Berkshire Mtn. Distillers Releasing New Whiskeys This Month

Occurring this month, Berkshire Mountain Distillers (BMD), will release a trio of whiskeys in partnership with three brewers in the Northeast as part of their Craft Brewers Whiskey Project (CBWP). As reported in a press release, the five-year collaboration includes the distilling of a dozen different popular beers from a limited group of the country’s top craft brewers across five states. Each addition to the American whiskey collection is the product of a single-sourced craft brew distilled into a unique Berkshire Mountain Distillers whiskey.

Chris Weld, founder and proprietor of Berkshire Mountain Distillers made the following statement:

We were thrilled to collaborate with all of our brewer-partners and are excited these whiskeys are finally ready to be enjoyed by beer and whiskey aficionados alike. This fun collaboration has been an exceptional project-in-the-making involving 12 brewers, 12 beers, 12 whiskeys and 80 barrels of spirits — we’re eager to release each one to the public.

 

The first release will feature three whiskeys distilled from UFO White Ale from Mass. Bay Brewing Co. (Boston, Mass. and Windsor, Vt.), Spencer Brewery’s Trappist Ale (Spencer, Mass.), and 413 Farmhouse Ale from Big Elm Brewing located in BMD’s hometown of Sheffield, Mass.

Dan Kenary, CEO and co-founder of Mass. Bay Brewing Co. made the following statement:

Whiskey is like beer’s older cousin: it’s taken more time to mature but comes from the same stock. So when Berkshire Mountain Distillers came to us more than four years ago with this project, we knew it’d be a fun way to collaborate with a local distiller to see what our beer could turn into. The resulting whiskey does not disappoint.

Scheduled to be released in the early part of 2021, the next set of whiskeys will highlight Boston Lager from Samuel Adams (Boston, Mass.), Imperial Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale from Berkshire Brewing Company (South Deerfield, Mass.), and Smoke & Dagger Black Lager from Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers (Framingham, Mass.)

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Whiskey releases later in the year will feature other popular craft brewers including Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, N.Y.), Captain Lawrence Brewing (Elmsford, N.Y.), Smuttynose Brewing (Hampton, N.H.), Long Trail Brewing Company (Bridgewater Corners, Vt.), Two Roads Brewing (Stratford, Conn.), and Chatham Brewing (Chatham, N.Y.)

Aged at the distillery since 2015, the CBWP releases will be based on the beer used in each whiskey – released in the order in which they were distilled. Being a limited release, quantities of each whiskey will range from hundreds of bottles to hundreds of cases and will be sold in the BMD tasting room and then to select stores and restaurants. BMD’s popular Cask-Finished Bourbon Project, which took place in 2014 and involved brewers such as Samuel Adams, Ommegang and Terrapin, was only available in the state where the brewery was located. For the wider-reaching Craft Brewers Whiskey Project, each whiskey will be released in a small collection and made available in multiple states.

To celebrate the CBWP and the distinctiveness of each whiskey, BMD will host an in-store socially distant meet-the-brewer event and coordinate CBWP-focused dinners at select restaurants in the Northeast. A robust social media campaign will include brewer-partner collaboration and influencer support.

We recently spoke with Chris on WSBS about the exciting news. You can listen to that interview below: