By Molly McDonough · 09/14/2018
Even if you haven’t visited Night Shift’s Everett or Lovejoy Wharf outposts, you probably recognize its sketched owl logo. That symbol—an homage to the brewery’s beginnings when the founders worked day jobs and brewed nocturnally—graces the 16-ounce cans that are now ubiquitous throughout town.
While you can find Night Shift’s canned staples all over the place (like the ultra-crushable, refreshing Whirlpool and the roasty, Counter Culture coffee-spiked Awake porter), it’s well worth heading to either source to sample much more. At the brewery’s new West End location on Lovejoy Wharf, up to 30 varieties are offered from rotating taps and a full kitchen turns out meals spiked with house beers. (Early risers can sample Night Shift’s house-brewed coffees starting at 6 a.m.) But there are still many reasons to head back to the OG brewery across the water in Everett, from trivia and yoga classes to tours and a friendly BYOF policy. In warmer months, the Everett patio is the place to while away weekend afternoons sipping on suds and snacking from a food truck—or head to an “Owl’s Nest,” one of Night Shift’s two seasonal popup beer gardens on the banks of the Charles River (one is on the Esplanade; the other is at Allston’s Herter Park).