Harpoon Brewery To Open Worcester Beer Garden

WORCESTER, MA — The biggest brewery in Massachusetts will soon move into Worcester's evolving beer scene.

Boston-based Harpoon is planning to open a beer garden on the Mercantile Plaza in time for summer, the company has said. Harpoon is targeting a May 26 opening, pending approval from the Worcester License Commission.

"Located on Mercantile Plaza in downtown Worcester and operated by Reunion Tap and Table, the Harpoon Worcester Beer Garden is a perfect place to enjoy craft beer, live music, and more!" the brewer's website says.

The garden will be open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday and Sundays, and will likely close down during for the colder months beginning in October, Harpoon President Charles Storey said Friday.

Harpoon's move west to Worcester will be somewhat of a homecoming. Harpoon cofounder Dan Kenary grew up in Worcester before opening Harpoon's first location in Boston in 1986. Harpoon's flagship IPA hit the market decades before the style dominated beer tastes.

Harpoon's Worcester beer garden will be located just a few blocks from the seasonal Beer Garden Worcester (reopening May 18), and not far from the Worcester Public Market — where one of the other largest breweries in the state, Westminster-based Wachusett, has a location.

Although Boston Beer Co., the maker of Samuel Adams, is by far the leading brewery based in Massachusetts, the company produces most of its approximately 8 million barrels-per-year in other states, according to the blog Mass Brew Bros. Harpoon produces about 75 percent of its beer in Boston, and was the 15th largest brewery by sales volume in the U.S. in 2020. Wachusett, Framingham-based Jack's Abby, Wormtown and Charlton-based Tree House were all in the top 10 of the largest breweries in Massachusetts.

Worcester's beer scene is also maturing as it expands. Redemption Rock, 333 Shrewsbury St., celebrated its third anniversary in January. Greater Good Imperial Brewing, 55 Millbrook St., is celebrating its sixth anniversary this weekend. Worcester's newest brewery, Double Down Brewing Company, will celebrate its one-year anniversary in the fall.