Yankee Brew News Archive

Boston Brewpub Trolley Tour a Rollicking Ride

Originally Published: 06/96

By: Dave Wedge

My Saturday usually consists of an 11 a.m. wake-up, a late breakfast, a little sitting around watching the tube, maybe some basketball and then a night out on the town.

One recent Saturday this sloth-like schedule was pleasantly interrupted by an early afternoon trolley jaunt with thirty other friendly beer lovers into three of Boston's most well-known brewpubs. The Olde Towne Trolley Brewpub tour is only a few months old, but already it is a winner. Much more exciting and satisfying than a booze cruise, the tour takes you to three pubs, each of which has a different style, feel and flair, in three different parts of the city.

The tour, which starts at the Trolley Stop at the corner of Boylston and Charles Streets, runs two Saturdays per month at 2 p.m. It usually ends around 5:30 p.m., leaving plenty of time to go home, catch a nap and head back out on the town, perhaps with some of the fine folks you're sure to meet on the trolley.

Our tour started a little late because some of the guests--mostly suburbanites--were apparently running behind schedule. As the trolley neared capacity everyone seemed eager to skip the formalities and get to the beer and food.

Our driver, 23-year-old Michael Wall of South Boston, was more than happy to oblige. After quickly taking care of some necessary business--ticket taking and the like--Michael fired up the trolley and started the trek towards our first pub, John Harvard's Brew House in Harvard Square.

He informed us that there would be no drinking on the trolley, but reminded us that there would be 45 minutes of beer drinking and food sampling in each of the three pubs. Joking with tour-goers and spewing facts about beer and Boston all the way, Michael transformed the trolley into a small comedy club, at one point rolling down the trolley window and inviting a couple of women in the car next to us to join the party. Unfortunately for him, the women respectfully declined and sped off, ignoring his desperate cries of, "Call me...!" As we pulled into Harvard Square and rolled in front of John Harvard's at 33 Dunster Street, Michael, in his best teacher voice, reminded us to "be back in 45 minutes" as we filed off the trolley like a giddy bunch of school children on a field trip.

At John Harvard's, a four-year-old, 325-seat microbrewery/restaurant owned by a couple of Harvard business grads, we were offered pitchers of pale ale accompanied by hummus and pita bread. With the first sips of beer, tour-goers started to open up and talk to each other, discussing everything from beer and food to the capture of the suspected Unabomber to the stained glass windows in the rear of the pub that bear the likenesses of Lyndon B. Johnson, Bobby Orr and Joe Namath, among others.

Mark and Janet Taylor of Nahant, Massachusetts, took the tour to celebrate Mark's 40th birthday. "It's his birthday and he loves beer so I thought it would be fun," Mrs. Taylor said. "Yeah, I always like trying different beers," Mr. Taylor added. "I have ever since I was old enough to drink."

Felicia and Steven Arrigoitia, a young, good-looking couple from Fort Lee, New Jersey, made the trip to Boston exclusively to take the brewpub tour. "We heard about it and decided to come up for the weekend and try it," Mrs. Arrigoitia said as she sat on one of John Harvard's high bar stools, sipping a glass of pale ale. She and her husband had been to Boston on one other occasion but this time they wanted to try something different, so they tackled the pub scene by trolley, she said. "It's just a neat idea," she said. "We both like beer and we wanted to see the city."

After the pale ale and hummus, we were served searing-hot sausage skewers with mustard and pitchers of nut brown ale. We were then treated to a 10-minute tour of the small brewery by head brewer Brian Sanford. At first, many on the tour wondered if 45 minutes was too short or too long a time in each of the pubs. As it turned out, it was perfect, allowing just enough time to enjoy the beers and food without having to rush.

After the brew house tour, we swallowed the last of our nut brown ale and headed back to the trolley, this time though, two beers more lively. Couples were laughing and smiling and our driver continued his comic relief as people exchanged stories all the way to the next pub, Commonwealth Brewing Company, at 136 Portland Street, near the Fleet Center.

The oldest brewpub east of the Mississippi River, Commonwealth opened in 1986. Since then the establishment has been a popular spot before and after Boston Garden/Fleet Center events, serving top-notch food and ale and offering live entertainment on many nights. The pub has been one of the main reasons for the resurgence of the booming Causeway Street club scene.

We were greeted at the door and led to the downstairs function room where we sat on high bar stools at barrel-shaped tables. The solid oak floor and bar, coupled with a window view of the brewery's conditioning tanks, proved an appropriate backdrop for us to sample a couple of the brewery's eight brews and lip-smacking Yankee ribs. The brewery's Boston Burton Ale was cold and crisp and went well with the ribs. The three women I sat with--my date Alecia Spadea, and our new friends Kim Dietel and Michelle Bazarian--each had a Snakebite, which is a blend of Amber Ale and hard cider.

We apparently lost track of time at Commonwealth and were just about dragged out of the place by our beloved driver, Michael, who came in and reminded us that we had another pub to hit--Brew Moon on Stuart Street in City Place in the Theater District. The trolley ride to Brew Moon was rollicking as a group of people broke into a rendition of "99 Bottles of Beer." Michael quickly put a stop to that and put on the soundtrack to the movie "Reservoir Dogs," all while filling our heads with beer facts and whimsical footnotes.

At Brew Moon, an art deco brewpub with a West Coast feel, we were treated to a platter filled with fruity, creamy desserts and chunks of the addictive Brew Moon pudding, a cake-like treat topped with whipped cream. We had the option of trying a pair of the two-year-old pub's beers or having a lunar sampler, a rack of five four-ounce glasses of the brewery's finest offerings.

Alecia got the sampler, which on this occasion included a sixth brew--a bock that had a nice kick to it. I had a glass of the tasty Orion's Red, and finished Alecia's sampler. The tour was nearing its conclusion so we sadly said good-bye to our new friends and called it an afternoon.

"It was fun meeting new people and riding on the trolley," Bazarian said. "Plus, you get to try a lot of beers you might not try," added Dietel. "It was a good time."

Tammy Biasin, head of sales and marketing for Olde Towne Trolley and possibly the nicest person in Boston, said the brewpub tour is catching on, mainly through word of mouth. "It's brand new and we've only had five of them so far, but we've gotten a lot of good comments," she said. "It's just something new and different to do in the city." For more information call Tammy at (617) 269-7150.

Photo caption:

All aboard--the Olde Towne Trolley brewpub tour prepares to leave Boston's Commonwealth Brewing Company.