About
Est. in 1989, Cambridge Brewing Co. is the oldest brewpub in the greater Boston area serving fresh handcrafted beer and food made with local ingredients.

1 Kendall Square brewpub's last day of service was December 20, 2024, as Phil Bannatyne (owner) retired. Brand was sold to Castle Island Brewing (Norwood, MA) who will produce the brewery's more iconic beers.
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Dandeman (2871) reviewed
Sgt. Pepper from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
4.1/10 — Appearance 4 Aroma 5 Flavor 5 Texture 4 Overall 2.5
750 ml bottle from Canada Craft Beer Club. Peppercorn all over the place, making this flat beer a complete deception. Absolutely nothing from a saison shows up. I hope this was a bad bottle. Because I did not appreciate this tasteless, flat, pepper beer. Down the drane it went. Bouteille de 750 ml. Olfactif: Légers tons de levure saison traditionnelle. le poivre est bien senti mais en sourdine. Épices subtiles telles cardamone. Puissance très faible. Olfactif complètement atténué. Mousse super effervescente qui tient à peine sur un liquide doré / orangé flou et opaque. En bouche, le poivre est dominant et reste planté dans la bouche pour de longues minutes, tuant tous les autres éléments du gustatif. Et en plus, elle me semble complètement ''flat''. Ce qui n'aide en rien à me la faire apprécier. Lavabo.
Tried from Bottle on 11 Feb 2018 at 22:13
Mansquito (19868) reviewed
Chocolate Babka Stout from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
6.4/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
EBF 2018: pours black with beige head. Aroma is chocolate and cherry. Not very good. Bitter chocolate and malty. Meh
Tried on 04 Feb 2018 at 17:37
HenrikSoegaard (22320) reviewed
Heather Ale from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
6.8/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle. Frothy white good mostly lasting head. Dark yellow colour. Moderate malty and hoppy aroma.Moderate bitter flavor. Some heater and honey notes. Average light bitter finish. Oily palate.
Tried from Bottle on 01 Feb 2018 at 08:42
superspak (10155) reviewed
Blunderbuss Barleywine from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
8.5/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 9
375 ml bottle into snifter, no bottle dating. Pours hazy dark ruby red/brownish color with a thin cream colored head with decent retention, that reduces to a minimal spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big raisin, plum, prune, fig, cherry, date, apricot, red apple, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread, biscuit, and toasted oak; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, nuttiness, chocolate, pepper, sherry, leather, tobacco, herbal, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. A bit of booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice complexity and balance of fruity yeast, dark/bready malt, oak barrel, and light earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge raisin, plum, prune, fig, cherry, date, apricot, red apple, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread, biscuit, and toasted oak; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, nuttiness, chocolate, pepper, sherry, leather, tobacco, herbal, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/grassy bitterness and oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark fruits, cherry, apricot, red apple, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread, biscuit, toasted oak, vanilla, sherry, leather, tobacco, herbal, yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity yeast, dark/bready malt, oak barrel, and light earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness and oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from bitter/spiciness. Mild carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and slightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Alcohol is extremely well hidden; a mildly increasing warmth of 12.75%, with zero booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an amazing English barleywine! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity yeast, dark/bready malt, oak barrel, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV; even with the mild carbonation. Huge fruity yeast complexity, rich malts, and awesome oak barrel presence. All exceptionally balanced, never overly sweet. Wish this was vintage dated, but it definitely tasted a few years old to me. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example.
Tried from Bottle on 18 Jan 2018 at 20:30
Clarkvv (17430) reviewed
A Picture of Nectar from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
7.9/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Draught at the brewery, 8/31/17.
Cloudy, copper-tinted peach juice appearance. No head.
Vanilla and oak announce the barrel quite prominently, though it's not toasty, thankfully. Acetic acid is quick to perk up, but is joined by plentiful lactic acid and never gets out-of-hand. Super juicy and fruity; nectarine-melon-papaya-guava-pineapple. Might as well be a big stew of Galaxy, Nelson and Motueka. Light brett on the backend, with low malt appearance and no alcohol or flaw.
