The Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Taprooms in Boston
These craft beer breweries are located in and around the 23 Neighborhoods of Boston, along with Cambridge, Everett, Medford, Newton, and Watertown. Now apply your moustache wax, break out your suspenders, and go get yourself some beer. Bully!
Written by CraftJack | Updated | 10 min read
Interesting Tools
- Beer BrüMate Hopsulator
- Brewing Northern Brewer Beer Making Kit
- Spirit Crystal Whiskey Glasses
- Wine Wine Decanter/Aerator
When you add up all of the breweries and taprooms together, Boston is a sneaky good beer town. That's not to discount Massachusetts, or New England craft breweries as a whole, it's just that the Boston area has tons and tons of great beer. People can brag about Tree House all they want, but we don't think they need to leave the city to enjoy a delicious New England IPA.
Below is the truly complete Boston Beer Lover's guide to all of the best breweries, taprooms, brewpubs, beer halls, and pop-up beer gardens across America's Walking City. And, with a brewery like Sam Adams in town, Boston serves up one of the most popular beer brands on Earth.
Breweries in Boston Proper
Boston is made up of 23 neighborhoods. You don't need to know all of them, just the ones where the breweries and cider houses are.
- Allston/Brighton
- Back Bay
- Dorchester
- Downtown
- East Boston
- Fenway Kenmore
- Jamaica Plain
- Roslindale
- South Boston Waterfront Seaport District
Boston Beer: A History of Brewing in the Hub
By Norman Miller - A good read if you're a fan of the Boston craft brewing scene.
Buy NowAllston-Brighton
Brato Brewhouse and Kitchen
190 N Beacon Street, Brighton, MA 02135
A/B features the relatively new Brato Brewhouse and Kitchen. Brato is adjacent to Boston Landing, New Balance, and Warrior Ice Arena. The city has worked hard to transform this section of town. What used to be unnamed streets filled with blue collar commercial, is now a collection of hip gastropubs and eateries, the Brato Brewhouse being one of them.
At least the Sound Museum and the Quality Market that supplies 30 packs and 40oz to bands still exist.
Night Shift Owl's Nest - Allston
Christian Herter Park
Located near the Public amphitheater, the so-dubbed Owl's Nest is everyone's Bostonian's dream: outdoor beer drinking. With barrels to set your drink on, and a rack for their fixies, denizens of LA should feel fully welcome.
Back Bay
Night Shift Owl's Nest - Esplanade Fiedler Field
Night Shift Brewing sets up a pop-up beer garden along the Charles River, giving patrons and passersby a chance to sample their fresh craft brews. Grab a bite from local food trucks, and enjoy the outdoors. You're gonna need it after a long work day.
Dorchester
Deadwood Cafe and Brewery @ Boston Bowl
820 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02122
Visible from the Southeast Expressway, the DW Brewpub offers burgers, wings, salads, apps, pizza, and pub entrees. They also pour their own brew from the taps, including the Regatta Brown, Dot Light, and Pulse, a double IPA.
Oh, and it's a bowling alley. Boston Bowl in Dorchester has been around forever. Maybe the business has changed hands, but the bowling remains.
Dorchester Brewing Company
1250 Massachusetts Avenue, Dorchester, MA 02125
The Dot boozes, and rightfully so. Just North of Upham's Corner you will find the Dorchester Brewing Company. The taproom offers an excellent view of Downtown Boston, with the cityscape resting right behind the taps. With indoor shuffleboard, pinball, and skee ball, this Mass Ave taproom will keep you libated and entertained for hours.
Combine BBQ, Private Event Space, and a Rooftop Greenhouse, DBco has most everything a craft beer lover would want.
Downtown
Democracy Brewing
35 Temple Street, Boston, MA 02111
An actual downtown brewery for a change, Democracy Brewing bathes in the charm created by an older Boston. Set against a beer industry that adores metal warehouses and post and beam barns for their taprooms, Democracy Brewing sticks to it's revolutionary design guns with a small taste of what brewing on-site must have been like 200+ years ago.
