Where beer is born at Stone Path Malt

Date of Visit: November 24, 2021

I am not sure if we just aren't paying attention or if we are just railroaded into going to one restaurant and one restaurant only by my mom when we visit, but there is a hidden gem incredibly close to where my folks live that I had no clue about. 

Stone Path Malt Taproom in Wareham, MA

Stone Path is a malt distributor and they have a taproom where they feature beers brewed by their customers. So they aren't a brewer themselves, but super essential to the brewing process. 

If you're reading this blog, you know what malt is, but, if you stumbled upon this site somehow completely by accident, I recommend reading this write-up from Stone Path, and another good one by Allagash Brewing Company where the malting process is explained.

We arrived at 4pm, when they opened and came in to find the regulars already lined up and playing cornhole and ping pong. We met the owner and co-founder, Mark St. Jean. He was running the taps, greeting the regulars, and taking care of business. I don't usually seek out the management, but we seemed to grab his attention, and he was super friendly. We pointed through the woods to where my parents live and I had visions of my dad figuring out this place was within walking distance for him if he was feeling up to it, and him planting cheeks at the bar.

The taproom is in the front of the warehouse, where you can look straight back and see the giant stacks of malt packaged up in bags, and the shining steel silos or tanks where barley goes to be stored or malted (I'm not sure of the actual name of the containers) and the game area right in front of where the business action is. 

From left to right: Porter's Porter from Broad Brook; Moat Mountain Czech Pilsner; and South Coast Saison from Moby Dick Brewing Company.  Not sure why the glasses look warped, but I love this picture and think the shot just came out kinda neat! 

When I read on their site that they served the beers their customers made I initially thought maybe this was super nano or hobby brewers, like Joe's Basement Beer in Barnstable (making that up, of course)  

Thankfully, my brain was wrong. 

These are not hobby or basement outfit breweries. Stone Path features draft beers from a lot of breweries I've been to or have enjoyed their beers over the year: Jack's Abby, Moby Dick, Buzzards Bay, Aeronaut, and others (Tap list is here). Gotta admit this was much to my joy. I wasn't sure if I wanted hobby brew sampling time but I'm sure that would have been fun too. 

I had the Porter's Porter from Broad Brook Brewing, Suffield, Connecticut. It was a nice dark and bready porter - exactly as the name says it is a "porter's porter!" 

Doug had the Czech Pilsner from Moat Mountain and we both agreed was clean and crisp. 

Geoff got to enjoy a brew from Moby Dick Brewing that was not on tap when we visited there in June - The South Coast Saison. 

I also enjoyed the House Lager from Jack's Abby (pictured left). 

Back when I first started the blog we went to a couple of Beer festivals with Dave and Jack's Abby was always there. 

Here's a link to the Haverhill Beerfest Shenanigans we enjoyed, TEN YEARS ago!!!!  Find the picture of the dude in lederhosen, and there's your Jack of Jack's Abby (with Abby, naturally!) I have not made it a habit of going back and reading old posts, but knowing that at the time both Doug and Dave thought Smoke & Dagger was too smoky is kind of funny. Jack's Abby, according to their website, was founded in 2011, so we were enjoying their brews from the get go. 

The Jack's Abby Red Tape Lager was a really nice brew  Smooth and easy. Great offering from them. And unlike the Red Tape they had to cut through to open their brewery, this nice and easy version is a fantastic experience. 

Sadly, we never got to go to their taproom in Framingham when we lived in Massachusetts, and that's a regret. The beer and food menu look great. Love to see them still crafting great flavors and by all appearances doing really well. 

And we know where they get their malt! 

After a while, I was feeling incredibly wiped out due to a poor night's sleep (our dog was very anxious all night, and I was up with him for quite a bit of it). Doug and Geoff decided to go visit Lucky Goat in downtown Wareham and Buzzards Bay Brewing to continue their beer tour along the canal towns. 

I didn't go to Lucky Goat so I don't have a write up to share, and we've been to Buzzards Bay in the past. We did get back there on Friday night after a day touring around to see my mom's family. And because Buzzards Bay uses Stone Path, here are some pictures of beers I had on this visit that I didn't enjoy on the last visit, which you can read about here. 

Here is the Dumpling Rock Bock, which was great - and the video games behind it were not there when we came to visit in June. 

And here is "Boo" which was a wonderfully malty brew. Not listed on their website, I think this is a lager (if I recall, I should take better notes and not rely on the websites). I enjoyed this with some pad thai from the restaurant next door. Beer was far more flavorful than the dinner. I'm not usually disappointed by pad thai, but. This was not the best. 

We have become fans of Buzzards Bay, so I'm already looking forward to another visit back to Wareham for Stone Path and Buzzards Bay!