2018-10-20 Allagash Brewing Company

It's simple...we love these guys! The White, the Curieux, the Sixteen Counties, etc...they're all really solid beers.  While they're definitely not for everyone, the fact that such mature beers are produced here in American (and in our little New England backyard) is AWESOME!

We did another tour of the brewery this year in October.  If you haven't done this tour, we highly recommend it.  It is one of the best brewery tours we've done...and we've done a lot of 'em!
This year's host was a longtime employee and his passion for beer (and especially beers from Allagash) was apparent.
The place was hoppin'!  It had been a couple years since we were here last and I guess the secret is out.  All the tours for the day were booked and there had to be at least a couple hundred folks around the brewery either sampling or touring.  It's awesome to see that level of interest.

As usual, the barrel room at the end of the tour was a big hit and a fun place to sample some great Allagash beer!  We looked for a couple of barrels that were aging on our last tour but I think they had all been consumed!

The highlight of the visit was hanging out for a bit with Rob Todd, owner and founder of Allagash, and learning a bit about the early days of the brewery and the struggles to get American palates to adjust to a Belgian-style wheat beer.  He's a pretty avid surfer and it was great to have a connection as several of us have (or do) live in So Cal and grew up surfing in Huntington Beach, San Onofre, Baja, etc.

2018-09-16 5Churches Brewing

We discovered these folks at the Extreme Pint Fest earlier in the year and were impressed with the beers they presented at the festival.

Seemed like they were bucking the cart a bit by offering an awesomely crafted stout and a couple of other styles...not just the big, juicy NEIPA we all enjoy these days.

The facility is fantastic and the pizza & pretzels are pretty good too!
We sampled every beer they had on tap and the highlights were the Lil' Stouty and the Once and For Fall.  They had 19 beers on tap...which seems excessive to us for such a new brewery.  Not every beer every brewery makes will be stellar, but many of their beers - while enjoyable - were not outstanding.  This is likely a great place for locals to hang out and drink some decent locally-made beer.  We'll definitely visit again.

2018-07-22 Kinsmen Brewing, Southington CT

Soooo...we've been a couple times now and have had at least 15 of their different beers.  My only complaint is that with a name like "Kinsmen Brewing" and the obvious celtic vibe...I haven't been able to get a celtic ale!  I expected to get a good, traditional scotch ale or even a good bitter but there are none to be found here.
They rotate some funky stouts though and have a decent porter every once in a while.  However, they have many great IPAs and other styles.  I was thoroughly surprised today when I had their Conical Form (sour gose).  This is an amazingly mature recipe...it seems like they've been brewing it for years and it could easily go up against some of the entrenched sour-focused breweries in both New England and abroad.
Its a great facility (we've done a fundraiser there) and seems to be always busy.  They're doing it right!
- Christopher

2018-07-21 Black Pond Brews, Danielson CT

These guys were on our list as one of the
interesting, "out-of-the-way", smaller breweries in Connecticut that we needed to visit.  The guys didn't disappoint!  They had some very interesting offerings.

The favorite of the visit was Machu Pichu, an amazing Jalepeno saison.  It was a refreshing experience to visit a new brewery that did not have a single "juice bomb" IPA on their taps...not that we don't love 'em!

They had several interesting beers on tap across a plethera of styles - including a seriously kick-ass german-style hells called "Hella".

Definitely put this brewery on your list...even if it's a pretty good drive for you.  It's a small venue with a welcoming atmosphere and nice outdoor seating area. There's lots of other stuff to do in the area (including a Bison Farm) so you can easily make a day of it.

We'll be back to see what the guys have up their sleeves later in the year as they rotate their brews and taps frequently.

Cheers,
Christopher

2018-01-13 Extreme Pint Fest

Soooooo...after the complete shambles that was the 1st Annual Small State Great Beer festival in Hartford and swearing off beer festivals in general, Chuck D. from Lawson's Finest Liquids reached out and invited us to Extreme Pint Fest.  We've known Chuck for some time now and his energy and crazy antics never disappoint.  He's also an extremely nice guy and fun to be around.  He urged us to get our tickets early as space was limited.

 

It was awesome!  There were only around 200 people sampling beers from around 20 different breweries with a kick ass band and food from the Polish National Home.  Many of the breweries were local (5 Churches, BackEast, Stony Creek, Black Hog, Counter Weight, Relic, etc.) with a few out-of-staters represented by Lawson's Finest Liquids, Allagash and others.

Average wait for a pour was less than 5 minutes and the beer ambassadors took a lot of time to discuss their beers (and other's beers).  It was a really enjoyable night and we'll definitely do it again if it happens. 

I highly recommend going if it happens again and definitely advise attendees to Uber or Lyft...'cause you shouldn't be drivin' after all those high-octane beers!

Cheers,
Christopher

2017-10-28: Fox Farm Brewery, Salem CT

OK...just when you may have thought the Connecticut beer market was saturated, you discover another amazing brewer/brewery in your backyard!  These guys are awesome.  They have some GREAT beers...very unpretentious but creative and very enjoyable.  The highlight of the day for us was the Pantry Party, a co-op creation with another amazing, local farm brewery - Kent Falls Brewing Co.  The other offering we found to be perfectly crafted was their Gather (Keller Pilsner).