You know, except for the credit cards, smartphones, and shiny kettles.
Night Shift Brewing Lovejoy Wharf
Across the street from the Bulfinch Triangle, and neighboring the Boston Garden, is Night Shift's Lovejoy Wharf. Night Shift's scratch kitchen serves half-pound pretzels, beer cheese nachos, and other pregame treats, along with experimental brews.
Trillium Beer Garden
High Street & Atlantic Avenue, Boston MA 02251
Food trucks and fresh beer are the perfect Summer pairing in the Hub. Such is life at Trillium's Beer Garden on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
East Boston
Downeast Cider House
256 Marginal Street Bldg 32, East Boston, 02128
Downeast produces unfiltered craft cider with multiple release cycles, from core, year-long blends, to seasonal and limited releases. Unlike Democracy, Downeast Cider gives us the barrel-lined walls and loading dock entrance that craft drinkers geek out over. The double blend is pretty tasty.
Beer Lover's New England: Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Beer Bars
By Norman Miller - A must read for New Englanders looking to broaden their knowledge of the local craft beer scene. A great gift for a craft beer lover.
Buy NowFenway-Kenmore
Beerworks Boston/Fenway
61 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
Adjacent to Kenmore Square, Beerworks Boston is one of the veteran craft beer joints in the entire city. The Red Sox alone probably foot their annual expenses, with a packed house 91 days per year.
They've expanded their footprint beyond city limits, creating:
Cheeky Monkey Brewing Company
3 Lansdowne Street, Boston, MA 02215
This establishment has been Jake Ivory's, Tequila Rain, and other names over the years, and it's now the Cheeky Monkey Brewing Company. Part bar, part lounge, part pool hall, part brewery. Not a bad combo at all. If you're lucky enough to get a patio seat on game day, or, concert night, take it.
Trillium Brewing Company - Fenway
401 Park Drive, Boston MA 02215
Local beer, if you live in The Fens. With an expanded city footprint, Trillium appears more than once on this Boston Craft Beer Guide. Get some fresh beers out on the patio this summer!
Jamaica Plain
Samuel Adams Brewery
30 Germania St, Boston, MA 02130
The one. The only. Sam Adams.
The Samuel Adams Brewery offers flagship amenities, including tours, a private rental space for 60, and pints/flights in the tasting room. If you want to make a day of it, stop in after a spring saunter through the Arboretum.
With their Utopia series, Sam Adams offers a beer with one of the highest ABVs in the craft beer game.
Turtle Swamp Brewing
3377 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02130
A neighborhood brewery. Turtle Swamp produces an array of craft ales to serve in their 02130 taproom. They will even sell you kegs for your house party. If you're taking that route, maybe stick with the 5% Serendipitous instead of the 7.25% Orange Line IPA?
Roslindale
Distraction Brewing Company
2 Belgrade Avenue Roslindale, MA 02131
Roslindale's only microbrewery, located right in the village off Belgrade. Not only does Distraction brew a diverse set of craft beer, but the cover the "normal" range of abv, from 4-10%. The Diversion #2, their Belgian Quad, and part of their experimental series, intrigues us, with its palette of chocolate and fruit.
South Boston Waterfront Seaport District
Harpoon Brewery
306 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210
Harpoon is Boston's original brewery party beer hall experience, since a decade and a half ago, most of these other microbreweries didn't exist. Unfortunately, this year's HarpoonFest just got cancelled.
Hopsters Brewing Company - Seaport
51 Sleeper St, Boston, MA 02210
Newton Corner's Hopsters carted their friendly brew-your-own process down the Pike to Boston's Seaport District. It's a great casual bevvie stop by the waterfront, especially when you stare down Strega and Del Frisco's.
