WHATELY — With beer lovers thirsty for experimental and fresh brews, a region that supports local agriculture, and a back-to-the-craft-beer movement sweeping New England, now is a good time to open a brewery in western Massachusetts.
Hitchcock Brewing Company is the latest to toss its recipe into the mix and make a go of making beer for discerning beer drinkers in Franklin County.
Located on Christian Lane in Whately, next to Tall Grass Alpaca Farm, a large taproom overlooks a field where about 850 hop plants twist up into the sky.
Rich Pedersen, who co-owns the beer business with his wife, Geneva Pedersen, said their goal as brewers is to keep the craft of beer making first and build a brand that keeps in touch with local flavor.
The brand started out with four styles including a pale ale, golden ale, an IPA, and sourced hops from the hop yard behind the brewery. Now they also source their hops from other local farmers. And they offer eight different styles at any given time.
New since they opened, they’ve begun marketing some of their ales in cans.
Hitchcock will be bringing its flagship Double Bottom IPA, along with some other styles to this year’s Franklin County On Tap.
Right now, the brewery sells kegged beer at local restaurants and bars but also sells cans of its brew at 40 retailers around western Massachusetts.
The name “Hitchcock” was inspired by Edward Hitchcock, who was born in Deerfield in 1793 and became the first state geologist for Massachusetts and third president of Amherst College. He developed theories about how the Pioneer Valley was formed, and why it’s so fertile — which ties into making beer and sourcing local agriculture.
After retiring, the couple moved back into the area in 2013 and bought the Whately property.
Hitchcock Brewing Co. blossomed from the Pedersens’ love for making beer and farming. Rich Pedersen, former chief information officer for National Life Group in Vermont, started brewing in his basement back in the mid-’80s.
Geneva Pedersen, who worked as a nurse practitioner before she retired, said she was interested in the idea of starting a brewery because she wanted to return to and farm the land.
“The farming piece is what entices me,” she said, adding that, combined with her husband’s love for making beer, the business has been a success. “The two pieces work really well together.”