Our Story

Established in 2012 you say?

Before opening our brewery and taproom in 2023, Portico was once a locally distributed brand founded way, WAY back in 2012. We started out as ‘contract’ brewers out of Watch City Brewing in Waltham, MA, later moving to Ipswich Ale – and distributed our kegs and bottles (bottles??!!) to local bars and retailers in the Greater Boston area. We poured samples of our beers at festivals an in-store tastings, getting the word out about beers like Fuzzy Logic (our first ever beer), Chroma, Escher and Two Point Pils, all of which we still brew today.

While operating Portico like this for many years, we were always on the lookout for locations where we could establish our own brewery one day. After a couple of attempts to secure a space in the competitive Boston real estate scene, we finally landed a space in Boynton Yards, Somerville, and the rest is history. 

What’s this ‘Portico’ thing all About?

Portico: In architecture, Portico means ‘a porch’ or ‘gateway’ to a building. We were inspired by both the Portico’s simplicity and universality, but also that it represented a gateway to craft beer. As architects might take a minimalist approach to a new design, we took the same approach to beer – not over cluttering our recipes with fancy ingredients, but instead making the goal be classic styles with approachable flavors.

With architecture in mind, we designed all of our own tap handles to look like miniature buildings – the first one being modeled after Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York. Today, we continue these traditions with hand-made Lego tap handles to mimic a city skyline and a dedication to brewing simple yet creative beers.