The Boston Brewing Company (Sam Adams) put Boston on the beer map in the late 1980s, and regional powerhouse Long Trail followed not long after.  Lesser known Cambridge Brewing Company also started in the late 1980s, and went on to influence countless local startups such as Vermont darlings Hill Farmstead.  And while the Boston beer scene largely languished during the the late 90s and 2000s, it has once again awoken and begun to flourish, with vibrant and daring beers coming from downtown and the immediate north.