BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

A full-scale upscale cocktail lounge with a fully automated brewery, large billiard room, plush band stage and pristine Old world splendor, CHEEKY MONKEY opened for biz in 2017. Its black metal fenced-in porch with three tables leads customers into this sterling polished gem across the street from historic Fenway Park.

Besides offering crisply clean draught beers, Cheeky Monkey’s fine wine and liquor selection crowd the wood shelves at the elongated 30-stooled L-shaped bar. Solid pub fare goes well with the six tapped beers emulating from the far back windowed 10-barrel Smart Brew System.

The posh barroom also includes several shelved antique radios, old metal beams and low-hanging ceiling pipes to capture Boston’s historic rustic charm. Several wood booths and tables line the room.

An American-flagged back lounge with plush furniture and stone hearth provides some privacy to counteract the large sports-centric open area where a spacious billiards hall competes with shuffleboard tables and ping pong before leading to the back-barred brew tanks.

While my wife and I hung out at the bar, we tried four diversely easygoing brews during our quick May ’19 afternoon stint.

First up, wonderful fruit ale, Wild Blueberry, captured all its distinct sweet-tart blueberry goodness alongside briskly carbolic lemon zest and honeyed wheat sugaring.

Next, easygoing Galaxy-hopped Down Undah Pale Ale proved to be stylishly intensified as spritzy lemon zest, tangy orange juicing and tart guava-gooseberry spunk merged over its musky pale-malted oats spine.

Straightforward Harambe’s Ghost IPA brought sharp citric-pined crisping and tingly floral spicing to sweet caramel malting without making a fuss.

Fudgy milk chocolate-y Rebellious Monk Stout let lingered oats-sugared black chocolate and mild coffee tones gather for a creamily full-bodied midday nightcap.

cheekymonkeyboston.com