Nine Famous Beverages You Might Not Know Come from Massachusetts

Massachusetts is famous for a lot of things and unique foods that come from the Bay State certainly top the list. But what are you going to wash those foods down with? Beverages from Massachusetts of course.

Just as certain foods like clam chowder and Boston Cream Pie are synonymous with Massachusetts, there is an abundance of beverages that got their start here in the Commonwealth. So many of these drinks are popular with locals, but many of them reach consumers well beyond Massachusetts.

From dairy to soft drinks, and some of the oldest beer in the country, Massachusetts is home to many delicious beverage companies.

Moxie

First manufactured in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1876, Moxie is billed as the first carbonated beverage made in America. The sweet soda has a flavor similar to root beer, with a bitter aftertaste. Its flavor comes from gentian root extract, an extremely bitter substance commonly used in herbal medicine.

Sam Adams

Samuel Adams, a beer named after Adams, is said to have inherited his father's brewery on King Street (modern-day State Street) in Boston. The company was founded by Jim Koch in Cambridge, MA, out of his home. In the 1980s Koch found his grandfather's lager recipe in the attic and used that as the basis for Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

Polar Beverage 

Polar Beverage is located in Worcester, MA, and is the country’s largest independent soft-drink bottler. Founded in 1882 and originally produced seltzer, ginger ale, mineral water, and even alcohol, although the latter ceased after the Prohibition of the 1920s. It has since opened various plants, springs, and warehouses in Spencer, Boston, Springfield, and Hartford, CT.

Harpoon Brewing

Dan Kenary, Rich Doyle, and George Ligeti founders of Harpoon Brewing were always passionate about beer and wanted to bring the craft beer market they discovered while traveling in Europe to Boston. In 1986 the Harpoon Brewery received Brewing Permit #001 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Garelick Farms 

In 1931, Israel and Max Garelick borrowed $10,000 to buy a farm in rural Franklin, Mass. They initially bought and sold cattle, but soon grew to milking cows and selling milk and the company has been providing New England and beyond with dairy products ever since.

Ocean Spray

Ocean Spray is co-op of cranberry (and grapefruit) famers, headquartered in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. In 1930, founders Marcus Urann, John Makepeace and Elizabeth Lee released their first product, Jellied Cranberry Sauce and within its first decade, Ocean Spray became the first producer of cranberry juice drinks.

Nantucket Nectars

Nantucket Nectars is a beverage company created by Tom First and Tom Scott, which began as a small business selling a variety of items to yachts in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Eventually, they began selling juice blends that were originally sold for $1 from recycled wine bottles.

Hood

In 1846 after two years of delivering milk for other farms, Harvey P. Hood decided to start his own business in Charleston, Massachusetts. Since then the company has expended from milk to all dairy products and more and distributes all over the U.S.