Breweries near Westford, MA and the beer we stock

A brewery is a place that makes beer, and you do not have to drive to a taproom to drink what it brews. CBC Liquors at 142 Littleton Rd in Westford carries beer from breweries including Schilling, Mast Landing, Night Shift, Jacks Abby, Toppling Goliath and Oxbow, so you can take the cans home.

What is a brewery, and how is it different from a taproom?

A brewery is where beer is made: grain is mashed, the liquid is boiled with hops, yeast ferments it, and the finished beer is packaged in kegs, bottles or cans. A taproom is the room where a brewery pours its own beer for people to drink on site. Many breweries have both, some only package and sell to stores.

That difference matters when you search "breweries". If you want a seat and a pint, you are looking for a taproom. If you want the beer itself to enjoy at home, at a cookout or at a friend's place, a store that stocks many breweries saves you the trip to each one.

CBC Liquors is a liquor store, not a brewery. What we do is put beer from many makers on one set of shelves, with 1,880 brands in stock across the shop.

Which breweries does CBC Liquors carry?

The makers we carry most of include Schilling, Mast Landing, Widowmaker, Foam, Finback, Jacks Abby, Night Shift, Toppling Goliath, Grimm, Sam Adams, Zero Gravity, Lamplighter and Oxbow.

Each name links to a page with that maker's beer in the shop. Stock changes, so the brand page is the quickest way to see what is on the shelf right now.

If you are after a particular brewery that is not on this list, ask at the counter or check the beer category, where the full range is searchable.

What styles of brewery beer can you find?

Brewery beer covers a wide spread. IPA is hop-forward and bitter to varying degrees, and it splits further into American IPA, which tends to be piney and citrusy, and New England IPA, which is hazy, juicy and softer on bitterness.

If you want something lighter, easy drinking beer and lager are crisp and clean. Lager is fermented cool and slow, which gives a smooth, plain finish.

On the darker side, dark beer includes stout, which usually brings roasted coffee and chocolate notes. There are also sour beer, Belgian style beer and speciality beer for when you want something outside the usual.

The Beer Styles collection groups these together if you like to browse by style rather than by maker.

How do you choose between breweries?

Start with the style you like, then try a second brewery making that style. Two IPAs from different makers can taste very different, which is the easiest way to learn what you prefer.

Cans from smaller craft breweries are often best enjoyed fresh, especially hoppy beers, because hop aroma fades over time. Keep them cold and drink them reasonably soon after buying.

If you are choosing for a group, pick a mix: one lager or easy drinking beer, one IPA and one dark beer covers most tastes. For a bigger gathering, the party planner is a good place to start, and our kegs page handles keg and special order requests.

Can you get brewery beer without leaving home?

Yes. Besides walking in, CBC Liquors offers pickup, delivery and shipping. Pickup runs the same hours as the shop: Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

Delivery hours are slightly shorter: Sunday 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM, Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM. Our delivery areas page lists where we go, and our shipping policy covers shipping.

Delivery and pickup are for adults 21 and over, and ID is required.

Which towns near Westford can you shop from?

We also serve Chelmsford, Carlisle, Littleton, Acton, Tyngsborough, Lowell, Billerica, Boxborough and Dunstable. Each has its own page, for example Chelmsford, Acton, Lowell and Littleton.

There are also pages for Groton, Concord and Ayer. If you live in one of these towns, the page shows how delivery works for you.

For more on our beer shelves, see beer in Westford and our page on craft beer and breweries near Westford.

What else do we carry besides beer?

Beer is one part of the shop. We also stock ciders, seltzers and ready-to-drink options, which suit people who want something other than beer at the same gathering. High Noon is one of the makers we carry in that space.

For spirits, we stock Tito's Vodka, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. For celebrations there is NICOLAS FEUILLATT Reserve Brut Champagne.

Needing something for mixing? Our mixers are stocked too. Across the shop we have 4,559 products in stock, and customers rate us 4.7 out of 5 from 339 Google reviews.