Beer store advice for Derby, CT area

Discussion in 'New England' started by lonewolfcry, Jul 7, 2013.

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  1. lonewolfcry

    lonewolfcry Pooh-Bah (1,994) Dec 7, 2007 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have a nephew in Derby, CT who is willing to fill a 12 bottle shipper for me.
    He is not much of a beer enthusiast, so I'm trying to make this easy and cut out as many dead ends as possible before sending him shopping.

    I have compiled a draft list of beers I'm interested in that I believe are distributed, to a degree, to CT.
    Obviously I'll need to whittle the list down a bit.
    I have no idea which of these may be in season, and I realize some may be impossible to find.

    I am mainly interested in IPA, IIPA, all Stouts and BA Barleywines, but will venture out to world class sours.

    I used SeekABrew for my reference in finding the breweries for CT distribution.
    I would appreciate any input concerning:
    *Best stores for availability of these beers closest to the Derby area.
    *IPA's I should stay away from, if not particularly fresh at this time.
    *Any input or recommendations on these, or any other CT distributed beers - not available to MN, that I may have over looked.

    I'm really not so much concerned over saving a few dollars, but rather looking to find stores with quantity & quality of selection.
    Thanks so much in advance for your input.

    Again, I'm looking for shops in the Derby area - I would not like to ask him to drive more than 20 miles.
    Here's my list, so far:

    Allagash: Curieux, FV 13 (realize this may be tough)
    Ballast Point: Big Eye IPA, Dorado Double IPA, Sea Monster Imperial Stout
    Berkshire: Russian Imperial Stout
    Captain Lawrence: Captain's Reserve Imperial IPA
    Dogfish Head: 75 Min IPA, 90 Min IPA, Burton Baton, World Wide Stout
    Goose Island: BCBCS (I've heard this may still be at some shops - we have none here)
    Green Flash: Palate Wrecker, Silva Stout (realize this may be tough)
    Harpoon Brewery: Leviathan Imperial IPA
    Ithaca: Alphalpha
    Maine Beer Company: Lunch, MO
    Mission Brewery: Dark Seas
    New England Brewing: 668 Neighbor Of The Beast, Gandhi-Bot Double IPA, Imperial Stout Trooper (realize these may be tough)
    Sixpoint Brewery: 3Beans, Resin
    Smuttynose: Baltic Porter, Imperial Stout, Robust Porter, IPA "Finest Kind"
    Thomas Hooker: Liberator Doppelbock, Imperial Porter


    Thanks again.
    Cheers!
     
    #1 lonewolfcry, Jul 7, 2013
  2. AaronF

    AaronF Initiate (0) Jun 23, 2012 Connecticut

    Just have him go to the New England Brewery about 20 mins away and have him send u growlers of the stuff. The rest of your list will be difficult to fulfill.

    He can try Mountainview liquors in Naugatuck or Amity liquors in New Haven but have him check bottling dates. I haven't seen fresh Ballast Point or Maine stuff in CT or at least close to Derby.
     
    #2 AaronF, Jul 7, 2013
  3. BriceNice

    BriceNice Crusader (446) Jun 23, 2011 Connecticut
    Trader

    Yea Amity Wine is your best bet. It's probably 5-10 miles away, depending on where in Derby he is. Some things you definitely won't find, or would involve some hunting: FV 13, WWS, BCBCS, Silva, Lunch, Gandhi, and IST. But you can most likely get a growler of Gandhi filled at the brewery, which is like a quarter mile from Amity Wine.

    My opinion on some of your beer selections - Ballast Big Eye is ok, Dorado I hated. Sculpin is awesome though. Harpoon Leviathon is nothing special either. You should definitely check out Cambridge Brewing Flower Child (one of the best IPA's on CT shelves) and Audacity of Hops. Ithaca, I've never had Alphalpha, but Flower Power is great if you've never had it. Everything else that I've had from your list is good, and not hard to find. NEBCO Sea Hag is always good too.
     
    #3 BriceNice, Jul 8, 2013
  4. lonewolfcry

    lonewolfcry Pooh-Bah (1,994) Dec 7, 2007 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks very much for your opinion.
    I purposely left out two of the good ones that I've already had, simply because I wanted to try new stuff.
    I totally agree with you on those (Sculpin & Flower Power are fantastic).

    I'm glad you mentioned the Cambridge Brewing beers, as I'm looking for some bombers.
    That brewery doesn't even come up on SeekaBrew, so I never would've seen those.
    Are they readily available on the shelf?

    Once again - thanks a lot!
    Cheers!
     
    #4 lonewolfcry, Jul 16, 2013
  5. BriceNice

    BriceNice Crusader (446) Jun 23, 2011 Connecticut
    Trader

    That Amity store usually has them. Audacity should be no problem, Flower may or may not be there. If your nephew hasn't gone yet, today would be a really good day to go. Gandhi cans hit New Haven County today
     
    #5 BriceNice, Jul 16, 2013
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