Can It: Half Full Brewery Begins Canning, Soon to Hit Stores

Introducing….cans! Pic from Half Full’s FB page

Congrats go out to Conor and crew of Half Full Brewery in Stamford.  Look at that beaut!  It’s their flagship beer that helped to put them on the map:  their Bright Ale.  And, as you can see it’s in a can.  Yes, the moment has finally arrived and production is happening.  According to Half Full, the Bright Ale will hit shelves in the middle of May with their Toasted Amber to follow in June or July.  They also have plans to release another brew in cans by mid-Summer, making three brews available…and year ’round at that.

What else do they have planned?

All we can say is, “Look forward to more”!

 

Hoptimists Rejoice: Half Full Brewery of Stamford Expands into Hartford, Windham, and Tolland Counties…and???

When we went to the January Rare Beer Night at Half Full Brewery, we had these crazy flashbacks.  Images of the building shot into our heads…images of the building’s guts torn apart, images of Conor and crew ripping apart a second floor to make way for a tasting room, and images of a half-finished brewery.  And, we woke up from our flashback, looked around and saw the tasting room packed, people eager and thirsty for some Half Full beer.  Damn, it was amazing to see what a difference a year could make!

Half Full Tap Takeover Tonight at Coals in Port Chester!

Just a quick nudge from your food blogger friends, there’s a tap takeover tonight at one of our favorite restaurants ever:  Coals in Port Chester, NY.  The takeover is going on tonight (11/12) from 5-7 pm, right before the Elvis Costello concert.  Not only will the brews of Half Full be featured, but the man himself, Conor Horrigan, will be on hand to talk about his brews.  We kinda want to go just to see what his Half Full beard looks like.  <Chuckles>

Movember Grows on Half Your Face @ Half Full Brewery

Mario e Princess Peach find another Mario e Luigi at Half Full’s Halloween Bash 2013

A Half Full Beerd: half shaved, half scruffy. So Conor-licious.

Has Half Full Brewery in Stamford lost half their minds?  They just might have gone over the edge, but it’s all for good this November.  This all started for us back this past Saturday at Half Full during the Halloween Bash.  After imbibing in many brews, a man must visit the facilities.  And there for gentle reading on the bathroom wall was the half lush, half scruffy face of Half Full owner Conor Horrigan.  He was describing the birth of the Half Full Beerds.  There was a QR code, so (as awkward as it was), I took a scan and got to the Half Full site describing Conor and crew’s plans for November.

Last year they all grew mustaches (and fine mustaches they were) and raised a ton of money for men’s health and awareness.  But, it’s hard to pull off a mustache without being super creepy.  I had shaved my beard down to a mustache just for my Mario costume and it seriously creeped out Kristien so much.  I even kept it for yesterday’s use of my Mario costume at school.

Rare Beer Night at Half Full is a Tour de Force for Beer Geeks

People have an obsession with finding the most unique items and claiming them as their own.  Take, for instance, the perfectionist Ash Ketchum who’s gotta catch ’em all.  Or your weird neighbor (we apologize if this is you) who collects stamps and goes to stamp conventions all over the world.  Or that fanboy who scans ebay hourly for the rarest of Dr. Who and Star Trek figurines.  And then there’s a whole other breed…the beer geeks, crossing off brew after brew from their massive list, then bragging about their finds for decades after.  They don’t want a Bud, they don’t want a Corona…they want a beer experience that few have ever partaken in.

Well, we have great news beerocrats, Half Full Brewery Rare Beer Nights!  The beer from these monthly events is made on their nano system that produces just one keg at a time.  After missing the first two events, we finally had our chance on 7/17 to attend with our friend Christine Montero. When we arrived, there already was the Amber Ale waiting for us…and we needed it. Just hours before the AC went caput (fixed now), but the brave attendees could not be stopped. We drank our brews, cooling us down, and settled down as Conor Horrigan (Owner), Jen (Brewmaster), Chris (Brewer), and John (Brewer) talked to us about Half Full and talked about each beer on the menu while Jordan (Chief Beer Organizer) talked about what each beer was paired with. Enough dilly dallying, let’s share our rare beers and get you excited for the next event:

1)  Grapefruit Pale Ale paired with a triple creme Delice de Bourgogne.

ABV:  6.3%

IBU:  18

Malts:  2 Row, Munich 10L, Special B

Hops:  Cascade

Very drinkable, nice aroma, subtle grapefruit taste that awakens at the finish.  This was our favorite of the night and it seemed to be a major hit with all the drinkers.

2)  Imperial Dark Red paired Prince de Claverolle semi-firm sheep’s milk.

