Best brewpub

Sure, if you build a ballpark, they will come; but if you build a brewpub next to the ballpark, then you're really in business. Boston Beer Works could probably sell swill and still pack 'em in, at least on game days; instead, upwards of 16 carefully crafted ales and lagers are on tap at any given time, from the ever-popular Bunker Hill Bluebeery Ale (actually garnished with blueberries) and the Buckeye Oatmeal Stout to a seasonal specialty like Pumpkinhead Ale, which does in fact contain said squash. Nor is the grub substandard; to the contrary, genuinely savory main-course salads, funky fries, and oddities like shark skewers and fried pickles round out the fun-food roster. (The same goes for a second location near the FleetCenter.)

While its co-winner boasts a steely, high-tech look, the original John Harvard's Brew House aims for ye olde pubby ambiance. Its beers, too, are more conventional: bestsellers include the namesake pale ale; a smooth Nut Brown Ale for the bitter-shy; and an Irish Dry Stout for the bitter-happy, all of which pair nicely with authentic(ish) fare like potpie, meatloaf, and fish and chips. But there's no tradition so hallowed here as barely legal binge-drinking -- and none so sure to endure.

Boston Beer Works, 61 Brookline Avenue, (617) 536-BEER; 112 Canal Street, (617) 896-BEER. John Harvard's Brew House, 33 Dunster Street, Cambridge, (617) 868-3585.