Clamber Hill Inn & Restaurant offers a Beer Lovers Package (Gift Certificates are a great Father’s Day present hint, hint) and happily shares information about the best places to sample great micro-brews mid-state Massachusetts.  There are many micro-breweries and/or brew pubs within a 45 minute drive.   Several of the micro-breweries offer tours of their facilities, all offer great beer.

Wachusett Brewing Company is located approx 20 miles east of Clamber Hill in Westminster, MA.  This brewery was founded in 1993 by three graduates of  Worcester Polytech.  It has grown tremendously, but still delivers a wonderful variety of high quality beers.  The brewery is open for tours on Wed, Thurs, Fri and Saturday and has a gift shop where you may purchase beer and souvenirs, but alas no food.  The Wachusett beers are available in many many Massachusetts restaurants.

The Gardner Ale House, located in Gardner MA of course, is a full service brew pub just 11 miles east of Clamber Hill.  They are open seven days a week and have entertainment on Monday nights (yeah!) and the weekends.  They rotate their beer list and also carry some guest beers.

About 45 minutes north of Clamber Hill is Elm City Brewing located in the Colony Mill Marketplace in Keene, NH.  Brewing fresh beer since 1995, it’s also open 7 days a week, a great place for fresh beer and good food.

Back in Massachusetts and 30 minutes west of Clamber Hill in Greenfield MA  is The People’s Pint.   Started in 1997 they have a 15 bbl brewery on Hope St and a restaurant open daily for lunch and dinner on Federal St.   A relatively new addition to the business is Gill Tavern located in the very center of Gill MA.

Also in that direction is Berkshire Brewing Company started in 1994 in South Deerfield, MA.   These delicious unfiltered, unpasturized ales are what you will find in Clamber Hill’s restaurant.   Berkshire Brewing does not serve food, but the brewery is open for tours on Saturday at 1pm.

Then there is the Amherst Brewing Company, centrally located in Amherst.  Once again good pub food is combined with great beer and being located in a college town there is often high quality entertainment.

A little bit farther away in the same direction one can find the Northhampton Brewery, the oldest operating brewpub in Massachusetts (founded in 1987 a whole decade before the others) complete with a European-style rooftop beer garden.

Not to be missed is Paper City Brewery in Holyoke MA.  Sorry no restaurant but they hold an open house every Thursday and Friday night.

And if you’re in that direction there is also Opa- Opa Steakhouse and Brewery in Southhampton.

The Clamber Hill innkeepers can highly recommend the beer and food at all of these fabulous places.  If you come to Clamber Hill on the Beer Lover’s Package you can visit many of these places to sample great beer and dine at one or two.

View Beer Lovers Map courtesy of Clamber Hill in a larger map

The map above highlights recommendations for seven local micro breweries and brew pubs. Some sell their own beer, some don’t. Some offer food, some don’t. Some give tours, some don’t. But what they all have in common is great beer.

So if you love beer, consider a March vacation or weekend getaway in central Massachusetts.

And if you’re in the area either the weekend before or the weekend after St. Patrick’s Day, there’s sure to be a parade.

And remember, sample responsibly — don’t drink and drive.