Tag Archives: SHELBURNE FALLS MA

FLOODWATER BREWING COMPANY

Floodwater Brewing Co - Shelburne Falls, MA

SHELBURNE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS

Alongside the banks of the Deerfield River and walking distance from the bucolic Bridge of Flowers, the village of Shelburne Falls’ FLOODWATER BREWING COMPANY opened on a weekly basis November 23, 2018. Beforehand, the rustic nano was a small tasting room.

Operated by long-time mad scientist, Zack Livingston, a veteran Control Engineer for green energy waste water treatment, Floodwater’s inspirational all-purpose entrepreneur enjoyed the brewing environment California’s highly regarded Bear Republic, Lagunitas and Firestone Walker provided while working out west.

Floodwater’s diminutive gray-walled barroom consists of an eight-seat L-shaped aluminum-topped bar containing six tap handles. There’s also a couch area (with small table) plus plastic and wood beach chairs strewn about. Stainless steel brew tanks are behind the bar and at the basement (where fermenting tanks and a canning line exist).

I visited Livingston’s retreat on a bright sunny day, July ’21, downing a terrific nitro stout and locally-sourced grain-billed NEIPA before taking home the sassy saison and mellow maibock also reviewed below.

Rustically tranquil, One Fuggley, an earthen Fuggle-hopped blonde ale, placed sharply prickled lemon lime spritz inside caraway-seeded rye breading, hay-like buckwheat grassing and dry wood tones, leaving wispily spiced dank floral aspect on the back end.      

Efficiently rounded farmhouse ale, Euro Step Saison, let white-peppered herbal spicing accept zesty lemon splurge, leaving barnyard-dried horse-blanket leathering to scour rosemary-sage-thyme seasoning and fern-like evergreen minting.

Easygoing summertime maibock, David Hasselhoff  (utilizing 100% Massachusetts grain bill), brought forth a lemon-daubed fruit bouquet to top its grassy-hopped herbage and maple honeyed Scotch malting, rendering ripe berry-cherry juicing.

Soft-toned Cyborg Joan, a dryer sessionable NEIPA, allowed lemony orange peeled oiling to soaked up tannic grape tartness, mild earthen herbal musk and bark-dried pine tones to its creamy crystal malt core.

As for dry Irish Extra Stout, No Hard Border, its creamy nitro froth brought espresso tones to nutty dark-roast coffee bittering and cocoa-powdered black chocolate chalking as floral-daubed Magnum hop black peppering seeped way beneath.