Connecticut Valley Brewing

 

Not really sure why we didn’t head up to Windsor Locks earlier and hit Gathering Ground to see the ogre and have hash before coming here, but I suspect it had something to do with the ladies. They don’t move quite as fast in a ‘throw a hat on and let’s go’ kind of way, it’s true. Too early for him to head out here, as he’s going to have to close up shop, but we’re on schedule to meet up with him and the Jenny at the next place, so there’s that…

Sizable standalone space out on tobacco row. Large open room, enter in and through to the rear, a straight tortoise shell marble topped bar, wood panel base & piping foot rail. Seating for just 4 to one side (I presume to keep the rest of the bar open for ‘get your beer, then stand clear’), on high wood chairs. Barback is a large plain wood panel piece with a pair of framed airplane prints and shelving on the ends with booze & booze. Counter space below holds a logo handled 12 tap barbell tower on center. Plastic cuppage and more booze slightly tiered to both sides. Logo piece above the barback unit and flats to each side. 1 shows foozball, the other displaying the disjointed ass beer list which shows ‘beers available’ on an untapped board (beer, style, ABV), but you can’t really tell what’s draft and what’s canned and it’s missing some things that are actually up. It’s annoying as actual fuck. Thanks for nuthin’!

Arched black ceiling with ductwork and skylight cuts on rafters, slat wood floors, and beige walls with beam trim and horizontal windowings. Flats on the front & side walls, a mounted airplane propeller, and vintage b/w airplane factory & prohibition drinking prints. Christmasy play; wreath on the barback, trees potted over the upright booze ends, strung garland, & a tree in the corner with colored bulb lighting (‘twas the season). Large model planes strung from the ceiling, drop mix & match filament bulb lights, and holiday ornaments large and colorful. A 3 door can cooler in the corner and merch racks to both sides. Sets of cushy chairs forward the floor and a couch that was removed for the Christmas singing group that was caroling when we arrived. Upwards of 2 dozen tables riddled about; hightop and low, yo.

Brewery to the rear over the bar’s shoulder. There’s a coffee shop attached through that doorway there (me, pointing) that may also be them, not sure, think so, but not sure. Food comes from there, too. Some side room seating action in there. Also, an outside deck with seating penned. Fire pits and Adirondack chairs, all that.

12 taps; 11 beers (Ace of Aces, Lager, 4.4%; Oktoberfest, Marzen, 5.8%; Trail Blazer, NEIPA, 8%; Satan’s Kingdom, Black IPA, 9%; The New Frontier, Triple IPA, 11%; Seasprite, APA, 4.8%; Plum Crazy Ale, Fruited Sour, 5.5%; Harvest Time Sour Cranberry Ale, Fruited Sour, 5.8%; Pineapple Sour, Fruited Sour, 5.5%; Camper’s S’more Stout, American Stout, 5%; Spiked Smoothie Lemonade, Fruit Beer, 5%), a single cider (Mason Brook Hard Cider, 4.8%), and a shitload of canned offerings, like, maybe 2 dozen of ‘em, including Northstar Spiked Seltzers & Spiked Smoothies.

Seasprite, APA, citrus, and a bit sweet, it was okay; Ace of Aces, Lager, was, I don’t know, I’m getting sulfur, this beer is just missing somehow; Plum Crazy Ale, Fruited Sour, okay, this one was good, tart & plummy; and Harvest Time Sour Cranberry Ale, and this one was better than the Plum one, nicely berry tart; Pineapple Sour, Fruited Sour, okay, not so much this one, puckery sweet; Satan’s Kingdom, Black IPA, maybe it’s the boozy Imperialness of it but it’s missing on that roast meets hop place; The New Frontier, Triple IPA, bitter AF, dank, pine, solid; Hand Over Heart, Schwarzbier, a bit chocolatey but lacked roast; Oktoberfest, Marzen, yeah, it’s an Okto, sure that works. Harvest Time Sour Cranberry Ale & The New Frontier, Triple IPA, were bests of show.

Good house, decent crowd, but the tunes were banal and unremarkable. I gone ‘et a lobster roll from the truck in the parking lot. I would have liked 6 more of ‘em. My high hopes for the Black IPA and Schwarzbier were dashed, but I did have a few beers I liked. Am thinking I need to come back through again.

Met up with family and ventured over here. Hit all the marks as everyone was hungry and thirsty. Themed taproom reflects the local aviation history in the region. Pretty large interior, food available via the adjoining coffee bar. Good service, flights available, dedication parking.

 

 

 

Large free-standing taproom on the northern outskirts of Hartford has a cavernous interior. Long bar opposite the entry seat about 12 and about 30 tables fill the remainder of the room. Additionally there is some outdoor seating under the eaves on two sides of the building. Fairly large exuberant crowd enjoying the free live music of a 4 piece band. 13 house beers and a hard cider on tap, I had the Let's Fly Away and enjoyed it very much. They also sell single cans to go (a feature I wish more breweries would adopt). Overall a very enjoyable visit and I look forward to stopping in whenever I'm in the neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stayed in Hopkinton for the night on Memorial Day weekend and decided to hit up this place considering it was open in this rainy weather and only 45 minutes from where we were.

