I can’t believe I’m having to write this. Cambridge Brewing Company opened in a run-down, post-industrial, pre-biotech part of Cambridge on the outskirts of Kendall Square in 1989. That was the year after I graduated college. I didn’t know about it initially, as I had moved out of the area (way out to Waltham), and worked in Boston. But in 1991, I started working just outside Kendall Square, and I discovered CBC. Spending money was short in those days, so I won’t say I went often, but I did stop by periodically. It was a revelation. I knew that Budweiser and Miller could not be all there was to beer, but there were not a lot of interesting options. Heineken? Molson? St. Pauli Girl? I mean, there were other brands, but a bar that served something other than the big 2, and maybe Guinness for an Irish bar, was unusual, if not downright pretentious.
Into that milieu came CBC, along with three other local brewing startups from that era – Harpoon (Mass. Bay Brewing Co.), Sam Adams (Boston Beer Co.), and Commonwealth Brewing Co. So in the Boston area, you would start to see some “local” beers (Sam Adams was contract brewed elsewhere for a while), certainly in stores, and occasionally at a bar. Commonwealth Brewing was a brewery and restaurant that was located near the Boston Garden. While both CBCs were labeled “brewpubs” Commonwealth always felt more like a restaurant, and not someplace you might go to hang out at the bar. So I always had a preference for the more laid back atmosphere of Cambridge.
I would never have been counted among the regulars there, but until perhaps ten years ago, if you wanted to bring someone to a restaurant (or bar) where they brew their own beer, there were few other choices. Cambridge Brewing kept things lively by brewing a wide variety of beers, including a Heather Ale, and the occasional gruit. They also experimented with wild “Brett” yeast. If you wanted to expand your beer horizons, there was no better place.
There was one year, though, when I was something of a regular. From June 2016 through June 2017 CBC had what they called the “Beer Year” contest, where you were invited to post to Instagram every different beer you had there, and if after a year, you had posted
about every unique beer that they had brewed over those 12 months, you would earn a special mug. I would say that I went above and beyond over the course of that year, by also posting their traditional (of that era) four drafts, the 3 different canned beers they offered, posting when I had one of their beers at a different local restaurant/bar, and posting the many unique beers they made for their pumpkin fest which were not required for the contest. All in all, I made 74 posts to Instagram for the beer year, and in fact, the Beer Year was the reason I signed up for Instagram in the first place. I was working in Waltham at the time, and would ride my bike to work once a week, then ride home “the long way” (and it was a lot longer) via CBC. It was a glorious year, and I still treasure my special mug.
After that, my visits went back to their more ordinary pace of “occasional” but when it was time for another “Guys Night Out” I could almost always be counted on to suggest CBC (to the chagrin of at least one friend), and if that ended up being the chosen venue, I would always arrive early to get in an extra round (or two, or…), to see what was new on tap. One of the first places I visited after the worst pandemic restrictions were being lifted was CBC.
Cambridge Brewing has also long been a great supporter of the local craft brewing scene. For their recent 35th anniversary celebration, there were a bunch of beers available from former brewers who have gone on to work at other breweries. From the menu, there were brews from “Ben Howe of Otherlands Beer, Megan Parisi of Samuel Adams, Jay Sullivan & Sean Nolan of Honest Weight, Kevin Dwyer from Oxbow, Lee Lord of Naragansett, Ben Roesch of Murder Hill, and Anthony Lauring of Outrider Brewing.” Pretty amazing, no?
So I was totally caught off guard this past weekend when CBC announced that they would be closing at the end of the year. It would be hard to overstate how much I will miss Cambridge Brewing Company. I know they won’t particularly miss me – I was never someone who was going to keep the place afloat – but CBC has been a constant presence for almost all of my adult life, and I foolishly thought it would always be there. To Phil (the owner) and Will (the brewmaster), I wish happy retirements and/or next ventures. You provided me with 35 years of amazing beer, a creative food menu, and a great place to hang with friends. Próst!