TURNERS FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS
Inhabiting a blue-gray paneled river-bound shack in the village of Turners Falls, BRICK & FEATHER BREWERY started operations October ’15. Entrepreneurial husband-wife team, Lawrence George (experienced brewer formerly at Flying Fish and Berkshire Brewing) and Emily George specialize in “soft, rounded Belgian and American style ales” in a family friendly light Industrial environment.
Though Brick & Feather’s diminutive white-walled front pub contains only a few community tables and an L-shaped wood top bar in its aquamarine-walled setting, its cement-floored interior extends to an expansive stainless steel brew tank back space (with seven barrel system and canning line).
Right off the canal bike path at an olden bridge on the Connecticut River, B & F craft some of the best brews in the state. I bought five home brews on my July ’21 Pioneer Village journey.
Muskily dry yellow-cleared light body, Montague Gothic Kolsch brought champagne-licked green grape esters and wispily lingered herbal-tinged lemon rind bittering to cracker-like pilsner malts.
Musky straw-dried mineral graining and delicate floral herbage backed the brisk lemony hop fizz of Kitten With A Whip, a Bavarian-styled helles lager.
Lemony grapefruit salting spreads to tart green grape, guava and red berry illusions as piney herbal-hopped floral whims gather for Positively 11th Street, a dry-hopped pale ale.
Semi-sharp citrus spicing rode above dry pale malting for Scotland But Further, another dry-hopped pale ale. Lemony yellow grapefruit spritz mellowed out alongside mild mandarin orange tartness as lollipop-soured strawberry, peach and apricot illusions surfaced.
Exquisite hazy golden glowed Letters From Zelda, a zestful IPA, let pineapple-juiced orange peel tanginess settle alongside mild lemony grapefruit rind bittering and rustic pine resin.