🎶It’s the most wonderful time for Festbier, and the malt-maltiest season of all 🎶(Cheers to Craft Beer Concierge, aka Allo Gilinsky of Boston, for getting that catchy song stuck in our heads for the rest of eternity!) Here’s hoping your trachten and steinkrugs are getting some love at all the Oktoberfest events happening in Massachusetts. Beyond the German-inspired parties, New England offers plenty of homegrown entertainment for beer lovers in all seasons — and autumn is the ultimate.
Now that we’re finally enjoying some dry, crisp weather, it’s the perfect time for fall fun with a pint or a few. Tapping into offerings from members of the Massachusetts Brewers Guild all across the state, here’s how to make the most out of brewery visits in the Bay State this fall.
Fairs and Fests
The Northeast’s biggest agricultural fair, The Big E continues through October 1 with a Local Brewer Showcase hosted by Valley Malt in the Massachusetts Building on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Featuring 20 taps of local beer including MBG members Castle Island Brewing Company and Leadfoot Brewing, owners and brewmasters are pouring — so fest attendees can buy a drink, stroll around, and learn more about how the beverages were made. Beyond the Local Brewer Showcase, The Big E also has a kid-friendly beer garden pouring Samuel Adams, open Friday and Saturday night with live music going from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the gate for adults and $12 for kids. Make a weekend of it in West Springfield, where the Eastern States Exposition is annually held, and visit nearby breweries Two Weeks Notice, White Lion Brewing, and Loophole Brewing Co.
Fall River brewery Canned Heat made a special brew for King Richard's Faire, which continues on weekends through October 23. Festgoers will find The King's Brew IPA at Dragon's Tavern and Queen's Tavern within the Carver fairgrounds. Outside of the event, the area is home to many MBG members, including Brewery 44 in Carver; and Plymouth breweries Second Wind, Mayflower, and Independent Fermentations.
The Topsfield Fair returns September 29 through October 9th and for the 2nd year running, True North Ales is the exclusive craft beer provider to the Topsfield Fair. You can wrap your hands around Northern Haze IP, Season of the Witch IPA and a beer brewed exclusive to the Fair, Topsfield Fair Giant Pumpkin Ale. On the way home visit breweries like Twisted Fate Brewing in nearby Danvers, Oak & Iron Brewing in Andover, The Tap in Haverhill, Coastal Mass. Brewing Co. in Beverly, or True North Ale Company in Ipswich.
Boston Beer Company’s Sam Adams is the beer tent sponsor at Wellfleet OysterFest, which returns October 14 and 15. If you’re heading down the Cape, why not stop by Cape Cod breweries Aquatic Brewing (Falmouth), Bad Martha (Falmouth), Naukabout Beer (Mashpee), and Cape Cod Beer (Hyannis).
Tailgating
Heading to a pro football game this season? Keep an eye out for craft beer! New England’s stadium in Foxborough has been known to get the good stuff (we’ve seen cans of Tree House and Trillium in the stands, just to name a couple). Elsewhere at Patriot Place, there’s a Wormtown Brewery taproom as well.
On the way to the game, don’t forget to stop in at a craft brewery to get provisions for a parking-lot pregame. MBG members located on the way to Gillette Stadium include Shovel Town Brewery in North Easton, Crue Brew Brewery in Raynham, CraftRoots Brewing in Milford, Castle Island in Norwood, and Trillium in Canton.
Apple Picking
Is it really fall in New England until you’ve picked your own apples? The activity is bound to make you thirsty. A solar-powered brewery resides at Lookout Farm in South Natick, which also offers fall festivities such as PYO apples, pumpkins and a corn maze. Bolton Beer Works is based at Nashoba Valley Winery and Distillery, which crafts all kinds of beverages and also offers apple picking and cheese plates. Phillipston’s Red Apple Farm hosts Moon Hill Brewery, the outfit out of Gardner Ale House, at a year-round Brew Barn at the orchard.
Beer lovers will find destination-worthy diversions nearby popular picking spots like Carlson Orchards: Loyal Foe Brewing Co. is next door to the Harvard farm. True West Brewing Co. in Acton is a great lunch option nearby, or head just north to visit Dirigible Brewing Company in Littleton.
The Pioneer Valley is home to Clarkdale Fruit Farms, Apex Orchards, and Pine Hill Orchard, all in close proximity to a plethora of breweries like the titular Pioneer Valley Brewery, Four Phantoms Brewing Co., Brick & Feather Brewery, The People's Pint brewpub, Hitchcock Brewing, and The Back Room Brewery. More agritainment in the area: Visit the nearby Brewery at Four Star Farms to taste brews made with hops and grains grown on-site.
Lakeview Orchard in far-west Pittsfield offers easy access to Berkshire breweries Hot Plate Brewing Co. and Shire Beer Co.
Foliage Rides
The Bay State’s hills and valleys are quite the canvas come peak-foliage season, which should start around October 1. North-central Massachusetts is a great area to head for beer and natural beauty, from farm breweries like Rutland’s Milk Room Brewing Co. and Stone Cow Brewery in Barre, to the riverside River Styx in Fitchburg.
The Berkshires’ annual Fall Foliage Parade in downtown North Adams is happening Sunday, October 1. Combine it with a stop in at the town’s Bright Ideas Brewing.
Eastern Mass. has a lot to offer, too; from Greater Boston’s Blue Hills (at the base of which you’ll find Trillium HQ) to Cape Ann on the North Shore (stop by Pigeon Cove Ferments in Gloucester, or Riverwalk Brewing in Newburyport) and the cranberry-bogged South Shore. Check out the MBG’s full map of member breweries and plot your route.
Corn Mazes
If getting lost in the foliage sounds fun to you, there are many corn mazes just waiting for you to find your way this fall. Buzzards Bay Brewing in the coastal farm town of Westport has created its own this year, open through October 28. Tickets sold at the brewery are $10 per person ($8 for supervised kids). Natick’s Lookout Farm and brewery also boasts its own two-acre puzzle.
Mike’s Maze at Warner Farm, located just off I-91 in Western Mass., hosts a series of Beer Mazes every Friday in October (and one on September 29), featuring various lineups of all-local beer. MBG members Progression Brewing Co., Amherst Brewing, Iron Duke, Building 8, Altruist Brewing, Exhibit 'A' and more are represented. The dusk-hour events challenge visitors to play games and track down local brews at tasting stations hidden throughout the maze. Each event features six different breweries. Tickets for each Friday Beer Maze are $40.
Salem in October
If you’re flying up to Salem to celebrate spooky season, visiting the historic city’s beer makers — including East Regiment Brewing Co. and Notch Brewing — are a must. The cauldrons are bubbling, but no witches’ brews here: only Mass. craft beer.
Get out there and drink in fall!