What’s Brewing: Tours and New Beers at Night Shift

Night Shift’s tasting room is small, but tastefully done. See what I did there?! (Photograph by Anne Vickman.)

Night Shift, one of Boston’s newest nanobreweries, opened for tours and tastings at the beginning of April. While the 2,000 square foot space in an industrial park in Everett is by no means gargantuan, the old World War II-era parts factory houses plenty of room for the 3.5-barrel system, a five-fermenter room, a walk-in cooler, a sour room with two fermenters, and a bar for tastings, where both flagship and experimental beers are served.

And since Night Shift has recently released a few new brews, a visit was in order—and we weren’t disappointed. Somer Weisse, a Berliner Weisse-style sour ale named after the founders’ humble beginnings in Somerville, is exactly what you want to drink on a hot, summer day. At 5.2 percent ABV, it’s insanely easy to drink; refreshing and spiked with citrusy lemongrass and the spice of fresh ginger root. Viva Habanera, which hasn’t been bottled yet, is a 7.1 percent ABV rye ale brewed with habaneros and agave nectar. It has a bright, coppery color and was inspired by a love of cooking—the heat of the peppers is surprisingly subtle, slightly warming, and complements the rye’s natural spice. And finally, the Quad Reserve, a Belgian style quad made with brown sugar and Shiraz grape juice, is aged for 60 days and is an outstanding example of a beer/wine hybrid—fans of Dogfish Head’s Noble Rot would do well to try this one. It’s big at 10.5 percent ABV, but the deep brown brew has a distinct wine flavor that pairs well with the sweetness from the brown sugar.

Night Shift promises more new, experimental beers in the future, too: plans so far include a saison with rosemary for the Drink Craft Beer Summerfest in July, a different variation of Somer Weisse with hibiscus, and and apple cider ale this fall. And the company is working to source as many local ingredients as possible. “We want to support the community around us,” says Michael Oxton, one of the brewery’s three founders. “We also prefer interacting with people that we know. That’s tough to do if your [ingredients] come from 300 miles away.”

Hit up Night Shift for a tour on Thursdays from 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m.

3 Charlton St., Everett, nightshiftbrewing.com.