I am in Hartford/Bloomfield/Milford this week, but staying near Bradley. Are there any good places to hit up while I am here, either for bottles to take home to Texas or to have on premise?
If you want to visit a brewery, here's a map: Map of CT Breweries There are 3 near BDL/Bloomfield: Back East, Thomas Hooker, and Broad Brook. They all sell cans/bottles in the brewery you could take home. Also Top Shelf, but I wouldn't recommend it. From Milford you won't be far from Two Roads. Link to the hours of operation for each brewery: http://www.reddit.com/r/ctbeer/wiki/index New England Brewing is probably the most well known and top rated but they are closed for renovations this week. There's a sports bar/restaurant right at the airport, Bobby V's. I haven't been there so can't recommend. On beermenus: https://www.beermenus.com/places/19490-bobby-v-s-restaurant-and-sports-bar And can't really help with package stores, not familiar enough with that specific area. There are a ton of great restaurants/bars/package stores within 10-15 miles of Windsor Locks, just depends on what you're looking for and how far you want to go.
When you go down to Milford, you can stop in New Haven for good food or drink. Pepe's makes some of the best pizza you can get, but Modern, Sally's, and BAR all have great pizza as well. BAR is actually a brewpub with pretty good beer selection, Modern has Sea Hag from New England Brewing which is one of the best IPAs made in CT. I don't go to Pepe's for yhe beer selection though, but you should definitely try some New Haven pizza while you're in CT. Cask Republic probably has the best beer selection in New Haven, as well as Prime 16 (great burgers). Not sure on good liquor store, but if you like IPAs, grab a 6pack of Sea Hag cans.
Liquor Cabinet in East Granby is less than 10 minutes from Bradley. There is a good chance they will have some NEBCO beers and most anything else local. I always stop there when in town and rarely leave empty handed.
Manchester Wine & Liquors in Manchester has a great selection. You could also head north to Table & Vine in West Springfield. MA gets some beers (Firestone Walker for example) that CT doesn't.
@Atomicskis5 is opening up a shop in granby center just minutes from the airport. I think he just opened it so the selection may be limited but Im planning on stopping by on Friday to see how progress is coming anyway.
I appreciate the recommendations. We hit up BAR tonight. The stout was pretty good and the pizza was great (white pizza is tough to come by in Texas). Will have to swing by a store tomorrow.
