Craft Breweries
- Visit North Central
By Chris Coyle
Craft breweries of North Central Massachusetts welcome those who enjoy tasting local, high-quality beers or ales and the opportunity to meet the brewers. Some establishments offer food and some have pet-friendly facilities.
Locally grown grains, hops, and other ingredients such as apples, blueberries, honey, maple syrup, and even cranberries add to the Massachusetts atmosphere. The state hosts more than 130 breweries with no shortage of award-winning beer.
Many beer enthusiasts prefer local, independent small-batch producers over mass-produced products. Patrons seek the exclusive, seasonal and specialty beers offered at craft breweries with taprooms unique in atmosphere with some hosting live music. The opportunity to meet friends in cozy or outdoor spaces provides an enjoyable way to support the local economy. Meeting a brewery artisan in a behind the scenes brewery tour provides a lot of educational fun.
Wachusett Brewing Company or Wachusett Brew Yard, one of the largest area breweries, calls Westminster home at 175 State Road East. They make and serve handcrafted award-winning ales and lagers. Finestkind Brewing, parent company of well-known Smuttynose Brewing Company, acquired Wachusett in 2024, thus bringing together two legacy craft breweries under the same ownership.
Wachusett offers a wide variety of craft beers, hard ciders, hard seltzers, and handcrafted cocktails to the visiting patron. The ample food menu includes burgers, pulled pork, and grilled chicken sandwiches in addition to salads and starters.
In 2006, Moon Hill Brewing Company opened Gardner Ale House at 72 Parker Street with a second location at Brew Barn Restaurant & Tap Room at Red Apple Farm, 455 Highland Avenue, Phillipston, in 2018. Gardner Ale House offers a full-service family style restaurant and bar. The website describes it as “a family style pub and restaurant featuring fresh, bistro style food in an upscale setting” with food prepared from fresh, unfrozen, and unprocessed products.
Brew Barn Taproom & Restaurant at Red Apple Farm offers refreshing hard cider or craft beer, a chance to relax with family and friends and perhaps take in an outdoor band while the sun sets.
Stone Cow Brewery, 500 West Street, Barre, opened as a BBQ restaurant more than a decade before starting the brewery. Stone Cow grows the majority of its food ingredients in season. Grass-fed beef and fresh vegetables stop the show with the beer menu updated daily—many sell out quickly. Stone Cow proclaims, “We pride ourselves in being a destination brewery for all and hope you and your family will experience, explore, and love the best that our farm has to offer.”
Thirsty Robot Brewing Company, located in the back of the building, 265 Summer Street, Fitchburg, offers a mix of new releases and seasonal styles. Some may be brewed again while others may not, so Thirsty Robot suggests enjoying their offerings while they last. Cherry wood-fired smoked BBQ foods, hand-stretched pizza made from fresh dough sourced in Fitchburg, and a variety of starters and sides will satisfy any patron with a sudden case of the munchies.
The region’s craft beer market showcases breweries balancing quality, price, and identity. The region’s craft breweries provide rewarding and enjoyable destinations.
