Sunday, October 20, 2024

While enjoying ourselves at Brick and Feather Brewery in Turners Falls, MA on Sept. 22 we spent a few minutes making some tentative selections for the next couple of months. One of our selections for October was Bright Ideas Brewery in Westfield, a satellite location to their original location in North Adams, MA. Today turned out to be an ideal opportunity to check this out because of the beautiful weather in the 70's and determining that the Williamsburg brew pub we also considered for October was not yet open to the public. Located in the vicinity of Barnes Air National Guard Air Base, Bright Ideas Brewery in Westfield is the closest one to my home in Southampton. It turned out to be a very good selection.

Bright Ideas Brewery

109 Apremont Way, Westfield, MA 01085

westfieldtaproom@brightideas.beer 

413.579.5339

Bob at the entrance. We arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon.

From Bright Ideas Webpage

Our second taproom that opened in 2023 is located nearby to the airport where Routes 90 and 91 intersect. With the brewhouse situated directly in the taproom, guests have the opportunity to see our brewing team in action or check out our games room, our more intimate hang out nook, or our outdoor space with plenty of picnic tables.

Founded in 2016 on the campus of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Bright Ideas Brewing started with a simple goal: to provide great beer to museum-goers and North Adams locals alike, creating a common space where the two groups could connect.

Since then, Bright Ideas has grown and evolved, with every batch of beer aiming to improve on the one that came before. The reach of our beers expanded when we began canning and distributing our beers to local restaurants and package stores around western Massachusetts.

We’re looking to the future here at Bright Ideas Brewing. Over the next year, we are planning to expand our beer production operations. Stay tuned as we share more news about the future of Bright Ideas.

Lisa and I outside where we only lasted a few minutes.

The beer list was quite extensive and Finn, our tap-tender, answered our questions. Our first round consisted of -

Bob - Czechs Out Pilsner Pilsner - Czech 5.7% ABV. My favorite of the day.

Lisa - Köld Kölsch 5.2% ABV 

Kelley - Show of Force IPA - New England 6% ABV

Our second round -

Bob - Köld Kölsch 5.2% ABV 

Lisa - held off as our driver

Kelley - Undercast IPA IPA - New England 7.2% ABV. She like her first choice a bit better, but both were good.

Full list of beers available the day we visited may be found further down.

Outside picnic tables and seating (and Lisa's partial shadow LOL)

We tried the outdoor seating first but were soon bombarded by bees that were extremely interested in our refreshments. We had to escape inside. Only a few patrons stayed outside - mostly groups of young couples. Corn hole was set up in this area for recreation while there. The building is fairly new, not like some of the old mill buildings we have visited that have been the subject of massive adaptive reuse. This area adjacent to the airfield houses a number of manufacturing businesses.

Inside taproom where entertainer was set up. The doors to the right are the main entrance under the large sign where I stood in the first photo.

Taproom is on one side of the main brewing area. Although there were a couple people at the bar, there was only one other occupied table inside.

Taps at one end of the main room

Off to the right there is a hallway that leads to a couple of rooms available for private parties. One was all decked out for Halloween. Beyond that there is storage.

Pizza food truck set up the day we visited

We ordered a large cheese pizza to have with our refreshments. It was a good quality pie but was sort of bland and not that remarkable.

Taproom, entertainer, food truck beyond overhead doors, and mural.

The fellow providing entertainment was actually quite good and did a good job on a number of '80s and '90s hits. We agreed that Kelley can carry a tune.

The taproom menu the day we were there -

Light

Fortune's Favor Lager - Amber 5.8% ABV

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Czech Amber Lager cold conditioned for 6 weeks. Medium bodied with a soft mouthfeel, the variety of specialty malt used creates a complex malt character that is caramelly and subtly sweet, with notes of graham cracker and a hint of dried stone fruit.

 

Brightoberfest Festbier 6% ABV

Munich styled festbier brewed with Vienna and Munich malts. Slightly sweet, clean and drinkable.

 

Köld Kölsch 5.2% ABV

Refreshing, clean, cold conditioned ale traditional to Northern Germany. Köld is both a reference to where this style originated (Köln) and how we like to drink it.