ABV: 8.2%

IBU:  55

Malts:  2 Row, British Crystal Malt, Roasted Barley

Hops:  Columbus, Centennial

Here’s a funny story that Jen told:  the recipe called for 4 oz. of roasted barley, but she put in 4 lbs. instead.  This made this beer dark and roasty with hints of char and cherry.  The toasted flavor hid the bitterness pretty well, too.

3) Columbus IPA paired with Cypress Grove Midnight moon goat cheese.

ABV: 4.7%

IBU:  90

Malts:  2 Row, Munich

Hops:  Columbus

Foamy pour, two fingers worth, with a piny aroma.  This was brewed by a guest brewer, Joe.  This was actually his first commercially brewed beer.  It was super hoppy and quite bitter, but was very popular with the IPA guys and gals.

4) Belgium Apricot Ale paired with Cinnamon Raisin Nut Rugelach from Delancey Dessert in Brooklyn.

ABV:  5.7%

IBU:  32

Malts:  Dark Crystal, Pale, Crystal 40, 2 Row, Chocolate

Hops:  Centennial

Christian was the guest brewer for the BAA.  This started as a Belgian beer, but got lighter as the brewing process went on.  It was actually brewed with apricots and raisins, so you get a nice finish at the end from both of those flavors.  What’s good, though, is that it wasn’t over the top.  Rather, it was nicely balanced and was a great end to the tasting.

Rare Beer Night was an awesome time and a great deal at just $30 per ticket that included full pours of each beer (plus maybe a little extra from Conor) and pairings of cheese with some olives and dried meats on the side.  What’s even better is that each rare beer night will be different, so you never know which brews you’ll get (like their famous Peanut Butter Hefeweizen) or who will be there to pair the beer with food.  There is one thing we can say, though:  Rare Beer Night takes place on the third Wednesday of every month and is definitely an experience that you don’t want to miss.  We’d also be remiss if we didn’t say Happy Birthday because one year ago Half Full began to serve their beer at bars!  Congrats!

Here are the next dates so that you can start planning and get your tix:

August 21, September 18, October 16, November 20, December 18, and there are even more planned out for 2014.

Conor Horrigan of Half Full and 11 others to speak at Ignite Stamford #3

If you had 5 minutes to talk about any topic, what would you speak about? Or, better yet…what do you really value?   And, what if during these 5 minutes you had 20 slides that flipped ahead every 15 seconds?   This might seem like a lot of pressure, but this is the formula for Ignite Stamford. While it is tough to pace yourself, trust us, it’s so worth it (see our Ignite Stamford talk here).

We’re talking about 12 great speakers, 12 different topics, 12 big moments of inspiration. And, this coming Ignite Stamford on August 15th (doors open at 6:30, talks begin at 7) is going to be awesome. Not only are three of our friends talking, there are lots of topics that made us buy our tickets right away.  Plus, we’re very excited because they’ve moved over their event to the Ferguson Library and, thus, can hold more people.  As of this morning, there are still 74 tickets left, but this will go quickly and will definitely sell out.

Look Forward to More @ Half Full Brewery – Stamford, CT

A while ago we told you about Half Full Brewery opening up in Stamford and the reaction was overwhelming! People just can’t seem to wait for them to open their doors.  Well, guess what?  Your wait is about to end in mid-July when they expect to be open for tours and tastings.

Us, being the lucky beer lovers we are, were given the chance to get a sneak peek from Half Full Brewery owner, Conor Horrigan.  And you, the lucky OmNomivores you are, get a front row seat.

So let’s start with the brewery’s inconspicuous location. It’s on 43 Homestead Ave, which is near Crab Shell and the future Dolce Cubano. As you turn down Southfield Ave and then Homestead Ave, you think you’re going to some dude’s house, not a brewery, but don’t worry, you’re on the right path. At the very end of the street are some warehouse type places and Half Full Brewery is hiding behind those buildings in all its glory!

As you enter, you walk down the stairs to a massive tasting/tap room that will have a bar area, some tables and a spot to fill up some growlers.  You may even be greeted by the friendly and adorable brewery dog, Pounce. If you look up you’ll notice wicked high ceilings because the building used to have two floors, but to get things to code they tore down the second floor and made it one, huge, epic room! So epic, it’d even be the perfect spot for live music and entertainment some day in the future.

Leaving the tasting/tap room, you enter another huge room…the room where all the magic happens. Conor started off this portion of the tour by telling us about the driving force behind his venture: an all too familiar story of a guy who was fed up with his stressful 9-5 job and thought there had to be a better way to make a living, a way to do something he could be passionate about. Brainstorming with some friends in similar situations, they thought about starting a brewery and tossed around names reflective of their fed up state of mind. After thinking about it and building on it for a long time, Conor decided to make the dream a reality, but instead the name would be reflective of new beginnings, something full of hope, something positive…and hence Half Full was born.

