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Highly Recommended: The Western MA Craft Beer Festival

Published on August 26, 2014 By Emily. Updated on August 27, 2014

Before I can properly start this post, I really need to give a shout out to the lovely people at Kelly’s Package Store in Dalton, especially Jason.  Not only did they organize and host a great event, but they also saved this post.  I discovered on Monday after the event that I’d taken all of my photos on the wrong setting and couldn’t use any of them.  I sent Kelly’s a message on Facebook which Jason promptly replied to, letting me know that I could use any of their photos I wanted.  Later in the day, when the gallery of photos became available on their website, he messaged me again to let me know that the photos were up.  Thank goodness, otherwise this post would be image-less.

This weekend, Brian and I had the opportunity to attend the Western Massachusetts Craft Beer Festival in Dalton.  It was the festival’s 9th year, but our first time.  Due to an apparent fear of commitment on my part,  our tickets weren’t purchased online until Friday, but the $25 turned out to be well spent.  We arrived at the festival shortly after 2:00 when the gates opened.  The festival, organized by Kelly’s Package Store, was held in a field just minutes from the store.  There were a bunch of people already there, but we seemed to beat the bulk of the crowd.  We passed through the Will Call line with no one in front of us, gave them our names, showed our IDs and got bracelets.  We also picked up reusable plastic cups and the provided list of breweries which showed what they had available for sampling.

And then we had free reign.  There were no cards to have stamped or prices per sample.  If you had a bracelet, you could sample to your heart’s content from the over 60 breweries represented.  Immediately Brian and I adopted a strategy of maximizing our tasting of new beers by each trying different things; a “two to three ounce sample” (and no one was measuring, so who knows how big the pours actually were) was enough for us to get the taste of each brew and we figured we could return for more if we wanted to.

Beer Tastings

And so it went.  We went fairly quickly from table to table, checked out what they had, tried something, then moved on.  Occasionally we made use of the rinse stations and we appreciated the bottled water that was made available for free.  Though there was some opportunity to chat with the brewery representatives, I didn’t feel like I really had anything to say.  Beyond telling the gentleman from Baxter Brewery that I’d toured the brewery in Lewiston, Maine, I don’t feel like I have enough beer knowledge or insight to discuss it.  We also skipped breweries that we’d already had the featured beers from such as Brooklyn Brewery and Berkshire Brewing Company, in favor of trying more new things from new places.  Every few tables, Brian made notes on the brewery list about what we liked and what we didn’t so much care for.  Because what’s the point of discovering new things if you can’t remember them?  I’m really glad he did that; we tried a lot of beers.

Beers

After making it through tents B and C, we paused and bought a sausage grinder from the Dalton Fireman’s Association and sat at one of the available tables for a bit before braving the rather crowded tent A.   Even in that tent though it didn’t take long to get samples; since there were no stamps or ID checks in the tents and only limited options from each brewery, there was never much of a wait to get beer in your cup.

The festival was a really good time; everyone in attendance seemed to be enjoying themselves and the crowds didn’t seem to be bothering anyone.  The variety of breweries present was awesome; there were big names like Sam Adams and Dogfish, but local breweries like Browns, Big Elm and Hilltop Orchards were represented as well.  We tried some really great new (to us) brews, including Boulder Beer Company’s Shake Chocolate Porter, Innis and Gunn’s Rum Aged and Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company’s Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.   Once we’d sampled the beers we wanted, there wasn’t much to do so we only lasted a couple hours at the festival.  There were the few food trucks, a couple local food producers with samples and some live music, but that was it. If we’d gone with a group, Brian and I probably would’ve taken it slower and had more to talk about, but as it was just the two of us, we were pretty efficient.  Nevertheless, we felt like we got our money’s worth; we tried the majority of the breweries and had a great afternoon.  I don’t know that this will be an annual event for me (though the Kelly’s site mentions big plans for the 10th year of the festival), but I would definitely like to return in a couple years when the chances of new varieties of beer are even greater.

All images courtesy of Kelly’s Package Store in Dalton, MA.  We attended this event because we wanted to, not because of any prior connection or incentive.  We paid for our own tickets.

