20 | OCTOBER 1 - 7, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
THE NEXT DRAFT
Beer news includes Wormtown’s ‘Worcester’s Finest’ release and Tree House’s new spot Matthew Tota Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Once again, cleaning up a beer fridge full of news The most stressful time of year for managing my beer fridge arrives as summer winds down and the NFL season begins. Sometime around the start of August, like a squirrel madly stashing nuts ahead of winter, I go into a beer buying frenzy to stock the fridge for football. By week 1, my fridge looks fat and happy – loaded with fresh beer – but only after the hard work of reaching to the very back of the shelves to reveal the forgotten brews: several will be poured out and forgotten; among them, though, there are gems to be found. This year, I procrastinated. It’s already autumn, and still I have not addressed the unruly mess of a beer fridge in my basement. So once again – and before Brady returns to Foxborough – I must clean it out and bring you the news that I missed.
A beer for Worcester’s fi nest In November, Wormtown Brewery will release, “Worcester’s Finest,” a Mexican-style lager brewed in honor of fallen Worcester Police Offi cer Enmanuel “Manny” Familia. The beer, according to Familia’s cousin and fellow offi cer, Alex Maracallo, will be one that Manny would have loved to drink, amber-hued, balanced and, above all else, smooth. “It’s going to be smooth, just the way he was – just smooth,” Maracallo told Telegram & Gazette photojournalist Rick Cin-
Worcester Police Officer Alex Maracallo adds hops to a special beer that will be dedicated to his cousin, fallen Worcester Police Officer Enmanuel Familia, at Wormtown Brewery Friday. RICK CINCLAIR/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
Tree House Brewing Co. can look forward to welcoming guests to its Cape Cod taproom after settling a dispute with a group of neighbors. MERRILY CASSIDY/CAPE COD TIMES FILE
clair on the brew day earlier this month. Marcallo and several other offi cers helped brew Worcester’s Finest, which Wormtown will release in its Shrewsbury Street taproom at noon Nov. 4. The brewery will donate 100% of the proceeds from the beer and merchandise sold that day – expected to total some $20,000 – toward supporting Familia’s family and the Manny 267 Foundation, which provides swimming lessons for children and teens, and water safety equipment for fi rst responders. In the past, Wormtown has brewed beers in tribute of local fi refi ghters who died in the line of duty, including last year’s “Worcester’s Bravest,” for Lt. Jason Menard.
Tree House’s Cape Cod home close to offering pours Tree House Brewing Co. can look forward to welcoming guests to its Cape Cod taproom after settling a dispute with a group of neighbors who tried to stymie the brewer’s plans. The four families who live in Sandwich near Tree House’s 98 Town Neck Road taproom had mainly raised concerns about the level of traffi c that would descend on their sleepy beachside street. Through their attorney, they initially sought to have the town revoke Tree House’s building permit. But according to The Enterprise, a Sandwich newspaper, the two sides reached an agreement earlier this month, one that includes limits to Tree
House’s hours and parking restrictions, as well as banning outdoor music and limiting the number of beers people can buy at the taproom to three during the summer. Over the summer, Tree House operated the Cape site strictly for to-go sales.
Rapscallion’s Spencer brewery now open Rapscallion Brewery has opened its new brewery and taproom in Spencer. The 8 Meadow Road taproom will be open Thursdays and Fridays from 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. Rapscallion moved out of its longtime brewery-taproom at Hyland Orchard in Sturbridge last year. In addition to the
brewery in Spencer, Rapscallion operates a pub in Sturbridge on 3 Arnold Road and restaurants in Acton and Concord.
Power Beer Festival rescheduled Sadly, we will have to wait until next year for the muchanticipated return of the Mass Brewers Guild’s epic Power Beer Fest. Originally scheduled to take place this weekend, the guild’s largest beer festival and fundraiser has been postponed until May 2022 due to Boston’s mask mandate. The festival will be held at the Cyclorama Boston on Saturday, May 14. A $55 ticket buys you unlimited beer samples from 40 breweries. Ticket sales support the guild’s eff orts to promote the interests of craft brewers across the state. For more information about the festival and to buy a ticket, head to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/power-beerfest-2022tickets-157689773357.
