Wachusett Brewing Company
There’s nothing quite like being able to stop by a local brewery to get a growler filled with freshly-made beer. I’ve been a fan of Wachusett Brewing Company’s beer offerings for many years and occasionally made trips there for tours and tastings. The owners and staff are incredibly friendly and laid-back. The company was actually founded by some alumni of my alma mater, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), making it that much more interesting to hear details about the rather unusual path Wachusett has taken to reach its current level of statewide recognition. The bottling machinery, for example, was pieced together and tweaked by former engineers, while the beer itself benefits from the expertise of a former biology student. I just wish I’d been at WPI a few years earlier than I was so I could have participated in the initial “you help us bottle, we’ll give you free beer” arrangement that got the brewery up and running!
After moving to Fitchburg, I quickly discovered that the brewery is only a ten-minute drive from my house, on route 2A shortly after crossing from Fitchburg into Westminster. Clearly, one can only tour a brewery so many times before getting bored (and before making the staff suspicious that you’re just in it for the free samples). However, Wachusett has a lot more than that to offer us locals thanks to their “Growler Guild” program. For $19, you can buy a 64 ounce growler that can be refilled an unlimited number of times for only $6. They’ve even just expanded their growler filling times, which are now Wednesday and Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from noon to 7:00 p.m.. And for anyone out there thinking of checking out Wachusett for the first time (or the tenth, whatever), I received an email earlier this week about a big sale happening the weekend after Thanksgiving. Cheers!
Labels: Local Businesses, Things to do
posted by Erica @ 1:13 PM
2 Comments:
Correct!
Wachusett brewery is a local treasure and a great success story. we are lucky to have a local beer of this quality. if you are in need of cases you can buy them right from their coolers - any combination of four six packs is $24. AND they are the nicest bunch of people.
I've never been involved in a professional brewing enterprise, however, I have some experience in home brewing (right here in Fitchburg, in fact), and my taste buds have had their fair share of experience as well.
Having taken the tour and sampled a few of the beers that they produce, I have to say that their beers are, in general, a quality production. The Country Ale, in particular, is fantastically complex, both light and refreshing, and yet packed with rich, malty flavor. It has become one of my favorite beers in this style. The Summer Breeze wheat beer also hits the spot in the August heat.
Some of the other beers I didn't care for, but it was really a matter of personal taste (what can I say, I'm not really a huge hop-head).
At any rate, as far as being a worthwhile visit for those in the area, Wachusett is certainly an interesting take and worth the 15 minutes needed to take the tour, even if it's office park setup is not exactly state of the art.
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