Sam Adams Is Indeed Adding a Downtown Boston Taproom

Late last year, the Boston Business Journal reported that the Boston Beer Company was eyeing the former Hillstone space at 60 State St. in downtown Boston, right by the entrance of Faneuil Hall, for a second Sam Adams taproom. (The original brewery location is — and will remain — at 30 Germania St. in Jamaica Plain, where it recently debuted a taproom and barrel-aging room.) Nothing had been signed at the time, and plans were said to be in the very early stages.

Today, the company announced that it is in the “final stages of negotiating a second taproom location,” and that it is in downtown Boston. While a spokesperson didn’t reveal an exact address, she described it as “steps from the Old State House, Government Center, and Faneuil Hall.” If it’s not that Hillstone space, it’s gotta be pretty darn close to it. In any case, the new location could open around the second half of 2019, pending construction, permitting, etc. (Update, 12:30 p.m.: Yes, it is indeed the 60 State St. space, pending final negotiations and the appropriate permitting working out.)

“When I started Sam Adams back in 1984, I hit the streets of Boston literally going door-to-door to introduce bartenders to a new beer called Boston Lager,” said Sam Adams brewer and founder Jim Koch, per a release. “Many of those first bars and restaurants were in and around the Old State House, Government Center, and Faneuil Hall. With our new taproom we remain committed to brewing innovative beers for our fellow Bostonians and attracting even more beer enthusiasts to our hometown of Boston.”

That’s not the only new taproom slated for Boston’s downtown: Democracy Brewing, a worker-owner brewpub, is almost ready to debut at 35 Temple Pl., the old Windsor Button space. It could open around late May 2018.

• Sam Adams Truly Aims to Cement Its Place as Boston’s Beer With Downtown Taproom [EBOS]