HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS
25 miles north of Boston, Haverhill’s THE TAP RESTAURANT & BREWERY is housed in a beautiful red brick downtown building. A prominent local pub with old styled brick interior design and quaint wood-decked dining area, The Tap occupies the same space as an 1897 tavern.
I settled in with pal, Al, for two-hour April ’05 stopover. Brew tanks reside in back and basement with enormous rear deck offering respite. Menu included New England seafood (mussels, crab cakes, calamari), wraps, sandwiches, and burgers.
Brewer Dann Paquette provided lemon-fizzed Haverdale Light Lager (with apricot-skinned grapefruit dryness), busy coffee-milked nut-roasted tea-leafed Merrimack Mild Ale and recommended hop-spiced orange-bruised cherry-ripened maize-backed Belgian-styled Blonde Bombshell to soothe softer tastes.
Saaz hop-embittered citric-spiced lemon rind-dusted Hannah’s Weizen, tannic grape-skinned cherry-soured Scottish-styled Merry Mac Ale and mild soft-watered wood-smoked coffee-stained Bootblack’s Extra Stout were approachably medium-bodied.