Trillum Brewing Company - Fort Point
50 Thomson Place, Boston MA 02210
Brick and beam. A courtyard patio. A rooftop. Boston's Trillium Brewing Company has garnered quite the reputation over the last decade, producing quality craft beers that on par with their luxurious city digs. A short walk to the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
Breweries just outside of Downtown Boston
I consider microbreweries in what people call Boston to be acceptable for inclusion. This includes Cambridge, Everett, Medford, Newton, and Watertown. Take Cambridge for example. Kendall Square's Cambridge Brewing Company is 10.5 miles closer to Boston City Hall than the center of Hyde Park.
But Brewmaster, you include Newton? I do. I think driving around the circle of death (Newton Corner) to get to Hopsters qualifies it for inclusion. Don't you?
Cambridge
Cambridge Brewing Company
1 Kendall Square Ste B1102, Cambridge, MA 02139
The CBC brews one of the most affordable belgian triples in the Boston market. You can (or could) grab a bomber (22oz) of the Tripel Threat for less than $10 at any packie around the city. At 10% ABV, and, 22oz, that's basically three and a half bud lights with 20x the flavor.
After a few tripels, you'll be ready to lose a crisp hundo at Flattop Johnnys. Just don't gouge the Brunswick trying to jump a ball with your newfound beer muscles.
Lamplighter Brewing Company
284 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139
Halfway between Kendall and Central Square is Lamplighter Brewing Company. One part taproom, one part coffee shop, all parts People's Republic. Lamplighter has been serving up craft beer for more than a half decade. T
Bonus - they serve free goldfish.
Lord Hobo Beer Bar
92 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
The owner of Lord Hobo cut his teeth on the Moan and Dove in Amherst nearly 20 years ago. A decade ago, he brought his talents to Cambridge as Lord Hobo. This was before opening a larger brewing production in Woburn. Known for the Boom Sauce, with the Triple IPA being understated in its delight, Lord Hobo is a good stopping point on either brewery or basic pub crawl.
Portico Brewing Company
No known address
"Born in Cambridge, Brewed in Ipswich, MA", so see what you can do about finding it in stores, because you won't be drinking it on-site in Camberville.
Everett
BearMoose Brewing Company
1934 Revere Beach Parkway, Everett, MA 02149
From pilsener to stout, dog-friendly BearMoose brews every color on the beeriodic table. When you're visiting the brewery, get yourself a hat trick of Hat Tricks and shoot some darts, kid!
Bone Up Brewing Company
38 Norman Street, Everett, MA 02149
Located in Everett's fermentation district (is that a thing?), Bone Up Brewing boasts a whole series of farmhouse ales and saisons. That sounds fantastic. Even some of the names are fantastic. Looking at you, MADELINE THE DESTROYER. And you, COMET BOMB. And you, ... SUPER JEFF
If the flavor is anything close to the beer naming awesomeness, then Bone Up should be the next stop on your Boston Brewery Tour.
Night Shift Brewing
87 Santilli Hwy, Everett, MA 02149
The flagship of the growing Night Shift empire. And I mean empire, as Night Shift is heavy into brewing, distribution, and coffee. What's next, owning a Hawaiian island acreage and becoming Pineapple Czars?
All the Fluffinitys you could ever want!
Malden
Idle Hands Craft Ales
89 Commercial Street, Malden, MA 02148
Judging by the sheer volume of craft beers they have created over the years, Idle Hands is anything but idle. Born and raised in New Hampshire, owner, Christopher Tkach, focuses on brewing Belgian-inspired ales that not only delight the palate, but pair well with a variety of farm-to-table recipes.
Faces Brewing
50 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148
Faces Brewing was supposed to open their Malden Center brewpub in March. I'm guessing the current situation has prevented that. That's too bad, Malden could use more cheer. The taproom, bar, and dining area will accommodate 300. Updates to follow.
