Possible 3 day CT beer trip... but which breweries?

Beer'd (Stonington)
New England Brewing (aka NEBCO -- Woodbridge)
OEC
Two Roads
Kent Falls

Others will list more I'm sure...but, the one you absolutely MUST make your way to isn't in CT but is right over the border -- Tree House.

 

Everybody is gonna say, I'll just be first. If you're coming this far, you should probably hit Tree House for sure and Trillium if you're up for a bit more of a drive.

NEBCO is fine, but it's 4 growlers only and no cans. If you like sours, OEC is a must. Also, If you're around on Aug 4, there's a Trailblazer release that day. Other breweries could include Steady Habit, Beer'd (recently started canning). Kent Falls has some good stuff, but you could prob just get distro instead of gong there.

- he beat me...

 

Good to know....I'll revise my post:

Kent Falls is on your way into CT. They just opened a new brewery that includes a tour. No drinking on site, but they have a variety of farmhouse ales, sours, brett IPAs, juicy IPAs....check their site.

OEC is a great spot to hang and offers very unique sour brews. Sometimes they have food trucks too.

NEBCO - has a solid rotation and free samples.

Steady Habit - makes killer NE style IPAs and some great stouts too. They also have free samples. However, they are very small and beer availability varies greatly. Check their FB page.

Two Roads - Nice and big facility. The beers don't do a anything for me personally, but it's a cool place.

Beer'd - don't know much but they have a good rep and periodically release cans

Pioneer - again, if you're in town on 8/4, there is a Trailblazer release. Some people hate this beer because it gets overhyped and compared to Julius, but it's still a very juicy DIPA and you can get 19 cans.

 

Keep in mind with timing though. OEC and Kent Falls only open on Saturdays. Kent Falls gets good distro but they do release good stuff brewery only. Just check the website to see if they have brewery only release. The brewery is about 45-75 mins out of the way so make it worthwhile

I would conciser Outer Lights and Thimble Island on the way to Beerd.

 

If you do hit Beer'd it's a short ride over the border to Grey Sail in RI. A lot of other smaller breweries around with average (by BA standards) beer and cool spaces to visit.
NEBCO and Beer'd are my personal favorites. Steady Habit is solid. Enjoy your visit and drink what you like. Cheers!

 

If you venture into RI, Proclamation Ales is solid for taps and bottle/cans/growlers

 

If you are still unsure on where exactly you are staying, I would suggest one of those nights be in Middletown.

It is a 25 minute drive northwest to Relic Brewing, which has been making some good stuff lately. Free samples, you can grab pints, and fill growlers. Right down the street from there is J Timothy's, which is a great tavern that always has a Beer'd brew on rotation and arguably the best wings around (Archie Moore's are slightly better imo). Google 'dirt wings' and from there that will make you want to stop. About a 10 minute drive is Firefly Hollow Brewery. Definitely one of the best settings where you can enjoy mediocre beers (imo) with a group of people,
I would say worth checking out since you are so close.

Back to why to stay in Middletown- you are another easy drive away from a couple new breweries that opened up: Still Hill (in Rocky Hill) and Hanging Hills (in Hartford). Can't really speak for either one, though. On top of that, there's Stubborn Beauty in Middletown that makes different style beers that are awesome- highly underrated. To eat in downtown Middletown you have Eli Cannon's, which has one of the best tap lists you'll find in CT.

In the end, very central to many stops- then a very easy drive down route 9 to Steady Habit and then you're on your way to Beer'd in the most southeastern point of CT.

 

here's another vote for J Timothy's. I've stopped there several times. the wings are great and there's usually at least one or two above average beers on tap. i've had Sip of Sunshine and a few really good Beer'd offerings there before. I haven't come across too many bars in CT that reliably will have something of that quality on tap.

