clown Shoes, Lexington, MA
- Cody Brewing Company, Amesbury, MA
- Element Brewing Company, Millers Falls, MA
- Frosty Knuckle Ale, Ipswich, MA
- Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA – Also offer what is considered to be one of the best brewery tours in the United States
- Haverhill Brewery, Haverhill, MA
- High & Mighty Beer Company, Belchertown, MA
- Idle Hands Craft Ales, Everett, MA
- Ipswich Ale Brewery, Ipswich, MA
- Jack’s Abby, Framingham, MA
- Just Beer, Westport, MA
- Lefty’s Brewing Company, Greenfield, MA
- Mayflower Brewing Company, Plymouth, MA
- Mystic Brewery, Chelsea, MA
- Nashoba Valley Winery and Brewery, Bolton, MA
- Notch Brewing Company, Ipswich, MA
- Opa Opa Brewing Company, Southampton, MA
- Paper City Brewery Company, Holyoke, MA
- Pioneer Brewing Company, Fiskdale, MA
- Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, Somerville, MA
- Rapscallion, Bedford, MA
- Sherwood Forest Brewers, Marlborough, MA
- Somerville Brewing Company, Somerville, MA
- Trillium Brewing Company, Boston, MA
- Wachusett Brewing Company, Westminster, MA
- Wandering Star Craft Brewery, Pittsfield, MA
- Wormtown Brewery, Worcester, MA
Massachusetts Beer Festivals
Wine does not have a lock on festivals. Here are some of the major upcoming beer festivals in Massachusetts:
- American Craft Beer Fest (ACBF): June 1 and 2, 2012 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA
- Brew Fest: 9/22/2012 at the Amesbury Sports Park in Amesbury, MA
- RRI Wine, Beer & Food Festival: 3/29/2012 at the Oliver Wight Tavern at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA
Massachusetts Brew Pubs
Rounding out the picture of great beer in Massachusetts are the state’s many great brew pubs:
- Amherst Brewing Company, Amherst, MA
- Barrington Brewery and Restaurant, Great Barrington, MA
- Boston Beer Works, 2 locations in Boston, MA, and at Logan Airport
- Cambridge Brewing Co., Cambridge, MA
- Gardner Ale House, Gardner, MA
- Hingham Beer Works, Hingham, MA
- John Harvard’s Brew House, Cambridge, MA
- John Harvard’s Brew House, Framingham, MA
- Lowell Beer Works, Lowell, MA
- Northampton Brewery, Northampton, MA
- Off Shore Ale Co., Oak Bluffs, MA
- The People’s Pint, Greenfield, MA
- Rock Bottom Brewery and Restaurant, Boston, MA
- Salem Beer Works, Salem, MA
- The Tap Brewpub, Haverhill, MA
- Watch City Brewing, Waltham, MA





We probably should have mentioned the Massachusetts Brewer’s Guild. Thank you to Mary at Ipswich Ale Brewery for bringing the Guild to our attention.
You also forgot Idle Hands Craft Ales in Everett, MA. Boston’s first nanobrewery and the commonwealth’s smallest brewery. Open to the public every Saturday, 12 to 4pm for tours, tastings and growler fills.
For those that truly want to sample, many of these are available on tap in one location, Horseshoe Pub in Hudsaon, MA. 80 taps, 2 casks.
For those who want to go way more upscale, there’s Armsby Abbey in Worcester, MA. Only 20 taps, but over 100 in bottles.
Also forgot Jack’s Abby who exclusively brew larger beers. Pretty Things could also be included though I don’t believe they brew in only one location.
Thank you to everyone who has let us know what we left out. If there are any others please let us know…
[...] What started as one-upping MassVacation promoting Massachusetts breweries turned out to be so popular we decided to make this a series giving the same treatment to all of the New England States. You can see what is now the first installment in our beer around New England series here: Beer in Massachusetts. [...]
[...] Beer in Massachusetts [...]
You forgot to mention Lefty’s Brewing Company and People’s Pint, both breweries are located in Greenfield, MA.
[...] the round-up of Massachusetts breweries, micro-breweries, and brew pubs that we did last year. See Beer in Massachusetts. VN:F [1.9.21_1169]please wait…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes [...]