The Lower Depths

Enjoy bars with expansive beer lists and the atmosphere of your buddy's basement? Well then The Lower Depths Tap Room might be for you. Fred told me about this bar and said he was heading there for some drinks...naturally I decided to tag along. Located right past Kenmore Square on Comm Ave. (476 Commonwealth Ave.) in the basement of what I believe is an apartment building sits this gem of a beer bar. It feels like someone's basement because, well it is. The ceilings are low just like in a house, and it has a very laidback vibe.

The Lower Depths is one of the few places you could call a strictly beer bar...there were a few bottles of wine accumulating some dust behind the bar, but I didn't see anybody drinking wine. The reason for this is because they do not have a liquor license...and I'm almost positive they aren't running moonshine out the back. But I don't think that really effects the customers going here or the success of the bar.

If I had to take a guess, I would say the beer menu at The Lower Depths had about 100 or so, broken out by country. There wasn't anything on the bottle list that really jumped out at me, but it certainly had a variety. The draught beer selection was also nice, but nothing that really differentiated itself from the bottle list. Just as with some other Boston area beer bars, the prices are a little on the steep side. The one price comparison I have is to The Publick House, and The Lower Depths was more expensive. With all said, if you are looking for some new places to find some different beers in Boston and are getting sick of the same spots, this is definately a good start.

Cheers!

Boston Beer Works

Looking for a place that brews their own beer and serves up some good bar food? Look no further than Boston Beer Works, with conveniently placed locations by North Station and Fenway. My roommate and I were walking randomly around Boston, trying to find some good places to get some drinks. The first place we came across was the Elephant and Castle; the second was Boston Beer Works by North Station.


This was the first time either of us had been here and it was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, so I can't say what this place is like at night. It seemed like a cool place to go before games at the Garden (people were already there boozin' for the 7 o'clock Bruins game). We took a seat at the bar and ordered up some large glasses of the Bullfinch Bitter...you get two sizes to choose from for beers - a classic 16oz. pint or a 22oz. glass. The Bullfinch Bitter wasn't the greatest, but it was pretty good; it seemed to lack a bit of flavor. They had about 15 other microbrews, so I'm sure they had some good ones other there.

We got an order of the spinach and artichoke dip, which was pretty damn good. But for some reason they decide to give you about half a pound of dip, which would surely result in a heart attack if one tried to consume the whole portion. In all, I would make a trip back to Boston Beer Works to try some more of the beer and food menu...and I would check out the Fenway location just because it is more convenient.

Cheers!

Elephant and Castle - Downtown Boston, Financial District

Anybody looking for a good old English pub? Well you probably won't find one but this is pretty damn close. The Elephant and Castle has what you need in a English pub...a selection of British beers and British food. The beers on tap include Boddington's, two Fullers beers, Bass, and some other non-British but delicious brews. As for food, they have curry and chips (which my roommate mistaked for actual potato chips), fish and chips, and a Yorkshire pudding! I feel like I'm back in England!

The only thing missing from this British pub was the long hanging wooden beams and cask beer. But oh well, you can't win them all. The only bad things I have to say about the Elephant and Castle was the lack of atmosphere. The music wasn't really playing, so it was almost eerily quiet. However, the bartender was able to throw on the Liverpool-Sunderland match, so that gave a bit of a booster. If you end up in the financial district the Elephant and Castle is definately a place to check out.

BBB Rating - 3.5/5