The 15 Best Breweries In Boston 2024 - Boston - The Infatuation (2024)

There’s no shortage of good pints in Boston. And though some diehards may argue that Portland has the most creative beer scene, or that Vermont does everything better than anyone else, Boston’s craft brewers can go toe-to-toe with anybody. In the ‘90s, we were one of the first cities in the country to make hoppy IPAs while everyone else worshipped lagers.

We’ve spent years checking out breweries—and religiously documenting each beer we sip—to bring you this guide on the best taprooms in the Boston metro area. There are other places we love, including you, Treehouse, but they’re further out in the suburbs.

THE BREWERIES

Lamplighter has released one well-balanced, flavorful New England IPA after another, along with a bunch of experimental brews, including barleywine, wild ales, and Mexican-style amber lagers. They have two locations—one near Cambridge Crossing and another on Broadway—and Camberville residents keep both packed. We like their Cambridge Crossing taproom a bit more because it’s slightly roomier, with floor-to-ceiling windows that give you a nice view of The Common. Lamplighter also regularly collaborates with some of the hottest names in Boston’s food scene, and has done pop-ups with Sekali for Malaysian bites, Mei Mei Dumplings, and Johnny Boy for Filipino sandwiches

Remnant, located in Somerville’s Bow Market, is known for its English-style ales and sessions. And while those are quality, we’ve found that it’s more fun to try their experimental collaborations with local restaurants and breweries, which in the past have included a mushroom beer, a gose brewed with Persian limes in partnership with Sarma, and a Czech-style amber lager made with Gilded Skull Brewing in central Massachusetts. They have plenty of seating for groups of various sizes, and the outdoor patio sometimes has the occasional live band or sweaty, happy run clubs gathering for a post-5k drink. Its location also means you can grab food from other places in the market, like Hot Box for pizza and sandwiches, or make a plan for a sit-down Vietnamese feast at The Eaves.

Remember when everyone was going full send on IPAs? Well, around the same time, the founder of Notch Brewing went in the complete opposite direction to focus on session-style beers. Order their crisp, Czech-style lager and you might even get educated about the nuance of a mlíko pour, which is mostly a bunch of flavorful wet foam. Notch’s Brighton location is spacious, but the indoor area can fill up quickly on weekends—they share the all-season outdoor patio with other small business vendors in the complex. Get some pies from Pizza Project and empanadas from Super Bien, or something from Notch’s own kitchen that’s pumping out flavorful pretzels and German-style sandwiches.

Though its taproom is the newest addition to Somerville, the people behind this brewery have been in the craft beer industry for a long time as contract brewers, who make beer or alcoholic beverages for other brands. The location is a bit tucked away behind a chocolate factory, but the space is open and airy, making it great for a group of friends and some board games. Their German-style pilsner is light, crispy, and adeptly hopped, and you can't go wrong with any Belgian blondes like the Fuzzy Logic. You can also get top-notch birria tacos and nachos from Taqueria El Barrio, which has taken up residence in the brewery.

If you’re visiting Boston, Trillium’s Seaport taproom is the perfect entry point to the brewery scene. For years, it’s been a destination spot that attracts beer fans from all over the city and the state, brewing consistently delicious IPAs and sours since they’ve been open. The Seaport location runs an exceptional food program and has an outdoor patio for the warmer months. If you happen to be in Fenway, there’s a tiny beer garden within walking distance for you to grab a beer before and/or after a Sox game.

If you work in the neighborhood, Winter Hill Brewing Company is probably where you go to decompress after you clock out. There's trivia on Thursday nights and daily specials that sometimes feature their juicy and crunchy fried chicken. The tap list is IPA-heavy, but they also make crispy kölsch and pilsners that go down easy. The food menu is made up of bar classics with a modern and sometimes global twist, like savory and tangy kimchi latkes, hearty Welsh rarebits, and slightly spicy and delicious curry kale wraps with vindaloo-style cauliflower.

Founded in 1986, employee-owned Harpoon is the oldest craft brewery in the Boston area. Its flagship Harpoon IPA came out in 1993, at a time when people generally weren’t interested in hoppy beer. Harpoon IPA’s malty, hop-forward, crispy beer was a massive success and contributed to the IPA boom of the early 2000s. While you should still prioritize trying an IPA or two, they also do other styles exceptionally well, like unfiltered, fruit-forward UFO wheat beers that are perfect for summer. You can get a tour of the brewing facility, but you can also just sip a pint in front of the glass windows that look out to the bottling line. There’s not a substantial food menu, but the pretzels made with spent grains are tasty.

