Where to find the best Craft Breweries on Cape Cod | Captain Freeman Inn

We have been hearing quite a bit a buzz about Craft Beer, and so it seemed appropriate to do a little research and taste testing to write this blog. Byron and I headed over to Devil’s Purse Brewery  for our Saturday evening date night. I must say I was blown away when we drove up in the late afternoon to experience their beer tasting and to find a happening, merry collection of beer drinkers gathered outside of their brewery.

Being a red wine drinker, I have always shied away from beer as my exposure with my Dad’s Bud Light was not a positive experience….just saying!  After pondering their extensive beer menu and chatting with the lovely folks behind the counter, I decided to try their Handline Kolsch.  All I can say is “whoa”- it was light, cold (very important) and had a refreshing lemon taste. I just wanted to sit down and enjoy it with good barbecue or a juicy hamburger. We decided to purchase their 64 oz Growler that we CAN enjoy with a juicy barbecued hamburger back at the inn.

Over the past few years our wonderful peninsula and islands are now booming with many new craft breweries that produce nationally recognized beers, and offer communal spaces for beer lovers to gather over hoppy IPAs, crisp ales and rich porters. Shown below, in no particular order of favorites, are the local breweries that we are going to highly recommend our guests visit.

With a humble start in 2004, Cape Cod Beer now has more than a dozen beers on tap to offer a taste for all palates. The brewery welcomes visitors Monday through Saturday, where you can sample a summer blonde, locally sourced cranberry ale, or a range of porters and IPAs. The brewery holds community events ranging from paint night to pet meetups several times a week. There signature beers can be found in many restaurants and liquor stores throughout the Cape.

Devil’s Purse in South Dennis specializes in American styles that are heavily influenced by European cousins. The beers are simple and fresh using local ingredients t0 produce varieties such as oyster-infused stout, kolsch, and IPAs (to name a few). Tastings and beer flights are available during the off season, Tuesday through Saturday.  New this summer is daily beer tasting  just outside their brewery under festive tents. The educational tours will resume in the fall.

Hog Island Beer Company  features taps flowing with stouts, wheats and the local-favorite IPA. We haven’t been to this local brewery just up the street from the inn, but after looking at their web site I think this will be our next Saturday date night destination. They are open 7 days a week from 11:30-9pm with entertainment nightly and food available next door from the Jailhouse restaurant. They serve 5 oz flights of their beers and 16oz drafts, as well as 64oz Growlers and 32oz Big Hog Cans to go! “Marine Life Friendly” Packaged 12oz cans of our WHITE SHARK WHEAT and OUTERMOST IPA are now available in local liquor stores and markets. With three hard working local owners what is not to like! In spring and summer, pass an idyllic sunny day outside on the picnic tables, or play a round of cornhole or ping-pong.

Cisco Brewers on Nantucket is open year-round and features an array of brews from light lagers to spiced, pumpkin ale. In the summer sample a flight or grab a pint and a bite to eat from one of many food trucks and settle down at one of the outdoor picnic tables alongside live music.

For your visit to Martha’s Vineyard be sure to stop in to  Bad Martha Brewery  which is nestled on the grounds of a botanical nursery and serves  craft beers like local honey ale and tropical inspired IPAs.  There’s live music on weekends and outdoor lawn games during the summer season. The brewery is open May through October.

Naukabout Beer has been brewing small batches of locally-inspired craft beers for last several years. Fans rave about the IPA and pale ale, and go out of their way to hunt down the seasonal Nauktoberfest that hits the shelves when the leaves start changing color.

Oh my goodness, I am so tickled to start tasting Craft Beer on Cape Cod and to enjoy all of the entertainment and yard games that are usually included in the festivities. The taste is so different then I remember as a young woman. Consider a stay with us at the Captain Freeman and enjoy our newly refurbished baths including this one in our Wellfleet room…..

and our newly refurbished salt water, solar heated pool… which is a perfect way to relax after your busy day of beach going on Cape Cod. Afterwards, plan a stop at one of these wonderful breweries on Cape Cod.

Happy summering on Cape Cod!