Fox Farm Brewery, CT (2018)

I was just there this morning. The brewery absolutely stunning; it's elegant, clean, friendly, and has a ton of potential. I even spotted a coolship upstairs. Needless to say, I'm impressed. Glad I'm only 20 mins away.

The two Roam pale ales (citra & mosaic, nelson) were phenomenal: soft, creamy, and aromatic, the IPA was okay, gonna try the pilsner with dinner tonight.

 

Just spent the day drinking on Roam w/Citra and Mosaic, as well as Burst IPA, both very solid. Looking forward to seeing what this brewery can do.

 

FoC announced today they are opening on Sundays, starting this week. Cans and pre-filled crowlers only, no tastings or growler fills.

https://fatorangecatbrewco.com/2017...pre-filled-crowler-sales-from-12-noon-to-3pm/

 

Update: Gather is phenomenal; it definitely ticks all the boxes a well-made pilsner should. Now I'm just bummed that I didn't snag a stemmed glass. Next week. Can't wait to try their saisons and wild brews.

Oh, and for what it's worth, they'll fill 750mL growlers for $1 less than the 1L prices.

 

Fox Farm website now says "open" and lists beers and hours.

 

Went to FF yesterday. Place was packed and there was a line out the door for glass pours. However for such a crowd they handled it well, plenty of help parking, picking up empties etc. Line for growlers was relatively short considering the crowd.
Picture is from their beautiful balcony, beer is Roam with Nelson hops. It was a little malty for an IPA, but good none the less. Wife had the Pils, son had the Citra/Mosaic Roam, all good. We didn't have the patience to get back in line so that was it. Hopefully the excitement will die down and this place will be as relaxing as it looks like it could be.

 

Malty? That beer is a straight-up Nelson Sauvin juice bomb pale ale. I think what you're getting is dense hop flavor. The only malty beer on draft has been the porter.

 

And both versions of Roam are Pales, not IPAs.

 

I haven't been this in love with a new brewery in a long time. The hoppy beers all have that Tree House/Hill equilibrium level of haze (where they actually look attractive) and really nice mouthfeel. Roam: Nelson was the standout to me, as it brought forward the hop without becoming cloying or overly white winey in a way that other single hop Nelson beers often fail to do. The pilsner and porter were outstanding examples of their respective styles and the latter was probably my favorite beer overall there. And as has been mentioned above, the place is beautiful.

I've enjoyed a number of the newer breweries in the state in the last few years but this one felt immediately special to me. We went early enough yesterday that the crowd was pretty light, but if they maintain this level of quality they're going to blow up really soon.

 

Stopped by this past Saturday afternoon around 3:00 (After an hour at FOC), and was extremely impressed.

Brewery was busy, but not overly crowded. Waited about 5 minutes for some pours. I had two small pours of both Roam variants (Galaxy and Nelson) and my GF had the other hoppy beer on tap, all three were pretty tasty. Didn't get to try the porter or the pilsner that they had on, but they looked good as well.

The place itself is beautiful and it had a very chill and relaxed environment to it. I also like how they gave themselves some room to grow with the bigger space, (as opposed to FOC which is already too small.)

This is absolutely going to be my go to stop on the way home from the beach this summer!

 

How is the growler situation. I'd like to pop in to get a couple fills but time is limited. Near & Far was added for fills, which looks interesting.

 

They have separate areas for fills and on-site pours and use a number system for the growlers. They sell their own 2L swingtops and 1L screwtops but will fill other breweries' growlers and charge $1 for 750 fills compared to 32s. Prices for the pales/pilsner/porter were $8/15. Looks like Near and Far is $11 and liter fills only. There's a limit on how many fills you can get but I don't recall what it is off the top of my head. I had no problem filling 2 750s and a 2L though.

In terms of wait, I went early enough that I couldn't judge their general efficiency. It looked like they at least rinse all reused growlers. I'd say don't expect Tree House level efficiency but it seemed reasonable for a new brewery.

 

Tx. Hopefully I can swing by. I'll roll the dice on a 750ml of each Roam and Near & Far.

 

Debating making the ride to check these guys out tomorrow, just show up around open? Growler limits? Any pointers?

 

According to their Facebook page they are debuting a new dipa w/ locally sourced grapes, Nelson and motueka. May take a drive this weekend

 

Heading to Salem for some range time today, maybe a visit is in order!