It’s the first sign that Winter’s hibernation is drawing to a close soooon!

Open house tours and microbrew tastings start up again this week at Paper City Brewery, located at 108 Cabot Street in Holyoke. This Thursday, February 12th and Friday, February 13th, from 6 pm ’til 8 pm, take a tour of the brewery, taste the great beer and go home with a four-pack for later– all for only $6 per person. On Fridays there’s entertainment too– this week a DJ will spin some tunes– and the fun doesn’t stop after this week, so stop by any Thursday or Friday for the best “happy hour” in Holyoke.

Video report by Jane Frankel and Rebecca Migdal

Today I’ll be introducing Gonzo Comix Microbrewery Tours to Prof. John Gerber’s Sustainable Living students, at UMass Amherst. We’ll be talking about the importance of local business for community economic development, and about how the success of new microbreweries can be aided by our involvement, support, and promotional assistance.

I’m hoping for ideas and collaboration in the launch of these tours, so… let’s start a strategy discussion here in the comments section of this post. The big questions:

1)What days of the week are best for brewery tours in Western Mass (from the riders’ standpoint), and;

2) Should the tours be all-day affairs, or half-day?

Also, if you send your email address to alaties@aol.com I’ll keep you in the loop as to dates and times of upcoming tours. The first tour will be later in February (probably all day on a Saturday, if there’s consensus on that…)

Thanks for all the help!