Background
Matt Tarlecki, owner & brewer, opened Abandoned Building Brewery in 2013. Tarlecki, who is from the Philadelphia area has been home brewing since his college days at California Polytechnic State University. After college Tarlecki returned to the Philadelphia area and worked in an engineering firm. On weekends, when Tarlecki wasn’t brewing at home, he volunteered at McKenzie Brew House. Mackenzie is where he acquired an interest in Belgian-style beers.
After funding and a location was secured, Tarlecki left his job as engineer in 2012. He moved to Easthampton to begin renovations on the first floor of a 1910 mill building. The majority of the brewery was designed, constructed, and finished entirely by Matt. Remarkably he ran a one man show for the first year, then wised up and hired an assistant. Matt’s love of exploring abandoned buildings led to his decision to name his brewery Abandoned Building before he went looking for a site. He chose the Easthampton area because of the abundance of farms in the area. He grows his own hops and uses locally grown and malted barley in his artisanal Belgian Ales.
Experience
We visited Abandoned Building Brewery on a late Friday afternoon. It is an interesting spot for a microbrewery as many of the other buildings still look abandoned. Much of the tasting room does resemble a living room with couches and coffee tables. There are several tables and chairs as well, all in view of the brewing equipment. We started with a flight including Pan Galactic, a NEIPA with a great nose, Jubilation, a juicy IPA, The Other End Imperial IPA & Nightshade Stout. As luck would have it we were able to enjoy some excellent live music that night as well. We had a great time, great vibe, great beertenders and entertainment. Our suggestion is to check them out!
No nearby lodging noted. No food is available but I understand during good weather they often have food trucks. When visiting Abandoned Building check out https://www.newcitybrewery.com/
https://abandonedbuildingbrewery.com/
