What's on the shelves in Connecticut? (2020)

Baby Kittens is right there with Headway. It is an incredible value for 9.99 a 4-pack. Better than a lot of beers at $15-16. Great stuff.

I would highly recommend Marlowe Eager to Share as well, that you can typically find for $11-12 or so. Great beer. Both are distributed by 12%, who are doing a great job getting affordable great beer on our shelves.

 

I was going to ask whether the price had something to do with Twelve Percent. FOC trickled up to MA last year and it definitely wasn't cheap but maybe that was before TP got their hands on it. I still expect to pay more across the state line but I am hoping for something like $14 not $18.
How to people feel about contract brewing in general? Are we supposed to be cool with it? Does it depend on the facility?

 

I like their Golden better, but agree with your overall sentiment. Their beers have definitely helped me achieve some goals for me, if you know what I mean...

 

For me, it depends on the taste of the beer. FoC was brewing at Shebeen for awhile and I liked the beers then, even tho I dislike Shebeen immensely and so many of their beers are shit.

Of course my favorite contract brew story is still all the people who say Two Roads ruined Sip of Sunshine and it was better when it was brewed in VT by Lawson's. lol

 

SOS was brewed in VT?

 

No, never. Hence the "lol".

 

Thanks! I'll have to check baby kittens out then.

 

U weren’t kidding, baby kittens is awesome, glad i checked it out. Hopefully they continue to get it out to stores, would easily get into the rotation with headway and sea hag.

 

I made the trip across the border for a curbside pickup. I loaded up.

6pak Sea Hag and 6pak Supernaut. (Affordable CT staples I almost always grab when available.)
4pak Headway and 4pak Crucial Mass (I always grab Headway. Crucial Mass was a bonus. Both still relatively affordable for the style and Crucial is great.)
4pak Easy to Share (I have heard good things but have never had Marlowe. Same price as Headway. May drink together and compare)
4pak Baby Kittens (I have had Fat Orange Cat but not this. I also paid a premium for it up in MA. This was actually cheaper than Headway and Easy to Share. May drink all three of those together and compare.)
4pak Lips and Lungs and 4pak Dripping with Class (Splurge time. Not badly priced but compared to the other stuff I picked up it seems like it. I have never had Short Throw and picked these up based only on Untappd reviews and the association with Twelve Percent)

How did I do?

 

That's a solid load. (But maybe shy of having to post it in two different threads)

 

This is about a grand slam score as you can get. Pure class brews there.

 

Pimps gonna pimp.

 

I'll be coming from NJ going route 84 through Hartford, to rt 44 and eventually get to Rhode Island. I sadly don't have time to stop anywhere that is not pretty much right on the roads there. I would love to stop at Oec for some lager but can't. What would be the best store to stop in where I could pick up any CT brewery options. I'm not sure if oec, fox farm are on the shelves anywhere but figured I would ask.

 

I don't know/think this is the case anymore, but back when he first contracted at Two Roads, Sean was driving down monthly for those SoS brew days.

 

So are there two types of contract brewing that get lumped together? One where a brewer simply uses the equipment at a contract facility and one where a brewer has the contract facility actually do the brewing?

 

My favorite part of that (besides the aforementioned tendency of people insisting Sip was much better when it was brewed in Vermont) was seeing VT people who would swear that the Warren beers had gone downhill because Sean was spending too much time in Stratford brewing Sip at the same time that CT people were swearing Sip wasn't as good anymore because Sean was no longer coming down to brew it in person.

 

Ya. The agreements can differ quite a bit across contracts. There are also those who chose to brew their own beer on different systems, as they travel about: Gypsy Brewer

 

Last night's beers...

Headway - Solid. Not quite as good as I remember from the last time I had it. Still a good buy though.

Baby Kittens - Solid. I wish it had a little more bite. $1 cheaper than Headway. Good buy.

Eager to Share - This one surprised me. Noticeable complexity and I didn't realize until half way through that it is only 5.4% abv. Really good and the same price as Headway. I will definitely buy again. Try it if you haven't.

I realized today that Headway and Baby Kittens are IPAs (American) and Eager to Share is a pale ale (American). The Eager to Share was the standout and it got me thinking, what is the difference between these styles? If they are all in the pale ale category and all use American hops, is there a difference?

 

Icecream man and double scoop went to 16oz cans when COVID hit. Sometimes they are offering 32ozers at the brewery. Believe unicorn farm is in 16 oz cans as well. All 3 of those beers are good along with Suzy Greenberg, unfortunately some of their other beers seem to have taken a nose dive. When Infinite Universe first came out I thought it was up there with icecream man, an all galaxy hopped ipa it was my go to. Had it a few times after and it’s totally different

 

This Eager to Share from Marlowe is no joke. I just cracked my third one of the weekend and it is exactly what I am looking for in an easier drinker. It pours a little hazy but has a nice crisp dry bite and finishes super clean. It has a lot of depth and at 5.4% I could drink a lot of it. I will definitely be on the lookout next time I cross the border.