Jack’s Abby Brewing

Worst service ever. Food and beer are pretty good, but the whole open seating German beer hall thing is chaotic and unworkable. Management needs to change this immediately. The bartenders and waitstaff were probably justified in being surly, having to work under such ridiculous conditions. I will never go here for a meal again.

I was totally blown away. I’m not a huge fan of the beer hall breweries popping up. (Harpoon, pass). But I really was surprised by the amount of beers and the menu. I stuck mostly to a pilsner on draft since I like something lighter on a hot day, but I’ll come back for the clam & bacon pizza or mussels alone. Great stuff.

We had a wonderful time at Jack’s Abby during a recent visit to Massachusetts. The beer is incredible, the food is good and the staff are friendly and generous. I would highly recommend a visit!

Beer is great. Multiple waiters had their fingers on my food when they were carrying my plates of food. I had the meatball pizza. The pizza was dry, very little sauce and the meatballs were cut up ultra thin like pepperoni, I guess that was to keep costs down? I was expecting chunks of meatball. With a little tweaking, I think this place could be a 4 or 5.

The beer is a solid 5 stars, the food is a 4 so I wish I could give them a 4.5 :)
All of the barrel aged beers are fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the graham cracker one! Also enjoyed their happy lagers.
We had the bacon and clam pizza. Overall really good but the clams were a bit dried out and I got a bite of a lot of red pepper flakes.
Definitely will go back when we are in the area!

Its not quite a German Beer Garden but it does a good job.
Worst pretzel ever created in the history of bad pretzels and the beer cheese dip looks and tastes like vomit.
Bacon potato pizza, hells ya gimme seconds.
Service was excellent and friendly.
Nice casual social setting. Music was a bit too loud for my old lady ears but it was a good sound for a sat afternoon out with the boys.
Beer was good. If you like hoppy ipas they have a good one. The stout wth the Sichuan flower pepper is interesting good. There was one in our flight that tasted like BAD watered down beer whisky but all the other tastings were acceptable.
Very neat place with parking. Boston you gotta ask why are the burbs so much cooler than the big city?

Just as a heads up, this review includes no food. My wife had a pretzel with cheese and mustard but the rest is all beer.
The main seating is a German Beerhall style. If you’re uncomfortable sitting next to other people you may want to steer clear. Otherwise it’s a great place for people to be in a social setting and talk to your group of friends or complete strangers. You place your first order at the bar and then a wait staff is assigned to you and can run a tab from there.
The beer ranges from pretty good to OK. I’m sure much of this is personal preference so before anyone executes me on comments, I have nothing against the beers. I am neutral. I am Switzerland. I’m just not crazy about how they use the same beer (Framinghammer) and give different takes on it 6 or 7 ways. The Mole was good but the rest didn’t quite do it for me. I did try a couple of sours (you’ll see a ton of those in the upcoming year or two) and the ABS and Cranberry Berliner were good. I’ve already had most of their flagship beers so I wanted to try a something different. I got a good taste of what they’re about so far.
Overall the beer is decent. Probably not my style but again, that’s personal preference. The atmosphere is amazing and all of the staff seemed great as well. It’s a fun place to meet up with friends and family.

Food, Beer and clean restrooms! What’s not to love about Jack’s Abby? Don’t be in a rush coming here. Atmosphere is laid back. Food comes out promptly but there’s just so many things to try. Waitstaff seem pretty social and again, laid back.
We spent probably close to four hours there. Seating was comfortable and the décor of the brewery was very nice. You can see the into the actual brewing facility and also the big copper oven where the pizza is fired.
The food was amazing in every way. Charcuterie Board had plenty of meats, cheeses, veggies to share between the four of us. Wild Mushroom pizza was so good I just wish there was more of it. The two other pizzas we tried were also very good. Noticing a trend? Mussels were outstanding and had the best broth in the bowl I’ve ever had. Little spicy but not over powering. Pork Shank was fall off the bone good. Mashed potatoes were very good as well. They also have on tap soda and specialty sodas as well.
This review is based on the food alone as I’m not a beer drinker. The rest of my party tried a bunch of different beers and seemed to enjoy themselves. They had beer samplers and everything seemed decent in price for both food and drink.
Repeat business is what keeps these places alive and I’ll be sure to return even though it’s 90 mins away. Give this place shot! I don’t think you’ll be disappointing. If you are go back to Chili’s…

I have to begin with stating that my husband and I are quiet biased with our breweries. He currently works for a brewery and over the course of his career, built breweries all over the world.
The atmosphere is fun, reminds us of the Harpoon beer hall. The food was good. Our daughters liked the pizza and mac n cheese. I had a salmon salad that was ok.
The beers are drinkable, but nothing earth shattering phenomenal and nothing horrible.
Would I come back with friends? Sure! Would I race back out here? Prob not
From a purely beer review, too many like kinds of beer on the menu. Let some go and have fewer to choose from.

