We stopped here for one reason: I really love the taste of this beer. I know almost nothing about beer. I’m learning, but know very little. But I was put in touch with Ben almost a year ago. Then I tried his beer (which came out about a year ago). And I couldn’t believe this was being made a couple of miles from where I grew up. My hometown is Bernardson, MA. This beer is made in Millers Falls, MA. And I just love it. (Btw, there’s another cool new brewer in Bernardston, Lefty’s. To put this in perspective, I think my town has something like 1,200 residents. Millers falls probably has a few more.)

Ben wasgenerous with his time. I think he was a bit wary at first, but that makes him a New Englander, right? I hope we gained a bit of trust, because we’re sincere admirers of what they’re doing. You might even find some Element at Clover in the near future. In the meantime, you can find it at fancy wine and beer shops in town, like Central Bottle and Formaggio. It’s expensive, but really really yummy. And as is always the case with beer, when compared to wine, it’s cheap.

Ben told us that he’d worked at Opa opa, Paper City, and a few other places. I was trying to understand how that made sense, his beer is very different from those. He didn’t offer much explanation, just said “I know. It’s very different.” There is a general theme that ties his 4 offerings (and occasional limited seasonal batch together). I didn’t know what it was, but could taste some common theme. Ben told us it was the malt he uses. A special malt that is a bit unusual and he just really loves. It’s yummy.