Armsby Abbey’s selection of Hill Farmstead beers has always been a big draw for me, although with the recent availability of HF beers in greater Boston, somewhat less so, especially due to the drive home from Worcester.
We did go to a Woosox game last summer, spent the night in Wooster, and of course ate/drank at AA which was great!.
Oh man, same here! We first went shortly after they opened for business and fell in love with the cheese plates and Belgian beers. They always seemed to have exactly what we wanted to eat and drink—I can’t think of a similar place in GBA. I’m pleased as punch that it’s still going strong.
ETA: Publick House in Brookline used to fill that niche for us, but our last visit (late 2022, I think?) just didn’t feel the same.
I can’t believe that no one has mentioned the two Notch Brewing tap rooms/beer gardens (Brighton and Salem).
They get my nomination for the best beer/taproom experience in the greater Boston area. Their beers are uniformly superb and unlike most breweries, they make classic European brews that don’t absolutely knock your over your head with hops and alcohol. (I love Treehouse beers but I will not drive home after more than one of their 8+% DIPAs.)
I think that Widowmaker is also worth a mention. Their Blue Comet IPA is one of my favorite Boston-area interpretations of the style.
I visited their Braintree location a year ago and it was pretty standard for a NE brewery taproom. They have recently opened a second location in Brighton with a kitchen. I look forward to trying it later this year.
@digga, @stiv I did start with Notch on this older thread about them which did spark this new thread. But I can’t merge anything so decided to start fresh. Hope we can keep this convo going!
I think a fresh thread is fine, someone doing a search will find both of them.
^ Yes to this. One of the things I admire about Notch.
Plus the vibe of the taproom in Salem—haven’t visited Brighton—has been chill and convivial when we visited. That’s another important aspect I look for.
And here! If anyone spots Hill Farmstead Conduct of Life, give a shout
May I audition to be your frisky, loud young puppy so that you could throw me those to hush me?
Last week we visited Armsby Abbey again after a trip to see the orchid show at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens. (Note: Charming, yet not as big an orchid exhibit as my mind’s eye had imagined.)
I wanted to share this look at Armsby’s draft beer menu from this second visit. Quite a different lineup was different than at the beginning of the month. I very much enjoyed a Novachord from Brick and Feather Brewery of Turners Falls, MA. This was a Czech-style Polotmavy (amber) lager at 4 percent alcohol.
Noticed, but did not try, the Czech-style Pilnser from Schilling also on the list.
Hmmm, could it be that Czech-style beers are having a moment here in New England?
I have heard good things about Fox Farm Witch Meadow and IPAs with Riwaka hops like Pora are always great.
Ah, something for HO friends who may find themselves in Connecticut. Thanks!
Keep an eye on Armsby Abbey’s taplist - that’s going to be your best bet. Not too many places have HF on tap
Re-posting an earlier visit to Pivotal in Bristol RI just to keep taproom content in 1 thread:
Pivotal Brewing in Bristol, which was on our way. Awesome space and the campus is rife with food businesses, including Brick Pizza and Borealis Coffee in gorgeous mill buildings. But as we were making our way there, I saw old school places like Andrade’s Seafood market and various other restaurants and packies. We obviously need to delve into Bristol. Pivotal is in a beautiful space, good beers. They had a makers mart and a folk singer today and good beer (loved the soul fire DIPA). But most important, they had Yahtzee, which kept all of us happy.
Nice post. My sole experience eating in Bristol was Tweet Balzano’s!
So I finally made it to the relatively newly opened Widowmaker Taproom @ 190 N. Beacon Street, Brighton (Boston). On this fine spring day I biked there to check it out. It is located in the location formerly occupied by Brato Brewhouse, which I never made it to.
Even though it is only steps from Market Street, that end of North Beacon is a lot grittier than I remember it being - lots of construction and a storage building located nearby. I can kind of see why Brato didn’t make it there.
As I was biking I limited myself to just a half pour, I was more on a reconnaissance mission to get a sense of the vibe there. On a Saturday afternoon it was moderately busy, maybe half the tables/booths were occupied with several families present along with the other patrons.
Black appears to be the color of choice for both the outside of the building as well as the inside, and the music choice on this day was pretty loud metal. Not my idea of a cozy pub but to each their own!
Extensive draft list - 11 beers split between hoppy IPA variations and lower alc. lagers and dark ales. I really like Widowmaker’s Blue Comet and it did not fail. Hazy 7%+ IPA with loads of hops both in the nose and especially zingy in the mouth. A couple of full pours of those would put me down for the night.
There is also a full kitchen with sandwiches, ramen noodle bowls, salads, and various snacks.
For IPA aficionados, this is a nice addition to the Boston taproom scene. If IPAs are not your thing, fear not, as Notch Brewing (@ the Speedway) is only a few minutes walk away and offers a 180 degree different taproom experience.
@Stiv, thanks for this intel! Was there an outdoor patio available? The website says that it is to open in Spring 2024 …
The patio in that space was one of our favorite parts of Brato - an outdoor beer option within biking distance!
I didn’t look for it, it must be out back? Certainly there is no room in front of the building!
Thanks for sharing, @Stiv! Helpful to know that Widowmaker and Notch are close to each other—in Brighton, that is.
Nice when there are multiple taproom options located within walking distance of one another. Have run across that in Portland (Maine) but not so much here in MA.
