On tap at Draught Industries, mellow dry-hopped gold-hazed NEIPA boasts clean floral-fruited zesting and lightly creamed vanilla sweetness to contrast white-peppered herbage and dank piney earthiness above its dry pale malt spine. Sedate sugar-spiced grapefruit, pineapple, orange and tangerine tang gains subtle lemon-dropped tartness to secure fruitful finish.
On tap at Beef Trust, bold golden-hazed tropical fruited IPA lets zestful lemony grapefruit sunshine and tart mandarin orange spritz brighten mildly bitter pepper-spiced piney hop resin. A citrus-crisped summertime refresher.
From the ‘freshly baked pale ale series,’ brisk banana cream pie knockoff allows lemony kaffir lime intrusion to outdo its pastry-like dessert sweetness and minor lactic acidity. Throughout, insistent lemon juicing relegates powder-sugared banana cream pie luster above mild honeyed wheat base.
Zestful aluminum yellowed lactobacillus-soured ale explodes with salted lime cologne barreling forth above tart lemon juicing and mild grapefruit sass. Heightened lime influence brings acidic sourness to the briskly clean citrus seltzer setting.
‘Sweet tart summer treat’ with milky amber-golden haze knocks off strawberry rhubarb pie with keen results. Salty orange-juiced strawberry souring, tart rhubarb compote nudge and polite green grape esters contrast sweet vanilla-creamed cinnamon toasting in moderate lactic setting. An off-kilter delight.
Fascinatingly designed magenta-bodied, pink-headed gose with sweet ‘n sour blackberry, blueberry and elderberry tartness picks up concentrated orange juicing over sea-salted coriander spicing in fizzy soda-like setting. Tangy berry mesh soon gains eye-squinting Meyer lemon peel bittering for further luster.
Thin pinkish amber Berliner Weiss with stilted raspberry tartness and zippy whiskey-barreled Ethiopian coffee adjunct lacks efficient flavor profile. Salted raspberry whimper dissipates as lemon-wedged coffee roast diminishes for aridly fizzed seltzer-like spurt. Oaken cherry, green grape esters, strawberry rhubarb and rosé wine nuances aimlessly flutter.
Like a brisk walk in the park, pleasantly crisp light-bodied pils (with white head over thin aluminum yellow haze) brings wet-grained minerality to sour lemon zest, musky chamomile herbage, yellow wood bark and sweet corn remnant. A refined draught pilsner.
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
Described as a ‘punk rock space’ with a serious ‘resignation theme,’ TWO WEEKS NOTICE BREWING COMPANY began operations about a year before opening its pub in West Springfield May ’19. Urging its minions to ‘quit what doesn’t make you happy or fulfilled,’ this unique bohemian outpost occupies a nondescript industrial storage container-fronted warehouse just a mile-and-a-half from the State Capital.
A black awning with white Two Weeks Notice insignia leads to the foyer entrance. In the low ceiling cement-floored main space, a beautiful blackened gray marble lacquered L-shape bar (with ten draught lines, Edison lights and prominent beer listing) consumes the right wall while a benched dining area and tented side deck provide seating.
A seven-barrel brewing system run by lankily musicianly head brewer, Mark Avery, is in the rear.
I stopped by on a rainy Wednesday afternoon late August ’20 to try two interesting one-off brews while picking up a few more for off-site consumption.
Easygoing New Zealand-hopped pale ale, Stealing Happy Hour, brought lactic yogurt-like souring to puckered guava-gooseberry tartness, tannic green grape esters and zesty yellow grapefruit bittering over delicate oats-flaked white wheat in a crystalline watercress setting.
A zesty lemon thrust blazed thru kettle-soured Severance Package #6, resembling a hard-candied watermelon Jolly rancher given orange-tangerine lollipop licks and mild vanilla-extracted bittering.
I quaffed the following super suds in can at home a few days hence.
Though TWN is currently out of flagship, Resignation, its other year-round India Pale Ale, West Side Rig Slide IPA, proved worthy. One of Two Weeks Notice’s best and boldest ‘hop-forward ales,’ utilizing Vic Secret, Citra and Motueka hops, its profound yellow grapefruit luster, oncoming passionfruit blast, juicy pineapple splatter and ripe orange tang gained sticky pine lacquered grain alcohol musk over super-sugary pale malt spicing.
Crisply clean light-bodied PTO Pilsner brought mildly tart lemon spicing and sweet corn-sugared crystal malting to a spritzy head in straightforward fashion.
Soft-toned citric farmhouse ale Punch Card Grisette retained a flattish dry mouthfeel for its tart raspberry adjunct, recalling a salty lemon-fizzed sour raspberry spritzer with mild barnyard acridity and latent cherry-cranberry riffs.
Unbalanced lawnmower beer, Perfect Review Batch #15 Kolsch, slapped vinous white-wined cider souring and wavered herb-spiced citrus tones above sourdough-breaded pilsner malts.
Crisply vigorous West Coast-styled Sticky Note Pale Ale allowed piney hop resin to usurp its dry juniper-nipped grapefruit and orange bittering.
Feathery Perfect Review Batch #17 IPA, a golden-hazed New England-styled charmer with lemony grapefruit-seeded bittering softly caressing tangy orange-spiced sugaring, let distant grassy-hopped cannabis oiling seep into the salty bottom of its fizzy placidity.
