Cambridge Brewing (Cambridge, MA)

6/24/11

Arquebus summer barleywine

In simple terms, Cambridge Brewing Co was the gem of our trip to Boston and New England. Referred to locally as CBC, it is one of the few brewpubs I've even come across that competes with my beloved Town Hall Brewery.

There's a wide range of styles with ten beers on tap, and all were solid to very good. In the top of the line up, exceptional beers. On my first visit, the Double Entendre, a barrel aged Belgian Strong Brown Ale, first enticed me to get a draft after the samples.  And, then the Arquebus, described as a summer barleywine, was mind blowing. My wife and I returned to CBC twice to drink the Arquebus, which I alternated with The Audacity of Hops DIPA that replaced Double Entendre in the week between stops. Arquebus was a truly magnificent beer--matching its description to a tee. Light and drinkable at 14%, it was refreshing and challenging in spite of the 80+ degree heat on the walk from the subway.

Beyond the beer, the food was excellent and offered several choices for vegetarians. I had the homemade veggie burger twice, and the middle trip was the Sunday brunch and I devoured one of the best breakfast burritos I've ever had. If I lived locally, I would lean towards hitting the brunch--it was my favorite. All of the food was pub grub in style, but clearly a notch of above in presentation and quality.

If you're Boston, Cambridge brewing needs to be at the top of your beer hit list.