 

Smooth Alternator Altbier - Traditional 5.3% ABV

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Altbier brewed with our Kolsch yeast and lagered for six weeks. A variety of German malts provide aromas and flavors of nutty, toasted multigrain bread and a hint of dried fruit. Full of rich and complex malt character, this beer remains incredibly light and drinkable.

 

Czechs Out Pilsner Pilsner - Czech 5.7% ABV

Brewed with Belgian pilsner malt, Czech Saaz hops, naturally carbonated and lagered for 6 weeks to produce a clean, crisp Czech Pils.

Hoppy

Pivot: Motueka Waimea IPA - New England 6.5% ABV

 

Whip Pale Ale - New England 4.8% ABV

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Hopped entirely with Citra and including a massive amount of Pineapple Dole Whip, this beer brings forward aromas of bright lemon and light pineapple juice followed by full citrus flavors that are complimented by the subtle notes from Citra hops. The finish is clean and full of pineapple flavors that immediately invite you to take that next sip.

 

Show of Force IPA - New England 6% ABV

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Brewed in honor of the Air National Guard 104th Fighter wing out of Barnes Airport located next to our Westfield brewery. A heavy dry hop of Citra and Strata hops create juicy flavors of bright citrus and strawberry.

 

Pivot: Nelson Riwaka IPA - New England 6.4% ABV

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This ever-changing IPA series features a malt build that allows the different hops and yeast to shine with their own unique flavor profiles. Pouring a hazy straw yellow with a white fluffy head, Pivot: Nelson Riwaka is full of tropical aromatics and flavors of mango, kumquat, gummy candy, and nectarine.

 

Undercast IPA IPA - New England 7.2% ABV

New England IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and Ella.

 

Noise Complaint IPA - Imperial 8% ABV

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Next in our "Dogs of Bright Ideas" series is Noise Complaint – A loud beer for a loud dog. Fred is a redbone coonhound who often howls at his owner and our Head Brewer Danny – the howling terror of North Adams. The police have been called on him twice. ⁠ The DIPA is double dry-hopped w/ Citra, Motueka, and Strata. Citrus sings upfront with a very non-bitter finish. Unlike Fred, Noise Complaint is smooth and slightly sweet.

 

The Big Return (of Distinguished Oil Magnate, Rossel Bepis Bupont) IPA - Imperial 8.2% ABV

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Whether you're celebrating your best friend moving back to town, the return of summer, or the Solid Sound music festival, this is the beer for the occasion. Heavily dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Sabro, and Mosaic, this New England DIPA is incredibly dank and juicy, loaded with aromas and flavors of grapefruit, tropical fruit, and a touch of resinous pine.

Malty

Bermuda Schwartz Schwarzbier 4.5% ABV

Schwarzbier is a German Style lager that translates into "Dark Beer." Midnight black in color, dry to the palate, and mildly roasty, this is an easy drinker for the cold North Adams winter.

 

Udderly Bright Stout - Milk 5.6% ABV

Full bodied, sweet stout brewed with plenty of chocolate malt, roasted barley, and lactose. She is a milky boi.

 

Quaffable Waffle: Banana Stout - Pastry 9% ABV

Pastry stout with waffles, bananas, maple syrup, vanilla, cacao nibs, and milk sugar.

 

Rum-Barrel Aged Quaffable Waffle Banana Stout - Pastry 11.5% ABV

Barrel-Aged Imperial Pastry Stout brewed with waffles, bananas, maple syrup, vanilla, cacao nibs, and milk sugar, then aged in rum barrels.

Sour

Busta Limes Sour - Fruited 5.5% ABV

Pucker up! This saliva inducing lime kettle sour gives you all the right tang tingles X

 

Sour Splash: Tangerine Sour - Fruited 6% ABV

Kettle sour fruited with tangerine. There's a lot of notes of orange juice up front before fading to a tart finish.

Hard Seltzer

Short Day Seltzer: Pineapple/ginger Hard Seltzer 4.5% ABV

It was a lovely Indian Summer Day with clear skies and temps in the mid 70s. It was great to find such a good place so close to home. Nice bright and clean facilities ready to accommodate a rather large number of patrons.

My regrets for not getting a picture of the three of us having a good time and for not getting at least one photo of Kelley. Will do better next time. Thanks to Lisa for taking the pictures and being our driver. And, thanks to Bright Ideas for a very pleasant Sunday afternoon.

Cheers