5 Years In, Exhibit 'A' Shows Evidence Of Staying Power

FRAMINGHAM, MA — There's a bit of mystery in every can and pint of Exhibit 'A' beer.

The owners of the Framingham brewery, which is celebrating its five-year anniversary this month, often get asked about that name. Is the head brewer a lawyer or ex-con? And why is the number 42 all over the place?

The answers to those questions are not as wild as you might imagine, but the brewery does come with a dose of lore.

Exhibit 'A' opened at the end of August in 2016 in the Morton Street space that gave birth to Jack's Abby. Co-founder and head brewer Matthew Steinberg knew Jack Hendler and his brothers after spending years in the Massachusetts craft brewing scene at spots like Offshore Ale Co. on Martha's Vineyard and Mayflower in Plymouth.

The name, according to general manager Kelsey Roth, basically came "out of thin air." Steinberg liked the imagery of the scales of justice representing the balance between beer ingredients. At the time, another co-founder had the idea of presenting the beer like an art portfolio. Plain old "Exhibit" was too dull, so they added the "A" to capture the legal angle.

The first beer on tap was Goody Two Shoes kölsch, starting a series of names referencing legal affairs. Goody Two Shoes is about innocence, Hair Raiser double-IPA is about when the guilty verdict comes. The Cat's Meow IPA, the brewery's flagship, is about someone too powerful to prosecute.

"When I came aboard, I liked that side of it," Roth said this week. "Because beer is about the stories we tell with it."

Those stories have taken Exhibit 'A' a long way. You can now find Steinberg's creations in stores in every New England state and the New York City area. They also sell beer much farther away through Tavour, a Seattle-based subscription service that sends boxes of beer to drinkers across the nation (sorry, Massachusetts law doesn't allow Tavour to deliver here).

Just this month, Steinberg and Roth were surprised to find out that a beer bar in Tokyo had featured Exhibit 'A' during a tasting.

Almost two of the last five years have been during a pandemic, which forced the brewery to learn how to adapt, whether it's due to a can shortage or pandemic alcohol service rules. The Exhibit 'A' beer garden along Morton Street has been a local mainstay during coronavirus, although the indoor taproom just opened for the first time since March 2020 last weekend (masks required).

Exhibit 'A' isn't as big as nearby Jack's Abby — which celebrated its 10-year anniversary this summer and is now the second-largest in central Massachusetts — and that's partly intentional. The brewery is big enough to have cans in just about every store in the area, but the brewers still have time to focus on smaller creations, like the Another Weird Flex ale brewed with wild Brettanomyces yeast and released for this month's anniversary.

The smaller focus also allows Exhibit 'A' to use local ingredients. They've previously collaborated with Four Star Farms in Northfield to source hops and Valley Malt in Hadley.

"Our philosophy is we want stores to just run out," Roth said. "We like to put our beer in places that are really excited to have our beer and interested in selling it."

For the next five to 10 years, Roth said Exhibit 'A' will focus on learning how to brew even better. There's also the possibility of an expansion, either in the region or very close by — the brewery owns the Hansen Electrical Supply building along Waverly Street in Framingham.

"We're grateful for all the support we've received. If it wasn't for all our amazing customers and amazing staff, we wouldn't be where we are," Roth said. "Part of looking back at the last five years is looking back with gratitude at all those who have made this possible."

If you go ...

Exhibit 'A' Brewing
10 Morton St., Framingham
Beer garden open thru Oct. 31 Thursday to Sunday
Indoor taproom open Wednesday to Sunday
www.exhibit-a-brewing.com