Tag Archives: WESTFIELD MA

BRIGHT IDEAS BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

Inside a red brick Industrial mall, BRIGHT IDEAS BREWING opened its original canary yellow-walled brewhouse in North Adams during 2016 (with a second taproom in nearby Westfield operating since 2023). A festive pub featuring a snazzy yellow-chaired covered deck that matches its illuminating yellow interior brick walls, the North Adams site at the Mass MoCa campus shines brightly.

Residing at the former Sprague Electrical Plant (closed 1984), Bright Ideas wood-topped 15-seat bar (with a dozen-plus hydrant-piped draught handles) services several Industrial metal-wood tables. Metal crossbars, exposed pipes and a few left-walled pews fill out the spiffy cement-floored beer factory.

My wife and I gathered at one of Bright Ideas pews on a Friday, March ’25, sinking nine while Squeeze’s “Pulling Mussels From The Shell” and other fine ’80s music played on. We even tried sweetish Afternoon T-Light Lavender & Lemon, a butterfly pea flowered hard seltzer.

Mild Czech pilsner, Czechs Out, a clean bohemian lightweight, placed spritzy Saaz-hopped lemon fizz atop rice-sugared pilsner malting.

A navel orange spritz surfaced for sweet amber grained Czech lager, Fortune’s Favor, bringing subtle caramelized fig to its mild tobacco-crisped barley roast.

Dewy peat-mossed extra special bitter, Winter Study, an English-styled pub ale brewed by Williams College students, sported mild cocoa resonance and a slight orange splash.

Another dewy choice, modest Munich-styled dunkel, Weisse Drunkel, sprayed mild orange zest across barren banana-clove sweetness and wispy plum-raisin snips in a light caramel malt setting.

Moderately acidic kettle-soured variant, Sour Splash – Apricot, let salty lemon-limed apricot puree engage light herbal misting and acidulated wheat.

Sunshiny yellow grapefruit and sweet orange-peeled lemon zest awoke splashy New England IPA, Undercast, leaving minty evergreen freshness on its lightly creamed oats base.

Rummy banana puree linked Belgian pale ale, 589, to honeyed green tea, tart mandarin orange, sweet floral spicing and lacquered peach illusions.

To the dark ales. Soft-tongued Irish nitro stout, Lark And Lion, raised lightly creamed dark chocolate nuttiness above mossy barley roast.

Mildly fudged Imperial milk stout, Aztec Winter, a milk-sugared Mexican hot cocoa derivative, pinned cinnamon-spiced ancho chili peppering to minty dark chocolate, picking up tertiary maple molasses, black cherry and salted caramel swipes.

TIN BRIDGE BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

Down an alley path from Westfield’s gigantic beer-centric Super Phipps Liquors lies the rustic professional gray-blue building housing TIN BRIDGE BREWING COMPANY. Opened November 2017 and operated by homebrewing Westfield-bred brothers, Joe and Nick Cocchi, the inconspicuous pub crafts a diverse range of sassy suds such as the creative fruit ales and specialty stouts on hand for my Saturday noon time March ’25 Saturday trip. The expansive recipes are more hit than miss and usually somewhat opulent flavor-wise.

Tin Bridge’s tucked-away, concrete-floored tavern features a tan concrete-topped, 20-seat bar with 12-plus draught handles and slat wood paneled back wall. There are four hardwood community benches across the bar plus several TV’s, arcade games and a shuffleboard table providing a sporty atmosphere. Tin-covered lamps, exposed pipes and electrical wiring hang from the black aluminum ceiling.

Murky dry-bodied lager, Towny, let desiccated lemon, mild floral herbage and slight vegetal whim reach dank raw-grained maize astringency.

A dryer hefeweizen, Stairway To Hefen placed lemony herbal musk above stylish banana-clove sweetness while its cracked wheat spine laid barren.

Mellow hazy New England-styled Session IPA utilized 100% Galaxy hops to let brisk citrus-spiced passionfruit tropicalia to spread above mildly creamed oats base. A the finish, delicate yellow grapefruit and orange rind bittering bubbles up.

Another Galaxy-hopped moderation, spritzy mauve-hazed NEIPA, Blood Orange, regaled sweet orange-peeled tangerine tang and light herbage over dry pale malts.

Hazy fruited pale ale, Peach Jalapeno, soaked peach pureed tartness in mild roasted jalapeno heat, picking up sweet green peppering.

Another ‘fruited tart’ ale, Imperial Peach Cobbler, sprinkled rummy brown-sugared cinnamon atop marshmallow-fluffed peach pureed pie crusting.

