Two Roads Brewing Company

Been comin’ here for beers for years many events spent but haven’t ever scribbled notes and am due, it’s true. More often than not for an Igor release coming soon enough (that which usually gets me off my ass to venture up and catch a little face time with Phil. Hey, remember that one done on cherry bitters? Goddamn that was excellent). No, today is fact finding mission Sunday and Ben bailed after just 2 breweries and 1 hot dog joint, but I had another one in me yet. Oh, where to go in Fairfield County when you’re hugging the I95 corridor…

So, in and up and parked at the bar; oval shaped with openings at both ends; wood plank butt ended topped all grainy and saw cut with a laminate top, vertical wide wood slat base, and a foot bar. Seating for 2 dozen+ around on squared wooden stools. A pair of 8 logo handled tap stainless barbell towers on both sides of the bar; 32 taps in all. Not 2 seconds into it and she’s asking if I’m writing words (I know it’s little little scribble, but what would you think it is otherwise?)

This upper floor holds a long space that on the back side, used to easily look upon the brewery mostly obstructed now as more and more tanks blind the landscape, expansion being what it is. Well worn wood plank floors and vaulted rafter ceilings with I-beams and cross beams going this way and that, pan lamps, piping, duct work, & spinny fans, like a, you know, big old factory space. Forward brick walls & panel windows blinded, and large windows looking in on the brewery to the rear. Logo 2 Roads pieces above, the obligatory Robert Frost ‘The road not taken’ quote printed large on the far wall, and lots of old b/w pics of the Sikorsky show. 10 cable spool tables on one end and a few more on the other end past the bar, + bar counter space for 2 dozen stooled forward and behind the bar, and some slight benchings and what not. Mad merch store with coolers to the rear for me to snag some of that beautiful Holiday Ale, a growler bar over there (me, pointing), and some event space down the hallway some.

37 things to drink; 29 of them were on draft. The remainder were 7 cans and a single bottle. The menu breakdown is as such: 11 ‘Bier, Biere, Beer, & More’ (Ol’ Factory, Slow Pour Pils, 5%; Cruise Control, Helles Lager, 4.8%; No Limits, Hefeweizen, 5%; Ok2Berfest, Marzen Style Lager, 5.8%; Roadsmary’s Baby, Rum BA Pumpkin Ale, 6.8%; Roadsmary’s Other Baby, Extra Rum BA Pumpkin Ale, 8.1%; Roadsmary’s Stepchild, Sour Pumpkin Ale, 7.3%; Espressway, Cold Brew Coffee Stout, 6.5%; Phil & Nate’s Most Excellent Radler, Helles + Lemonade, 3.2%; Holiday Ale, Bier De Noel, 7.3%; TwoConn, Ale, 4.3%), 11 ‘IPAs’ (Two Juicy, Hazy Juicy IPA, 8.2%; Wee Demon, 95 Calorie IPA, 3.8%; Road 2 Ruin, Double IPA, 8%; Lil’ Heaven, Crushable IPA, 4.8%; Honeyspot Road, Unfiltered IPA, 6%; Cloud Sourced, Hazy Juicy IPA, 6.5%; Lil’ Juicy, Hazy Juicy IPA, 6.2%; Twobular, West Coast IPA, 8.2%; Liquid Cure-age, Hazy IPA, NEBCO collab, 6%; CONNartist, IPA, 6.8%; Everything But the Kitchen Sink, IPA with advanced hop products, 7.2%), 3 ‘Area 2’ offerings (Table Terroir, House Ale, 3.7%; Pineapple Sour D, Hazy Hemp IPA w/Pineapple & Hemp extract, 7%; Second Life, American Wild Sour Ale w/Blood Peach & Passion Fruit, 6.4%), 9 ‘Fruited’ options, split between 4 ‘Fruited Gose’, 4.8% (Passion Fruit, Persian Lime, Pineapple Mango, & Blueberry Lemon), 4 ‘Craft Hard Seltzer’, 4.5% (H2Roads Grapefruit, Raspberry, Passion Fruit, & Meyer Lemon), & 1 double downed on ‘Craft Hard Seltzer’, 8% (H2Roads Blackberry), and 3 ‘Ready 2 Drink Cocktails’ (Daybreaker Blood Orange, Cran-Lime, & Meyer Lemonade, 7%).

