What's Up With Us!

In addition to this lovely event of the past two years known as "The Pandemic", my Dad passed away and the business I've been working for the past 12 years was acquired.  I had to take a breather from a lot of things - although enjoying many great (and some not so great) beers was not one of them!

Joy and I - and some of the folks from our Pandemic Pod - still visited breweries but certainly not as frequently as in years past.  The upside to the pandemic is that the availability of beers from out of state greatly increased as brewers fought to stay afloat and somehow state legislatures supported them with changes to distribution limitations.

We've seen an amazing increase in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine breweries' products available here in Connecticut.  I even saw some Heady Topper and Focal Banger from The Alchemist in a specialty beer cave in Long Beach CA while visiting my grandmother!  Amazing!

For those of you who don't know about our October Brew Crew tradition, we typically choose a week in October, we pick a state in the continental US and do a bunch of recon on the top 30 breweries in that state. Some of us are on the east coast and some on the west so it's not a small endeavor to get together for these. We never make it to all 30 but we sure as hell give it a try!  We do a lot of sight-seeing and learning about the state while enjoying their most talented brewers.  My Dad's health was failing in 2019 and he opted not to join us for our Oregon trip.  We got a call from my Mom on the morning of the third day of our trip and had to abandon our adventure to fly back across the country to be by Dad's bedside as he passed.

We've missed the last two years due to the pandemic but we're planning our next October Brew Crew Adventure for October of 2022.  We'll don our masks, grab our pretzels, prep our palates and keep you posted!

Cheers,

Christopher

2022-02-20 BackEast Brewery

It's been a while but we wanted to gather with friends and our old haunt at BackEast Brewery was the perfect place!  Good beers, a nice atmosphere and a welcoming vibe were exactly what we wanted and what we got.

Lot's of big changes over the last 24 months.  The new taproom is beautiful and the staff is great.

I pinged Tony (on right) just to let him know how impressed we were with the new space and he surprised us with a stop-by and visit.  They had a couple of new beers on tap that were interesting but I deferred to my longtime favorite...Ex Machina and the BackEast Porter (GABF Award Winner).

It felt really, really good to gather with our group of folks and support one of our local breweries.  We're looking forward to many, many more adventures!

2021-10-22 Von Trapp Brewery and Bierhall

Because I'm spoiled, my Mom gave me a week at her timeshare up in Smuggler's Notch, Vermont.  October is an amazing time in Vermont in case you've been living under a rock somewhere not in New England!

I needed a break and we had a lot to celebrate as our friend Brian had just been certified cancer-free after a 3-year battle with leukemia. Throughout the week we had a couple of different folks hang out at the condo but Friday was filled with breakfast, goofing off in the town of Stowe (and maybe having a couple of beers while the ladies shopped!) and then off to Stowe Cider for a couple of pints and then rounding things out with a visit to the Von Trapp Brewery and Bierhall.  

Unfortunately, they weren't doing brewery tours due to the pandemic, but we were able to get a table and enjoy all their great German and Austrian style beers, sausages and of course, pretzels.

Many, many congratulations to our friend Brian!  We're all so fortunate to have him in our lives. 

Keep up the good fight my brother! We'll keep you plied with good beer...and a good bourbon now and again!

2021-10-20 Hill Farmstead

While spending the week at the Smuggler's Notch Resort, my friend Steve popped up for a couple days. We enjoyed beautiful weather and a couple of good hikes in the area.

Steve's not a big beer drinker but he'll try different things (mostly just to humor me!).  We had a great dinner at a local restaurant in Jeffersonville, VT and he opted to try Stowe Cider's Gummy Bears.  A very interesting cider literally made with Gummy Bears.  It's a one-and-done for me but the ladies seemed to enjoy it when we went to the cidery a couple days later.

I dragged Steve up to the happiest place on earth for me (other than when I'm next to my wife!) - Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, VT.  They've one the title of Best Brewery In The World a couple of times (VinePair). It really is some of, if not THE best beer in the world.  My only complaint is that they no longer brew their Nordic Ale.

The beers are absolutely amazing and the views don't suck! The vibe is super chill.  If I could retire to Greensboro, I'd walk there every day!

2021-10-09 Fox Farm Brewery

 Aaaaaahhhhh!  The best beer in Connecticut - along with Kent Falls - if you ask me!

Cousin Kit was visiting from Nevada.  Did all the quintessential New England Fall stuff - farm visits, apple picking and, of course...a trip to a local brewery!

Dave, who runs the front of the house, was kind enough to join us for a few minutes to talk about the new barrel house...which is beautiful!  It reminds me a lot of the structures around Brewery Omegang in New York state.

I stuck with my favorites that they keep on tap...a pint of Gather and pint of Scatter (as well as several take-home 4 packs and a couple of bottles).  Joy enjoyed a couple glasses of Burst - easily one of the best IPAs in Connecticut.

We're looking forward to heading back now that things are opening up again!  Make a reservation early for a table!

2021-09-11 Norbrook Farm Brewery

 A beautiful Connecticut late-summer day! Why not head up to the hills and enjoy a couple of good beers from Norbrook Farm.  Had a great afternoon with the boys!

I'm a huge fan of the Ol' Man McMullin's Porter and I enjoy their  Dennis Hill Estate Saison.  Brian was digging the porter as well.  The boys were all about the Cog Ale Kolsch The Circus IPA.

2021-08-05 Maine Beer Company

 Such good beer!

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor the LL Bean flagship store shall deter us from visiting Maine Beer Company if we're anywhere close! 

We stopped in on our way up to Phil and Betsy's island escape in Muscongus Bay, Maine. We grabbed some Lunch, Dinner and Wolfe's Neck IPA. We also got to try the Mean Old Tom stout - which is delicious!

2019-11-07 Ferment Brewing Company

What an awesome facility! 

The place is absolutely beautiful.   

The highlights of the visit were the saison (super peppery finish) and the bier de garde.  The Dry Porter was pretty good as well.

2019-11-07 Old Town Brewing

A hip pizza restaurant, bar and brewery.   

The history behind the facility is absolutely awesome.  Under the restaurant is part of the original Shanghai Tunnel system in Portland.

It’s a great place to grab a pint of Shanghai’d IPA which is a decent west-coast style IPA or a Paulie’s Not Irish Red which was fantastic.  The pizza was tasty as well. 

It’s an awesome late evening stop with good, in-house brewed beers.

2019-11-07 pFrieme Family Beer Company

A good stop in Hood River, Oregon.   

pFrieme boasts an impressive facility with good food and decent beer. We love the fact that this family owned and operated!

The highlight of the visit was the Belgian Strong Ale – a superbly crafted and well balanced 10+% ale.  

 Other highlights were their Lambic and several of their sour beers.