Back when we were in our roaring 20s, we spent many a night in local Irish pubs and watering holes. We would frequent Boston staples The Black Rose and The Purple Shamrock as well as smaller spots such as The Corrib in West Roxbury, The Olde Irish Alehouse (now Waterford’s) in Dedham and Tir Na Nog in Union Square Somerville. We immensely enjoyed tipping our pints of Guinness, Murphy’s Irish Stout, Smithwick’s and Harp Lager while heartily reciting the refrains from Wild Rover. We would even attend all day St. Paddy’s Day celebrations, starting at breakfast complete with blood sausage, and continue reveling in Irish music until close. And we won’t count how many “green beers” we’ve had.
While our days partaking in shenanigans may be behind us, we still love the beer. Fortunately, many local Massachusetts breweries brew traditional Irish styles and we’ve put together a list with links to the breweries. Please check each brewery for beer availability. We will continue to add brews as we discover more to share. Hopefully all of you get to enjoy the season with a tasty brew and an Irish jig – Slainté 
Abandoned Building Irish Farewell (Easthampton, MA) – An Irish Red Ale with a “lovely red hue and a touch of malty sweetness”
Amory’s Tomb Oatmeal Stout (Maynard, MA) – “Falling somewhere between an Irish Dry Stout and traditional Oatmeal Stout, this sessionable seasonal offering exhibits a dark, roasted grain profile with restrained sweetness, a touch of acidity, and smooth, silky body from the addition of flaked oats.”
Backbeat Brewing Company Rock On and Black & Tan (Beverly, MA) – Rock On is a 4.3% Nitro Irish Stout and Black & Tan is the Nitro Stout mixed with Blonde Ale
Barrel House Z Irish Hello (Weymouth, MA) – Conditioned on Paulbrasil beans that were sourced in Carrado Mineiro, Brazil and roasted at Seabird & Co. in Cohasset, this 7% Irish Coffee Stout is oak-aged (contains lactose)
Barrington Brewery Black Bear Stout (Great Barrington, MA) – A “rich and creamy” Dry Irish Stout
Berkley Brewing Irish Stout (Berkley, MA) – A traditional Dry Irish Stout served on nitro
Berkshire Brewing Ireland Forever (Deerfield, MA) – An Irish Red Ale, Slainté!
Bull Spit Brewing Wild Rover (Lancaster, MA) – A 5.5% Red Ale available at Kalon Farm and local stores
Burke’s Alewerks Life of Reilly (Hanover, MA) – A smooth, easy drinking 4.5% Traditional Dry Irish stout made with imported Irish barley and served on nitro.
Cape Cod Beer Top o’ The Morning Irish Coffee Stout and Shillelagh Irish Pale Ale (Hyannis, MA) – Top o’ The Morning has coffee that has been roasted by Cape Cod Coffee and infused “with the sweetness” of Irish Cream. Shillelagh is made with Irish Ale Malt and clover honey.
Castle Island Brewing Oak Aged Keeper (Norwood, MA) – Their Keeper American IPA aged in Ireland’s Jameson® casks (This limited run released back in February is sold out at the brewery, so check your local stores for it.)
Castle Island Brewing Dearg Doom (Norwood, MA) – This Irish Red IPA will be available exclusively in their Taproom Retail Store Thursday, March 11th at 4 PM.
CraftRoots Brewing Irish Dry Stout (Milford, MA) – A classic roasted Dry Irish Stout “nitrogenated true to style.”
Devil’s Purse Brewing Shelby Rose (South Dennis, MA) – An Irish Red Ale with malty, nutty and toffee flavors
Devil’s Purse Tiny Devil Dry Stout (South Dennis, MA) – A 4.4% Dry Stout “bakers chocolate · roasty · dry”
Dorchester Brewing Irish Red (Dorchester, MA) – A 4.9%Irish Red Ale with” light notes of toast and a bright, but medium body”
Dorchester Brewing Savin Stout (Dorchester, MA) – a 5% Irish Dry Stout on Nitro
Gentile Brewing Irish Red (Beverly, MA) – A 5.0%, gluten reduced Irish malty red ale
Great Marsh Brewing Dublin Stout (Gloucester, MA) – A “smooth dry Irish stout in traditional form with a bittersweet coffee finish”
Faces Brewing Modern Age (Malden, MA) – A 5.4% Irish Stout
Harpoon Brewery Boston Irish Stout (Boston, MA) – A traditional dry Irish stout that is a “tribute to our Boston roots and all the Irish pride that surrounds us.”
Hitchcock Brewing Nitro Stout (Bernardston, MA) – A 5% Traditional Irish Style Dry Stout
Holyoke Craft Beer Rolling In The Clover (Holyoke, MA) – An Irish Extra Stout that will have preorders March 6th during their Mass Beer Week online event Kickoff St. Patrick’s Day Season
Independent Fermentation Irish Riviera Red (Plymouth, MA) – Their spring seasonal Irish Red Ale
Iron Duke Brewing Baby Maker (Ludlow, MA) – This Irish Porter is a “dark ruby colored ale that’s slightly malty sweet with a delightful roasted finish.”
