We want to take a minute and introduce everyone our newest hire, Greg Hartmann! We figured the best way to introduce him is to make him answer a couple of questions about himself – so here we go! What’s your role at Idle Hands?I am the assistant brewer/cellarperson. What were you doing before you started ... Read More
Idle Hands Craft Ales
Idle Hands Craft Ales is an American brewery from Malden, Massachusetts.
Our Belgian-inspired ales are developed among some of the finest breweries and craft brewers in the country. You may have tried these styles through other brewers, but we’re sure you will find that little something extra in our offerings. Choose from our regular line up of year-round offerings or from our seasonal and specialty releases.
Why Belgian Inspired?
Belgian beer dates back to the Middle Ages when it was only produced in monasteries. Over 500 years and 500 beers later, the depth and breadth of Belgian beers is tremendous with most of the popular styles and brands still brewed in Belgium. Today, Belgian beers are frequently paired with a variety of food offerings to complement and enhance the flavors of both.
As the rise of the craft beer and locavore movements coincide, we hope that Idle Hands becomes a local favorite and mainstay. We offer an array of Belgian beers to provide refreshment, complement a meal, and most importantly, keep those idle hands from making the devil’s playground!
Share:
Covid Update
To our loyal patrons and recent visitors to our tap room, we regret to inform you that we have experienced a couple positive COVID test results amongst our tap room staff. The 1st occurred on Dec 23 and another on Dec 25. Anyone who visited the taproom between Monday, Dec 20 and Friday, Dec 24 ... Read More
Bottom Feeders Society 2022
We are thrilled to bring back The Bottom Feeders Society in 2022. The Bottom Feeders is our Mug Club dedicated to the love of lagers. Membership is $100 and includes some incredible benefits that last for a full years that include being able to drink lager out of a custom 1 liter ceramic Maßkrug. Sign ... Read More
A Return to Normalcy
Recently, Governor Baker announced the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions starting on Saturday, May 29th. As such, we will be returning our tap room to its former glory starting on that date. What this means in a nutshell is patrons will now be able to be seated at the bar, tables will go back to ... Read More
Kill Your Idles: Undead Red Release
For the first time ever, Kill Your Idles: Undead Red will be released in cans. KYI: Undead Red is a sour beer with tart cherries and black currants. Undead Red will be available online for curbside pickup once it has been canned on 10/14. Orders can be placed at shop.idlehandscraftales.com Share: ... Read More
Covid 19 Update
To our most valued customers, we are announcing the closure of the Malden tap room for on premise consumption effective today (3/16) through April 7 in response to the COVID-19 crisis and requirements set forth by the commonwealth of Massachusetts. The tap room will reopen on Wednesday (3/18) for “to go” sales only on a ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Klara, A Dortmund Lager
The holiday grind continues here at Idle Hands Craft Ales as we make that last sprint to finish off 2019 strong. So busy, in fact, I did not get a chance to talk about the return of our Klara, a Dortmunder Export-style lager! It was released last Wednesday both on draft and in 4-pack cans ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Griselda
Hello folks, I hope your holiday was delicious and filling! However, we here have not stopped working in order to deliver several new beers this week. Yesterday we will be canned our beloved American Stout, Check Raise, and also a new iteration of our DIPA Splitter. This formulation of Splitter involves new yeast which turned ... Read More
The Bottom Feeders Society
Our first ever Mug Club has been launched and is for all the lager lovers out there. The exclusive club will be limited to 32 spots to start 2020. You can only sign up for The Bottom Feeders by visiting the Taproom. No orders will be accepted online or over the phone. How much does ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Funky Friday
Alright folks, it is that time of year again: Funky Friday! As is tradition, on Black Friday we will taping several Mixed-Fermentation beers. Typically Black Friday is a celebration of big, heavy, barrel aged stouts, which we equally love and adore. However, we figured that between all those desserty treats and the aftermath of the ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Change Up #18 – The Victors IPA
Hello folks! This week we are releasing Change Up #18, The Victors. Here we highlighted the source of the ingredients: all the malts and hops came from Michigan! Because of this intense Michigan focus, we felt compelled to release it near some of the big college football games and give a nod to University of ... Read More
BREWER’S SPOTLIGHT: FERMENTATION PART 3 – BEER FERMENTATION
Part 3Beer Fermentation In the previous two posts (Part 1 and Part 2), we discussed fermentation in general, and its role in human history. This week we will look at fermentation in the context of beer. Now, to be upfront, beer fermentation is an incredibly complex subject with lots of scientific jargon and concepts. As usual, ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Fermentation Part 2 – Fermentation and Civilization.
In Part 1 we began our examination of fermentation, what is it and how it happens. If you have not read it yet, check it out as we are picking up right where we left off! (Part 1 is available here) We learned that some of the earliest forms of life used fermentation as a ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Light/Dark Night
This coming Sunday we will be hosting an event called Light & Dark. We have been kicking around this idea for a long time, and it is exciting to finally see it come to light. The idea behind this event was to change the focus of the taproom experience. These days, breweries offer so many ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Change Up #17 Harvest of Hoppiness
It is time for another round of experimental IPA! While this is part of our Change Up series, we have found that simply numbering the beers makes it hard to remember what happened in each batch. Going forward we will be (attempting) to name these hoppy explorations to help give them a little bit more ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Katrin
This Friday we are releasing a special beer, Katrin, a new take on a Munich Helles. This beer was brewed in honor of my wedding last weekend, and I could not be happier to finally share it with all you wonderful folks. As some of you know, Idle Hands already makes a delicious Helles called ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Fermentation Part 1: Who are you and where do you come from?
More often than not, when discussing beers, we focus on the ingredients or the history of the style or what to expect for flavors. Though yeast may enter into that conversation, we still treat it as something static. But in truth, beer is not a constant; it is not the same as making a salad ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: 34
Amongst the many happenings in September, we especially love the return of our Robust Porter ‘34’, named in honor of David Ortiz. While the man himself is a legend, Porters are equally rich in legacy. Contradictory tales, misread documents, rumors of bartenders blending beers, the Industrial Revolution; it is a collection of shadowy myths and ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Clay 8th Anniversary Beer
Boy, oh boy is this a fully stacked week here at Idle Hands! We have got some massive events and beer releases coming your way; you may as well set up camp across the street. But among the chaos there is one beer I do want to make sure we talk about: this year’s Anniversary ... Read More
Brewer’s Spotlight: Brocktoberfest
Finally. It is that time of year again. The best season in New England approacheth. Crisp dry air, crackly leaves, fires, sweaters, that special sunlight and the best beer styles. Yes, I am talking about Autumn and the arrival of Pumpkin beers– …haha, nope. Just kidding, none of that happens here. No, I am talking ... Read More