Happy Brewsday and welcome to the first edition of The Bottle Cap Bulletin! Each month, this space will feature news, highlights, recaps, and tidbits from the world of craft beer in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. If you like what you see and aren’t yet a subscriber, you can sign up below to ensure next month’s bulletin is delivered straight to your inbox.

February highlights

Proclamation Ale Co. in Warwick, RI celebrated its 10th anniversary with a full week of activities Feb. 20–25. From collabs and guest taps to scratch tickets and Plinko, one of the Ocean State’s OGs certainly still knows how to party.

Meanwhile, Buttonwoods Brewery shared a much anticipated update about their upcoming move to Providence. The move was first announced following the brewery’s sixth anniversary in December, but details have been sparse. Keep an eye on the socials (and this website) as more news is expected soon.

Vitamin Sea Brewing teamed up with Salt & Oak Brewery, the internet’s hottest new brewery, to release a brand new beer poured exclusively at Beerscovery’s Too Hot for Gram 3 beer festival in Hatfield, PA, Saturday, Feb. 24. Sea Salt is a 6.8% ABV NEIPA hopped with Citra and Simcoe, capturing the essence of Salt & Oak’s flagship IPA Cat Pissy. Catch up on Salt & Oak’s recent accolades and why choosing Vitamin Sea made for the perfect pair for this collab.

Speaking of pairs, a pair of statewide craft beer weeks kick off this week. Rhode Island Craft Beer Week begins March 1 with Mass Beer Week right on its tail, beginning March 2. There are lots of special events, releases, and swag to be enjoyed while celebrating local craft beer.

First round’s on me

Both states continue to welcome new breweries, with three just opening in our coverage area this month.

Harper Lane Brewery officially opened in Middleborough, MA, in the final week of January, but I’m adding them here because this was an opening I had been looking forward to for years! I spent a good chunk of my childhood in Middleborough and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Mike since the early days of this website, so it was incredibly satisfying to see this spot come to fruition and add to the up-and-coming charm of the town.

In Plymouth, MA, Untold Brewing opened a lovely taproom in what’s quickly becoming the hottest craft beer town in southern Mass. They’ll soon be joined by Vitamin Sea’s second location later this year.

Just over the border, Phantom Farms Brewing opened in Cumberland, RI. The taproom was jamming over two weekends for the not-so-secret soft opening and the grand opening the following week. The Ocean State is now just shy of 40 breweries!

Last call

Unfortunately, the first two months of 2024 have also brought news of several brewery closings. In late January, Article Fifteen Brewing in Rockland, MA announced they’d be shutting their doors for good. The brewery originally opened in Weymouth, MA in 2017 before moving to Rockland in the summer of 2022. 

Then last week, just weeks after opening their Plymouth location, Untold Brewing announced their Hingham location would be closing at the end of the month. Their taproom at the Derby Street Shops opened in 2017.

Finally, while the North Shore isn’t quite in our traditional coverage area, Anonymous Brewing in Rowley, MA announced this week that they too are closing at the end of the month after just over two years at that location. I had the opportunity to get an anonymous beer delivery back in 2018 while the duo were still homebrewers looking for a place to set up shop. I wish the team all the best in whatever they plan to do next, which they’ll be talking to more in the coming weeks.

Favorite beer of the month

Silmo Coffee Milk Stout from Moby Dick Brewing Co.

This beer was a limited, small-batch stout clocking in at 5.2% ABV only available on draft at Moby Dick Brewing’s Downtown New Bedford brewpub. It featured New Bedford’s own Silmo Coffee Syrup which gave it a nice coffee flavor that really was more reminiscent of coffee milk than a traditional coffee stout.

That’s it for this month! If you liked what you read, consider signing up to get next month’s bulletin delivered right to your inbox. If you’re already subscribed, please consider sharing with your drinking buddies.