Building 8

Got a single, this was a sweet flabby mess.

 

I got a four-pack of tallboys at CBC Belmont earlier in the week. It was OK... not great. Lots of bitterness and something of a plastic-y taste to it. Disappointed; I'd heard that on tap it's magical.

 

I was given a 4 pack of the IPA in early May, underwhelming. Still have 2 if that tells you anything.

 

Definitely tasted the difference between the onsite tap and the cans, but worth visiting for any New Englanders in the area. Brick and Feather and Honest Weight are both close off Rt 2 and the drive along the river is magnificent. Bldg8 is unique in that they don't bottle or fill growers but have a small canning line, so perhaps they're experiencing growing pains. Canning seems like the harder of the three to pull off effectively. But that taste from the tap! So good, and the people were great.

 

Also to keep in mind - BLDG8 is clearly not aiming for the characteristics of dat trendy New England IPA, so much as making what strikes me as an excellent west coast style. Up-front and bitter yet delicious hop profile, not the soft and pillowy thing.

I second Brick & Feather and Honest Weight. In Absentia and Letters from Zelda are borderline TH juice bombs, and Honest Weight has killer hoppy pale ale (Branch Bridge) and do a great job with saisons.

 

Stopped here on the way back from VT. They had Session IPA and IPA on tap. Buddy and I liked both. Bought 4 pack of each and have had a can of each since. I thought they were both very good beers (can and taster off the tap). Not in the style of what we think of as a New England IPA these days, but not everything has to be.

 

Never heard of these guys and didn't <initially> see anything on a forum search, but CBC Belmont has some 16 oz 4 packs of their IPA on the shelves (in the cooler no less!). Apparently it's not even distributed yet but they got some direct from the brewery in Northampton.

Anyway, it's pretty damn good. Definitely one of the better blind purchases I've made in a while. I'd say it's comfortably a NE IPA, but it's a lot closer to Heady Topper than Julius. Great nose, but it's got some bitterness and pine, and it's not quite as soft as some. It's a bit steep at $15 but hopefully that might come down a little with distribution (probably not).

 

Was $13 at the brewery on Saturday.

 

Ya it goes for around $13-14 in Western Mass. I'd say it's made in the same vein as Be Hoppy, but that's just my opinion.