Pale aluminum-yellowed Fake Saturday Session IPA stayed crisply clean as brisk yellow grapefruit fizzing gained tingly mandarin orange snip and light white peppering over bready pilsner malting with affable light-bodied simplicity.
Ambitious dessert treat, Pink Slip Milkshake IPA, brewed with lactose and conditioned on mango-pureed strawberry, brought milk-sugared vanilla creaming to heavenly strawberry shortcake sweetness. its tart mango and strawberry adjuncts gained zesty tangerine, spritzy orange and tangy lemon cake splendor.
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.
EASTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS
In the same dusky warehouse facility as Abandoned Building Brewery and INSA marijuana dispensary, NEW CITY BREWERY began brewing Jamaican-style hard ginger beers in 2013 and opened this mill-based locale during 2015 before expanding its recipes to include non-ginger offerings. An inconspicuous black awning with white New City lettering fronts the red brick edifice housing this large microbrewery.
New City’s Cathedral ceiling, expansive dining space, aluminum-stooled L-shaped bar, oaken wood splendor and exposed pipes provide chilling rusticity. The community-tabled patio with red-stamped concrete floor offers plentiful outdoor seating. And the pavilion walkway and park behind the lot offers casual charm. I perused New City during August ’20.
Cane-sugared ginger sweetness received salted lemon-limed juicing for New City Hard Ginger Beer, attaching its initial bay-leafed gingered citrus rush to pineapple-splashed white pepper heat and recessive maple sapping for a nifty Jamaican ginger beer.
Ginger-spiced Moscow mule knockoff, New City Mule, retained a clean vodka nip in fairly authentic manner. Light white pepper heat lined the salty cocktail confection best served over ice.
Dry light-bodied wheat ale, Summer, let lemony mandarin orange subtlety coalesce with piney citrus-splashed effervescence, leafy hop foliage and tart apple-skinned quince blintz.
A fruitier version, Blood Orange Summer, embellished its adjunctive tart blood orange splash with perfumed tangerine musk, mild grassy hop astringency and dry pale malting.
Easygoing Berliner Weiss, Bramble Weiss, the ‘brewers fruitiest sour ale,’ leveled off spritzy raspberry and black cherry tartness for lemon-limed brambleberry sourness atop lightly salted white wheat malting. A positively laidback summertime soft drink.
Tart green grape esters gain sour lemondrop influence and grapefruit-pineapple-tangerine notions for Local Harvest Farmhouse Ale. But rustic herbal spicing and whiskey-soured cider slipstream falter at the wet-grained barnyard basin.
Sessionable Fenway Froth Session IPA gave its spicy grapefruit-peeled orange rind presence a bright floral bouquet, leaving piney Ekuanot hop resin to contrast the delicate crystal malt creaminess.
Equally approachable Citra-Mosaic-Simcoe-hopped Valley Flyer Hazy IPA brought tangy orange-peeled grapefruit zesting and advertised ‘clementine, apricot and papaya’ smidge to dry wood density and herbal respite in mildly bitter manner.
Tarry black-malted dark chocolate bittering paced Pioneer Valley Porter, leaving hop-charred blackstrap molasses, cinnamon bark and burnt walnut illusions to contrast less profound almond-hazelnut pasting.
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
In the heart of Pioneer Village’s capital city, WHITE LION BREWING COMPANY became Springfield’s first modern brewery in late 2020. Right off Route 90 in the rear of the UMass Center, this capacious sportsbar-like brewery is owned by local entrepreneurial publican, Raymond Berry, a well-respected urban revivalist.
Upon entering, White Lion’s extremely long left side bar services glass-windowed Main Street tables, a VIP lounge and a few chaired tables. Its silver-barreled platform brew tanks are set behind glass. Manned by skillfully rounded brewmeister, Mike Yates (formerly of Amherst and Berkshire breweries), this mass appeal upscale gastropub’s black art deco ceiling, exposed pipes and roomy elegance give the mall-bound joint a mod Industrial feel.
I bought a few White Lion offerings for the road during August ’20 – while the place was still getting finished for late autumn opening.
Flagship Citra-Mosaic-hopped 2.0 Pale Ale retained laidback grapefruit-orange tanginess and delicate quince-grape-melon hints for wood-dried grassy hop astringency above white breaded pale malting.
Sunny yellow grapefruit-embittered orange peel tang consumed juicy Galaxy-hopped medium-full body, Galaxy IPA. Briskly sharp citrus zesting gained dry pine-toned juniper bite to contrast spicy pale malt sugaring.
A wonderful collaboration with Trillium (brewed at White Lion), fudgy caramel-burnt cocoa nuttiness led the way for Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout, a toffee candied chocolate dessert with rummy bourbon vanilla specs and cinnamon-allspice-anise seasoning contrasting dark chocolate-y black coffee bittering.
Its flavor profile was amplified for adjunct-laden Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout (with Papua New Guinea Vanilla Beans) as dark chocolate-fudged vanilla bean creaming squared off against milk-sugared coffee surge as bitter tar-like hop char contrasted ancillary toffee spicing and peanut-oiled almond, hazelnut and coconut snips. (The Trillium brewed version is listed separately in Beer Index).