Mayflower Brewing Company

https://instagram.com/p/5Ng6pjRUiM/?taken-by=rennyfratz

You’d think I’ve been laying around doing nothing all summer if you looked at my post rate or lack thereof. Au contraire! I’ve been to quite a few places since my last post but on account of the beautiful weather, I haven’t spent much time in front of the computer. I’ve got some serious catching up to do.

Some time ago, the exact number of weeks has been forgotten, Steph and I both got notifications on Instagram that Mayflower Brewing Co. is now one of our followers! What??? That was strange because we were literally planning on visiting them within the week! 

Hop Tart

Sorry to interrupt this run of breweries but I have to switch it up as this one is more time sensitive as it happened last night. I happened to stumble upon, while surfing the web, that brewery was having it’s grand opening yesterday. There was no way I was going to skip that!

Brewlius Caesar

It’s like that play written by Billy Shookaspear, you know the one. So now that you’ve all wiped the tears of laughter away I’ll start another blog post for ya.

This one comes right down the line of the last few, so you can hit a couple of the breweries in one day. It’s a very relaxing summer hang called Fort Hill Brewery. This place has a lot going on for you fans of the outdoors. And if it’s raining, you might get to hear a live band play on top of the bar inside the otherwise spacious tap room. It’s a barn that’s refitted to house all those glorious brewery machines and people like ourselves too. Not to mention they grow their own hops on the property; support locals ya’ll! Don’t let Fort Hill’s wholesome farm appearance deceive you. There’s plenty of beer to be had.

Malt-iplcation Tables

So I’m a bit more a wake for this one or at least I was better equipped to drink beers this day, HOLLA! On to the brewz, the Z makes it cool.

This brewery I’m not gonna lie is a bit more complicated to find, it makes it more fun. . . so I’m told. Either way I made Nick drive everywhere while I was on the look out for Abandoned Building Brewery, they have tiny signs and are located at the end of the building so keep your eyes peeled. If you walk in the door those tiny signs direct you to, you’ll find the brewery straight ahead. Finding the bathroom is only slightly more difficult, as it’s at the other end of the building.

Looking around, I have pictures, it’s a pretty nice looking place. Renee visited on a separate occasion and took this panorama shot. It’s got a nostalgic vibe that harkens back to the days when we all use to sneak beers in our parents basement, as in it looks like a basement I couldn’t afford and the beer is 100x better.

The beer: they have some and it was plentiful. As usual my meh to yeah beers for this place. The Meh beer I had to say was there Pennhurst Pale Ale, which is just a regular pale ale which are nice but I like something that’s not so bland/basic  ( just how I like my music and my women). Moving on from there would be Lola’s Saison which would usually be an instant death for me but it was very similar to Jack D’Or, one of my favorite beers, so this was a very pleasant surprise.

Hop Goes The Weasel

. . z z z z  . . oh yeah I should probably do this again.

Hey so I had to take medication for a week before I went to this place so I wasn’t able to explore everything but I’ll do my best. This was a great place located off of route 63 in the great little college town of Amherst, which happens to be called Amherst Brewing Company. Now the best way I can suggest you go about going into this large hall, it has like three different ballroom sized areas (one has a pool table) is to pop a squat at the bar and start with some gravy and cheese topped fries.

Though once you started enjoying the view, I suggest you get yourself a brew. I grabbed myself a nice Honey Pilsner that was very easy and not as sweet as I thought it would have been. It was nice though I preferred their Salamander Crossing Lager, this was something that was made for relaxing days in the summah. Now these were the ones I could get to this time, but I would like to go back especially when it’s bumping (it was kind of dead when I went) though it seems like a n even better place when everyone is there.

Drink Up!

CJ

Hop Making Sense

And you may ask yourself
Well…How did I get here?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Navigation Brewing Co. (@navigationbrewingco)

(Renee didn’t like any of the pictures I took but Navigation’s Instagram is very active so she recommends following it to enjoy more pictures like this.)

Hey everybody hope you all dig the Talking Heads as I’ve been listening to them all day and that quote works well with beer, I think. On to the review of a brew or two. This time I found this great little place that I dragged Nick to in Lowell, MA.  I literally found this place by googling breweries in MA, I’m telling you my peeps its the best way to find new places. This place was another of the most inviting places I’ve ever been, everyone even the kegs/taps seemed happy to see me. Going in everyone acted like it was Cheers, “Hey, welcome to Navigation Brewery!” Boy was I happy to go.

So you know it’s located at the end of a garage, but don’t worry dear reader they’re moving on up to a new spot soon. They’ll be brewing more and if you want to get on to the beginning of a great brewery go there now.

Navigation Brewing: nothing but the nicest people there (like all good microbrew drinkers are). Walking in I was given the two minute tour, where I crossed the hallowed ground beyond the taps. To which the brewmaster himself, and this is paraphrased, “there’s the ingredients, the tanks, the cooler and then we got the beer over there. Enjoy” and enjoy I did. This place had some quality brews to have and I suggest you all should go get some. Sadly, they have a very limited shipping so you gotta go to them.

