Go LOCAL In A Big Way!!!

On September 17, 2016, Hartford will host the Small State Great Beer festival in Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford.

The event currently boasts 21 local breweries with more to be added as the event nears.

I know we all love heading out and exploring individual breweries and getting to know our local brewers, but what a great way to show you support multiple breweries in our state!

I'm a beer-snob...I know...but maybe one day Connecticut will rival states like Vermont, Oregon, Washington and Illinois as a craft brew destination.

Cheers!

2016-07-09 Hanging Hills Brewing Company

Grand Opening!

We hit the grand opening of the new Hanging Hills Brewing Company in Hartford with a few friends on Saturday...along with several hundred other beer enthusiasts!  The place was packed!  They offered a flight of 5 beers and, at least with our group, two of them were pretty outstanding - the Wheelhouse Weiss was our group favorite.  The House Mild is a very nice English Bitter style beer with plenty of character. 

The only unfortunate aspect of the brewery is that its located very close to a school and therefore there's no outside area to enjoy your beer. While this is likely not an issue normally, at the grand opening it was packed and it would have been a welcomed relief to head outside to enjoy our flights.

The folks behind the counter were quite friendly (as you'd expect!) and the experience was enjoyable, despite the crowd and lack of a food truck (there was one vendor there selling hot dogs).

We'll definitely be back but are going to give them a couple weeks to settle in.

Cheers!

2016-03 Newport, RI

Holy Cow!  Newport, RI is a fun and rockin' town full of history, good beer and great barkeeps!
Having never visited Rhode Island, we decided to take a jaunt to Newport during the off season to see what the city is like on a "normal" and non-touristy day.  We headed out Saturday morning with a couple of stops in mind: Benjamin's Tavern for lunch; Coddington Brewing Company and Pour Judgement.

So....lunch at Benjamin's is a must.  The food was great and the bar is very social.  Ended up sitting next to a guy named John who, we found out later, was the barkeep at The White Horse...more on
that later.  The food was awesome!  The beer was fresh and they had a limited but good selection of local beers.  I highly recommend the Newport Storm's Hurricane Amber Ale - just amazing with Fish and Chips.

Our next stop was Coddington Brewing Company in Middletown, RI.  We probably just need to give it a second visit (what a chore!) but we didn't find any beers that jumped out and made us swear that we'd be back.  The beers we're enjoyable but neither of us could tell you what we had or what we'd like to have again.



We demonstrated Pour Judgement on this day!  We are lucky enough to have a friend who lived in Newport for several years and told us not to miss out on Pour Judgement.  The name alone brought us in!  The bottle selection is fantastic.  The draft selection is great.  I enjoyed the India Red Rye IPA from Stoneface Brewing Company in Portsmouth, NH.  This is an AMAZING beer by a great group of guys.  Pour Judgement had several other local draft selections that we enjoyed and we probably could have stayed most of the rest of the day but we had places to visit!  If you're in Newport and want to drink with the locals...this is the place!

We ended our day (and our ability to remain vertical!) at The White Horse Tavern in Newport. Having been originally opened in 1673 we pretty much knew that these guys know what they're doing.  The food is absolutely terrific and the cocktails are artfully prepared without pretense.  Our buddy from Benjamin's earlier in the day (John) is a great bartender and knows much of the history of both The White Horse and the area.  Best drink of the night was his Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned.  Don't miss this place or cocktail if you come to the area.

Remember...UBER IS YOUR FRIEND!  Enjoy your adventures safely!

2015-11 Olde Burnside Brewing Company

We had occasion to visit the Olde Burnside Brewery in East Hartford, CT for a fundraiser on Saturday.  Olde Burnside is responsible for putting together Pipes In The Valley which takes place in September at the RiverWalk Park in Hartford.
The evening was grand.  It was a quintessential New England Fall night with crisp temps, a couple of good fires and plenty of great beer.
The hit of the night for me was the Double Red - a rich, smooth, heavy ale just right for the evening.

We'll enjoy many more beers from this great, local brewery!


www.oldeburnsidebrewing.com

2015-07 Fiddlehead Brewing Company

Fiddlehead Brewing Company in Shelburne is one of the true highlights of any Beer Adventure in Vermont.

Their Fiddlehead IPA is literally amazing.  I’m not a religious guy, but Matty O is truly directed by a higher power.  I often hear a choir of angels somewhere in the background when enjoying a Fiddlehead IPA!  While there's a new beer on tap about every two weeks at the brewery, they always have the IPA.

