Craft Brewers

(See also my delicious.com listing.)  

My friend Bobby told me the other day that there are no fewer than 44 microbreweries in Massachusetts. That's a lot, so we started counting them up and quickly realized the number is not unreachable. On this page I will list confirmed microbreweries and nanobreweries.

I won't review these ales here. That's a job already handled admirably by our friends at Yankee Brew News (a must-read for any New England beerhound!), the Insurance Guy's Beer Blog, and at the Beer Advocate.  I will only mention something if I had a markedly different experience.

We're up to over 115 craft brewers in New England, and 44 in MA (but I am not certain they are the same 44 as our original conversation suggested!). There are still more to be listed; please let me know of breweries to add, and their websites!

So here we go, around New England in a pint glass:

Maine Microbrewers

  1. Allagash Brewing Company, Portland
  2. Andrews Brewing, Lincolnville
  3. Atlantic Brewing, and Bar Harbor Brewing, Bar Harbor
  4. Baxter Brewing Company, Lewiston
  5. Bissell Brothers Brewing, Portland
  6. Black Bear Microbrew, Orono
  7. Brays Brewing, Naples
  8. Bull Jagger Brewing Company, Portland
  9. Casco Bay Brewing Company, Portland
  10. DeepWater Brewing, Blue Hill
  11. DL Geary Brewing Company, Portland
  12. Geaghan's Pub, Bangor
  13. Kennebec River Brewery, The Forks
  14. Maine Beer Company, Portland
  15. Marshall Wharf Brewing Company, Belfast
  16. Oak Pond Brewing Company, Skowhegan
  17. Oxbow Beer, Newcastle
  18. Penobsot Bay, Winterport
  19. Rising Tide, Portland
  20. Rocky Bay Brewing, Rockland
  21. Sea Dog Brewing, Bangor/Topsham
  22. Sebago Brewing Company, Gorham
  23. Sheepscot Valley Brewing Company, Whitefield
  24. Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland
  25. Stone Coast Brewing Company, Portland

See also the Insurance Guy's awesome map of all Maine Brewers! And also his map of Cideries, Meaderies, Wineries, and Distilleries!

New Hampshire Microbrewers

  1. Blue Lobster Brewing, Hampton
  2. Candia Road Brewing Company, Manchester
  3. Earth Eagle Brewings, Portsmouth
  4. Elm City Brewing Company, Keene
  5. Manchester Brewing Company, Manchester
  6. Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewing Company, North Conway
  7. Portsmouth Brewery, Portsmouth
  8. Red Hook, Portsmouth (and Woodinville, WA)
  9. Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth
  10. Throwback Brewery, North Hampton
  11. Tuckerman Brewing Company , Conway
  12. White Birch, Hookset 
  13. Woodstock Inn Brewery, Woodstock

Vermont Microbrewers

  1. The Alchemist, Waterbury
  2. Drop In Brewing Company, Middlebury
  3. Fiddlehead Brewing, Shelburne
  4. Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro
  5. Jasper Murdock Norwich Inn Brewery
  6. Kingdom Brewing, Newport
  7. Lawson's Finest Liquids, Warren
  8. Long Trail Brewing
  9. MacNeill's Brewery, Brattleboro
  10. Madison Brewing Company, Bennington
  11. Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington
  12. Northshire Brewery, Bennington
  13. Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury
  14. Rock Art Brewery, Morrisville
  15. The Shed, Middlebury
  16. Switchback Brewing Company, Burlington
  17. Three Needs Brewing Company, Burlington
  18. Trapp Lager Brewery, Stowe
  19. Trout River Brewing, Lyndonville
  20. Wolaver's Organic, Middlebury
  21. Zero Gravity Brewing, Burlington

Massachusetts Microbrewers

  1. Amherst Brewing Company, Amherst
  2. Backlash Beer Company, Boston
  3. Berkshire Brewing Company, South Deerfield 
  4. Blatant Beer, Bondsville
  5. Blue Hills Brewery, Canton
  6. Bog Iron Brewing, Norton
  7. Brash Brewing, Ipswich
  8. Brewmaster Jack, Holyoke
  9. Cambridge Brewing Company, Cambridge
  10. Cape Ann Brewing, Gloucester
  11. Cape Cod Beer Company, Hyannis
  12. Cisco Brewers, Nantucket
  13. Clown Shoes Beer, Ipswich
  14. Cody Brewing, Amesbury
  15. Deadwood Cafe and Brewery, Dorchester
  16. Element Brewing Company, Miller's Falls
  17. Enlightenment Ales, Lowell
  18. Harpoon Brewery, Boston
  19. Haverhill Brewery, Haverhill
  20. High & Mighty Beer, Holyoke
  21. Idle Hands Craft Ales, Everett
  22. Ipswich Ale Brewery, Ipswich
    Mercury Brewing Company is a contract brewery that brews Ipswich Ale Brewery, and many emerging brewers as well.
  23. Jack's Abby Brewing, Framingham
  24. Just Beer, Westport
  25. Lefty's Brewing Co., Greenfield
  26. Mayflower Brewing Company, Plymouth
  27. Mystic Brewery, Chelsea
  28. Naukabout Beer Company, ?
  29. Night Shift Brewing Company, Everett
  30. Notch Brewing Company, Ipswitch
  31. Offshore Ale Company, Martha's Vineyard
  32. Opa Opa Brewing Company, Southampton
  33. Paper City Brewing Company, Holyoke
  34. People's Pint, Greenfield
  35. Pioneer Brewing Company, Fiskdale
  36. Portico Brewing, Boston
  37. Pretty Things Beer Project, Somerville
  38. Rapscallion Brewing Company, Bedford
  39. RiverWalk Brewing Company, Amesbury
  40. Samuel Adams, Boston
  41. Slumbrew (Somerville Brewing Company), Somerville
  42. Treehouse Brewing Co., Brimfield 
  43. Trillium Brewing Company, Boston
  44. Wachusett Brewing Company, Westminster
  45. Wandering Star Craft Brewery, Pittsfield
  46. Westfield River Brewing Company, Westfield
  47. Wormtown Brewery, Worcester

See also the book Massachusetts Breweries, just released in August 2012.

Rhode Island Microbrewers

  1. Bucket Brewing, Pawtucket
  2. Coastal Extreme Brewing (Newport Storm), Newport
  3. Grey Sail Brewing, Westerly
  4. Foolproof Brewing, formerly known as High Jinx Brewery, Pawtucket 
  5. Narragansett? Starting to look like a valid craft brewer
  6. Revival Brewing, Providence
  7. Trinity Beer Company, Providence

Connecticut Microbrewers

  1. Back East Brewing, Bloomfield
  2. Beaver Beer, ?
  3. City Steam Brewery and Cafe, Hartford
  4. Charter Oak Brewing, New Canaan
  5. Cottrell Brewing Company, Pawcatuck 
  6. New England Brewing Company, Woodbridge
  7. Olde Burnside Brewing Company, E. Hartford
  8. Thomas Hooker Brewing Company, Bloomfield
  9. Two Roads Brewing, Stratford
  10. Willimantic Brewing Company, Willimantic