Soft and lightly watery in the mouth with a malty texture and good dryness throughout. Good oak and acid blend as the tannin helps balance all of this acidity. Definitely tart throughout and even a bit puckering on the finish, but not overdone (to my tastes, anyways).
Tried on 17 Jan 2018 at 16:36
Clarkvv (17430) reviewed
The Cure (2017) from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
7.4/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Draught at the brewery, 8/31/17.
Light chill haze, peachy-golden body. No head, but kind of a boss pour.
Fruity nectarine with other, soft yellow fruits, rather marmalade-like when taken with the citrus and crusty bread-like grains beneath it. With warming/breathing it gains a very juicy, lush grapefruit character that works despite my usual dislike of heavy grapefruit ipas.
In the mouth it has a soft texture with low but engaging carbonation and moderate bitterness. Good dryness throughout with more peach-nectarine being joined by various tropical-like melon-papay-mango. Quite complex and interesting. Lotta biscuity malts here. No flaw/alcohol/resin.
Tried on 17 Jan 2018 at 16:30
Clarkvv (17430) reviewed
Sansa from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
7.9/10 — Appearance 10 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Cascade dry-hopped cask at the brewery, 8/31/17.
Bright condition, copper-golden-amber with an off-white head showing strong retention.
Ginger, peach and apricot stem from both hop and spice/rhyzome. Honey-like malts easily balance everything without overdoing it. The spicy ginger is quite piquant on the finish and the leafy, green hops complement and augment this character. Easygoing fruitiness from hop and yeast linger with no alcohol or flaw.
Soft and fruity with supple, lightly sweet malts balancing a dry, ginger spice and the light bitterness of the hop. Engaging, low but proper carbonation, good attenuation and lingering fruit and malt on the end. Very well-balanced, everything in harmony here. I can see where some found it a little too sweet and mushy, malt-wise, and to be fair, it could be a shade more dry, but I still think it works well.
Tried from Cask on 17 Jan 2018 at 14:36
Clarkvv (17430) reviewed
All Helles Breaks Loose from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
7.4/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Draught at the brewery, 8/31/17.
Clear, maize-golden. Small, white head fades quickly to a ring.
Honey and light sourdough with soft floral hops and a touch of soap.
In the mouth the malts combine to present more honey and sourdough while fruity peach and nectarine stem from...I'm not sure. Light bitterness, gentle, refreshing and with a soft, malty texture and tight carbonation. Pretty malty and rich, though still well-balanced, for its size. Clean.
Tried on 17 Jan 2018 at 14:11
Clarkvv (17430) reviewed
Cor Cordium from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
6.9/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
375mL bottle drunk 8/17/17.
Cranberry-golden-rose colored body shows low haze. Reasonably-sized, off-white, pink-flecked head shows moderate retention.
Smells amazing; sulfur, fruit skins, cereal grains and funky farm notes towards the end. Very piquant and quite peppery, probably the tannin from the berries. Nothing unwanted here; no acetic character or heavy lactic notes. Everything seems very nicely integrated and it's very hard to pick out individual yeast/bacteria notes (no strong lime or band aid from Brett). Cherries and cranberries seem highly attenuated and provide little juiciness, so it's more of the fruit you get from a lambic, which is a nice change from the usual fruit juice bombs you get in America. Malts are very lean, however, but yet the "dryness" and relatively low acid in the nose takes very little to balance. No alcohol or flaw.
Somewhat disappointing in the mouth, with a bit of promising grain and tight carbonation up front leading to a very bready, astringent, heavily peppery finish that just seems like it needs more residual sugar/dextrine/oak tannin, or something of that nature. The fruit and beer is attenuated to the extreme and while I love the restraint on the sourness in this beer as a whole, the fruit acids still unbalance the beer, given it's very low malt depth. Seems like they got a little carried away on the specialty malt additions? Tough to say, and to its credit it is only a 5% beer, but I still think it's just a bit too undermalted and overattenuated.
Tried from Bottle on 11 Jan 2018 at 15:49
TimE (11137) reviewed
Brett Semetary from Cambridge Brewing Company
8 years ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
dark amber color. Big dry nose that is slightly tart. Nice light body, good brett character with some oak. But doesn’t have massive complexity. Good but not fantastic.
Tried on 10 Jan 2018 at 01:50