Best Brewery in CT

Are we talking about who makes the best beer, which place is the coolest to hang out at, or a combination of both?

Beer only - NEBCo
Place to hang out- Two Roads
Combo- Beer'd Brewing

 

I'm not trying to sound like a dick, but Top Shelf is absolutely the worst beer from a brewery I have ever had. Granted, they may have improved significantly in the past year, but when I went there last summer, I tried every offering they had (about 4 or 5 different beers) and there was something seriously wrong with all of them. I didn't even finish my ex's pours and I'm one that never lets beer go to waste.

Best beer, from what I've had: NEBCO and Steady Habit. I've heard great things about Beer'd and will surely hit them up on the way back from the beach in RI over the summer, but for now, I've only had 1 small sample at a beerfest (Cats and Dogs, or something like that) which was delicious but not enough to judge the whole operation by.

 

I think OEC is a great time if you dig sours. We'll have to wait and see the new changes at nebco - but from what i gather they are pretty cool. Steady Habit is a great time as well - grab a growler and some of the bbq and breads and make a thing out of it (Jon is a solid human also). Also did enjoy Beer'd. Great people there and always nice to grab a pint.

 

NEBCO makes the best beer top to bottom but their place isn't exactly a hang out spot. Its a grab your growler and go. They are renovating now so will be interesting what they have in store.

Best brewery in terms of events / brewery itself is by far Two Roads. I kind of equate them to Red Hook or Harpoon where they have large modern facilities and average beer. I've heard the new Stony Creek facility is nice too but haven't been yet.

 

NEBCO, Beer'd, and Steady Habit are the Hoppy Trinity of CT.

 

Nebco,beer'd,oec, haven't tried steady habit yet but I hear amazing things!

 

so happy to have OEC

 

NEBCO and Steady Habit are clearly the top brewers in my opinion followed closely by Beer'd. I enjoy the tap room at Firefly Hollow. Nice vibe and can always bring in outside food.

 

While not in the title, the OP's first sentence says "best to visit", which I'll take to mean place you can have a beer at, so my answer is Firefly Hollow, hands down (since I've yet to visit Beer'd).

 

Had a very similar experience. Just flat out bad beers when I went, but it has been a while and I will give it another whirl soon. When I went, the lineup was:

American Ale
Irish Ale
Belgian Ale
Smoked Belgian Ale

the first 3 were just below average homebrew level and it was a struggle to even choke down the smoked belg. One of the worst beers I've had.

Have heard talk of improvement though so i'm not writing them off. Might grab a 6er of some of the canned IPA's they've been putting out at least.

 

A friend shared a bottle of their American Ale and it was clearly infected with something. Maybe it was on the top shelf so it would be out of reach to prevent people from drinking it.

 

I never had Top Shelf when they were in bottles but recently had a few of their cans (Marathon IPA and Around the Clock IPA). Neither one blew me away but they were pretty tasty. I would try them again.

 

I'm going to guess that you work there...

 

NEBCO, best beer all around.
OEC in Oxford is a great brewery experience but they only have sours. However, you can hit up Black Hog in Oxford as well and they have some good beers and the atmosphere is nice. And they are reasonably priced.

 

For me there are 4 that make great beer:
NEBCO
OEC
Beer'd
Steady Habit

And the best to hang out in:
Two Roads
Firefly Hollow
Stony Creek

 

Beer'd, because Aaren is a stud. And of course he brews great beer too.

Another vote for Two Roads as well.

 

love NEBCO and steady habit myself, both for the vibe and the beer. give me those 2 breweries and i'm all set really.

longtime fan of willibrew. good food, long history of great guest taps, uneven house beers but they hit one out of the park now and then. underrated sours, though admittedly they're a different beast entirely than the popular ones like russian river and cascade and allagash and such (latter 3 make significantly better wild ales too, but i still like what i get at willi sometimes). IPAs have always been shit IMO, but they make a great variety of styles well. the yearly barleywine (especially as a vertical) can be glorious when it doesn't taste like a jolly rancher.

edit: never actually been to two roads, but i'm not on the hate train re: them. had some pretty decent stuff from them, and i know the main guy can brew.

edit2: man, i say the same shit every time i post.

 

To jump in on this. I had their Irish and Belgian beers when they first opened and wasn't impressed. Then had a really bad porter. Tonight I tried a can of the Marathon and it was very solid. You won't find it beating Sea Hag, or whatever, but it was a huge improvement.

 

Going to Stony Creek today to see their new facility. Not expecting amazing beer but heard the new place is nice.