Any new breweries/beers worth checking out in Fairfield County?

Discussion in 'New England' started by brentk56, Aug 16, 2013.

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  1. brentk56

    brentk56 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,099) May 13, 2004 North Carolina
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I will be in Stamford next week on business and may have a little free time one evening. I was thinking about going by Half Full to check out their beers but was curious whether anybody had a better recommendation. New breweries/brewpubs keep popping up so quickly that sometimes they don't even get good coverage on the major beer sites.
     
    #1 brentk56, Aug 16, 2013
  2. DougC123

    DougC123 Savant (1,186) Aug 21, 2012 Connecticut

    Two Roads in Stratford is about 40 minutes north of Stamford. New England Brewing is in Woodbridge about 15 minutes from Two Roads.
     
    #2 DougC123, Aug 16, 2013
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  3. brentk56

    brentk56 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,099) May 13, 2004 North Carolina
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for the idea. I have been to NE Brewing before and would love to get to Two Roads now that Phil Markowski is involved but I won't have the time to travel that far on this trip.
     
    #3 brentk56, Aug 17, 2013
  4. DougC123

    DougC123 Savant (1,186) Aug 21, 2012 Connecticut

    Captain Lawtence is around 20 minutes away in Elmsford NY.
     
    #4 DougC123, Aug 17, 2013
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  5. brentk56

    brentk56 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,099) May 13, 2004 North Carolina
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    That's an idea. Any idea how to figure out what's on tap in the tasting room? I looked all over their website and couldn't find a tap list. They tout that the pumpkin is out now but I am not ready for that in August.
     
    #5 brentk56, Aug 17, 2013
  6. LambAndTunaPhish

    LambAndTunaPhish Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2012 Connecticut
    Trader

    Doesn't the tasting room page show what's on tap and available in bottles? On my phone now so I could be wrong.
    http://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/tasting-room/

    In Stamford you can try plan B or Coalhouse pizza for local drafts. Gingerman in South Norwalk is also a good option not too far from Stamford.
     
    #6 LambAndTunaPhish, Aug 18, 2013
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  7. brentk56

    brentk56 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,099) May 13, 2004 North Carolina
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks. I was on that page looking at the tasting room hours and missed the list on the right hand side.
     
    #7 brentk56, Aug 18, 2013
  8. EDNOSE

    EDNOSE Pundit (996) Oct 27, 2007 Connecticut

    Captain Lawrence is definitely more than 20 minutes from Stamford if you are going after work. There will likely be a substantial amount of traffic.

    Half Full is a nice experience with middle of the road beer. If you want to hit a close brewery, this is the best option.

    Check hours on both places as you probably have limited time if working anything 5 or later.

    For a good beer experience in Stamford go to Coalhouse Pizza, 52 taps, excellent food. Plan B Burger has a decent tap list and good burgers and there's the Beer Garden at the Pier (google Stamford Beer Garden) which is a nice setting, decent tap list and has food trucks outside most nights. Any of these experiences will provide you better beer than Half Full and usually will have at least one Half Full on tap.
     
    #8 EDNOSE, Aug 19, 2013
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  9. polishkaz

    polishkaz Initiate (0) May 30, 2011 Connecticut

    +1 for coalhouse, went then when passing throu based on. Reviews here and was not disappointed, great pizza and beer selection.
     
    #9 polishkaz, Aug 23, 2013
  10. brentk56

    brentk56 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,099) May 13, 2004 North Carolina
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I went to both Coalhouse and the Beer Garden last night and much preferred the beer selection at Coalhouse where there were a number of interesting beers on tap. My only complaint was that the service was slow as molasses - it took 30 minutes to get a turkey wrap and the place was not even very busy. Still, I would overlook that given the beer selection.
     
    #10 brentk56, Aug 23, 2013
  11. EDNOSE

    EDNOSE Pundit (996) Oct 27, 2007 Connecticut

    Glad you enjoyed Coalhouse. Always a strong tap list and although I work nearby, go there often and will always defend them ... I agree the service can occasionally be a bit slow especially if you don't order pizza (which come out of that oven in no time ... Even when busy).
     
    #11 EDNOSE, Aug 23, 2013
  12. audioserf

    audioserf Initiate (0) Sep 3, 2010 Connecticut

    Coalhouse is a cool spot, the food is great and the beer selection is fantastic. The service stinks, though, as others have mentioned, and the food prices creep higher and higher into "hilarious" every six months. I know dude's gotta pay the rent but come on man. You can't get out of there for a two person lunch for under $70 if you have a few beers. Pretty insane.

    As a disclaimer, I've been going to CHP since it opened, and consider Gerard (Manager + Co-Owner) a friend and a great guy. In a lot of ways that place's success has made it less fun for me. I know that makes me sound like a hipster/elitist but I'm not trying to be. I liked it better when it wasn't as packed, cost less, and had better service. I still stop in from time to time, though.
     
    #12 audioserf, Aug 23, 2013
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