Homecoming

“Beer has been in the family for a long time,” says Tucker Jadczak. The founder of Feathered Friend Brewing, Tucker has made it his business to live up to a lineage of beer lovers. “My great grandfather started the first Anheuser Busch distribution in the north when prohibition ended,” he explains, “Beer is part of my heritage in a way.” 

Having opened their doors in March in the up-and-coming southern district of Concord, Feathered Friend Brewery has been a sort of homecoming for Tucker who originally grew up in the area. After living in Boston for many years while working in the music industry, he decided to return to his roots in New Hampshire and was reminded of the fondness he had for the community that surrounds the beer culture. “ I missed the atmosphere that comes from the beer world, especially after working in various other fields for so many years. I got the idea for the brewery when I came back and started bartending again and realized how much I missed the feel of working with beer.”

Two years since they originally laid eyes on their desired location, the brewery has opened this year with a tasting room of 24 taps, a patio space for events, and a seven barrel brewery system which includes canning. Now with 13 different varieties in cans, the brewery hopes to distribute throughout the state. “ We have had a great response from people that live locally and get our brand out there,” explains Tucker, “ Being the third brewery in town now, we are starting to see more people drawn to the area specifically to try beer.”

Buddy System

Being a seven barrel system, Feathered Friend has more wiggle room than most to experiment on new variations while sticking with the classics. Always keeping a wide variety of IPAs, lagers, and sours on tap, they also recently expanded into making seltzers like Bursting Bubbles which is made with real fruit and has a revolving array of flavors like blackberry apricot or prickly pear. “I wanted to make a seltzer that was light and low in calories but still tasted good,” says Tucker. “I didn’t think it was really possible since most other seltzers have some sort of weird taste, but it turns out using real fruit makes it delicious.”

The new kid on the block so to speak, Feathered Friend hopes to expand their brand while keeping the greater community in mind. Always looking for collaborations or new friends, Tucker sees a friendly future with restaurants and breweries alike. Sharing their space with Smokeshow BBQ, the brewery also hopes to bring events to the space and currently hosts live music on Saturday nights. Beyond just their community, the brewery strives to stay as environmentally friendly as possible, hoping to install solar panels in the space later this year. “ Even on the brewing level, our process is all electric so we don’t have any natural gas,” says Tucker. “ We want to try to offset energy and emissions as much as we can.”

Old Roots

Despite growing quickly, Tucker always keeps his family close in mind. Wanting to honor his great-grandfather who worked for Budweiser so long ago, Tucker was set on keeping a bird theme for the brand. “ Since Budweiser has the eagle, I wanted something that would be a reminder of where we started,” says Tucker. “ Also, when a lot of my family members have passed, cardinals have been present. It seemed fitting to use birds for the brand.” Working alongside his father to make Feathered Friend come to life, the heart of his family and heritage can be felt with every sip. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FEATHERED FRIEND BREWING

Feathered Friend Brewing

231 S Main St.

Concord, NH 03301

(603) 715-2347

featheredfriendbrewing.com