Have I mentioned that I love beer?
I drink it often and even went to a brew fest last summer.
When I was in college, you couldn’t get me to drink anything darker or more robust than a Bud Light Lime or Coors Light. I would always say that if you can’t see through a beer, don’t drink it. Thank goodness that my palette for beers has changed.
And with that new found love of good beers, I decided to visit the two Boston area breweries: Sam Adams and Harpoon.
Samuel Adams
A few summers ago, David and I decided to head to Sam Adams, which is located just outside the city of Boston, in a town called Jamaica Plain. They have a small, free parking lot but is also pretty easy to get to on the Orange Line.
It’s open 6 days a week (closed on Sundays) and offers tours Monday through Thursday & Saturday from 10AM to 3PM, and Friday from 10AM to 5:30PM. The tours are completely free, however they do suggest a $2 donation to go towards local charities.
The tours last about 45 minutes and it takes you through the barrel room and then into the tasting room.
Our tour guide was amazing. She was very informative, funny and engaging with the group.
After about 30 minutes of the tour, we were led into the tasting room. They had three different brews for us to try and kept the information coming as we were tasting the beer. Since the tasting was almost 2 years ago, I don’t remember entirely how each brew was, but I’m sure I liked them. 
As evident from our smiling faces, David and I definitely enjoyed our day at the brewery.
Samuel Adams is located at 30 Germania Street in Boston (Jamaica Plain), MA.
Harpoon
I have been to Harpoon several times: a few with David and once with my dad. It’s so much easier to get here, being located in the Seaport District. The Silver Line bus drops you right at their doorstep and parking is much easier in that area too (meters and lots of open air parking lots).
They are open 7 days a week and offer free tastings during the week and $5 weekend brewery tours, which comes with a tasting glass to take home. Weekday tastings are 2PM and 4PM Monday through Friday. Weekend tours are every half an hour from 10:30AM to 5PM (Saturday) and 11:30AM to 3PM (Sunday).
When my dad and I took the tour, it lasted for about an hour. Our tour guide was the best and my favorite story from that tour was that on the Sam Adams brews, that’s not actually the picture of Sam Adams. But folks, that is a real harpoon. 
The best part of the tours/tasting though? The UNLIMITED tasting offerings. See all of those taps up there? You could have as many samples as you want in a 20 minute time. And Harpoon makes some amazing brews. My favorites are the IPA, the UFO White Ale, Hard Cider and Hefeweizen.
More satisfied customers. Well, most of us are.
Harpoon Brewery is located at 306 Northern Avenue in Boston, MA.
So, who wins this battle of the Boston Breweries? Harpoon hands down! Even though Sam Adams offers free tours all the time, you just can’t beat the ability to have free range of their tap. And really, isn’t the whole point of a brewery tour to try out their brews?
Have you ever toured these breweries? Do you have a favorite brewery?
Welcome to my little corner of the internet! I enjoy running, baking, dining out and spending time with my husband, whether it's decorating our new house or enjoying New England! Feel free to contact me at 
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
We have such great breweries in this city! I have great memories of touring both breweries. I went to SA with a bunch of friends during Senior Week of college. I went to Harpoon with my boyfriend and his family for his birthday. I think I remember the Harpoon guide being pretty funny.
I’ve done the Harpoon Brewery tour but still haven’t done the Sam Adams one yet. It is definitely on my to-do list!
Kona Brewing Co. My favorite brewery in the world. Hands down. Great tour. Free beer at the end and great food in the restaurant. Not to mention its in Hawaii. You can’t go wrong.
I’ve been to Harpoon but haven’t done the tour. Last brewery tour I went to was at Red Hook last summer!
I can’t let this summer go by without trying at least one of those tours. I used to the be the same way in college, but now I LOVE beer.
As a former JP resident, I feel obligated to point out that JP is actually a neighborhood of Boston and well within the city limits!
I agree with you on the tours – hands down Harpoon is the better of the two tours! Most folks just love that they start you off with beer and refill your glass halfway through the tour, so there’s no waiting for be…but it’s especially great for me, because I don’t like beer so I take full advantage of having that cider available on tap during the tasting time!
Thank you for the correction! My intention was to say that it was a neighborhood. Guess it came out a different way.
{ 1 trackback }