CBC Comes to Cape Cod

I hadn't had a beer in a few days and we drained the kegs I had going this weekend, so on the way home for work I had a crave to stop at a local store in Mashpee to see what beers they might have in the bottle for me to enjoy tonight.  Well, I found a very pleasant surprise in one of the beer fridges.  They had a couple of bottles from Cambridge Brewing Company on the shelf.  I didn't realize that CBC was distributing their beer beyond the brewpub these days but I'm thrilled to find out they are.  I got a bottle of "The Audacity of Hops" and "Triple Threat".

Audacity of Hops is as the name implies a hop bomb but one that is surprisingly thirst quenching.  They call it a Belgian style Double IPA.  Hey all I know is its a beautiful pale ale with loads of flavor and aroma hops thrown into and apparently done in a way that doesn't make the beer undrinkable.  I'll be looking for CBC beers wherever I can now that I know they're out in stores.

Cambridge Pub Crawl

I met up with my friends James and Michelle last weekend and we took the opportunity to do some reconaissance on a couple of pubs in Cambridge, MA.  We started out meeting at Boston Beer Works by the garden where I took my daughters to lunch before they headed into the Bruins game with friends.  The beer I had at Beer Works did not impress.  They can be hit or miss.  Sometimes I love the beers they've got on tap and other times they're just lame. 

After that we took the red line over to Kendall Square in Cambridge.  We probably would have gotten there quicker if we just walked.  Anyhow first stop was mainstay Cambridge Brewing Company (CBC). 

CBC are phenomenal brewers.  They didn't dissapoint this time either.  I had one of their seasonal specials called "Big Man IPA" a beatufully hopped beer.  James had the Nitro Stout and Michelle the Porter.  I thought the Stout the best of the three.  If I were smart I would have ordered one after the IPA but instead curiosity got the better of me and I got a snifter of the Barleywine.  It was a bit too strong for me but still very good. 

The "Blunderbuss" Barleywine.

Stacks of grain against the wall.

I could have stayed much longer at CBC and tried a couple more of their beers but we had work to do.  So next stop would be Lord Hobo.  Lord Hobo is a beer bar with a phenomenal selection.  I knew it was close to CBC.  A few blocks down the street from CBC.  Problem is I went in the wrong direction.  James pulled out his GPS device and informed that it was the other direction down Hampshire street.  No city messes with my sense of direction worse than Cambridge.  Anyhow it wasn't very far.  It had the look of a neighborhood dive bar complete with the old style windows that you can't see through.  It's not very big inside but they have a great selection of beer. 








James got the Spezial Rauchbier Lager and I ordered a Troegs Nugget Nectar (I wanted to see if my friend Dylan's praise of this beer was deserved) and I can't remember Michelle's choice.  The Nugget Nectar was excellent and very hoppy.  Quite a contrast from the Spezial Lager which is silky smooth.

I know I tried something else off the list but I can't remember what it was.  This is what I get for blogging a week after the fact.  Well here enjoy a picture of the bar and taps instead.

We had to walk back to the Kendall MBTA station and knew the Meadhall was somewhere around there so we would make one last stop to check out this other new beer bar in Kendall Square.  Meadhall is a cavernous beer hall with very little in the way of character but it's got a massive beer list and a huge chalkboard on the wall displaying what's on tap.  I was a bit skeptical going in because usually a place with such a large tap list fills it without a lot of subpar choices but not in this case.  The selection is quite good.

















And this is how I left my friends at the end of our little tour.  It appears we had a pretty good time.  I say we do it again before long.

Cambridge has got it pretty good in the beer department these days.