If you follow me on Untappd, if you don’t well my feelings aren’t hurt or anything, but you’ll see that I rated all the beers I had for them with at least a 4. .  . a 4! The weakest was Navigation’s Pale Ale, which don’t get me wrong was a great pale ale better than a lot of other ones I’ve had, but it just sneaks in around the 4 mark compared to the rest of these. Followed by this was there IPA which was very good, I remember fondly requesting this time and time again… and then one more time of this on tap.

This comes to the two greats I had, of the ones they had on tap while I was there. These two I’m not going to lie were 5 if not 4.98 stars in my eyes. It was like fantastic, that made me have all these feelings plus some new ones that were so beautiful I fell to my knees and cried. . . . but they were good. The first was this great coffee porter that was a perfect way to end a meal, much like a regular coffee but this one has alcohol in it which makes it more fun.   Though without a doubt the best beer I had that evening was Navigation’s Milk Stout. Though it’s a bit heavy it settles in your tum-tum almost wants to lull you to sleep.

And with that *yawn* it was some good stuff, def *yawn* check it out.

Drink . . . zzzzzzzzzzzz . . . . . up . . . . . . cj

Robohop

Sober or not, you’re coming with me!

Sorry peeps, couldn’t resist butchering that quote to fit my blog needs, good news though I have a fantastic brewery to tell you about. Now if anyone asks I was getting cookies for the school bake sale, but this was a great place for brew. It was this fancy little place called Bentley Brewing   (side note on this place, there is parking BUT it’s on the opposite side of where the brewery is located, so make sure you go to the other side of the building to go in). That tid bit aside I have to say this was one of the best brewery tastings I’ve ever had. I’ll get into the beer in minute but I got the chance to talk to one of the owners while I was there, super engaging, giving me tips for my next batch (he suggested I try something heavy like a Russian Imperial so if I mess up whoever tries it won’t be as aware. . . but you’ll know ’cause you all have refined palates) , riffing on bad jokes all around great guy, go support him.

Hop In The Name Of Love

Guter Tag! Don’t you speak German?If you don’t, good day to you.

This is going to be a quick post today, as I’m downloading the new My Morning Jacket album and, well, I feel that’s a good reason to rush this. (if you’re wondering this album so far is very good.) Anyway back to the reason you read my ramblings about beer. I got the chance to visit another brewery. This one was a very nice beer garden named Kretschmann Brewery often referred to as KBC. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was very nice and relaxed inside. It definitely had a feeling of “man, this is a nice and relaxed place for a beer”.

The only downfall of this place was the style of beers, they specialize in German Pilsner and Hefeweizen, or at least they were when I went there. Sadly, these are the styles of beer I tend to avoid, they’re too light for me and feel very bland. Someone, maybe Nick, once said it’s like a Bud with an edge, and even that isn’t very strong. So I can’t be a great judge of these beers. The best one I had was their Vienna Lager which was pretty standard lager. Though I do suggest trying this place, if you like lighter beer, then it’s a must, as it has a nice vibe and when the New England weather cooperates, the patio there sounds awesome.

Oh crap, my download is complete, until next time.

Drink Up!

CJ

Hop-Scotch

Oh god, I forgot how to do this . . . again. Wait no I didn’t, hey it’s me . . . CJ. . . .the beer guy . . . oh here’s my post.

Recently I decided to take a little trip out into the wide world of southern Massachusetts, specifically Ludlow. What’s out there well I’m sure something but what I went there was for Iron Duke Brewing. Back story on how I found it: I just googled breweries into google maps and scrolled around till I found some new places. Trust me this is the best way to find all the new ones.

Back to the brewery. Fair warning this place is located in an industrial park in the back, but once you find this jewel in the rough it’s worth it. Not to mention they have this great food truck parked outside, I suggest getting some fries and a loaded hot dog. Really helps put you in the mood for a brew.

I got myself a nice little flight of some quality brews, like I’d do anything else. Starting with a nice Baby-Maker, Irish Porter, it’s an easy porter that I could drink without stop during a crisp day.  If you want something with more hops try a Stockhouse 122, an easy pale ale that went great with the fries.

Moving right along to the other half of my flight was their The Common, a Kentucky Common Ale. What’s that? you ask. You don’t know? Then look it up, you have the internet. If you want me to tell you then read this: “Brewed with a combination of Malted Barley, Malted Rye, and Flaked Maize this beer makes for a refreshing and light taste experience”. In easier terms, its similar to a pale ale in that it’s not heavy. Though it doesn’t hold a candle to the Iron Smith’s, a spring stout, this was the first time they tried it too. An easy stout on that doesn’t sit in your stomach for days. It’s a great introduction for people who aren’t into heavy beers.

I suggest everyone go to this place even if it’s a bit hard to get to, heck they’ve only been around since Thanksgiving 2014 and if we don’t support local breweries, who will?!

Till the next round, Drink Up!

CJ

Grand Old Hoprey

Well howdy! (That’s weird, I’m sorry)

I’m back though which is nice, even better I brought a brew review! I got the chance to visit the brewery that has one of my favorite beers in all the places beer is made (sorry the Simpsons are on and I think it’s leaking into my posts). Fair warning this brewery is borderline placed in the middle of farm land so keep your eyes on the road as it zigs and zags. This fantastic place is Treehouse Brewery, I’m sure Renee will add her thoughts in as well but pay attention to me right now! (Note from Renee: OMG! #fangirling)