EVENT: Aeronaut Brewing Lifts Off [Boston -- Somerville]

Somerville's Aeronaut Brewing Company celebrated the summer solstice with an all-day grand-opening launch party. The brewery, which I first met at American Craft Beer Fest last month, opened their doors for free, ticketed festivities from 1:30-10PM. I headed down to the now happening Tyler Street to get another taste of their Session with Dr. Nandu and see what else was on tap. The brewers themselves orchestrated paired beer tastings of the "Session" and "Armadillo," and of their "Hefeweizen" and "Kristallweizen."

The "Kristallweizen," a filtered version of the "Hefeweizen," had a bright crispness that made the beer my favorite of the day. It merited two full pours (and a subsequent three-hour nap).

The space at Tyler Street is becoming a sort of Andy Warhol Factory for the local food and drink scene-- Aeronaut leases space in their "Foods Hub" to coffee roastery barismo and farmer's market delivery service Something Gud, among others. I know Somerville's been worried about growing too hip and losing its essence, but hyper-local collaborations like those at the Foods Hub are actively building the city a new (albeit hip) identity. It's a pretty exciting process and the first Somerville brewery in, oh, a couple centuries, has a big role to play.

Potato, leek, and roasted garlic ravioli from Something Gud

For other munchies, afternoon launch partiers could head to Mei Mei Street Kitchen parked outside. The food truck offered delicious Chinese-American eats to wash down the booze-- among them beer-battered sweet potato tempura made with Aeronaut's "Armadillo." I snacked on my tempura and enjoyed the New Orleans jazz stylings of Professor Cunningham and His Old School while Boston Swing Central taught attendees how to Charleston.

Sweet potato tempura from Mei Mei Street Kitchen

Air Craft Aerial Arts provided the inside entertainment with two sessions of stunning acrobatics that fit in well against a backdrop of balloon-buoyed lawn chairs.

In fact, other afternoon activities included a bundle of balloons tied to one of said lawn chairs for an Up-style take-off. Even the brewery's signature tab hides an air balloon hovering over land. Every piece of the launch party-- from the local collaborations to the beer itself-- predicts good things ahead from Aeronaut Brewing.