Medford
Medford Brewing Company
Medford Brewing Company, because every town needs one! Jokes aside, Medford makes a bold choice of not naming their beers. They rely on the strength of their brewery name plus the type, pale, golden, ipa, dipa. It's a bold choice, Cotton. Let's see how that plays out.
(Ok, so we were wrong, MBC brews the Phantom.)
Newton
Hopsters Brewing Company
292 Centre Street, Newton, MA 02458
With a (strong) stone's throw to Brighton, Newton Corner is basically still part of the city. That's where you'll find Hopsters original location. Beyond their all around craft beer selection, their real attraction is the brew-your-own option. There are worse ways to spend your money.
Somerville
Aeronaut Brewing Company
14 Tyler Street, Somerville, MA 02143
Beer. Art. Music. Foodies. Yoga. Art. Cans to go. Board games. And, a boxing club next door. Folks, that's Union Square's Aeronaut Brewing Company. So good. So Somerville.
American Fresh Brewhouse
490 Foley Street, Somerville, MA 02145
Somerville Brewing Company's American Fresh Brewhouse is Assembly Row's craft beer hall. A Stump! Trivia location, the brewhouse cooks up lunch and dinner for beer loves, whether in the brewpub or out on the patio. Complementing the pub grub is SBC's line of Slumbrew beer.
Bantam Cider Company
40 Merriam Street, Somerville, MA 02143
Modern American Cider. And, modern American can design for their core ciders, with appropriate white space, ideal measure, and a playful typeface to opposte the straightforward sans-serif.
You can acquire pours, flights, growlers, and merch in Bantam's Somerville taproom.
Remnant Brewing
2 Bow Market Way, Somerville, MA 02143
More fun to be had in Somerville's Union Square! Stop at Remnant Brewing before seeing your favorite indie rock band at Thunder Road. With names like Soft Polygons and Lightform, you really can't go wrong exchanging a Hamilton for some suds at Remnant.
For you dog lovers, the outdoor patio at Bow Market welcomes cute little Cujo! So bring your puppers.
Small Change Brewing Company
Small Change is a husband and wife team making small batch craft beer and generously sharing it with the world - aka - most of Massachusetts. The medley of east and west coast hops in Whatever's Cool With Me sounds like a national crowd pleaser.
Somerville Brewing Company
15 Ward Street, Somerville, MA 02143
Slumbrew!
Located in the no-named streets behind East Cambridge's Atwood's, is the main Somerville Brewing Company brewery. Word has it that they filed for Chapter 11. That can't be good for the Boston beer scene. Hopefully they make it out of that mess.
Winter Hill Brewing Company
328 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145
Winter Hill Brewing Company, like Night Shift, is in the beer, coffee, and kitchen game. I don't recall Night Shift serving schnitzel though. Pale Ales and IPAs seem to be WHBC's standard. If you've been to Somerville, you know oozes craft brewing appreciation.
Can you get a Winter Hill pint at Magoun's? Someone let us know.
Watertown
Brazo Fuerte Artisanal Beer
Known for their session beers, Brazo Fuerte's opening in Watertown was long overdue, both for the brewers, and for the town itself. Brazo Fuerte can be found on tap in the wild in Cambridge' Kendall Square. It seems that the microbrewery focuses on artisanal ales. If you're pro ale over lagers, look them up, they could use your support.
Boston breweries that closed recently
It's really too bad that the Backlash Beer Company in Roxbury and Mystic Brewery in Chelsea closed. As for the Down the Road Beer Co, that's a really tough situation. We wish them the best.
Boston Brewery Questions
- How many craft breweries in Boston? Over 30 breweries in what people consider Boston.
- How many breweries are near Fenway Park? There are 3. That includes Boston Beerworks, Cheeky Monkey, and Trillium (Fenway).
- Do Cambridge and Somerville breweries count as "Boston"? No. Breweries in Cambridge and Somerville are on their own. Some might say Camberville is its own place - and we'd agree.