Conor then took us through their entire brewing process start to finish. Staying true to their positive perspective, they make every effort to be pristine and sustainable throughout the entire process. The end result is unfiltered beer, pure and unmessed-around-with.

So, let’s talk about those hoppy details of the beer and what to expect.  Half Full will be starting with their flagship beer for a few months:  Half Full Bright Ale.  Folks, we tasted a sample batch from their microbrew equipment and it was a great.  It was the perfect beer to drink hangin’ with friends, nice and wheaty, soft and slightly citrusy.  The Bright Ale will be sold to local restaurants, so check out some of the best spots around for Half Full or you can always visit the brewery for a tasting or to fill up a growler.

More beers will become available at local bars and restaurants as well as the brewery as they get things going. Some of their other brews in the making are the Half Full Pale Ale, Half Full Stout, and the Half Full Amber. So, as you can see, there are lots of great things to look forward to at HalfFull Brewery!

 

Half Full Brewery Tapping into Stamford, CT in August

Update:  Check out our talk with Conor and our tour of Half Full.  

If you’ve ever looked at a map of production breweries in the CT/NY area, you probably noticed there ain’t jack squat in Fairfield County. Well, beer lovers, raise your mugs… Half Full Brewery is in town. Poised to open around June/July, they’ve set up shop at 43 Homestead Avenue in the Harbor Point section of Stamford, CT.  Half Full is the hop-child of Conor Horrigan, who used to work at New England Brewing Company and who got his MBA at UConn to make sure Half Full would be a business success.  Right now they’ve got a nanobrewery set up and are in the process of getting a nice 20 barrel microbrewery system installed.  Around May, expect to hear some info about touring the brewery, doing some tastings, and other beer related awesomeness.  You can definitely “Look Forward to More…” as their slogan says. We look forward to more, also, and will keep you updated as June gets closer.

Now, what beer might you be sampling?  Here are the descriptions from Half Full Brewery site, though undoubtedly there are more planned:

Their fun logo!

Half Full Bright Ale
Quick Description: This American Bright Ale is modeled after an Australian Bright Ale, a filtered ale that is golden in color with floral, citrus, and apricot flavors and a crisp bitterness; it falls stylistically in between an American Blonde Ale and a Belgian white, the result of combining 3 different types of malted barley and 2 hop varietals. Since this is a lighter beer, both in taste and in alcohol, it appeals to a broad range of palates.
Style:  Australian Bright Ale
ABV:  4.8%
IBUs:  21
Suggested Pairings: Fish dishes, salads, and light sauces.
Inspiration: I found this style of beer while on a trip to Australia and it is a great thirst-quenching beer that is ideal for drinking year round whenever you feel like living in your moment and looking forward to more…

Half Full Pale Ale
Quick Description: Our second offering is a bolder, more challenging medium-bodied beer for those looking for a stronger, fuller taste. This beer is styled after an American Pale Ale and is citrusy, balanced, and smooth as a result of the use of 3 different types of malted barley, 4 different varietals of hops, and a special hopping technique. Moreover, this American Pale Ale has an ABV of 5.2% and lightly slaps you with 41 IBUs.
Style:  West Coast Pale Ale
ABV:  5.2%
IBUs: 41
Suggested Pairings: Pizzas, burgers and spicy dishes

Half Full Stout

Quick Description: This espresso chocolate stout is a roasty, chocolatey, full-bodied Russian Imperial Stout that is only for the bold. Our Stout is chock full of chocolate as a result of combining 4 different types of malted barley (including a chocolate malt) with cocoa powder. The sweet chocolate is offset by both the roastyness that is contributed by the espresso coffee we added as well as the two different hop varietals we used to give this bad boy 50 IBUs. Our Stout clocks in at an ABV of 8.8% and thus will clock you if you are not careful.

Style:  Russian Imperial Stout
ABV:  8.8%
IBUs:  just shy of 50
Suggested Pairing: Any chocolate desert that you can think of

Half Full Amber
Quick Description: Our spiced amber ale is the result of 6 different malts colliding with 3 different hop varietals and some subtle spices.  This amber ale has a medium body, 45 IBUs that get swallowed up by the malts and spices, and a cool 6% ABV.
Style: Amber
ABV: 6.0%
IBUs: 45
Suggested Pairing: Deserts and any roasted meat.
Inspiration: The perfect beer for the fall, we brewed this for our last Thanksgiving and it paired very well with both pumpkin pie and backyard football.

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Half Full Brewery

43 Homestead Avenue, 

Stamford, CT

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/halffullbrewery

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/halffullbrewery