As I try to put into words my adoration for various aspects of Acadia National Park, I couldn’t resist sharing this gem with you all.
Mark & I are slowly but surely forming a bad habit of visiting multiple breweries and/or wineries the day before races…and as you already know, the Falmouth Road Race was no different.
Since we still had some time to kill before dinner, we decided to see if there was a brewery within 20 minutes from Falmouth. And whaddya know? There was! Nestled at what appeared to be the entrance of a park in Mashpee was the Naukabout Beer Company.
I thought Naukabout had been around for awhile, but apparently they’ve only been open since the end of this past March & the story of their name is pretty cool. They are built on the idea of doing the things you enjoy after completing the things that you have to do (i.e. having a cold one after working like a dog all day). This practice of “naukabouting” was created and thought of by one of the founders’ grandfathers. I just love when there is something sentimental behind a business, so this hat-tip to a grandparent earned plenty of brownie points with me.
Naukabout was pretty slammed when we arrived so in a slightly panicked move I ordered the Tides Voyage 13, which is a New England Double IPA. (Like I said, panic move.) A few months back my boss gave me some Two to the Dome, which was my first DIPA and I absolutely loved it! It was beautifully and surprisingly malty and made me think that maybe all doubles were like this….I was obviously wrong. The 13 was fine (Mark loved it). It was a hazy, slightly fruity IPA which helped mask the hops that I despise so much. It is an 8.4% beer and definitely didn’t taste like it.
My second choice was the Sailor’s Delight, which was a “Raspberry Hefe”. I’ve tried a couple hefeweizens and have not liked them at all, but since my only choices were more IPA’s or other Hefe’s, I figured I would go with the one brewed with my favorite fruit. Sailor’s Delight was exactly that: a delight. It was fruity yet tart all at the same time. It was pretty to look at, much like Lilt from Grimm, and I’m pretty disappointed I didn’t get a picture. I enjoyed it so much so that I currently still have a crowler of it sitting in my fridge.
Naukabout was honestly a ton of fun! They have a pretty big space outside (that I’ve heard is expanding soon) which has a daily featured food truck, picnic tables, and cornhole boards. Inside they have more seating, a fireplace, and a box of games and stuff for kids. As strange as it sounds, it is honestly a great place for a family outing!
I will say though that you need to hit it at the right time. I was talking to my cousin & his wife & they mentioned that one time they tried to go there was a huge line of people outside because they had to cut off the amount of people allowed inside. Maybe check out the “peak” hours on google before venturing over on a rainy day.
UPDATE: JULY 2019
Mark and I have been back to Naukabout a few more times recently and I have a new favorite beer: Dunes of Cape Cod. This beer is a New England Milkshake Pina Colada IPA and OH MY GOD it is AMAZING!!! This is the fourth pina colada IPA I have tried. Every time I try them, I go in hoping for a juicy pineapple or coconut flavor to come through and every single time I am very sorely disappointed. Naukabout hit the nail on the head. This beer is juicy (like pineapple juicy, not your typical citrus juicy), refreshing, and full flavored. It’s not overly sweet and is truly the greatest milkshake IPA I have ever tried. Do yourself a favor and go try it.
If you don’t love pineapple or coconut flavors, their blueberry milkshake IPA is also incredible. Every brewer should learn how to do milkshake IPAs properly from the Naukabout brewers.
Looking for more breweries in Massachusetts? Look no further than right below:
Redemption Rock Brewing Company