Hot Plate Brewing Finalist For USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards

12:04PM / Saturday, February 08, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Hot Plate Brewing Co., the only Latina-owned brewery in Massachusetts, was recently named a finalist for the USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards for Best New Brewery.

Since opening their doors in downtown Pittsfield in February 2023, this mission-driven organization has been garnering attention on a local, regional, and national level, both for their beers and the impact they're making in the community, stated a press release.

Owner and head brewer, Sarah Real, was also recently elected to the Massachusetts Brewers Guild Board of Directors as well as the Pink Boots Society Board of Directors, largely because of the work she has been doing to increase the diversity, equity, and inclusion in an overwhelmingly male industry.

"For years, I didn't see myself reflected in the brewhouse or in most leadership positions at other breweries," said Real, who discovered that fewer than 1 percent of all breweries in the US are owned and operated by women of color. "And while I know how much representation matters, I also wanted to make sure that I'm empowering and supporting other marginalized people in this industry, which is why we have a mostly female and mostly queer staff, and why so many of the vendors I work with are also small, local, and women owned."

Hot Plate Brewing has also been awarded for their work by organizations as varied as Mass Econ, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Berkshire County, and Berkshire Pride. In 2024, they raised more than $10,000 for a variety of mission-aligned nonprofit organizations, including the Pittsfield Area Council of Congregations (PACC) who collectively raised more than $27,000 for this year's Fuel Fund, which the brewery supported in several ways.

"Even though we're new to the Berkshires, we're incredibly proud of the partnerships we've formed here with mission-aligned organizations and individuals. We've been able to make a measurable difference in this city," says co-founder Mike Dell'Aquila.

Votes can be made online using this link: https://10best.usatoday.com/qr/45046/

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Pittsfield Housing Project Adds 37 Supportive Units and Collective Hope

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:01PM / Monday, December 29, 2025

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A new chapter in local efforts to combat housing insecurity officially began as community leaders and residents gathered at The First on to celebrate a major expansion of supportive housing in the city.

The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street. The Housing Resource Center, funded by Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act dollars, hosted a celebration for a project that is named for its rarity: The First.

"What got us here today is the power of community working in partnership and with a shared purpose," Hearthway CEO Eileen Peltier said.

In addition to the 28 studio units at 111 West Housatonic Street and nine units in the rear of the church building, the Housing Resource Center will be open seven days a week with two lounges, a classroom, a laundry room, a bathroom, and lockers.

Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, challenged attendees to transform the space in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church into a community center. It is planned to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round.

"I get calls from folks that want to help out, and our shelters just aren't the right spaces to be able to do that. The First will be that space that we can all come together and work for the betterment of our community," Forbush said.

"…I am a true believer that things evolve, and things here will evolve with the people that are utilizing it."

Earlier that day, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus joined Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and her team in Housatonic to announce $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding, $5.45 million to Berkshire County.

He said it was ambitious to take on these two projects at once, but it will move the needle. The EOHLC contributed more than $7.8 million in subsidies and $3.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity for the West Housatonic Street build, and $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the First Street apartments.

"We're trying to get people out of shelter and off the streets, but we know there are a lot of people who are couch surfing, who are living in their cars, who are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves," Augustus said.

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