Oneof my favorite new restaurants. Try it at lunch time when it’s less busy. On weekends it’s mobbed and you’ll have to wait to find a seat at a communal table «beer garden» style, or at the bar/​bar area. It is worth facing the crowds, however.
This is a bonafide, working brewery and you can try all kinds of interesting brews not bottled and sold commercially. It’s fun to get a flight and try new things.
The menu is trendy with Woodfired pizza and gator-​pub style food and salads. It does not have an extensive food menu – but what it does have is excellent – fresh and delicious.
The service is good and the waitstaff friendly and knowledgeable. The ambience is industrial and noisy – you won’t have a quiet table – but you can certainly converse with your fellow diners without a problem.
Attracts an eclectic crowd with a lot of younger people and middle aged people that prefer not to act it. A good vibe. Though I see families with children there, I always question people that bring small kids to a brew pub. It’s really not a place for kids. The food would not appeal to my teenagers less evolved tastes.
It’s a great place – don’t miss it! If you are a beer fan, you’ll enjoy this place throughly.

Have been here twice lately and really enjoy it. A beer hall, but not as frenetic as Harpoon. Both times have been as part of the same large party, 7 or 8 of us, and we’ve all enjoyed the food. The roast chicken with bread stuffing is really really good, as are the pizzas. The beer is excellent and size options allow one to try several.

We live in the next town over and our first visit was for Mother’s Day 2016. It was so good we returned 2 days later!
I’m not a big beer drinker; I’m in it for the food :) I found a beer I actually liked! I love that they have shot glass sized samples ($ 2) so if you don’t like it you aren’t out paying for a full beer. Hubby is ‘into’ beer and was in heaven.
The food was so, so good. Pork shank melted of the bone; goulash had tender meat and bratwurst with sauerkraut delicious. The smoked trout chowder is also very good; I got it both nights and it was served piping hot both nights.
The local cheese & charcuterie fantastic!
We will definitely be returning.

Seemingly far away from the city, Jack’s Abby can be viewed as a destination, not a restaurant. A large, sprawling room with multiple bars and self seating tables, this brewery is casual and effortless. Perfect for dates and parties.
The mussels are cooked with their house made lager, and are slightly spicy with 2 slices of toast to mop up the sauce (I should have asked for more toast).
The chicken wings are delicate with rosemary and olive oil, though the large chunks of salt could have been better dispersed.
The two sour beers were my favorite — not TOO sour, perfect for sipping and very refreshing.
The pizzas looked good — that seemed to be the crowd favorite.
If you have a car, this brewery is worth driving to!

Jack’s Abby provides the model that all breweries should follow. Here’s what they have right:
* the beer is good, and there is variety. I suppose you can satisfy your desire for quintuple-​hopped hops with water plus hops (garnished with hops) at JA, but they too serve beer that is dense and malty, well-​balanced, sweet, sour, and all other variety of things beer can and should be.
* the beer consumption hall is nice and open, with a high ceiling, simple decorations, and a very pleasant vibe overall. The place is very down to earth. No edison light bulbs here.
* the staff is unfailingly nice, enthusiastic, and non-​judgmental.
* the food is simple, but good, cooked in a dramatic round oven from Maine. Try the pizza with sausage, and the pretzel.
I do find the driving situation around the brewery to be kind of difficult. Where do I park my car? How do I turn left across that street without getting into an accident? Once you work out these wrinkles, and wash away the residual stress with a lager, you’re all set.
I also have a problem with the number of children I always see at this place. I get that all the cool dads with beards want to teach their soon-​to-​be-​lumbersexual children about the difference between chinook and centenial hops, but a 6 year old’s birthday party at a beer hall late in the afternoon on a Saturday? That doesn’t seem like a great idea.
Jack’s Abby consistently brews the best stuff in the state. I’m glad their beer hall finally matches the quality of their beer.

The pizza is amazing and there are a zillion and one beers to try. What more can you want?
But for real, the service is great and the vibe is really fun. You can wander around and watch as the food is made. The beer is top notch, especially if you like lagers and porters. The plus is that if you like trying beer, you can easily try whatever beer you want. They offer flights, but some beers are not offered as part of a flight, which is crushing… Until you realize they have a 2 oz sample size! So you can try literally any beer on the menu (which is more than can be said for some other breweries).
Social shout out to their creative flavors like the pb&j and the number swagger (which may have genuinely changed my life).

