Best-of list · Craft Beer
The best craft beer bars in Boston, from Trillium's New England IPAs and Bukowski Tavern to Night Shift, Row 34, Democracy Brewing and The Druid.
The short answer
7 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
Boston's beer runs deep, anchored by Trillium and a New England IPA tradition the rest of the country chases. A lot of the old lists still name rooms that have closed, so this one is cut back to seven that are open and pouring. A brewery or two, a couple of beer bars, a seafood room with a serious tap list, and one Irish pub that earns its place. Sorted by what is in the glass. The closed names got removed.
Trillium is the headline of Boston beer, a New England IPA pioneer with a Fort Point brewpub and a Fenway taproom, both open Wednesday through Sunday for draft and food. Order whatever hazy double IPA dropped that week and a plate from the kitchen. Prices match the hype and the fresh stuff sells fast. Go on a release day for the rare cans, midweek for a seat.
Bukowski has run as a Back Bay beer bar since 1998, a loud dive at 50 Dalton Street with 21 taps and a deep bottle list heavy on hard-to-find regional craft. Cash-friendly, no pretense, burgers to soak it up. The Inman Square branch is long gone, so this is the one left. Go after work before the Berklee crowd packs it and the best taps blow.
Full listing & hours →Row 34 in Fort Point pairs a rotating craft list with oysters and New England seafood, drafts from regional names like Bissell Brothers and Upland beside the raw bar. It reads more restaurant than beer hall, but the tap list is serious and the kitchen earns the prices. Go early for the happy hour oysters and a fresh hoppy pour before the dinner rush fills it.
Full listing & hours →Night Shift runs a waterfront brewpub at Lovejoy Wharf and the original Everett taproom, both pouring the full range plus taproom-only one-offs. The Lovejoy patio is the move in summer, with harbor views and a kitchen. Fair prices for the location. Go to Everett for the deepest tap list, Lovejoy for the view and the food.
Full listing & hours →Democracy is a worker-owned brewpub downtown on Temple Place, with a second room now open in East Boston. House beers, a proper kitchen, and a politics it wears on its sleeve. The pints are honest and the lunch crowd is steady. Go for a weekday pour and the People's Pint, or the East Boston room when you want a quieter table.
Full listing & hours →Citizen Public House sits behind Fenway on Boylston Street, a dim English-style tavern better known for its whiskey wall than its taps, but the beer list holds its own and the raw bar is good. Open to two in the morning most nights. Prices run Fenway-high. Go late after a game when the kitchen is still on and the room has thinned out.
Full listing & hours →The Druid is an Inman Square Irish pub in Cambridge, more trad-session room than tap chaser, but the Guinness pours right and there is always something local on. Small, warm, packed on the music nights. Go for a pint and a session rather than a flight, and get there early, because the room fills fast when the fiddles come out.
Full listing & hours →