A delayed but much anticipated beer garden opens today (Nov. 19) in Somerville’s Assembly Row. Somerville Brewing Company’s American Fresh Taproom will open to the public at 4 p.m. It will serve beer, sandwiches, and snacks, and will operate out of converted shipping containers. Somerville Brewing is the maker of Slumbrew beer.

The spot was originally scheduled for an August opening, which may have been a little bit more seasonally attractive for a beer garden. But a delay in the delivery of the shipping containers bumped things back a bit. There will be a heated tent covering the space for the winter, which will come off in April, according to Eater Boston.


The garden will give Assembly Row, the massive $1.5 billion redevelopment project in the northeast corner of Somerville, a little bit of local flavor. Assembly’s roster of shopping and entertainment tenants is comprised of national businesses. Its restaurant roster to this point has a little bit more of a regional flare, with Boston-based chain Legal Sea Foods running Legal on the Mystic, and the local Legendary Restaurant Group operating two properties, in Papagayo and Burger Dive. The Canadian chain Earls Kitchen + Bar is also in Assembly Row.

Somerville Brewing is expected to open its own full brewery in the Boynton Yards neighborhood before the end of the year, ending its era of contract brewing.