Aeronaut Brewing Co, Somerville, MA

After walking Boston's Freedom Trail and ending up at the Bunker Hill monument, Charlestown, on Sunday 15 November, a visit to Aeronaut Brewing Co in Somerville seemed like a good idea.

Pleasant Street, Charlestown

It is a downhill walk to Community College T station and then a straight walk over Gilmore Bridge, crossing railway tracks, until the junction with Monsignor O'Brien Highway.

panorama photo - looking north from Gilmore Bridge footpath

Monsignor O'Brien Highway with elevated track of the Green Line

Walk away from Charles River under the elevated track of the Green Line until the crossing for Lechmere T station. Catch an 87 MBTA bus from the adjacent bus station to the Somerville Avenue at Loring Street stop just after the Market Basket supermarket. Aeronaut Brewing Co is in a large building at the west end of Tyler Street.

Entrance to Aeronaut Brewing Co - note parking for bikes

On entering the building you notice that there are high ceilings. 

If you want coffee or something to eat head for the Foods Hub. Otherwise head into the brewery space with a bar in the far corner.

Bar at Aeronaut Brewing (at closing time)

 There always seems to be something going on at Aeronaut Brewing Co to make a visit worthwhile. On Sunday 15 November 2016, Earlier in the day Patrick Coman Band had been playing 'Red & Blues' music for BYO picnic live sessions with other musicians playing bluegrass, folk and Americana between 2pm and 8pm. Videos of the Patrick Coman Band playing Nine to Fivers and Carry On at the event were later posted on YouTube. 

Prateek Poddar

Singer / Songwriter Prateek Poddar was playing acoustic guitar underneath the screen showing an American Football game (New England Patriots v New York Giants) when I arrived.

 

The range of draft beers was listed on blackboards above the bar:

Expat - 6.4% ABV Foreign Export Stout, 

A Session with Dr Nandu - 4.6% ABV American Pale Ale, 

Saison of the Western Ghats - 4.7% ABV French Saison, 

OrangUtan Skies - 6.5% ABV American IPA and

 Lagerfeuer (Campfire) - 5% ABV Marzen made with smoked butternut squash 

 were the choices available. 

My first beer was a half measure of Saison of the Western Ghats, a spicy French style farmhouse ale.

A Session with Dr Nandu

Next, it was time for a US pint (16 fl oz) of A Session with Dr Nandu. An excellent example of a beer in one of my favourite styles. It was good taphouse value at $6.

Brewing vessels are situated opposite the bar.

Tips could be left in the litre steins at the corner of the bar. Prateek finished his set and another acoustic guitarist took his place under the screen.

Sitting near the corner of the bar I was in a good position to watch the musicians, the football game on the screen and the bar itself. Above the bar a blackboard, flanked by a growler, advertised that 32 fl growlers are available. Examples of beer mats with original artwork were pinned on a board underneath.

A banner in the bar gave details of a canned IPA from the brewery - A Year with Dr Nandu.

Jonathan with Ullage

Wearing an Aeronaut Brewing t-shirt, Jonathan agreed to pose with a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine I had brought with me to give any interested beer lovers. My third draft beer selection was OrangUtan Skies, with tropical and citrus hops. This American IPA was also in great condition.

Lia with Ullage

As luck would have it, Lia Olsborg, CAMRA member, cask ale enthusiast, Cellarman with NERAX (New England Real Ale EXhibition) and Aeronaut Brewing was also on duty at the bar this evening. She was interested to find copies of Ullage and posed for a photo.
I passed on best wishes to Lia from Stephen Crossland, the Managing Director of Loch Ness Brewery, a mutual acquaintance. Stephen brought firkins of LochNESS and DarkNESS to the 2014 Spring NERAX cask ale festival at Aeronaut Brewing Co, organised by CASC, the Cask-conditioned Ale Support Campaign. Lia mentioned that she also liked Prince of DarkNESS, which Stephen had brought in bottles.

Lia's overall favourite Aeronaut beer is Berliner Weisse with raspberries added to the cask. On Firkin Fridays, there is always a cask of ale at the taproom in addition to the normal keg taps. Lia says 'I'm waiting for the day that more UK breweries embrace sour beers. They're one of my favorite styles.'.
Asked to name some favourite beers from the UK, Lia suggested Landlord 'when it's good and has been taken care of', Inveralmond's Lia Fail, Purple Moose's Dark Side Of The Moose, Fyne Ales' Jarl, Titanic's Plum Porter and Oakham's Citra. It was nice to discover that Lia's list included two of my favourite beers in Jarl and Citra
We have both enjoyed visits to CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival, held in London every August. However, it was a shame to hear that Lia's plans to visit in 2015 had been upset by UK border controls affecting non-European volunteers.

Expat - Foreign Export Stout

The taproom bar closes at 8pm on Sundays. When last orders were called, my fourth selection was Expat. This 6.4% ABV export stout had roast coffee notes and was a good beer to finish up with. 

Bosco

Now that Lia was busy again, I found that my neighbour at the bar was keen for conversation. He had been enjoying beers and watching the American Football game. As the end of the game, approached the Patriots were behind in points. However, a second from the end, Stephen Gostowski scored a 54 yard field goal with 1 second remaining to give the Patriots a 27-26 victory against the Giants. Bosco, my neighbour, turned out to be a Brazilian who now preferred living in Boston. With the taproom closing, it was time to say goodbye and prepare for the journey back to my Airbnb accommodation, involving a #83 bus ride to Central Square, Red line to Downtown Crossing and then Orange line to Jamaica Plain.

It was easy to find the place I was looking for before leaving Aeronaut Brewing Co!

For more details about Aeronaut Brewing Co visit website www.aeronautbrewing.com which includes current taproom hours.

An interesting article by Christopher Hughes about the founding of Aeronaut Brewing Co was posted on the Boston magazine website (11 April 2014) How Aeronaut Brewing Plans to Change Craft Beer Forever