The craft beer industry has taken off since the 1990s, and the Boston area is a great place to explore some of the country's finest microbreweries. Due to craft beer's popularity, the Boston area is home to over thirty breweries.
Most breweries include a tasting room, where visitors can taste some of what the brewery is producing. Some of the smaller breweries only serve their beer on site, while a few of the bigger breweries have global distribution.
Below is a list of all of the Boston area breweries ranked, with an emphasis on average beer rating when determining rankings.
1. Trillium Brewing Company - 369 Congress Street, Boston / 110 Shawmut Rd, Canton
When it comes to Boston beer, both BeerAdvocate and Untappd rank Trillium #1. Trillium produces some of the best IPAs (India Pale Ales) and DIPAs (double IPAs) in the world. Their most popular beer is the Congress Street IPA. The only disadvantage of Trillium is that they do not serve their beer at the main South Boston brewery. Instead, they have an area there where you can have growlers filled. However, Trillium recently opened a second brewery in Canton which does have a tap room, and hosts weekly events. Trillium also started a beer garden on the Greenway, about a ten-minute walk from the main brewery. Unfortunately, the Trillium Beer Garden is only open in the summer.
2. Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company - 81 Morton St, Framingham
Only founded in 2016, the Exhibit 'A' brewery already has a lot to be impressed with. Their Framingham brewery is the best place to sample their beer, but some of their creations can be found on local draft lists or in stores, such as the Cat's Meow IPA and the Hair Raiser DIPA.
3. Night Shift Brewing Company - 87 Santilli Hwy, Everett
Cans of Night Shift beer, with its owl logo, are becoming a common sight in Massachusetts beer stores. The most widely distributed are the Whirlpool and Santilli IPAs. Founded in 2012, Night Shift produces over 100 different well-rated beers. Stop by the brewery in Everet to try some of their beers that can't be found in stores.
4. Barrel House Z - 95 Woodrock Rd, Weymouth
Barrel House Z of Weymouth opened even more recently than Exhibit 'A' brewing. While many other breweries in the Boston area specialize in IPAs, Barrel House Z has been experimenting with other styles, such as stouts, Irish red ales, and rye beer. Their most popular beer is Adeline, a barrel-aged Russian imperial stout.
5. Springdale Barrel Room (by Jack's Abby) - 102 Clinton St, Framingham
The Springdale Barrel Room was founded by the neighboring Jack's Abby brewery, and specializes in beer aged in oak barrels. Their most popular beer is the Good N' You? IPA .
6. Mystic Brewery - 174 Williams St, Chelsea
The Mystic Brewery is famous for its saisons, but it has perfected many other styles of beer. Their most popular beer is the Saison Renaud. This small brewery in Chelsea has board games and allows dogs.
7. Idle Hands Craft Ales - 89 Commercial St, Malden
Idle Hands is known for their Four Seam IPA and Triplication Belgian Tripel.
8. Castle Island Brewing Company - 31 Astor Ave, Norwood
Keeper IPA and Candlepin Session IPA are most widely available, but their other beers are even better.
9. Jack's Abby Craft Lagers - 100 Clinton St, Framingham
Jack's Aby is best known for their Hoponius Union IPL (India Pale Lager).
10. Notch Brewing Company - 283 Derby St, Salem
Notch Brewery in Salem is probably the best brewery on the North Shore. It is close enough to Boston that it was included on this list. Their Left of the Dial Session IPA is widely available, but many of their best beers can only be bought at the brewery.
11. Aeronaut Brewing Company - 14 Tyler St, Somerville
Keep an eye out for Aeronaut's A Year With Dr. Nandu IPA, or visit them at their Somerville brewery.
12. Lamplighter Brewing Co. - 284 Broadway, Cambridge
Lamplighter is a small brewery that likes to experiment with sour beers. Their most popular beers are their Birds of A Feather and Rabbit Rabbit IPAs.
13. Lord Hobo Brewing Company - 5 Draper St, Woburn
Lord Hobo only makes a few different beers, but they very good. Boomsauce DIPA is the most widely available in stores. In addition to the brewery in Woburn, Lord Hobo has a beer bar on Hampshire Street in Cambridge.
14. Down the Road Beer Company - 199 Ashland St, Everett
Down the Road is a rapidly expanding brewery that has made its way into almost every Boston area beer store. Pukwudgie Pale Ale is most common, but look for the Darkest Night Imperial Stout, which is 14% ABV.
15. Winter Hill Brewing Company - 328 Broadway, Somerville
Winter Hill operates a great brewpub in Somerville. The Darlin's IPA is their most popular option.
16. Dorchester Brewing Company - 1250 Massachusetts Ave, Dorchester
The tap room at Dorchester Brewing Company doesn't only feature their own beers, such as the V1 DIPA; it also has a wide variety of other local beers.
17. Turtle Swamp Brewing - 3377 Washington St, Jamaica Plain
Turtle Swamp only produces 6 different beers so far, but they are good beers.
18. Cambridge Brewing Company - 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge
One of the oldest brewpubs in Massachusetts, it's been around since 1989.
19. Hopsters Brewing Company - 292 Centre St, Newton
20. Somerville Brewing Company (Slumbrew) - 15 Ward St, Somerville
Slumbrew beer can be found in tall, amazingly decorated cans all around New England.
Honorable Mention:
Bent Water Brewing Co. (Lynn), Bone Up Brewing Co. (Everett), Percival Brewing Co. (Norwood), Harpoon Brewery and Beer Hall (Boston), Beerworks Brewing Co. (Boston), John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House (Cambridge), 7th Wave Brewing (Medfield), Boston Beer Co. (Samuel Adams) (Jamaica Plain), Blue Hills Brewery (Canton), Deadwood Café and Brewery (Boston)
Cideries:
1. Downeast Cider House: 256 Marginal St #32, East Boston, MA
2. Prospect Ciderworks: 173B Norfolk Ave, Boston, MA
3. Far From The Tree Craft Hard Cider: 108 Jackson St, Salem, MA
4. Bantam Cider Company: 40 Merriam St, Somerville, MA
5. Harpoon Brewery and Beer Hall: 306 Northern Ave, Boston, MA
To compile the brewery rankings, data was used from the beer ranking sites Untappd and BeerAdvocate, and the venue ranking sites Yelp and Google Maps.
