Celebrate The Best In Massachusetts Craft Beer In Boston This Weekend

BEVERLY, MA — Tim Corcoran has had a front row seat to the grand evolution of the craft beer industry in Massachusetts in the dozen years since he first began brewing with lifelong friends Justin Negrotti and Jake Crandall in Negrotti's Beverly garage.

Four years later, the trio formed Coastal Mass Brewing with a downtown Beverly brewery and taproom now viewed as a staple of the North Shore craft beer scene, widely regarded as among the best in the state.

From the expansion and explosion of breweries and taprooms, to the immense challenges of the COVID-19 health crisis restrictions, to more recent consolidation within the industry amid rising costs and some shifting in alcohol consumption habits, Corcoran told Patch he prefers to salute the resilience of those brewers and businesses that have survived — and continue to thrive — as he prepares to join 40 of his contemporaries at Saturday's Massachusetts Craft Brewers Festival at Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts.

"These days, any sort of an event like this is a rallying event," he told Patch. "Just to remind people that we are still here. It may not be 2017 or 2018 anymore. You don't see lines out the door for a Wednesday release of a new beer very often.

"But the beer is just as good, if not better, than ever."

Corcoran told Patch that changes in the industry are forcing brewers and brewery owners to become more innovative when it comes to branding, marketing, and brewing different styles of beer, as well as seltzers, to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

"We are all doing this because we are passionate about it," he said. "We love craft beer and love sharing it with people who already love it. But even better, in my opinion, is introducing it to people who are less familiar with craft beer.

"It's not all IPAs anymore. A lot of us are getting more creative with our offerings. But that is what this craft beer festival is all about."

Saturday's two sessions (1 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.) allow attendees to sample lagers, stouts, sours, seltzers and, yes, those hazy IPAs from 40 local craft breweries and talk with the people who come up with the myriad recipes, brew the beer, run the taprooms and design the labels.

"This is more than just a beer fest — it’s a celebration of the people, passion, and community that power the craft beer industry here in Massachusetts," said Katie Stinchon, Executive Director of the Mass Brewers Guild. "Every ticket sold supports the nonprofit’s mission to protect and promote craft brewers across the state."

While some breweries have merged and closed over the past couple of years, the state is still home to more than 200 breweries that work together in a collaborative spirit more than they compete for customers and shelf space in liquor stores.

"We have four breweries here in Beverly alone," Corcoran said. "The quality of the beer that comes out of Massachusetts is something that people all over the country know about. Massachusetts was at the forefront in 2012 when craft beer really started to surge.

"And we are still there."

Corcoran told Patch on Thursday that he planned to bring four Coastal Mass offerings to the festival — Waterslide, a peach and pear seltzer; a sixth anniversary Brewer's Compass double IPA; this year's Pink Boots beer (brewed to showcase and promote women in the craft brew industry) called Towhead Blonde Ale; and a Siren Tripleberry Sour.

"Festivals like this offer the opportunity to either build that connection with beer drinkers or deepen that connection," Corcoran said. "That's the best time to do it. As the brewery owner, who is behind the table, I am the one who created the beer, or the artwork for the label. It's a cool opportunity for beer drinkers to come to our table and pick my brain, and get some pretty cool face-to-face action with the people who are hands-on creating these products.

"It's also a nice way for all of us to come together and celebrate the state of beer in Massachusetts and the Mass Brewers Guild that advocates for us so we can keep it all going strong year after year."

Tickets for Saturday's sessions are $55 ($10 designated driver tickets available) and can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)