Former BLDG8 head brewer is opening a new brewery in the old Hitchcock location in Bernardston. https://www.masslive.com/entertainm...ncandescent-brewing-opens-in-bernardston.html
that's great news. perhaps an upside to all these recent closures is the availability of existing brewery space to up and coming brewers. I hope he's got some answers to all the challenges facing new small breweries.
I really really hope he brings back bldg8's IPA. Just about my favorite MA beer of all time. Although this new location is practically in Vermont, and at that point, I'd probably just go get heady topper
Saw some singles in a shop so picked up one of each of the NEIPA and WCIPA. The four packs had canning date stickers on them - one was from mid-January and one early February I think but I can't remember which was which now. I don't drink NEIPAs very often so grain of salt, but I thought this was really good. Soft but with a little bite. I was trying to think of a comparison while drinking it and I think if you put it side by side with a Fiddlehead, I would struggle to tell the difference. And I like Fiddlehead IPA so that's a good thing. Only difference being that I believe the 4-packs were priced at $16 or $17 when I can get a 12-pk of Fiddlehead (12oz) for ~$20. Good stuff though, will try to remember to report back when I pop the WCIPA.
I was really impressed with the WCIPA - not a "the ipa" clone like I'd speculated. I'll be drinking more of that for sure. Excited to see the space once the taproom is up and running.
Stopped in here for the first time last night. The pros: Nice people, decent crowd. Space looks good - not having ever been there when it was Hitchcock I'm not sure exactly what they've done but their IG shows they put a lot of work into sprucing up the appearance at least. Some large tables, high tops, and a couple of couches and sitting chairs if you want to get more comfortable. They let us bring some food in and said that was ok as long as their kitchen wasn't running or there wasn't a food truck on-site. Pretty good diversity on draft - couple of NEIPAs,, WCIPA, porter, pale ale, pils, kettle sour and I think I overheard that they were currently brewing a saison. The cons: Their IG had shown the draft board about a week before opening with half/full pours priced at $3.5/7 but it seems they updated that to 12oz/16oz priced at $6/8. I was looking forward to trying a couple of half pours but ended up just getting one porter instead (they do offer a flight for $10). Got kind of an iceman pour on the porter with no head whatsoever. It was decent but not as good as their hoppy stuff I've had in cans. Possibly a personal problem but the acoustics made it tough for me to follow the conversation at my table. Not sure how it's going to be when they have a band going in there but will probably be better once the weather improves and they can open some doors and windows. Overall a positive experience though and will try them again soon.