Love this place! The charcuterie board is great and the potato bacon pizza is fantastic. The desserts are large and yummy, and everything else is freshly made, creatively prepared, and in substantial portions.
The beer selection is outstanding and the tasting flights are fun. Plus you can take home many of your favorites!
The staff couldn’t be nicer. Try to get Josh as your waiter. He really hustles and is so kind. Everyone on staff really seems to care about your being comfortable and having a good time. It’s a great place. We’re so lucky to have them here in the ‘ham!

I honestly can’t decide if this place is 2, 3 or 4 stars.
The beer is pretty darn good. I recently moved back to MA from CO, and I’m pleased with the quality. In particular, the Excess is just amazing. Unfortunately, there is more to this place than beer. Sometimes the food is amazing, others, like today, are a bit off. The salad dressing was basically brown water and the pizza was to the point of burnt.
The back breaker is the very inconsistent service. Of the last three times I have been, the first was excellent, the second server was nonchalant, and the third was basically awful (and the restaurant was pretty much empty for lunch).
Inconsistency can slowly become a deal breaker.

Came in on a Saturday afternoon with another family. There were two babies and four adults and we were able to find convenient seating immediately. Jack’s Abby was extremely baby friendly providing high chairs and a very loud environment so we would disrupt no one!
We split the charcuterie board which was shockingly fresh and delicious considering we were at a brewery. I also got a pretzel which was served warm with a decadent beer cheese sauce. Yum! Also, the beer is super fresh with tons of varieties.
Definitely a fun family friendly activity. We’ll be back!

What’s not to love about this place?! Good people. Great beer and great food.
This place is huge. Rows of oversized picnic tables and a section of several high top tables. A row of bar Sears looking into brewery and bar side stools as well. And come a sit and watch the massive wood fired grill and order up a fresh made to order pizza while you sip on some fresh brewed beerssss!
A few large flat screen tv’s placed around the open space.
They have apps like meat and cheese platter. Wood fired wings. Meat balls. And oh so much more.
They have a make your own pizza list or pick from one of their uniquely designed pizzas. Or go with a salad with goat cheese or a sandwich. Or the Mac and cheese that this little girl had beside me… I wanted a taste!
This place is a chill laid back home vibe were you can just come and drink or drink and eat or just run in a grab a case of beer or a growler.
FYI. Don’t be shy; you share your tables with strangers… So if your lucky you will leave there with some new friends too.

Good beer, good food, a bit stressful to get in and/​or get seated, but overall worth the trip.
Jack’s Abby beer has always been solid, and I especially love that here you can A) do flights and taste them all if you wanted to and B) taste things that are brewery-​only (love that Nitro Coffee Baby Hammer and the Hibiscus Blood Orange Leisure Time). Food is really solid too, they have a large oven that they use very well– their pizza is excellent (the prociutto/​arugula and clam/​bacon were really tasty), their mains are tasty (that large pork shank, mmm), and the dessert is not something to miss (the bread pudding was surprisingly crazy good). Space is casual, with lots of high tops and shared benches, and can get very loud so don’t expect to come here for a quiet chat.
The one potential negative is the space management– they have a one-​in, one-​out policy, so you’re not allowed to even sidle up to the bar and grab a drink to wait for a table if they’re at capacity. Also, it’s seat yourself, so even if you wait for an hour or two (in the retail side, which is nice that at least you’re not stuck waiting outside), you’re never guaranteed any kind of seat, it’s a total free-​for-​all which can be kind of stressful (prepare to be vultures and stalk people who seem to be finishing up). Once you’re in, the way it works is that you get in line at the bar to open a tab and get your beer, which means you’re not waiting for a waiter or a bartender to come your way which I do appreciate (if you do sit, a waiter will find you and simply use that already-​opened tab, although the waiters can get a bit busy and forgetful when it’s slammed so don’t expect super service).
So, try to come on an off time, and enjoy the beer and pizza with a group of friends.

The UX/​UI of this place when it comes to having a meal rests solely in the diner. Beers flow quickly from the bar and the atmosphere and beer is spectacular.
To get served food you need to be seated. Ensuring seating is like the hunger games… «May the odds be ever in your favor». Needless to say –Nice guys finish last. If this was Germany it may work but here in the good ol US of A people will lie, cheat, and steal to get a table ahead of you.
We literally had a pregnant lady with us and we couldn’t grab a seat for an HOUR.
Loved the beer but the experience left a bad taste in my mouth. We moved on and got seated elsewhere in 20 minutes.