The brewery doesn't have a tasting room per se...everyone just hangs out in the lobby and the barkeeps provide samples, fill growlers, etc.  The back wall of the lobby is glass so you can see the guys hard at work - crafting the next amazing offering from Fiddlehead.

If you're hungry and want to relax and enjoy a few beers, the pizza joint next door has a BYOB policy and you'll find lots of Fiddleheaders hanging out there.

Definitely a must on any brew tour through Vermont.

Cheers!


www.fiddleheadbrewing.com

Fiddlehead is part of the Vermont Brewery Challenge put together by the Vermont Brewers Association.Check out the program at www.vermontbrewers.com.

2015-07: Switchback Brewing Company

Switchback was a great visit…I had low expectations based on what was apparently a very old bottle of beer that someone gave me. I was very pleasantly surprised by both their offerings and extremely knowledgeable and friendly staff as well as the comfortable atmosphere.
A word of advice:
DON'T PARK ON THE STREET UNLESS YOU'RE IN A DESIGNATED PARKING ZONE!
We were able to park in the brewery parking lot but saw several tickets being issued to folks who parked on the street to access the water.

On to the beers!  Switchback's flagship ale is awesome!  It's a naturally carbonated, unfiltered ale that is robust but finishes clean...leaving you to want just one more sip.  We enjoyed a flight and settled on the Switchback Ale and then the Dooley's Belated Porter and a Roasted Red Ale.  All were terrific.

Several of Switchback's beers are unfiltered and naturally carbonated which is a nice differentiation from most other breweries these days.  I don't want to sound to uppity, but the mouthfeel of a naturally carbonated beer is VERY different from most of the force carbonated beer we drink.  It's great to experience and enjoy.

www.switchbackvt.com

Switchback is part of the Vermont Brewery Challenge put together by the Vermont Brewers Association.Check out the program at www.vermontbrewers.com.

2015-07: Vermont Pub and Brewery

Casualties of a visit to The Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington, VT. 

Highlight of the visit was the Bombay Grab IPA.

They offer flights of 4 beers.  No brewery tours.

Cheers!


www.vermontbrewery.com

They are part of the Vermont Brewery Challenge put together by the Vermont Brewers Association.Check out the program at www.vermontbrewers.com.

2015-07 Von Trapp Brewing

We started our day at 10:00 AM at the Von Trapp Lodge with awesome egg sandwiches and a flight of 4 lager beers!  The views from the lodge are amazing.  Unfortunately, while the beer is great, the brewery itself won’t open to the public until sometime in 2016. Still, the wait staff is knowledgeable and friendly. The Dunkel Lager was a favorite as was the Golden Helles.

Von Trapp is part of the Vermont Brewery Challenge put together by the Vermont Brewers Association.Check out the program at www.vermontbrewers.com.

Cheers!

2015-04: New England Brewing Company

Definitely not the most enjoyable brewery visit we’ve had and we won’t be visiting again!  We checked the website (which I’m not even going to list) and discovered Fuzzy Baby Ducks IPA.  Sounded like a perfect way to ring in the wonderful Spring weather we’re experiencing.

We made the 40 minute drive to New England Brewing Company.  The parking lot was empty but we could see a couple folks in the tasting room.  Upon entering the tasting room we greeted the barman and said we couldn’t wait to try the Fuzzy Baby Ducks IPA.  He laughed…literally laughed at us.  He then went on to tell us that its a limited release beer, is gone as soon as its produced and the next production run wouldn’t be for several weeks.

I explained that the website shows its on tap at the brewery.  He laughed again and said he and the website development/hosting company were having a “financial disagreement” and the website hadn’t been updated in almost a year.  He then went on to tell us the only way to keep up with them is on Facebook.

The beers they had on tap were not spectacular.  The folks working the bar didn’t care if we were patronizing them or not.  Don’t waste your time!

2015-04: Broad Brook Brewing Company

 Awesome beer...awesome people!  B3 is a fantastic small brewery located in East Windsor, CT.  They focus on lots of german-styled beers but their Hopstillo IPA is a must have.  Definitely one of best kept secrets around.

For me the Hopstillo IPA and the Rough Guy Rye IPA were highlights.  I have to admit though, the Pink Dragon Wit was an enjoyable experience as well.

Check out their website for details on what they have on tap at the brewery.

Cheers!

www.broadbrookbrewing.com