I’ve been living in Massachusetts for about 20 years. As in my home state of Connecticut, I’ve explored most towns in the state from North Adams to Provincetown, Ayer to Zoar. One area that is a bit of uncharted territory though is the north-central part of the state. Sure, most of the Pioneer Valley is no surprise for me, but the region east of the Connecticut River and north of Worcester is. Recently though, I was able to explore some of the best of the region, including a stop at Brick & Feather Brewery in Turners Falls.
Turners Falls was a new journey for me, although it is quite close to the Connecticut River. Most of my exploring of uncharted territory happened after the stop at Turners Falls, en route to towns such as Athol, Royalton, Orange, and down to Hardwick.
Turners Falls: A classic mill town
Entering Turners Falls via Route 2A from Greenfield is impressive. The gigantic old factory complex is the first thing that greets you. Once across the river into Turners Falls, the main street is wide, lined with classic downtown buildings with brick facades. It’s a mix of hip restaurants and stores, vacant storefronts, and places of utilitarian purpose, such as banks and dentist offices. Along with the nearby cities of Brattleboro, Vermont, and Greenfield, Massachusetts, Turners Falls even has a record store! (A-ok in my book.)
Brick and Feather Brewery
South of this strip on Avenue A are grocery stores and churches. My destination in Turners Falls was Brick & Feather Brewery. I have heard great things about this brewery for a few years now, and even tried one of their beers at Armsby Abbey.
The brewery is located at the corner of Avenue A and 11th Street in an industrial building. Eleventh Street crosses an impressive steel bridge over the Montague Power Canal. There’s a bike path that follows the canal too; with folks enjoying themselves on two wheels, it looked tempting.
At the brewery, curbside service was the only option. I took home a Letters from Zelda, their flagship IPA, Ignore Alien Orders, a double IPA, and In Absentia, another IPA, Nature Loves to Hide, a Franconian Lager. What’s nice is you can order by the can, and not be locked into four packs. This was good for me since we had already stopped at Hermit Thrush earlier that day and spent a small fortune on sour beer.
The Takeaway
So far I’ve tried the Letters From Zelda which is a solid flagship IPA. Ignore Alien Orders smelled and tasted just superb, I’ve really enjoyed that. The other two I’m saving for another day. The trip to this region of Mass was a fun journey through an area unknown to me with an exciting stop at Brick and Feather. I’ll definitely go back next time I’m in the Pioneer Valley.
