With all of the breweries that have opened in the last few years, and all of the new ones opening or in various stages of planning, the local beer market is very competitive. Some argue that we are reaching saturation, I’m not sure if that is true, but a brewery needs to make stellar beer […]
With the incredible number of new breweries that have opened in the last five years it is interesting to see how each brewery tries to stand out and establish their unique place in the local market. This is especially true for new contract breweries. Contract brewing has some advantages, especially the lower overhead that comes […]
I often get asked about my excitement level when a regional brewery expands distribution into Massachusetts, and I am usually pretty indifferent. I focus almost all of my drinking on local beer (local to me means New England), so I haven’t even tried a beer from many new-to-the-area breweries like Toppling Goliath. The one exception is when a […]
If you look at any list of the most popular or sought-out breweries in Massachusetts I bet you’ll find Tree House Brewing Company near the top, but my trips out to the brewery in Monson or now Charlton have been pretty rare. It has nothing to do with their beer, I have never had a bad beer […]
Life is crazy between work and family stuff, so I don’t make as many trips to breweries as I used to. There are a few exceptions, local places that I can sneak into while I’m running other errands or bring the family to for a meal, and the places I stop in Maine of trips North. […]
When you ask a beer nerd to name the best breweries in Maine there are a few that will inevitably come up. Hopheads will immediately cite Maine Beer Company and Bissell Brothers, while fans of Belgian styles would point to Allagash and Oxbow. There are many others that would also be mentioned, it’s an incredibly vibrant scene […]
Some beer geeks get very excited when a new out-of-state brewery begins to distribute in Massachusetts, they have a list of beers that they want to try as soon as they land. I am not usually in that group, I focus nearly all of my drinking on New England beers so I don’t pay much […]
I’ve made it pretty clear in this space that I don’t usually go out of my way to chase “unicorns” or “whalez”, the craft beers that are so hyped up they cause otherwise rational people to wait in line for hours in order to buy a couple cans or bottles. That being said, I do have […]
There are so many breweries that have opened in the last few years that I have a hard time keeping track of the beers being produced in Eastern Massachusetts, let alone keeping up with all of the new breweries throughout New England. I’ve considered keeping Hoppy Boston’s focus on MA beers, but it’s fun to try things from across […]
Next week my son turns a year old, it is incredible how quickly the time flies. When my wife was pregnant she completely abstained from drinking, there are plenty of women who have a drink here or there (which is fine, no judgment), but she decided not to and stuck to it throughout. Probably the closest […]
