Sam Adams Brewery and a little bit of Boston

If you've never been to Boston, you should consider it for future vacations and trips. It's one of my favorite cities I have ever been to and I miss living there every day. I have friends and family in the area, so I still visit 1-2 times a year.

For having lived up there - even for a short time - there are still many things I have not yet done. Freedom trail? Check. Fenway? Check. Clam chowder? Delicious. Brunch on Newbury Street? Check. Salem? Yep, that too. Newport? Yes. And the list goes on. But, there are still several places I haven't been to or love revisiting. Still on my list: Cheers, Top of the Hub, numerous restaurants and museums.

I recently went up there to visit some family and made a (painfully short) day trip into the city. I revisited some favorites - Boston's Italian North End District and Union Oyster House. This time, I also made a point to finally visit the Sam Adams Brewery. I've been to numerous wineries, but only one brewery prior to Sam Adams and that was in Brussels. The brewery itself was neat, but nothing that made me particularly oooh and ahhhh. The tour, however, was definitely worthwhile. We got to try different barleys and rub hops in our hands. We learned about the current purpose of the brewery in Boston. I found it fascinating that while Sam Adams got its start in Boston, the brewery there now only amounts to 10% of production. Most of this is for special orders - all of those bars and restaurants that helped Sam Adams get its start - and the creation/testing of new brews. For those in Boston, be sure to find out which places get their very own special brews. Union Oyster House has a Colonial Sam Adams. Several places have a Brick Red for the Freedom Trail. And good luck finding these outside of the city. The final part? Oh yeah. 3 (free!) glasses of draft beer in a take home souvenir sample glass.