[mels]

Finally a positive list where Connecticut cracked the top 10! If you are into craft beer, as I am, you will have noticed a lot of new brewers up and coming in Connecticut in the past few years (check out the CT beer trail if you want to see just how many are popping up).

10 cities that love craft beer the most - MarketWatch

[MrGompers]

Thomas Hooker in Bloomfield has a tour/tasting for 5$. I think that gives you 6 samples of 4 oz each.
I would recommend going on a Saturday at 12 noon. The place starts to get busy by 2pm or so.
That was the best $5 I've spent in a long time.
While on the brewery tour (which isn't very big) I saw packaged beer for "City Steam" so i would assume they do brewing for other labels too.

A new brewery opened in Middletown about a year ago although I don't think they do brewery tours. They are called "Stubborn Beauty" and you can get their beer on draft at Eli Cannon's and perhaps some more restaurants on Main St in Middletown.

I've also had some beer from "Olde Burnside Brewery" in East Hartford, but haven't gone on one of their tours.

[Mr_250]

I am not a fan of craft brews. I feel like hispters and yuppies only drink them (no offense). When I want a beer...I want a beer not some IPA, irish red, hoppy, blah blah blah. I don't want to think when I'm picking a beer from the cooler. Too many options with these craft beers. It's like a test every time you want to drink a beer.If another craft beer 'lover' sees you drinking a craft beer they insist on talking to you about that beer. It's like I'm supposed to know everything about the beer I'm drinking when I'm drinking a Berkshire Irish Tan Mom (or whatever these hispters call their beer).

I'll stick to Coors Light which I always get made fun of for drinking. The only cool thing I like about these craft brew places is usually they are converted factory buildings so the architecture is cool.

[JGBigGreen]

We definitely have some great craft breweries in Connecticut. Thomas Hooker has one of the best Chocolate Stouts I've tasted. My wife and I went to Black Hog Brewing a few weeks ago and they make some amazing beers.

[mels]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

I am not a fan of craft brews. I feel like hispters and yuppies only drink them (no offense). When I want a beer...I want a beer not some IPA, irish red, hoppy, blah blah blah. I don't want to think when I'm picking a beer from the cooler. Too many options with these craft beers. It's like a test every time you want to drink a beer.If another craft beer 'lover' sees you drinking a craft beer they insist on talking to you about that beer. It's like I'm supposed to know everything about the beer I'm drinking when I'm drinking a Berkshire Irish Tan Mom (or whatever these hispters call their beer).

I'll stick to Coors Light which I always get made fun of for drinking. The only cool thing I like about these craft brew places is usually they are converted factory buildings so the architecture is cool.

Like anything else, if it is something you really enjoy, you look for the locally produced or mom and pop version. Kind of like buying your cakes from the local bakery versus the ol' Stop and Shop sheet cake, you know? I haven't found any of the breweries pretentious or hipsterish, and I have visited mega brewers like Sam Adams, medium sized like Harpoon, all the way down to the small-time brewers with 2 employees. But whatever, if trying different beers isn't your thing, it isn't your thing.

The latest local beer I tried was the Granola Brown by Black Hog. I have never been there (picked it up at the liquor store), but it sounds like it may be worth the trip, JGBigGreen!

[howdydoody342]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

I am not a fan of craft brews. I feel like hispters and yuppies only drink them (no offense). When I want a beer...I want a beer not some IPA, irish red, hoppy, blah blah blah. I don't want to think when I'm picking a beer from the cooler. Too many options with these craft beers. It's like a test every time you want to drink a beer.If another craft beer 'lover' sees you drinking a craft beer they insist on talking to you about that beer. It's like I'm supposed to know everything about the beer I'm drinking when I'm drinking a Berkshire Irish Tan Mom (or whatever these hispters call their beer).

I'll stick to Coors Light which I always get made fun of for drinking. The only cool thing I like about these craft brew places is usually they are converted factory buildings so the architecture is cool.

thanks dad

[Mr_250]

Originally Posted by mels

Like anything else, if it is something you really enjoy, you look for the locally produced or mom and pop version. Kind of like buying your cakes from the local bakery versus the ol' Stop and Shop sheet cake, you know? I haven't found any of the breweries pretentious or hipsterish, and I have visited mega brewers like Sam Adams, medium sized like Harpoon, all the way down to the small-time brewers with 2 employees. But whatever, if trying different beers isn't your thing, it isn't your thing.

The latest local beer I tried was the Granola Brown by Black Hog. I have never been there (picked it up at the liquor store), but it sounds like it may be worth the trip, JGBigGreen!

My post was supposed to have a touch sarcasm. I'm actually very stingy when it comes to soap. I'll only buy soap that was made in my town. lol

Everyone has their own thing.

Originally Posted by howdydoody342

thanks dad

You're welcome, now go mow the lawn.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

Thomas Hooker in Bloomfield has a tour/tasting for 5$. I think that gives you 6 samples of 4 oz each.
I would recommend going on a Saturday at 12 noon. The place starts to get busy by 2pm or so.
That was the best $5 I've spent in a long time.

If you go on a Saturday you get a wristband good for 10 tastings for $5. On the 1st & 3rd Friday of every month they have a happy hour where for $10 you get unlimited samples from 5-8 and take home a pint glass at the end of the night. Best of all, half the profits benefit the Village for Children and Families orphanage.

Originally Posted by Mr.Gompers

A new brewery opened in Middletown about a year ago although I don't think they do brewery tours. They are called "Stubborn Beauty" and you can get their beer on draft at Eli Cannon's and perhaps some more restaurants on Main St in Middletown.

Stubborn Beauty has some good beers. Interestingly, in that same warehouse there's a second brewery set to open in a few months. I went to SB for the first time a few weeks ago while on vacation and there's a sign in the window saying "Forest City Brewery". When I asked one of the bartenders at SB about it they said a second place in coming soon. It'll be nice to do a little pub crawl there.

I'm not surprised to see craft beer become more popular in this state. More and more people are tired of the big-name brands, and up until recently, this hasn't really been a state that's been known for microbreweries. It is now, though. 8 are slated to open in 2015 alone. Bloomfield now has 2 microbreweries and a distillery just opened recently right off Blue Hills Ave, not far from Back East. All sorts of cool things are popping up in this state.

[howdydoody342]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

My post was supposed to have a touch sarcasm. I'm actually very stingy when it comes to soap. I'll only buy soap that was made in my town. lol

Everyone has their own thing.



You're welcome, now go mow the lawn.

People used to have such few beer choices twenty years ago, and lets face it, coors light taste like water.

I'm not saying u need to buy into the whole brewery movement, i tend to stick with a few beers i really like, but i hardly consider Sierra Nevada's pale ale to be some crazy hipster beer. If anything having more choice isnt a bad thing, just like when u go to a liquor store and see a thousand different brands of vodka, whiskey, gin etc.

If you want to go and drink coors light no one is going to care and I'm sure big beer vendors will thank you as the recent upswing of craft breweries has definitely taken a fair share of the market away from large corporations.

[JGBigGreen]

Originally Posted by mels

The latest local beer I tried was the Granola Brown by Black Hog. I have never been there (picked it up at the liquor store), but it sounds like it may be worth the trip, JGBigGreen!

mels, the beers are worth the trip alone but, just to warn you, it is a little off the beaten path and there is not much there except the brewery. But, you can bring your own food- they don't serve any or didn't when we were there- and enjoy the beers at your own pace. Definitely not a touristy destination spot like Two Roads but I think the beer is much, much better. If you like stouts, they have a nitro coffee milk stout that is amazing!