About a week ago, I decided to drop into one of these scenes, feeling like a 1979 rubbernecker trying to catch a glimpse of Debbie Harry outside Studio 54. My initial plan had been to visit Trillium, a white-hot Boston brewery with a downtown (Fort Point) HQ. Some unpleasantness intervened (hey, nice Virginia-plated rental; shame if anyone towed it) and we didn't make it. Instead we went to merely red-hot Bissell Brothers following a loop through Maine. (Were it in downtown Boston rather than outer Portland, it would also be white hot.)

What follows is a simple tour of things as I found them, mostly photographic. The idea of standing in line for beer is bizarre to me. It's especially bizarre for beers one can readily find on tap nearby. After this visit, Sally and I stopped into Salvage Barbecue near the brewery, where we found their flagship The Substance, which sold out in minutes at the brewery, on tap. In Boston, you can find Trillium pouring near the brewery at the Boston Greenway.

I polled my New England inlaws about this, and their theory had to do with status. I pass this along as one possible reason for this phenomenon--though it's one New Englanders may not find flattering. My in-laws are New England born and bred and have lived in the Boston area for decades, though, so I trust their judgment more than my own. They said owning rare things in the status-conscious city was a big deal. One offered an example about some particular silver bracelet that's wildly popular right now as an analogue to the rare-beer thing. Whatever the reason, it's a real deal. There are tons and tons of superb IPAs to be found in the region, but only a few breweries command the kind of lines we saw.

I will also add that, to their credit, everything about the Bissell Brothers struck me as transparent, authentic, and good-hearted. They have original loose-leaf recipes lacquered onto the walls of the men's room, which is the opposite of secretive. The line was perhaps 150 feet long when we arrived, and we had our four-pack within 20 minutes. They seem to genuinely want to serve their customers, and I suppose it's not their fault they've become this crazy status symbol. So, anyway, here's what it's like to visit the Bissell Brothers on any given Saturday.