Overshores Hosts Free 2nd Anniversary Party ft. Food Trucks, Music, Raffles + More!

Chimichurri Steak, photo courtesy of The Meat Truck

Overshores Brewery, set off in an unsuspecting building on Bradley Street in East Haven, is  two years old. And, CT’s only Belgian-style brewery will be celebrating on April 30 with music, food, games, deals, and, wait, what was that last thing . . . oh yeah, beer. Even a special brew that will be featured. Entrance is free and all the action goes down from 12-4. Here are the yeasty details along with some thoughts about Overshores’ success from co-owner Christian Amport from a recent conversation:

We Review the Newest Hookers from Connecticut

Hooker beer, people, Thomas Hooker Brewing Company: get your heads out of the gutter. Seriously.

But, let’s start off this post with some straightforward, honest talk: we tried Hooker’s Watermelon Ale a few years ago and didn’t love it. Because of that, a lot of time went by before we tried another Hooker. That is, until we happened upon their Chocolate Truffle Stout which we featured in our guide to CT porters and stouts. That beer we just adored in all its chocolatey lusciousness. Well, that helped open our eyes a bit to Thomas Hooker Brewery.

And, wouldn’t you know it, we got a nice message from Gerard at the brewery, asking if we wanted to meet up to talk Hooker and try out some of their latest beer. Who are we to refuse the chance to try out an entire array of Hookers from Bloomfield? We of course said yes, took down some of their newest brews as well as a few classics that are back, and have lots of thoughts to share with you:

CT Cask Fest Tapping 36 Casks, 18 CT Breweries – Fairfield, CT

Two places that we love in Fairfield, Craft 260 and Harry’s Wine & Liquor, have teamed up to create a killer beer festival! Check out how sick this is: 18 Breweries from Connecticut will be bringing two casks each. The awesome thing about this is that each brewery will start with the same base beer, but both casks from each will be different with spices, hops, and other add-ins. So, it’ll be an interesting experiment to see how breweries can change the taste of a brew by just adding in different ingredients and methods. 

Getting lit off of CT beer @ Relic + Firefly Hollow Brewing

A few weeks back, we shared some of our exploits with our doppelgänger couple, Renato and Alicia Ghio. Over the course of one day of absolute decadence, we had a crazy amount of wings at J. Timothy’s, gorged on some killer BBQ at Bear’s in Hartford, and finished up the night with some Two Roads beer at the XL Center at the Hartford Wolf Pack game. Oh, we kind of left out that we visited Relic Brewing Co. and Firefly Hollow Brewing Company in between all of that madness. Yup, when we go out, we go all out.

Kent Falls Brewing: the newest CT brewery that’s a game changer

It doesn’t get better than this, folks. All photos from Kent Falls Brewing Company Facebook page.

Over the past decade, Americans have focused more on keeping things local and supporting the little guys and farmers that make a community stronger. You see it in the rise and popularity of farmers’ markets and you certainly see it when you go out to eat with many restaurants touting “farm-to-table” and their use of local ingredients. But, in terms of our beer here in CT, the ingredients that go into each ale or stout aren’t always local. On a recent trip to Oregon we discovered that nearly 80% of all hops grown here in America come from the Beaver State. Yeast often finds its way to breweries across states or even across continents, and malts and barleys are often shipped from hundreds of miles away. But, that’s all about to change here in Connecticut as Kent Falls Brewing Company has just become licensed and has begun brewing.

Ninety9Bottles Craft Beer Festival 2015 Tix on Sale Now!

While there aren’t too many details yet, we’ve got the basics for the Ninety9Bottles Craft Beer Fest down:

• 6/6/15: 2-5 pm
• Oyster Shell Park in Norwalk
• $40 per person
• There will be more breweries than last year from New England.
• There will be more food trucks.
• There will be more entertainment.

CT Breweries: Extended Hours + More for Thanksgiving Week

Beer is definitely approaching a renaissance here in America and especially in the fine ol’ Nutmeg state. So, it’s only fitting that more people will have beer at the Thanksgiving table than in years past. And, with so many new styles and so many new breweries to choose from, it’s easier than ever to get a little bit of local flavor at your holiday table. Making it more easier-est are CT breweries that are extending their hours or helping you deal with the vile disease known as Black Friday.

Here’s a list of breweries that will be open with special releases, events, and hours (if you have additions, let us know):

Get Stoked: The New Stony Creek Brewery and Brew Magic Series

Numbers don’t lie (more on that below), but that’s not what Stony Creek Brewery of Branford, CT now believes. They started by producing their 203, 860, and 401 brews right at Thomas Hooker, so they never did have a place of their own. But, that’s soon to change as they get ready for a February/March opening of their brand new brewery in Branford. What will it be like, what changes have they made, and what kind of brews do they have planned? We found out all of those things when we had a nice talk with Sales Director Jamal Robinson who used to work at Blue Point . . . and we’re ready to share everything that we learned:

Paint Your Own Masterpiece at Shebeen Brewing While Drinking Some Brewskis

Over the past few years, CT has seen a major influx of art studios, but they aren’t what you’d think of as typical studios. Instead, these new businesses like Pinot’s Palette in Stamford and Muse Paintbar in Norwalk are focused on two hour sessions that get people (anywhere from novice to expert) painting. For each class, there is a different painting that the teacher takes you through, showing you how to paint it. As you paint, you get to talk with friends, meet new people, and (yes, it’s true) drink your favorite wine, beer, or cocktails. 

The Fermenting Upward Growth of CT Beer and a Call to Action

As food bloggers here in Fairfield County, we’ve seen the food & beverage scene grow immensely since we started back in 2010. One of the biggest areas in the food and bev biz to kick some serious butt has been CT breweries! Just think, in 2011, we had just 16 breweries, in 2012 we had 21 breweries, in 2013 there were 23, and now, we have 30 in-state breweries that are open with 45 breweries slated to be open by 2015*. Doing the math on that, that’s current growth of a whopping 81.25% since 2011! And the best thing is, these breweries are not just about making beer for beer’s sake…they’re about making good beer that we can all be darn proud of! Which brings us to our point…

Not enough of the rest of the U.S. knows about all the great beers CT has to offer and it’s about time they did! Now, to be fair, some of this is due to limited distribution, although things are getting better. As example, The CT Brewers Guild has become a unifying force in putting CT beer forward as a whole with an all for one and one for all mentality. And, this past year has seen CT breweries take sizable steps into new markets like Two Roads pushing into NYC, MA, and Rhode Island, Half Full pouring out brews in Westchester County, Thomas Hooker bringing suds to MA, NJ, NY, and PA and Overshores even expanding distribution to Washington, DC.