People may not realize it, but there are many Greater Newburyport breweries offering the kind of local craft beers we usually associate with Vermont or Oregon. Whether you’re an area native or visiting from out-of-town, here are a few Newburyport breweries where you can find just the right craft beers to fill up your frosty mug. All of these Newburyport breweries are as unique and individual as the people who run them, and all offer taprooms where you can explore and sample the different offerings. So, relax, hang out for a bit, gather with your friends, sample brews, bring the kids if you want, and take in the vibe.
RiverWalk Brewing Co. 40 Parker St. Newburyport
In 2012, Riverwalk started brewing beer in 3 gallon pots in a garage along the Riverwalk Trail in Amesbury, MA. These folks describe their vision of beer as “worldly,” and such craft beers as the “Rustic Pils,” a Czech-style pilsner, and “Uncle Bob’s Session Ale,” made in the British brewing tradition, and “Tricoastal,” a Belgian-style ale. They have an outdoor beer garden that welcomes dogs and an indoor Taproom (service dogs only) with a fun but limited menu including a pretzel served with ground mustard, a charcuterie board, a grilled cheese bar, sandwiches, and a couple of offerings for kids.
The RiverWalk facility is 2,000 square feet, which lets them brew a wide variety of beers. The company is also investing in renewable, sustainable energy, revealing a corporate focus on responsibility to the community. The building uses a wind turbine that supplies power to the building and a 500-kw rooftop solar array. Even the grain is recycled – at the end of a day of brewing, the grain is sent to Artichoke Farms, a dairy in West Newbury, to feed the livestock.
Plus, RiverWalk offers some fun events. As of this writing, these include: a Zombie Luau, live music, and “Bootcamp and Brews,” featuring a high intensity workout followed by a beer tasting.
Newburyport Brewing Company – 4 New Pasture Road Newburyport, MA
Located on New Pasture Road, just off Graf Road, this brewery offers free tours on Saturdays at 5:00. (Children under 12 are not allowed on the tour.) Newburyport Brewing offers a selection of beers that are available year-round, including an IPA, a pale ale, and a series of limited release small-batch beers. At this writing, that includes a New England IPA, a Yankee Blue brewed with blueberries, and a full-bodied stout. There’s no restaurant on site, but snacks can be attained using one of three methods: 1) you can purchase snacks -pretzels, beef jerky, chips 2) you can bring your own food, or 3) Hello, delivery! The bartender keeps a stack of delivery menus on hand for Newburyport restaurants that will deliver to the taproom. Check out the calendar of events in their tasting room, including Pats Games and Trivia Nights. Then come on down and give these suds a try!
House Bear Brewing 3 Graf Rd. Unit #15 Newburyport, MA 01950
Run by friends Beth Borges and Carl Hirschfeld, House Bear brewing creates a brew that’s a little different – mead! Mead is made by fermenting honey with water, or other fruits, spices and grains. This creates an alcoholic beverage that can be either dry or sweet, flat or bubbly. House Bear offers a variety of meads, ranging from a simple honey and water-based mead to lemonade mead, to the more exotic chocolate hot pepper mead. Check their Facebook page for information about events, including tastings in their Graf Street location on Thursdays from 4-7, paint nights, and many others throughout the Boston area.
BareWolf Brewing 12 Oakland St, Amesbury
BareWolf is a family beer business run by father/son team Paul & Stevie Bareford and their friends Matt Neff and Wyeth Bednar. This group is committed to beer. On Saturdays in the tap room – a place that welcomes both dogs kids – you can find live music. BareWolf doesn’t have a menu, but they do offer snacks, welcome you to bring your own, or there’s a pizza place around the corner that delivers.
Ipswich Ale 2 Brewery Place Ipswich MA
This one’s a little father afield from Newburyport, but it deserves a mention since it was doing small-batch brewing before it was cool, back in 1991, and they have a great brew pub. You can find Ipswich Ale not only in area stores and restaurants, but also at loads of festivals and events throughout the area. Brewery tours cost $3 for those over 21 (free for everybody under 21) and are offered Saturdays and Sundays: 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm, and 5 pm and include beer tasting for participants over 21, soda tasting for all, and a talk about the brewing process and the brewery’s history. In addition to beer, they also make a wide selection of soda pops with fresh flavors like birch beer, black cherry, cream soda, raspberry and watermelon and, of course, root beer. The restaurant offers live music every Thursday and Friday nights, and “Breakfast for Dinner” night on the third Wednesday of each month. Check the calendar for the music schedule.
If your looking for fun things to do, and you enjoy quality craft beers make sure you pay a visit to our local Greater Newburyport breweries. Enjoy!
