In Plymouth (MA), the day of the Thanksgiving Parade (the Saturday before the actual holiday) is arguably the town’s busiest day. (Some may dispute this and say it is the Fourth of July.) I (surprisingly) was out in the evening that night. That evening though gave an idea for this article, a first in a series that analyzes craft brewery culture.
A friend, Mike, and I visited the Second Wind Brewing Company in Plymouth as our first stop. I’ve written about Second Wind a good number of times on Backyard Road Trips as a great stop on the South Shore Beer Trail, their stand-out logo and their beer garden located at Bramhall’s Country Store. We were there and noticed that most of the clientele were of the male persuasion; most of the female patrons seemed to be there with male friends/companions/husbands, etc. To boot, most of the patrons were late-20s to mid-40s, if I had to guess.
The Question
This led Mike and I to seriously ponder one of life’s biggest questions: what kind of brewery attracts a certain person? Our discussion meandered this way and that, and we finally decided that Second Wind, with its alternative music on the stereo and location in a garage down a side street, helped to attract a certain crowd. It’s got a cool, hip vibe, without any sense of pretentiousness. Older folks though might not feel comfortable walking on a side road at night or might want a brewery that serves food (which Second Wind has planned).
Another point we discussed was the ubiquitousness of kids and dogs at breweries. Fat Orange Cat in East Hampton, CT, was always teeming with both, but recently announced that neither would be allowed. Others such as Stellwagen in Marshfield, MA, have a strict policy for kids and need them to be out by a certain time. Those who want to drink a beer to get AWAY from the family or kids for a little bit may be turned off by the presence of both at breweries.
The Idea
This gave me the inspiration to write a series of articles, of which this is the first. I will be analyzing breweries in New England as to the ones that are the best for certain groups of people. Which breweries are best for the times that you’re out with the guys and don’t want to deal with rugrats? Which are the best for a girls’ night? Where would an older crowd feel comfortable? When the kids and dogs are in tow, what’re the best spots for them? Each post will feature one of the topics and recommend a few places with those parameters in mind. Breweries such as Tree House, Samuel Adams, and Trillium are excluded from these lists since they are destinations in themselves.