The atmosphere is set in a barn on the property of Hyland Orchard & Brewery since 2004. Set in an old barn, they have an L shaped bar with a picnic table and a few high tops. Upstairs band rooms were not open yet, but we weren't there for the band, just to enjoy some fresh and local beer. There were windows around the majority of the room and the Brewhouse was visible through a door. Vintage beer serving trays were hung up around the room too. Simple setup was cool, but I could see this room getting packed in the colder or bad weather days before they open the upstairs rooms.

The quality of the beef was good. Produced every week and they carry Rapscallion, High Horse, and Blatant since they make these on site. Other guest breweries make there tap selections to fill in spots from time to time.

Service was good, but the bartender looked like hr was getting in the weeds as it was getting busier in the day.

The selection is limited to the breweries named above, but the styles of beer was good. 2 pale ales, American and Belgian IPA, farmhouse ale, Saison, double brown, double Vienna lager, double California IPA, a few others on the chalkboard I can't remember at the time. They also have wine to serve, but no spirits.

Good find in lovely old Sturbridge. Located tight off of 84 and not too far off of the Pike. $5 for every beer and they even allow you to bring in your own good too.

Stopped here on the way home from New Hampshire last month.

Atmosphere: Small tasting room that gives free samples, sells $5 pints, and sells growlers ranging from about $10 - $20 depending on the selection. 100+ acres of property outside including a kids playground, disc golf course, and outdoor pavilion with a stage for live music (usually blue grass) and an outdoor bar selling pints of the same beer as the tasting room.

Quality: Beer was good. Nothing stellar by any means but only 1 complete miss (pale ale) that I tried. The brewers reserve series offerings were not refined by any means but they were adventurous and enjoyable.

Service: Friendly and casual.

Selection: Perhaps 8-10 offerings brewed on premises and not many (if any) sharing the same style.

Not a destination but a decent stop on a beer trip for sure!

I can't believe that this place has gotten decent feedback. Mediocre (at best) beer, super-shabby, overrun with bikers, disinterested customer service, disorganized. I guess if you like disc-golf they do some of that out back, but it's not a nice set up, and they have a pavilion out back for crappy bands to play while drunk bikers dance. Let's get back to the beer . . . I sampled 4 and drank 2. I would have drain poured 2 of them. The Pale Ale was drinkable but completely lacking in any kind of flavor or texture. Would not go back.

Spent my second day at the brewery yesterday, both visits have been for Disc Golf tournaments held on the breweries scenic, fun and challanging 18 hole course.

So first they have disc golf, next a cozy tasting/drinking room, where you can bring in your own food, also a large sheltered picnic, outdoor beer area in the warm weather. Quality beer is available in growlers to go or pints to consume in the brewery. Add in a laid back, backwoods, friendly, easy going and casual overall vibe and this place is officially well worth a visit.

About 1.5 miles off of the main drak in Strubridge. Just a few miles from the intersection of Route 84 and the Mass Pike. Also just down the road from Yankee Spirits and its HUGE selection of all things beer, wine and booze. Finally, the BT smokehouse BBQ joint just east of the entrance road also is worth visiting, as they are turning out some quality que....

Real nice place for a relaxing pint/growler, a walk in the woods, or whatever...

After a wedding in Sturbridge on Saturday night, we had some free time on Sunday. We picked up some sandwiches from BT's Smokehouse and headed over to Pioneer. Inside, it's a cool looking place. Taps are all located in the back left corner. There's old beer serving trays that circle the whole room. The atmosphere is all brick and wood. Just a few tables and no seats at the bar, standing room only. We asked the bartender if it was cool to eat in here, and he said no problem. I then asked about if they did any type of samplers. He said not really, but he'd take care of us. He then proceeded to hook both me and my wife up with 4 sample sized glasses each! Sweet. They had 6 beer on tap that day: Pioneer Pale Ale, IPA, Stout, Red, Double Vienna, and Harvest Porter. Plus, they had Rapscallion and DFH 60 on guest taps. We got to try just about all of the house beers with our lunch. Great customer service for a first time visitor. Prices seemed pretty decent here, like $5-6 a pint. People were coming in to watch some NFL, some dudes on their motorcycles, and also there were some groups around playing frisbee golf on the property. No bombers for sale, but they did offer growlers. Very cool place, and I am glad we made the visit.

Hard to believe no one's weighed in on this fine place. Was there this afternoon, and just sent an email off to some friends. Here's the cut & paste:

A good place for our shenanigans! The Hyland Orchard & Brewery in Sturbridge. Kinda along the lines of the Nashoba Winery, and off the beaten trail. I stopped by this afternoon on my ride home. The tasting room/bar serves up pints for $4-5 (no food, the IPA was tasty) and had a fine 7-piece bluegrass band playing. Outside under a roof on the farm were maybe a dozen picnic tables and a stage with a honkin' jazz group called Superswank I believe. All free, every weekend.

Bring yer own food - a fine afternoon that made me almost forget the schlumpin' in traffic. Very kid friendly as well. And a horseshoe pit that was not being used. Need I say more? -- JB