Lord Hobo Brewing Traditional Irish Red (Woburn, MA) – A taproom only Traditional Irish Red Ale
Lost Shoe Brewing Leath Bhrógan (Marlboro, MA) – An Irish Red Ale named after the Irish word for shoemaker
Mayflower Brewing Rising Road (Plymouth, MA) – A limited release 9% barrel-aged Irish Coffee Stout made with Speedwell Coffee
Medusa Brewing Wake Of The Medusa and County Hell (Hudson, MA) – Wake Of The Medusa is a smooth, creamy Dry Irish Stout and County Hell is an Irish Red Ale with Irish ale yeast
Moby Dick Brewing Ishm-Ale and Stoveboat (New Bedford, MA) – Ishm-Ale is an Irish Style Amber Ale with a nod to the first line in Herman Melville’s classic, ‘Moby Dick’ and Stoveboat is a Dry Irish Stout on nitro that will be on tap for St. Patrick’s Day.
Navigation Brewing Irish Stout (Lowell, MA) – A 5% Dry Irish Stout
Night Shift Brewing Slawn Cha (Everett, MA) – A 4.6% Dry Irish Stout
Oakholm Brewing Scarlet Clover (North Brookfield, MA) – A 5% Irish style red ale that’s easy drinking with “great malt character full of caramel and toasted notes”
Redemption Rock Brewing Blackstone Dry Irish Stout & Hardcastle’s Irish Red (Worcester, MA) – Blackstone is a smooth, roasty Dry Irish Stout named for “Worcester’s bygone canal, the construction of which brought thousands of Irish immigrants to Worcester in the early 19th century.” If you’re at the brewery, give the Black & Black a try. Hardcastle’s Irish Red is light and bready with notes of toffee and caramel.
Rockport Brewing McAteer’s Dry Irish Stout (Rockport, MA) – A roasty dry stout from this small batch brewer on the North Shore that’s an ode to the brewer’s great grandfather.
Rushford & Sons Tradisiún and Leann Rua (Upton, MA) – Tradisiún is a traditional Dry Irish Stout with notes of coffee and roast. Leann Rua is an Irish Red Ale
Saltbox Farm Irish Oatmeal Stout (Concord, MA) – An Irish oatmeal stout on tap for St. Patrick’s Day – Also, check out their menu and pre-order your Irish Family-Style Dinner by visiting www.Saltboxkitchen.com
Seven Saws Brewing Lucky 7 (Holden, MA) – A 6.3% roasty Dry Irish Stout
Skyline Beer Irish “Goodbye” (Westfield, MA) – A 5.4% Nitro Dry Irish Stout – They also have a version with Peanut Butter!
Spicket River Brewery Crowpaclypse (Lawrence, MA) – A traditional Irish stout “inspired by the annual crow migration in Lawrence”
Startline Brewing Craic Irish Red Ale (Hopkinton, MA) – A “smooth and very drinkable Irish Red Ale designed to complement all the fun”
Stellwagen Beer Paddy Wagen Irish Red (Marshfield, MA) – An Irish red Ale with the added punch from a dry hop of Citra.
Stone Cow Brewery Whiskey In The Jar (Barre, MA) – a Whiskey-Barrel-Aged Irish Stout available in 22oz bottles
Stone Cow Roan Inish (Barre, MA) – A Dry Irish Stout – Slainté!
The Kells Beer Company #29 Pa Kelly’s Irish Red Ale (Natick, MA) – An Irish Red Ale
Trillium Brewing Irish Stout (Canton, MA) – Trillium is excited to present their take on the Irish Stout as they “pay homage to the styles that have inspired them along the way.” Available for Curbside, Trillivery, and UPS Direct
True North Ales Irish Wristwatch – Explorer Series #42 Irish Dry Stout (Ipswich, MA) – A roasty, creamy Dry Irish Stout
Turtle Swamp Irish Goodbye (Jamaica Plain, MA) – A Dry Irish Stout on draft exclusively at their taproom
Two Weeks Notice Lefty Riley (West Springfield, MA) – A 4.8% Irish Stout that “Pairs well with Baileys & Irish Whiskey”
Two Weeks Notice Going Out In Style (West Springfield, MA) – A 5.3% crispy Irish lager that “Pairs well with more pints of Going Out In Style”
Untold Brewing Irish Whisper (Scituate, MA) – This 5.1% Irish Red is sweet and light and perfect for having a couple to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day.
Wachusett Brewing Quinn’s Irish Style Amber Ale (Westminster, MA) – Named in honor of Wachusett’s founding brewer and “favorite Irish-American Peter Quinn, aka ‘Quinny'”
Wormtown Brewery Irish Red (Worcester, MA) – An easy-drinking, light-bodied red ale that hits all those caramel and toffee notes
*Beer pictures from brewery websites
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