Boston has a long history of craft brewing, of course, but did you know that Cambridge Brewing Company was the first commercial brewery in America to produce a Belgian beer? Opened in 1989, Cambridge Brewing Company in Kendall Square was also the first brewery-restaurant in the Boston area – basically, it’s Boston’s first brewpub!
Cambridge Brewing Company has been one of my personal favorites in Boston because of their knack for experimentation and creative, rotating brews. The quality is evident from the numerous awards they’ve won, both for their flagship beers and their experimental brews. You’ll find many unique beers that you likely have not tried before here, enough to keep even the most adventurous beer drinkers interested!
They have an acclaimed barreled cellar program which just recently released Brett Semetary, the oak barrel aged version of last year’s Pumpkin Ale. The Weekapaug Gruit is their modern interpretation of gruit, an ancient herbed ale from before the days of brewing with hops. They incorporate traditional brewing herbs like sweet gale, yarrow, and wild rosemary, along with other herbs like Labrador tea, licorice root, and nettles. In June, look for cans of the Working Class Hero. The Working Class Hero is an American saison brewed with barley, oats, wheat, and rye, then fermented with their house Belgian yeast.
Beer is a social drink, so naturally beer brewing fosters socialization. Cambridge Brewing Company often collaborates with other breweries for special release beers, including their latest: Oakily Dokily. This Flanders Red Ale was brewed in 2014 in collaboration with Yvan de Baets of Belgium’s Brasserie De la Senne in Brussels and then fermented in barrels.
In the spirit of sustainability and being hyper-local, Cambridge Brewing Company also tries to use local ingredients whenever possible, from organic wheat, barley, and rye malts to hops all locally grown in Massachusetts. They also strive for zero waste, so they hand over their spent grain from the brewing process to local farmers to be used as animal feed. The spacious pub and patio also serves beer-friendly food that are made with locally and seasonally sourced ingredients.
Cambridge Brewing Company is one of the many awesome vendors that will be participating in Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts (SBN)’s 5th Hyper-Local Craft Brewfest on June 10th and 11th. Be sure you get your tickets now and come check them out!
This post was brought to you by Fiona Chandra of Gourmet Pigs Blog, be sure to give her page a visit!
The post Cambridge Brewing Company: Boston’s First Brewpub appeared first on Boston Local Food Festival.