Cape Ann Brewing Company

SABERG

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Went for the first time with my sweetheart.
The beer list was full of their offerings. Started with Cask home grown pale ale, quite good.
Octoberfest was also quite good.
Shared mussels, steamed in pale ale and garlic witha hint of mustard. Had fish and chips, both items were excellent.
Service was solid as food was put up by the kitchen any staff member delivered it hot and promptly!
Atmosphere was family friendly, big tables to share, my wife noticed that with 2 football games on, each was using subtitles, while music filled the house. Nice touch.

A trip here is worth the drive, value to price was very good.
Seek this out

10-08-2012 00:37:24 | More by SABERG

ACD

4.55/5  rDev +9.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

This is what a Brew Pub/Restaurant should be like! I have been several times and will continue to make the 25 mile trip to scenic Gloucester, many many more time!

Great beer with great selections for each season! They really take pride in creating and selecting different styles of beer. Not just the same old same old types. You can tell a lot of time research and effort goes into each of their selections!

The bartenders and servers could not be more friendly and helpful!

The food choices are perfect compliments to the beers!

Combine that with being right on Gloucester Harbor, this is a must visit for anyone who like beer- food and the sea! It is a great time any time of the season

09-19-2012 14:27:44 | More by ACD

bkbythesea

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

the beer is excellent....many choices...take home growlers are a plus...haven't tried the food yet..but hear its tasty...only ding would be when they have bands in there they should tone it down a bit...its far too loud....maybe have the amps on a lower setting...sucks to have to scream in each others ear to hear each other....the atmosphere otherwise is all brewery...i have to make it a point to go down some day when they are batching something together...cool to not only enjoy the product but watch the process as well.

01-12-2012 16:04:34 | More by bkbythesea

mingo1968

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Was in the area and stopped in the beer was fresh and the service was good. The view on the back deck is very nice looking into the warf. If i lived here this would be one of my watering holes so if your in the area stop in. Oh you can smell them brewing the beer. The place was clean and staff friendly. Our server was very nice and knew about the beers she even gave a few samples out. It wasn't that crowded when i was there. But i would imagin if the place was crowded seating would be tough out on the deck. The deck is very big but not alot of tables. Really i cant wait to get back in there when im back in the area. Wish i could get their brew down here in philly.

09-05-2011 19:29:00 | More by mingo1968

GratefulBeerGuy

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

We had a great exploring the ocean and beach of Stage fort Park in the historic fishing town of Gloucester, MA. Home of the Perfect storm, the area is loaded with fishing and Revolutionary war history. not to mention the official spot of the Massachusetts bay colony circa 1623.

Haning outside on the open deck right at the mouth of the harbour is a perfect way to end the day. The famous "Crowns nest" and Ice making building are all within eye-shot. Two large fishing vessles nearly hit eachother as i sipped my honey Pilsner. After, i tried the rather extreme fisherman's Tea which is a Barleywine with a mix of three traditional tea's, all of which eneded up in the Boston Harbour on that famous day. The Beers were pretty good and service as well.

07-30-2011 22:19:17 | More by GratefulBeerGuy

ICCULIS

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

I've been to both the old location and the new one that just opened up in Jan. 2011. I greatly prefer the new location - more more room, killer views of the Bay and the addition of a kitchen make this BrewPub ideal.

They recently got their entertainment license and I caught a local Boston Based band (Hi8us) there last Friday night. Great music, crowd and beers made this a wonderful place to be. The room is not entirely designed for live music and some areas sounds better than others.

The outdoor patio is top-notch - tiki torches and the sweet smell of the salty air make this my favorite place at the brewery - aside from being belly up at the bar!

The prices are reasonable and the food/beer is top-notch. I love that they infuse many of their beers with fresh hops or other flavor enhancers (coffee, etc).

I love this place and look forward to returning!

07-15-2011 13:21:20 | More by ICCULIS

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I've been to Cape Ann Brewing numerous times before they moved to their new bigger location. Now that they've been open several months with a full kitchen I feel like it's time for a review.

The restaurant has a long bar and several long picnic tables for communal seating. It takes a little getting used to, but I've never had an issue with other patrons sitting so close. Several TV's behind and above the bar have the latest game on. The back wall is all windows looking out at Gloucester harbor. In the summer, the deck has one communal table that has no wait, and several smaller tables you need to be seated at by the hostess. Almost forgot! On one side of the bar are dart boards, books, board games and a long shuffle board table. All for free, but I think you have to bring your own darts.

My wife and I visited on a warm summer Sunday afternoon and sat at a table on the deck. Our waitress was superb. She checked with us each time she saw our beers getting low, knew the details of the menu and beers and was very pleasant to speak with. She even remembered to bring me a new knife and fork without me asking after she took them with my appetizer plate. It was a small gesture, but one that stood out.

The food and beer selection are pretty standard for a brew pub (burgers, sandwiches, nachos, etc), however being in Gloucester, the menu has many seafood options. We got crab fritters and baked clams for appetizers. Both were delicious. The honey chipolte sauce on the fritters was fantastic. We each had sandwiches for dinner. She had a fresh lobster roll and I had a buffalo chicken sandwich. Both were tasty and served with sea salt covered fries.

The beers ranged from their year round selections (Fishermans brew, ale IPA) to an IPA filtered through cascade hops, German wheat beer and a honey pilsner.

Prices were fair. Most appetizers were under $10. Entrees were $10 to $20+ and beers were about $5 each. After several hours on the deck with beers, apps and sandwiches our bill before tip was in under $70. Not too bad for 2 people.

I'm about a 20 minute drive from the Cape Ann Brewery and I really need to get up there more often. Sitting on the deck on a warm summer day watching the boats go by is a wonderful relaxing experience.

07-11-2011 17:17:12 | More by WanderingFool

Hibernator

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Made a day trip up north to Gloucester this afternoon. Walked around the area and did some shopping and decided to go to Cape Ann Brewing for lunch.

The atmosphere is casual with a good sized bar with TV's and a bunch of picnic tables. Not sure how I feel about the communal picnic table set up. I think it can be hit or miss. Things were pretty busy during this Saturday afternoon. It's a fun bar to hang out. They have board games and darts too.

You can get a seat by the window. You'll notice a couple hundred lobster traps obstructing what would otherwise be a nice view.

Food was really good. Started off with Gloucester Stuffed Clams and had the Fish and Chips for lunch.

Beer draft selections included about 11 options. Beers offered were IPA, Fresh Hopped IPA, Honey Pilsner, Coffee Pumpkin Stout (awesome), Greenhorn Double, Tea Party, Rock Porter, Navigator, Bavarian Wheat and Fisherman's Brew. The beers I had were fresh and tasty.

Check this place out if you are in the area.

04-09-2011 19:52:18 | More by Hibernator

morebeergood

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev -7.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$

Stopped by here on a rainy Wednesday night for trivia night with some friends. Cool looking bar inside. There are big long wooden community tables for seating, plus a large circle of rocking chairs. All kinds of games scattered throughout to occupy people. Two tvs showing the Sox game. Nice looking bar also. Shaped like a boat. The tap handles were on the barrels behind the bar. Service was good. The bartender came over to me as soon as it was my turn to order. There were six beers on tap tonight. I went with two of their seasonals: Sunrise Saison and Eclipse Schwartzbier. Both were good. Prices were $4.50/$5.50 a pint. There was a bit of food available behind the bar: a Thai soup, and slices of pizza for $2. Fun place to hang out. Very cool crowd, as everyone was there to have fun. We ended up winning the trivia night and the gift certificate, so it was a great evening.

08-26-2010 15:11:05 | More by morebeergood

Durge

Connecticut

4.06/5  rDev -2.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

I can't believe that there have been only three previous reviews of this place. I really enjoyed my first visit there this week. I stopped by with a friend while traveling home through the area so it was just a two beer stop, and it was a relatively sleepy time of the late afternoon, so it was pretty quiet. But I enjoyed the atmosphere even though it's actually very simple and pretty small. The focal point to me is the small but very cool boat shaped bar. I could see bellying up port side for many hours watching a Sox game and burying many pints of brews. There's some long tables with benches for other seating and a cozy enclave of upholstered furniture if you want to get comfortable with your Greenhorn DIPA while leafing through a copy of Ale Street News or the like. Then there's a dart board and a pool table, a few televisions to keep your brain on idle, throw in some rest rooms and you have one beautiful beer joint. The understated Gloucester fishing village flavor just heightens the atmospheric impression here, but it's definitely not "overboard" or ultra-touristy at all. It's actually a pretty stripped down establishment, but I think it is quietly very unique and neat. It's basically just one room, big enough to support a small crowd. The bartender was pretty friendly and very helpful with the beer chat. The front is all window so you have a view out onto the street which snakes through a wharf-ish neighborhood along the ocean side of Gloucester. They offer some great beer items for those that like a good tee-shirt or sweatshirt, hat, glass, etc. My only gripe was that the growlers cost an additional $8 for the bottle itself, so my DIPA for home was a total of $23. Not that I haven't paid around that much before for a high octane quality brew, but $8 for the bottle alone seems too steep to me (but they are nice bottles I'll grant that). They had a decent selection of beers with a small number of taps and including at least one "big beer" (DIPA) was nice. They had an oyster stout going also which was a little disappointing but at least they were trying. All in all I really look forward to a repeat visit, next time I'll plan on a local hostelry!

05-01-2010 01:41:28 | More by Durge