Brewhouse Arrives at North Adams Bright Ideas Brewery

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Bright Ideas has the equipment to begin brewing.

The startup microbrewery on the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art campus welcomed a tractor-trailer truck early Friday morning loaded with seven steel-tank brewhouse.

 Two forklifts juggled the massive tanks safely to the ground and through the new door knocked out of the building's brick side.

"This is what makes it real," Orion Howard, co-founder of Bright Ideas Brewing, said. "This is the largest capital investment by far, and this is the one thing we have to have. Everything else is an add on."

The brewhouse was ordered nearly a year ago and manufactured by Specific Mechanical Systems in Victoria, British Columbia.  


With co-founder Eric Kerns, Howard helped guide the giant stainless steel tanks into the microbrewery located in Building 1.

With the tanks secured, Howard expects to start brewing by the second or third week in January.

"We have a couple more things to do like pouring the floor. We are going to put the tanks temporarily on the floor and then we are going to get a better floor," he said. "Then we are going to plumb it, then vapor barrier the building, and then we are going to start to brewing."

A wall was taken down to create a 3,000 square-foot room that will separate the taproom and brewery by a glass wall.

On completion, the taproom will have 40 to 70 seats and a 44-foot long wood and steel bar. There will be beer at all price points, including higher-priced craft beers and cheaper but quality options that will be sold in local barrooms.


Tags: brewery,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
View Full Story

More North Adams Stories