Yet another hazy ale, Pineapple Cinnamon Cheesecake, a confectionery liquid dessert, stuffed pineapple pureed cheesecake with sweet cinnamon spicing and lightly perfumed vanilla bean musk.

Tangy raspberry puree gained sour-candied jellybean tartness and lemon verbena herbage for Raspberries n’ Cream, a marshmallow-fluffed, vanilla-beaned fruited sour.

Heady (8.5% ABV) Imperial Stout, Toasted Coconut, draped toasted coconut shavings with bourbon vanilla sweetness.

Just as intoxicating, confectionery pastry stout, Cookies ‘n Cream, invited fudgy Oreo cookie creaming to bittersweet vanilla beaning and unexpected black cherry swipe.

SKYLINE BEER COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Brew Dog of the Month: Vic of Skyline Beer Company | Mass Brew Bros

WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

Bringing ‘good vibes’ to the Bay State’s Pioneer Valley, SKYLINE BEER COMPANY began slingin’ suds in Westfield during December 2019. A cafeteria-styled tan paneled refuge perfect for families and friends as well as voyaging beer aficionados, Skyline’s rangy brewpub offerings go well with casual pub fare.

Previously, Skyline operated in downtown Westfield, converting a 32-seat coffeeshop into a craft beer bar carrying the best local beers and selling beer supplies. At this friendly epoxy-floored farmhouse outpost, the quaint pine-barked polyurethane bar (with top shelf liquor competing with 12-plus taps) services three windowed corner pews, two large community tables, a right side dining area and spacious outdoor deck. Spiffy orange-red-floored brew tanks regale the rear and stakes were placed where the inevitable backyard expansion will begin.

Head brewer Dana Bishop concentrates on more traditional styles such as pilsners and stouts while assistant Lisa Pac pushes for ‘outta the box’ sour ales – kinda going outside Bishop’s comfort zone. Meanwhile, experienced chef, Dan Osella, delivered delicious wings and a marvelous Caprese sandwich to my wife and I during our late August ’20 dinnertime sojourn.

Happily, we discovered twelve irresistible brews, well-balanced and creatively detailed, before heading out.

Brusquely musky moderation, Noble View Pilsner, retained earthen grain must for its mild herbal-tinged lemon pith bittering expiditiously.

Maize-dried lemon rot scoured lagered yeast moderation, Landscape Kolsch, leaving a barnyard-leathered Noble hop kale trail.

Clean-watered pineapple puree briskness embellished citric Mosaic hop sunshine and piney Eldorado hop resin for Summa Slammah Pale Ale, brightening its sweet ‘n sour pineapple tartness with tangy lemon-peeled grapefruit zesting.

Tart lemon-swirled raspberry pureed fruit ale, Raspberry Jam, gathered green grape, cranberry and oaken cherry souring to elevate its candied raspberry theme over delicate white wheat malts.

An even fruitier experience, Strawberry Fields, spread tart strawberry jam atop cinnamon apple sweetness, cranberry bittering, boysenberry buttering and Graham Cracker sugaring.

Soothingly tropical-fruited Imperial IPA, Cobble Mountain Critter, allowed dry-hopped grapefruit-peeled orange zest to enrapture spiced peach-mango sweetness as dank hemp resin spread across its grassy basin.

Brilliant NEIPA, Fire, amplified zesty lemon luster and grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering above mild pale malt sugaring, relegating its sour strawberry rhubarb tinge.

Fabulous Pina Colada knockoff, Escape IPA – Milkshake, brought mild lactic souring to salted lemony pineapple and coconut puree tartness as well as pink guava snips, rummy Margarita licks and resinous pine tones in a creamy vanilla setting.

Subtle blood orange tartness picked up spritzy lemon-limed salting for Margarita-soured Berliner Weiss, Blaze Orange, a gently woodruff-syruped cocktail.

Lemon-limed white wining absorbed raspberry vinaigrette acidity and dry limestone salting for beet red-marbled Triple BerryTrail Mix, a fruited sour ale with tertiary blueberry tartness and hard cider bite.

Dry Irish “Goodbye” Stout let coffee-stained dark chocolate, cocoa and carob pick up lightly walnut-seared hop bittering and raw-honeyed oats toasting.

Bitter coffee-induced dark chocolate black malting gained brown-sugared maple oats sweetness for Bumby’s Black Oat Imperial Stout, grafting hop-charred nuttiness onto its mocha-spiced finish.