 

You could consider both CT and RI since they are both small! In one day in RI I would hit Grey Sail in Westerly (for captains daughter) and then Proclamation, especially if you get to beer'd in stonington CT which I highly recommend as well. I'd probably stop in at Malted Barley in Westerly too for a pretty solid tap list. Others can speak more to CT.

 

Forgot to mention that in the same building of Stubborn Beauty is Forest City Brewing (literally 50 yards from eachother). They are fairly new and I went there once and was very impressed.

 

So many have said good things that I can't argue with but only expound. If you are indeed doing a 3 day trip might I suggest one of the day's be dedicated to South Eastern CT.

Depending on the day you come you could have an early lunch at Malted Barley in Westerly RI (you can see CT out the back). They have amazing Pretzels and lots of good beer choices. After that head a mile down the road to Grey Sail. I haven't been since they opened their tap room but it used to be $5 for a pint glass and 4 or 5 healthy samples. Once you finished up (I assume you have a DD at this point) head over to Beer'd in Stonington (about 15 min away). Some of the best IPAs in New England. Get samples and a pint. By the time you've finished at Beer'd you'll probably be hungry again so grab some food on the go and go visit Outer Light Brewing Company in Groton (maybe 20 min away). It's BYOF and its a personal favorite of mine. I'm biased because I used to live next door but I think all the beer is above average and the people who run the place are top notch.

That's the tour I would show a friend visiting my neck of the woods.

Some other CT beer-centric stops:
Engine Room (Gastro-Pup in Mystic)
The Social (Gastro-Pup in New London)
Black Pond Brews (Small small brewery in Danielson)
Willimantic Brewing Company (Brewery/Restaurant in Willimantic, had loads of other beer, best Nachos in the state)

Cheers. Have fun.

 

Some people don't like this beer because it has an astringent aftertaste, plus each batch is different. To each their own! But I would not recommend driving all the way out to Wolcott when there's nothing else around there and there are much better offerings from Kent Falls, Beer'd, Steady Habit, and of course Nebco. All of the other recommendations are spot on.

Kent Falls I would highly recommend not only for the beer but since you've never been to CT before. The brewery is only open Saturdays, bottle sales only, but they are on a small farm where you can get great food stuffs too. It's a gorgeous part of the state. Google Kent Falls State Park CT (not the brewery). And not too far is a restaurant called At The Corner. They typically have a couple of great beers on tap and they do really inexpensive growler fills. Follow them on beermenus:

https://www.beermenus.com/places/10600-at-the-corner

Hope you enjoy our state and beer!

 

Ones I'd absolutely go to:
Kent falls*
Beer'd*
Steady habbit*
Nebco*
OEC*
Outerlights
cold creek
Relic
Back East

Take your pick for the last one:
Stubborn beauty
Forest city (maybe an 11th if you pick stubborn beauty since they're in the same building)
No worries
Tidal River


*potentially long waits in line depending on when you get there and what they're releasing.

Example: you may just want to give up on nebco and grab a sea hag sixer from a package store depending on what they're selling. The coriolis can release last week was nuts and you'd be better off spending that time checking out other breweries. They're on tap all over the state so you can probably find something interesting from them as you're going around the state.

 

Not sure if you get Tired hands? But I bet u can bring a few 4pks of them.You can make some easy trades.all while visiting any of these breweries.and make beer friends!

 

Ct beer trail is a pretty good resource. Not a lot of reviews but it lists most breweries and has links and a map of breweries. Worth a look.

http://ctbeertrail.net

Have fun.

 

if your going to go to OEC then take a 10 min ride down the road to black hog. Good beer and cool atmosphere.

 

I would say Kent Falls shouldn't be on anyone's visit list. It's a really long drive for mostly shelf beers, no samples, no drafts, and no growler fills. I enjoyed the area, but as far as brewery trip, it's a waste of time unless you're going to Kent for other stuff.

 

I like this strategy. I miss living in Portland. Felt like everything was at least somewhat close. Now Beer'd is well over an hour for me.