Wormtown Brewery at Patriot Place, Foxborough MA

22 March 2025

If you haven’t been to Patriot Place before (and I hadn’t), it’s right next to Gillette Stadium and is surrounded by ample parking. I wouldn’t want to be here on a game day, but there was no problem the day we went. It’s not a huge place, though, so I imagine it is standing room only when the crowds show up.

I had two flights — each described left-to-right — along with tastes of a couple of other beers and some lunch. Food was a chili dog and it was pretty decent, but there’s no photo of it as I clearly was more focused on eating at that point than paying attention to my assignment! I started with one of their “classic” beers — the Irish Red Ale — and three “taproom exclusives:”

Xtreme Haze – NEIPA, 6.5% – This was very pleasant but definitely a middle-of-the-road beer; there wasn’t anything to either stand out or detract from its enjoyment. With a touch more flavor, this could have been my favorite of the day. Even as it was, I would have taken a 4-pack home with me if they had offered this one in cans.

Irish Red Ale – Red Ale, 5.5% – It’s such a beautiful color and the flavor was good, but I’m not a big fan of red ales in general and while I do sometimes run across one I love, this wasn’t quite it. In retrospect, it was a little dry for my taste.

Dulce de Leche Porter – Baltic Porter, 9% – It was a simple matter to identify my least favorite of these four — this one! They certainly hit the mark with Dulce de Leche flavor, but the sweetness was totally overpowering. It was a lot of work to finish this small pour; I could never have handled a full 13oz glass.

Schwarzbier – Schwarzbier, 5% – Their description says this is “the color of a stout with the body of light lager” and that describes it well. There was a touch of both chocolate and coffee in it, and it was pleasant to drink. It wasn’t my most favorite of this style — I still have fond memories of a now-closed German restaurant that always had Köstricher Schwarzbier on draft — but it beat the pants off that porter.

For the second flight, I decided to try the other four “classic” offerings from their taplist, all IPAs:

Don’t Worry – NEIPA, 5.8% – They call this their “take on the Right Coast IPA” but I’d only say this was my third favorite from this flight. For me, there wasn’t enough flavor to balance the hop bitterness.

Be Hoppy – American IPA, 6.5% – This is their “Left Coast IPA” which they claim has a “well-balanced bitterness,” but for me, it was extremely bitter. It would have been better with food than on its own.

Be Smooth – NEIPA, 6.8% – Of all the beers I tried, this was the one I chose to take home with me. Given more time, I would have liked to taste this one side-by-side with the Xtreme Haze to see which I would consider the winner, but this one is definitely a smooth and flavorful choice and I’ve enjoyed every can as much as the original glass.*

Buddha’s Juice – Imperial IPA, 9.5% – This was definitely one of the top 3 beers I had on this visit. I would have liked a bit more sweetness to offset the alcohol taste, but that wasn’t a deal breaker and I did come close to taking a 4-pack of it with me.

The other two beers I tried were, along with the Dulce de Leche Porter, my least favorite of the visit:

Sealed with a Smile – Red IPA, 6.3% – Leaving aside the discordant view of a distinctly red beer calling itself an IPA, the taste didn’t work for me. This was a very dry beer, even drier than most Irish Stouts. It was unfortunate because this was brewed for a good cause, supporting local non-profits, with $1 from every pint sold being donated.

Sweetheart Sour – Sour, 7% – I just cannot decide whether this or the porter were at the bottom of my favorites list, but here’s their description: “A delightful dance of tart raspberry, zesty lime, and a surprising touch of sweet cotton candy.” The raspberry and lime came through in the initial taste and worked well together, but the cotton candy taste on the back end was more than just a “touch” — it was positively overpowering and turned what could have been a pleasant sour into an unpleasant memory.

If I return, I’ll be drinking the Be Smooth along with trying whatever Taproom Exclusives they have at the time (as long as they aren’t the ones I know I don’t like). It wasn’t my favorite place, though, so it will be awhile before I make it back.