The Beer Works, Lowell

We dropped Erin off at UMass Lowell, specifically East Campus. East Campus is about a block from The Beer Works. We had a nice dinner last summer at the Beer Works, which itself is across the street from where the Lowell Spinners play. We parked where we did last summer, only now Lowell had installed a revenue source. At least one dollar for an hour isn’t the worst I’ve seen. Better this than a random eager ticket.

Monday, around 3:30, the place was empty. A waitress came to seat us but we chose to sit at the bar. There were two bartenders along with the waitress, waiting thru the lull before dinner. “Blister in the Sun” played on the sound system. It carried into the bathroom, which is nice. The bathroom was clean but both sinks had severely wobbly faucets.

After some thought Beth selected the nut brown ale. I went with an ipa, of which there were several. I think it was called Dye Street. We also ordered the deep-fried pickles. The nut brown ale was rich and smooth with a touch of sweetness. The ipa was spicy and satisfying. I’m okay with overdone but balance is good too. Beer Works offers three glass sizes, 12, 16, and 24 ounces. Beth liked the design of one glass but the bartender wasn’t allowed to use that glass for nut brown ale. Each beer had its specific glass.

I had a second beer. The same ipa I’d already had was listed twice. The second one was cask-conditioned and unfiltered (the first was bottle-conditioned). It was served slightly warmer. It was cloudy, rounder with more yeast and fruit in the nose. Very pleasant.

Above the bar were three televisions with the sound off. Should mench that a small group entered and sat at the bar talking. One tv had a sports show with three hosts who were apparently being funny. They showed clips of athletes failing: falling down, losing fights, etc. They were full of what looked like tired guffaw. The middle tv had three talking heads on CNN discussing the Malaysian crash. I have not kept up with the controversy, but I could see they were tearing all life from yet another subject. Two serious looking experts flanked the attractive blonde CNN host who wore pink. None were in the same studio. At least it wasn’t Fox but you know it would all be insipid if the sound were turned up. The third tv showed a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the SF 49ers, from the 1980s. Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott. Golden oldies. What should beer drinkers watch if no sporting events are available?