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Filed Under: events Tagged With: alcohol, beer, Berkshires, dalton, Massachusetts

« Three in One (CSA Menu Plan #8)
Investing in Summer–Blog Updates, Home Improvement & Lots of Work »

Trackbacks

  1. A Lovely Evening: The Farm-to-Table Food and Wine Extravaganza says:
    August 25, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    […] may recall that last year I enjoyed a fun day – and took a set of terrible photos – at the Western Massachusetts Beer Festival in Dalton.  It was a great day of trying new brews and supporting a good cause.  This […]

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Emily
New on the blog: a 2 week menu plan featuring the New on the blog: a 2 week menu plan featuring the vegetables from our CSA share at @mightyfoodfarm. Link in my profile.
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
We finally made it to the @berkshiremtdist tasting We finally made it to the @berkshiremtdist tasting room in Sheffield today after years of talking about it. The indoor and outdoor atmosphere was lovely and we took advantage of the complimentary tasting to try some of the products we haven't had before. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area and enjoy distilleries.
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On Friday we headed to Springfield for an appointm On Friday we headed to Springfield for an appointment and made a day of it by visiting @forestparkzoo afterwards. For us, the Zoo in Forest Park's size, layout and number of animals (over 225 exotic and native animal residents) is the perfect size for our 2 and 5 year old kids. We went in the afternoon, when day camps were wrapping up and it wasn't busy overall. We were able to easily view all of the exhibits and let our children move at their own pace without interfering with other people. Despite the heat, the animals were pretty active and it was a joy to see my kids spot, identify and appreciate them.
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Brian and I had lunch at the @firehousecafebistro Brian and I had lunch at the @firehousecafebistro in Adams today. We enjoyed falafel bites, cocktails, papas bravas, and a buttermilk chicken sandwich. All of the food was really delicious and the service was excellent, despite very limited staffing. The patio seating was fun for people watching and enjoying the sunshine. I highly recommend the Firehouse Cafe and Bistro if you're looking for a more upscale lunch or dinner in the northern Berkshires.
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It's blueberry season in the Berkshires! My favori It's blueberry season in the Berkshires! My favorite girl and I headed to @mountainviewfarm413 this week to pick ours, as is our tradition. We had a great morning resulting in 7 pounds of berries. Some blueberries will be frozen and others turned into muffins, but most of them will be eaten just the way they are. The season is short, enjoy it while you can. @whitneysfarmmarket and @seconddropfarm are doing picky-your-own as well. 🫐
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#igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #blueberries #BlueberryPicking #MountainViewFarm #LanesboroughMA
We're back from vacation and back to picking up ou We're back from vacation and back to picking up our weekly share of @mightyfoodfarm produce. My latest menu plan using these vegetables is live on the blog, link in my profile.
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Tomato season is my favorite season. If there is t Tomato season is my favorite season. If there is the opportunity to eat something that features a combination of tomato, mozzarella and basil, chances are good that I'm ordering it. Yesterday I needed to make a dish to share for a church gathering so I put together this incredibly simple pasta salad. I hope it's useful to you during this time of summer heat and summer gatherings.

RECIPE:
1 lb pasta (I used bowties) 
7 oz fresh mozzarella
1 pint grape tomatoes 
30-50 fresh basil leaves 
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste 

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and place in a large bowl. 
2. Prep the other ingredients: cut the mozzarella cheese in bite size pieces if needed, quarter the grape tomatoes, finely cut the basil with scissors or a knife.
3. Add the quartered tomatoes, mozzarella and basil to the pasta. Drizzle the olive oil into the bowl and miX well.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Enjoy!

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I could watch birds on the beach all day long. We' I could watch birds on the beach all day long.
We're wrapping up our time in Wilmington, North Carolina with lots of time at Wrightsville Beach. The ocean never ceases to impress.
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This @smittenkitchen Zucchini and Ricotta Galette This @smittenkitchen Zucchini and Ricotta Galette is one of my favorite summer recipes. The crust is perfectly flaky and the mix of squash and cheese is delicious. I always use summer squash and my husband, who does not typically like summer squash, loves this galette. Though it takes a bit of planning ahead - the crust dough needs to rest in the fridge for an hour and the squash needs to be salted for 30 minutes, the recipe is straightforward and the final produce always impresses. I expect it will make another appearance on my table before the fall.
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