The staff was knowledgeable and approachable.  The facility is beautiful and welcoming...and yes...it is a real farm!  We were fortunate enough to hit it on a great weather day in October and enjoyed sharing our experience with families, dogs & other beer lovers.

If you're heading from north of Colchester, be sure to grab some bread before you leave and stop off and pick up some cheese at Cato Corner or Beltane on your way.  Our favorite pairing was Cato Corner's Blackledge Blue with Fox Farm's Pantry Party.

We'll definitely be looking for their beers on taps throughout the state and will visit again...soon!

It is so awesome that we're getting back in to family run, farm brewing here in America (and especially in New England).  Re-introducing older styles of beers to the American palate is a grand adventure.  We really appreciate brewers who do their research and come up with a great, personalized take on a classic style of beer.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.


Fox Farm has one of the coolest concepts we've come across in our beer travels - a beer with all the same grains each brew but using different hops each time. We enjoyed both the Roam - Galaxy and the Roam - Amarillo and it was a fun experience to compare the two.  Unfortunately, thanks to AB-InBev's commandeering of the entire South African Hops market, we may never get to have a Roam made with African Queen, Southern Passion or Southern Star. Sucks for us!

We highly recommend checking out Fox Farm Brewery and supporting local!

It truly is an awesome time to be a beer enthusiast in New England!

Cheers,
Christopher

2017-10-06: Tilted Barn Brewery, Exeter RI

OK...I'm almost afraid to list these guys because I want to keep this amazing brewery and family to ourselves.  If you're familiar with Treehouse beers, think about the best Treehouse beer you've had and then double-it.  Yup...these guys are truly that good. I promise. 

 You will wait in line...and you'll enjoy it!  Chatting with other beer lovers, getting a pour of your favorite Tilted Barn beer and getting a local shucked oyster to snack on makes your time in line not just bearable, but enjoyable.

A couple of important guidelines: THIS IS A FAMILY RUN FARM AND BREWERY.  THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE LIVE!  Please don't show up early!  All us beer geeks love being the first in for a limited release beer but these folks live and work here.  Please respect their hours of operation.

Our favorite beer was the Violete...a big, juicy New England style IPA made with pilsner malts.  It's light,but full bodied and drinks big.  It was super enjoyable. We'll be back...most definitely.

Check them out!

2017-10-06: Trinity Brewhouse, Providence RI

A nice little place with drinkable beer and decent food located on the edge of Federal Hill in Providence, RI.
We enjoyed their Kolsch and Screaming Viking beers.  Had a nice lunch out on the deck in this funky, artsy part of town

2016-09-17 Small State Great Beer

Small State Great Beer - Great Idea with Poor Execution

We purchased VIP tickets (we know...we're spoiled!) as we have friends who own breweries and wanted to get in early to catch up with them ahead of the crowds. We also wanted to catch a few of the newbie breweries before the crowds set in. Little did we know that the only enjoyable time would be during the VIP hour.

The organizers completely oversold the event.  Once general admin opened, the lines were 20 - 40 minutes to get a 2 oz sample. I won't go in to details, but shoving 4000+ people into Constitution Square is a joke.  All I can do is give a huge thanks to the folks from the various breweries in attendance who shared their beers and maintained much more patience than I could in a situation like this.  Many of the brewers we spoke with were overwhelmed...pouring as fast as they could to keep attendees from getting pissed off.

The VIP time was awesome but the general admin portion of the event was poorly executed and (I say again) completely oversold.  Social media was blowing up with attendees who couldn't get samples and were trying to figure out how to get their money back.  I know it's easy to criticize but it just seems like the organizers were greedy...choosing to oversell the event rather than limit the number of attendees and host a bigger event next year.  Our craft brew scene in Connecticut is becoming awesome!  Poorly executed events like this will keep some people from participating in future festivals.

The night wasn't a total loss!  We bailed (with a boatload of other folks) around 7:15 PM and headed home where we enjoyed some great local beers with friends.





Cheers,
Christopher

2016-09-03 Hog River Brewing Company

We'll have to give these guys another try after several months. 

They had only been open two weeks when we dropped in for a pint (or two or three!). We walked in and sat at the bar and waited 10+ minutes. The staff was awesome...communicating that they were swamped and would get to us as soon  as possible. We didn't have a problem waiting.

The owner came by and informed us that we wouldn't be served at the bar and we needed to line up at one of the kiosks and order...nice to know after we had waited patiently! As we were headed to the kiosk, I heard him say to a staff member that he wished folks would follow instructions. Hmmmm...the only instructions posted are above the kiosks that say you can order there...doesn't say anything about not being able to order at the bar. We're not really impressed right now and don't plan on heading back anytime soon.

OK...on to the beers! Very rooted in German malts and yeasts. We sampled 7 offerings and took home a growler of the porter. We didn't experience a beer that committed us to coming back the next day to enjoy again. As I said...we'll give them a several months to get settled and give them another try.

Just a quick note - we tried to sample the porter two days later but the growler was completely flat! We couldn't give it a second try. We were totally bummed!

Again, they've just opened and have some bugs to work out. We'll head back again in several months for a real experience.

The day wasn't a total loss! We enjoyed the Jungle Crush at City Steam and closed down BackEast in Bloomfield, CT while enjoying their new sour!