Thimble Island

The Ghost Island IIPA is top notch!! I hope they will bottle it in the new place.

 

Agree with the both of you! They are brewing some solid beers

 

I haven't had anything from them but I see them on Groupon all the time. I haven't pulled the trigger on visiting the brewery yet though.

 

Their IPA is alright. I am a branford resident and for some reason i have never been to the brewery. I guess I would rather drive the extra 15 minutes to nebco.

 

I have only had the coffee stout but liked it--I especially love that they teamed up with Willoughby's Coffee to brew it (I am actually a bigger coffee snob). I'm ashamed to admit that I keep making trips up to Beer'd in Stonington and blow by Thimble each way, each time. I think I need to stop in next time.

 

Smoke and malt. Couldn't get through the sixer of American Ale I picked up about 6mos ago. Last 3 will be a drain pour.

 

Ghost Island is great

 

Coffee Stout is good, but not enough coffee flavor for me. I really liked their M.A.D. stout.

 

Its one of the better ones to visit. Cool people and generous pours. Beer'd is similar but NEBCo is the worst. Unless your lining up for growlers, I would never go there. They dont want you there drinking samples and chilling and I think their whole attitude is very snobby. I think Black Hog is one of the places to go and hang out, beer quality aside, although I think its good.

 

Their regular beers (the American Ale and Coffee Stout) are ordinary to me. Ghost Island is a good IIPA (haven't had it in over a year so I'm guessing it is even better now).

The standout beer that nobody is talking about, and I am happy to be able to get at a certain Norwalk store is M.A.D (Mutually Assured Destruction) Russian Imperial Stout. It is extremely good. My wife's second favorite beer behind BCBS. A bit expensive at $14 per 4 pack, but worth it in my opinion.

 

Growler fills is the only reason you SHOULD go to NEBCO, and really the only reason they have a "tap room". If you aren't buying growlers and just hanging around drinking free samples and chilling, I can understand why you perceive them as snobby.
That is like saying "Olive Garden sucks, they hate when I go in and eat all the free bread without buying anything. Snobs!"

More on Thimble Island topic, I didn't drink them for a while because I was not crazy about any of their beers but it absolutely seems they have stepped it up a notch or two in the past ~year. I like the direction they are heading!

 

Is M.A.D available in other areas in CT? Hartford or Middlesex county? Can't say I've seen it, but also was not looking for it either.

 

Recent news on their expansion...

The duo found the brewery’s new facility in the fall of 2013 at 16 Business Park Drive, which was once occupied by the Gravy Master company. The space has 30,050 square feet, a significant increase from the less than 5,000 square feet the brewery currently occupies. Gargano said the current space will close as they start moving their equipment down the road. The expectation is the new facility will be up and running by mid- to late April.
The move allows the brewery to host a much larger tasting room for its patrons, in addition to helping significantly increase beer production capability to a maximum of 45,000 barrels per year. That’s about 90 to 100 barrels of beer in a 12-hour shift. Last year, Gargano said the brewery sold 2,000 barrels in its current facility, producing 14 barrels in a 12-hour shift. Each barrel holds 31 gallons.
“We’re excited. It solves a space problem,” Gargano said. “The taste room is a little over 1,000 square feet. The production area is going to be roughly 6,000 square feet. The rest of the facility is going to be primarily used for housing.”

http://www.nhregister.com/business/20150215/branfords-thimble-island-brewery-to-expand

 

Everything I have had from them has been mediocre to bad. I went there with three other people, one not into craft beer yet, and we all were unimpressed.
That said I will try their new offerings and I hope I can get something good from them, so I can support a local brewery. There are just way too many good beers on the shelves to buy Thimble Island beers at this time.

 

From what I've seen, they self-distribute and only to the CT coastline (along 95).

 

Thimble Island M.A.D. is outstanding and my favorite Imperial Russian stout. I stocked up on it and still have 4, 4 packs left that I am slowly drinking. Will stock up on more when it comes out again.

 

Anything new from these guys? Loved their ghost island double, but haven't tried anything else.

 

They did a barrel aged version of their Imperial Stout which was pretty solid, maybe a notch or two better than the regular MAD. There might be a few 4 packs at the brewery available.

They also did a Mosaic and Amarillo hopped session IPA (ingeniously named "Session IPA"), which I thought was fantastic. Mostly brewery-only but a few kegs have floated around to some craft beer centric bars.

They're doing a contract brew right now, New Haven Nighthawks - Old Time Ale, had some at the brewery and wasn't that impressed. Little malt flavor and sweetness, very dry, seemed more basic than their American Ale.