Katie Lane

Review of Boston Beer Company

The tour is worth the trip.

The tour is worth the trip.

Getting there: The brewery is somewhat difficult to find by car, but it is possible. The building is unassuming the way that google maps takes you. Parking is pretty limited, but we were able to find one of the last spots, so I have no idea where to park if not on property. We also went on Labor Day, so it may have been more crowded than week days. JP rent is a lot lower than Boston rent.

The brewery: It is small. You only get to see the waiting room, which is kind of like a museum; the brewery, which is small because they apparently don't brew much of their beer in Boston; and a staging room, which is just a room where they give a speech and you get to taste the raw ingredients. But then you go to the tasting room, which is where the magic happens. You get to taste 3 different beers - not enough to get hammered, but more than enough to catch a nice buzz. And one of the beers will be something unique.

The tour: Lasts about an hour. Half of it is the traditional tour, and half is in the tasting room. We had Brendan as a tour guide, and he obviously loves his job. I'm sure all his jokes are recycled, but he told them like he was telling them for the first time, which is important as a tour guide. Most tour guides get bored giving the same speech every time, but not Brandon. 5-stars for Brandon.

Aftermath: They lead to their gift shop, where everything is overpriced as far as I could tell. Come on, you're selling the stuff yourself instead of giving a cut to a department store, so make the prices reasonable, people! With more reasonable prices, I would have bought one or two things, but with their prices I bought nothing, so they actually lost money on me. They also have a shuttle, or driving directions, to Doyle's, which is the first bar to ever sell Sam Adams. It is a cool Boston bar, and I love the loyalty. It is great to reward the bar that took a chance on Sam Adams by bringing shuttles full of people to your place every 20 minutes. Definitely hit up Doyle's. Think about this, if Doyle's didn't give Sam Adams a chance in 1985, there might not be a Sam Adams today.