Widowmaker used to be one of the only craft breweries between Boston and the South Shore. And in the past decade or so, several exciting breweries, like Vitamin Sea in Weymouth and Untold Brewing in Cohasset, have since popped up. Widowmaker now has a location in Brighton, though, where it serves some really excellent noodle bowls and bar snacks by Bone and Bread. Its tap list covers a spectrum of styles, from the hoppiest and haziest IPA to the crispiest lager, with some fruity sours peppered in for good measure. The flagship beer is the Blue Comet, an award-winning hazy IPA that’s well-balanced, thanks to a blend of comet and simcoe hops. The interior of the mid-sized taproom is dark and moody, which seamlessly matches the branding of the brewery.

Malden has some of the best food, bars, and breweries outside of the Boston metro area, and Idle Hands is a top drinking and eating destination in the neighborhood. Take the Orange Line 15 minutes from downtown and post up in their medium-sized taproom or patio if it’s nice out. The beer lineup leans heavily on New England-style IPAs, with local and seasonal ingredients prominently featured—one of our favorites is the summer-only blueberry ale that’s tangy, fragrant, and slightly sweet. They also collaborate with food pop-ups, like Sim’s, a Texas barbecue spot with a Korean twist, on some Fridays and Saturdays. Their brisket and pull pork sandwich with kimchi slaw is what you want.

Mighty Squirrel started in Waltham, but recently expanded into a glitzy second location in Fenway. The two-story space has ample seating and a full kitchen serving pizzas, tacos, and mulitas—go for the pizzas freshly fired up in the brick oven, and the cheesy mulitas made with corn tortillas. The real reason you're here though is for the beer. We love its signature beer Cloud Candy, a crushable New England-style IPA with tropical fruit notes of papaya and mango. Other standouts include the Mango Lassi, a sour IPA that we (and all of our beer-drinking friends) can’t get enough of.

Some roommates dream of founding a startup together, while others simply try to live in peace. The people behind Night Shift Brewing were also roommates, and they opened one of the best breweries in Somerville. They’re most known for hoppy pours like Whirlpool and Santili—the former is thick and fruity, and the latter has the classic characteristics of a hoppy West Coast-style IPA. The Lovejoy Wharf location is right across from TD Garden, and has a beautiful patio that overlooks the waterfront. We love the Detroit-style pizza here, and the fact that the toppings rotate seasonally.

Despite only recently opening a taproom in Hyde Park, Roundhead makes this list because they’re the only brewer in the city using Peruvian flavors (like purple corn) for beer-making. They also have a full kitchen doing Latin American dishes like plump and cheesy empanadas and street corn salad. The highlight is the churrasco pizza with crumbled cotija cheese, a housemade chipotle aioli, herby chimichurri sauce, and perfectly charred carne asada.

Aeronaut is located in that part of Union Square that’s filled with industrial-style warehouses. And the taproom is spacious, with two large rooms filled with picnic tables that makes it great for large groups. The beers are hoppy and bold, from the citrusy and fruity IPA called A Year With Dr. Nandu to the refreshing session IPA called Hop Hop & Away. It’s not ideal to come here on trivia nights if you aren’t participating, as it’s crowded and the audio system isn't the best quality. But if you do, the outdoor patio area, with giant murals, is a perfectly fine place to post up Mimi’s Chuka Diner, an amazing gyoza shop, is slated to move into the shared space soon.

If hoppy and citrusy IPA-style beers are your go-to, you’ll appreciate Castle Island. Both the limited-release hazy IPA called Vern and the hoppy-but-approachable American-style IPA mainstay Keeper are great. Beyond those, there’s another reason why we love the Southie location: the South Shore-style bar pizza from Bardo’s. Their pies feature super thin and crispy crust and the classic “burnt” edge with cheese flowing right to the tip of it. The taproom is in a charming, warehouse-like building with doors that roll up to a lovely, plant-covered patio.

This multistory brewery in Dorchester features 20 taplines of beer and cider, as well as wine, hard seltzer, and nonalcoholic beverages. We like the Galaxy Lights, a well-balanced, juicy, and hazy New England-style IPA, and the seasonal sour called Punchbowl, which basically tastes like fermented fruit punch. You’ll always find people who live in the neighborhood hanging out in the space for a night of trivia, arcade games, and sometimes live music. M&M BBQ, a barbecue joint that has taken up residence inside the brewery since 2020, has the best ribs in town, and equally good brisket sandwiches. Also, check out the rooftop patio for the best panorama view of the city.