BERNARDSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Overlooking Sugarloaf Mountain inside a former Harley Davidson shop at the tiny northern Massachusetts town of Bernardston, HITCHCOCK BREWING COMPANY enjoyed its grand reopening October ’19 after converting a barn to a nanobrewery at a different nearby location.

Now housed in a green aluminum-sided, tan brick-bottomed factory, Hitchcock runs a ten barrel farmhouse brew system. Many of their brews flirt with unconventionality while maintaining straightforward stylistic tendencies, especially the endless line of India Pale Ales.

A red umbrella-lined outdoor deck with gray pavers welcomes brewhounds to the midsize pub. A lacquer wood topped bar spreads across the middle of the pipe-exposed, black-ceilinged, epoxy-floored interior.

Rear brew tanks are stored across a small stage area and an overhead door gets utilized for deliveries and climate control.

An IPA-centric menu included four such ales alongside a brut sour, helles lager, witbier, kolsch and nitro stout.

My wife and I sank a flight of ten Hitchcock brews, July ’21.

Crisp breaded graining toasted Little Wizzer Helles Lager, an herbal Hallertau-hopped moderation with slightly green-peppered lemon spicing.

Herbal fungi musk saddled yellow-orange fruiting of Cascade-hopped Crossover Golden, a dry pale-malted light body.

French breaded spelt graining centered Isolation Kolsch, leaving herbal lemon flesh upon its maize-dried grist bottom.

Tangy orange-peeled banana and clove sweetness prodded Better Days Belgian White, a mildly soap-stoned moderation with wispy wheat spine.

Dry brut-champagned kettle sour slid pureed banana and salted strawberry tartness across lime-soured plantain smidge for Strawberry Banana Kettle Brut, caressing its delicate white wheat base.

Sour green grape tartness nipped mild lemon-peeled yellow grapefruit bittering for Single Bottom, a sunny Citra-hopped East Coast IPA.

Orange-dried lemon rot and dry honeyed black tea bittering anchored the floral-perfumed herbage of Double Bottom, a New England IPA with salty yogurt-milked guava and pineapple remnants.

Tropical fruited beige-marbled NEIPA, Wicked Yummy, brought orange peel zesting to limey yogurt-soured guava, green grape and gooseberry illusions and mild yellow grapefruit tang.

Yet another NEIPA, Galaxy Hopper 42, plied dry spiced lemony tangerine tang to pale malt sugaring in a conservative manner.

Nutty dark chocolate chalking and roasted coffee bittering anchored Nitro Stout, a traditional Irish stout.