Phantom Farms Brewing – Cumberland, RI

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By New England Beer Buddy Beer Beer To Go Blog Breweries Craft Beer Craft Brewery New England Brewery Rhode Island Brewery Taproom July 7, 2024

The Rhode Island brewery scene sure is growing fast. For being such a small state we are seeing a good amount of new beer ventures opening up at an outstanding pace.. Some of these new beer halls have done so under the radar of a certain Beer Buddy.

While planning a get together with some friends I looked up what might be some new drinking spots in the Cumberland area I may not have known about. Low and behold, I found a new brewery that just opened a few months prior. With that knowledge, I pinned our destination and made my introduction to Phantom Farms Brewing.

Upon my discovery my initial thought was “The apple orchard opened up a brewery?” Phantom Farms has been a longtime, well-known staple in the Cumberland area for decades. Local developer Jason Macari purchased the orchard in 2022. Not long after Macari opened up a brewery, in the orchard’s name, at the historic, former power plant of Berkeley Mill. With his son-in-law Jay Neveu managing the brewery, Phantom Farms Brewing has become a family project that brings an additional and worthwhile beer stop to the area.

So let’s begin the journey!

If you haven’t navigated your way through Cumberland’s backroads, be prepared for some quick turns. Be sure to keep an eyes and ears on your GPS while viewing the scenic landscape. When approaching the mill area, pay close attention to the signs and entrance way.

Walking up to the entrance of Phantom Farms Brewing you are immediately impressed with the architecture of the two level building. A wide exposure of brick and black metal creates a nostalgic vision of an older mill outpost but with a very modern look.

You will also notice the small section of seating available outside, as you walk in, to enjoy an outside atmosphere during the sunnier days of summer.

Entering the vast taproom, you see plenty of seating. You’ll find tables and bar seating in the downstairs area, that is situated right next to the brewery system. Upstairs you find more tables which overlook not only the entire first floor but also the five strategically placed ten-barrel fermenters situated above the tanks. As with what you are to notice outside you will also see a beautiful brick backdrop inside along with wonderful wooden accents.

Beer can be ordered at a section of the bar to the far left towards the tanks. We were greeted by two friendly beer-servers who kindly allowed us some samples before making a purchase.

The space itself is impressive, sure, but how does a brewery ensure the beer they serve is equally phenomenal? You partner with phenomenal brewers, that’s what! Award winning brewers Oscar Garrido and Andrea Riera, a husband/wife team from Chile, relocated to Rhode Island and are now producing what is quite an impressive and eclectic menu of beers for Phantom Farms Brewing.

IPA, Pilsner, Bock, Cider, Stout and Wheat Beer are prominent throughout the beer list to give the adventurous person a selection of different styles to order.

To make sure I got to run the gambit of as many of their offerings as I could, in a responsible fashion, I mixed up having a few pints with a flight. The customer flight paddle was rather creative and made transport from bar to table quite easy. If I had to pick favorites, I was quite impressed with the Warp & Welt Black IPA, the In Chaos Bock and the Glacier Pilsner.

The absolute winner of the day had to go to the Moonshell Triple IPA. Filled with grapefruit and melon flavors, with a bit of an earthy funk, this amazing beer was a surprisingly easy drinker at 10% abv.

Being a namesake of the aforementioned apple orchard/bakery, I had to give the Caroline Cider a try as well. I found this to be simple, flavorful and quite a refreshing change from the other beverages I was having.

Aside from their tap list, Phantom Farms Brewing also has quite an abundant cans-to-go list as well. Curious of offerings that I did not get to try, I took home some packs of the Big Fish West Coast IPA and the Tropical Eden Double IPA. Big Fish was a good representation of the West Coast style with slight bitterness and a lime and grape flavor. Tropical Eden was certainly up to it’s name with a wonderful blend of coconut and orange notes.

No food made on premise yet (maybe down the road) but with a full calendar of food truck events scheduled, you will not have to worry about your appetites being unsatisfied while drinking.

With yet another brewery in Cumberland and not too far from other area establishments, Phantom Farms Brewing is a young brewery in the Blackstone Valley that will certainly become a beer lover’s destination. Not just when planning a beer tour but also when searching for a new place to grab a drink.

Unlike myself which was by chance, hopefully I was able to find this amazing new place for you!

Location: 30 Martin Street, Cumberland, RI, 02864

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