Imported Lagers

It’s known for its cream pie and beans — but what about Boston’s beer?

While Canadians have often shunned American suds as being too watery, craft brewers here are passionate about what they do and beer lovers are rewarded with unique and flavourful pints.

If you only have time for one stop while you’re in the city, Harpoon Brewery (harpoonbrewery.com, 306 Northern Ave.) near the airport should be your destination. During the week, staff host one-hour tastings (4 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays) and on weekends, tours are held every half hour (11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday). The tastings are free, but a donation is recommended, while the tours are $5.

Both give you a taste of the brewery’s UFO (unfiltered offerings) beers as well as several seasonal taps.

That includes the UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen, which some men shy away from because it tends to be pink. But Harpoon’s assistant visitor manager Shawn Moore said that shouldn’t stop you.

“Man up and try a new beer,” he said, pouring suds for visitors during a tasting session.

He added people who normally shun ciders may want to rethink that. They use local products for their beers — including apples from Harvard, Mass.

“It just tastes like apple juice,” Moore said. “It’s very sneaky.”

Perhaps the most famous beer in Boston is Samuel Adams (samueladams.com, 30 Germania Street). There is a small facility in the south-end of the city and it’s easy to get to on transit — just follow the signs. Tours are Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tours start every 45 minutes and last about one hour. A $2 donation is recommended.

If you’ve been on a brewery tour before, you won’t learn anything new. But, at the end of the three-room tour, you will have the opportunity to try beers you can’t get in Canada, so it’s worth the trip. The one-hour tour is free, but they do ask for donations which go to charity.

If you want some food to go with all that beer, Boston boasts a number of brewpubs as well.

After a quick trip across the Charles River into Cambridge, you’ll find John Harvard’s Brew House (johnharvards.com, 33 Dunster St. in Harvard Square) near, not surprisingly, Harvard University. While some of the beers are mainstays, like the pale ale, most of the taps change every two weeks. The brew pub, which offers pretty standard fare on the menu, has a good mix of different beers as the brewers use 250 recipes to create the constantly rotating suds, including cask-conditioned ales.

There is also the Cambridge Brewing Company (cambrew.com, 1 Kendall Square), located down the street from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pints are reasonably priced and the brewers use local products, including hops grown on their own patio.

Beer Works (beerworks.net) has two locations in Boston — one right outside Fenway Park (61 Brookline Ave.) and one a little more than a kilometer northeast of Boston Common (112 Canal St.). This brewpub is great for two reasons: There are 10-plus beers on tap at any given time and if you get the sampler racks of four beers, you get a handy ‘tasting mat’ to make notes. Looking for just a snack? Get the onion rings.

Tours and Tastings

— Harpoon Brewery, 306 Northern Ave., harpoonbrewery.com. Weekday tastings. Donations encouraged. Sampling of Harpoon and UFO Beers in the Tasting Room Mondays and Tuesdays at 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Weekend tours, $5, includes souvenir glass. Tours every half hour from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and hourly tours Sundays, from noon to 3 p.m.

— Samuel Adams, 30 Germania St., samueladams.com. Suggested donation: $2. Tours and tastings every 45 minutes Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (last tour). Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

— John Harvard’s Brew House (johnharvards.com) and Cambridge Brewing Company (cambrew.com) are brew pubs and don’t offer tours. Boston Beer Works (beerworks.net) does not give official tours, however you can get a lesson in the brewing process from staff.