It’s a hell of a list. It starts beery everything & IPA, and then moves through Area 2 Wildish to fruited sours to fruited hard seltzer and out the backside to cocktails. Drafts in .4L mostly but there was a single .5L (Hefe) and .25L for some larger ABV or sour goods. Preset or build your own flights.

I may have sampled a few… Okay, the Holiday Ale is malty goodness gorgeous. French Country déjà vu. If you’re not drinking this when it’s available, you’re some kind of an idiot; Ol’ Factory Pils on a LUKR was lovely; Ok2Berfest, Marzen Style Lager, hmmn, syrupy, caramel, slight hoppiness, pleasant enough; Twobular, West Coast IPA, citrus, check, pine, check, bitter, check, dry, check, well done; Table Terroir, House Ale, a little fruity, a little spicy, a little beer. It’s Holiday Ale for the win, of course, but the Ol’ Factory Pils on LUKR & Table Terror were up there, too.

Food trucks out front and slight snacks otherwise. Good tunes, cool space, some real good beer.

 

 

 

 

 

Fine spot for a visit...all things beer going on here,...fresh drafts, merchandise, cans and growler fills to go...these guys are brewing up all sorts of tasty beer options and well worth taking the time to pay em a visit,,,live music and a food truck happening when we visited......easy on and off 95.

 

This is a fun place to visit. The brewery has a certain dated charm, that I'm sure was intentional. The only knock I had on the vibe, is that it's not as quick a path to the tasting room as I'd like. They do offer a wide variety of brews, including a list of retired beers they have a few of(some of which require multiple people due to the size or ABV). The fementers and canning process is visible from the tap room, and the staff is attentive and cares about beer. I live on the wrong side of the Sound, but would definitely make another trip here.

 

Vibe: a fun place to be. Large taproom overlooking the facility.
Quality: Good.
Service: Fantastic. Friendly staff.
Selection: Also fantastic. Wide variety and great quality.

 

 

 

Great selection of their own brews, large industrial space, outdoor beergarden. Very well done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited Saturday early afternoon, The Baird Machine building is an old gem re purposed into this large production brewery. The outside has some food trucks and a side yard with a small stage and area for games.
The vibe inside was taproom and viewing area, nicely appointed, noise level is high with some tanks venting sporadically to add ambiance. The quality is very good, solid line up of draft offerings including seasonal . I like the history photos and ephemera.
Service is prompt and polite, lots of staff all wired together via radio, an empty glass on a surface lasts seconds very quick to clean up, which I appreciate.
Pricing was very good and the value I felt was quite good.

 

My first visit was a great experience. Wasn't sure what to expect but I am a fan of their double IPA Road to Ruins so I had to try it out.
It was crowded but there was plenty of parking. This was on a Saturday so before entering the converted factory there was a guy who checked your id and you get a stamp to enter. The fun happens upstairs. I did not check to see if they had an elevator for anyone in wheelchairs or physical limitations but that thought crossed my mind. If you visit call ahead. The bar and the store is on the second level. It appears that they do rotate their taps so many of the beers I'm familiar with were not on tap. They did have a great selection and some newer ones I had never tried.
Weekends are their most busiest so the bar area was full. Luckily we arrived when two others were leaving. No food was served but they did have snacks for sale. We had chips. There was a food truck at the time and they rotate that extra service. We decided to do a flight. You get five 4 ounce glasses from their tap. After this we decided to take the tour and tasting for $5 which you purchase at their store. The tour was great. I highly recommend doing that first before heading to the bar. You sample five of their beers. Our guide gave us extra samplings from a plastic two or maybe three ounce size cup so you walk away feeling great.
The brewery was very clean although very warm where the beer making process takes place. Once again call before heading over. The tour takes place from the second level down the stairs to the bottom floor. I did not check if they can accommodate people who cannot go up and down stairs safely. Overall not a bad experience.
The store had great items to purchase. We settled for a baseball cap and a sign but there so many options including six packs and bigger packs of their recent beers t-shirts and more. I would definitely return with a group of friends in the near future.

 

 

fun time, good food trucks. beer t go is always a plus

Probably the biggest craft brewery in the state of Connecticut, Two Roads selections are good and high quality. They have a lot of variety in the tap room all the time. Once in a while they would have a Pilot batch beer for on-site consumption. Food truck is always available outside if you need food. Large facility to hang out and definitely good vibe from people.