16 Things You Might Not Know (But Should) About Two Roads Brewery

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Two Roads is one of the most iconic breweries here in CT, so Dan was more than excited when he got a special media event this past Tuesday. The epic day consisted of picking hops off the vine and gathering them, a special release vault tasting of beers such as all their sours and every single vintage of Igor’s Dream, and a guided tour with founder and Headbrewer Phil Markowski and founders Brad Hittle and Clem Pellani. It all wrapped up with a special catered dinner from Marcia Selden Catering at Stratford Point overlooking the ocean and a lighthouse. That dinner? Woahh! Four courses with each representing a season . . . in terms of food and beer.

Needless to say, this was an amazing experience that won’t soon be forgotten. So, we compiled a list of 16 things that you just might not know about Two Roads, based off what we learned.

Two Roads Road Jam Fest 2016: Two Tix up for Grabs!

Summertime, and the beer fest tix are freebies . . .

Yes, it’s true, we’re giving away two tickets to Two Roads amazing Road Jam Fest thanks to our beer-buds at Two Roads and Beerfests.com. This awesome annual event takes place on 6/25 from 2-9 and will feature Road Jam Raspberry Wheat and other awesome Two Roads brews, a Cluster Truck food hub, and two stages of music from the likes of Alpaca Gnomes, Turkuaz, Moon Hooch, and Deep Banana Blackout. Tickets are normally $30 (includes your first pint) or $22 for DD, but when you roll with us, there are benefits. Well, not like friends with benefits benefits, but you get us.

Three Cheers to Two Roads Brewing for 3 Years of Beer Magic on 12/18

Get your first tastes of the 3rd Anniversary Ale on 12/18!

Two Roads in Stratford opened its doors three years ago . . . but, that feels strange. It seems that they have been around much longer, huh? Their brews are on tap everywhere in the state, you can easily find their seasonal or all year beer at your local packie, and even if you’re visiting a nearby state, chances are you’ll still be able to order Two Roads.

Along with its ubiquitous nature has come a major influence on the CT beer scene. While you can’t say that all the growth of CT beer has happened because of them, they have certainly had a major influence. In fact, they have been a solidifying and unifying force amongst CT breweries. It’s been a beautiful, symbiotic relationship: as CT beer grows, Two Roads grows; as Two Roads grows, CT beer grows. Plus, they still remain one of the most recognized, steadfast, and consistent breweries around.

So, to celebrate all the beer they’ve been able to produce, all the special release days they’ve locked down, all the food trucks that have visited, and all the happy memories in the tasting room, they are hosting a Two Roads 3rd Anniversary Bash.

The party goes down on December 18, you in? On draft will be a special anniversary beer, their 3rd Anniversary Ale. Boys and girls, that’s a Belgian Dubbel that you’re gonna wanna drink the hell outta. They’ll be serving up their first beer that was ever brewed for just $3: Honeyspot Road IPA. And, even better, they’ll be tapping a “celebratory firkin” at 5 pm with CEO Brad Hittle offering up a toast at 5:30.

Cheers, Two Roads! Here’s to many more great years and to expanding your reach within the US even more!

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Two Roads Brewing Company

1700 Stratford Avenue

Stratford, CT 06615

Melt Away Poverty at Two Roads with Whole Foods Market Fairfield

#doit

Update:  make sure you bring cash with you for the cheese melts!

Here’s a collaboration of awesome proportions, coming together to help make a difference and to melt away poverty.  Just come by Two Roads Brewery in Stratford from 12 to 7 pm this Sunday, 3/30, drink some brews and eat some grilled cheese sandwiches.  Yeah, that’s a pretty easy way to help out, huh?

If you’re into the specifics, Two Roads will donate .50 for each pint that you sell and Whole Foods Market of Fairfield will be donating all their profits from the cheese melt sales (cash only) directly to the Whole Planet Foundation.  Here is a description of this worthy charity from their site:  

“Whole Planet Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization established by Whole Foods Market. We provide grants to microfinance institutions in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East, who in turn develop and offer microenterprise loan programs, training and other financial services to the self-employed poor.”

Also, don’t forget to tweet up @WholeFoodsFAI and let them know how you “melt away poverty.”  Make sure to use #meltawaypoverty in your tweet.  By doing this, you’ll be entered into a contest to win a $50 Whole Foods gift card and some highly coveted Two Roads tour passes…plus, it’s also great to spread the word about helping out.

Two Roads Brewery

Melt Away Poverty

12-7 pm on 3/30/14

Address:  1700 Stratford Avenue

                  Stratford, CT

 

 

Bridgeport Bluefish Host a Fintastic FeBREWary Event @ Two Roads Brewery to Benefit CT Challenge

Our local b-ball team, the Bridgeport Bluefish, is hosting an event that’s sure to be pretty damn awesome.  They are calling it FeBREWary with the Brewfish.  Lolz, we love it.

The fun is going down on February 25 from 6-8 pm at Two Roads Brewery in Stratford.  Not only will there be plenty of food and beer, but there will also be brewery tours and even a raffle that might land you some suite (oh yes, we did) prizes.  Plus, won’t it be awesome to meet the Bridgeport Bluefish?  They’ll be on hand!

Beer Review: Ryan and the Beaster Bunny – Eviltwin Brewing in Stratford, CT

Our last brewview focused on St. Lawrence Brewery’s St. Vincent’s Dubbel and now we’re back for some more.  And, we’re back with something pretty awesome.  We have a saison from Eviltwin Brewing that started in Denmark and has made its way to America.  But, their approach is completely different than other overseas breweries.  They are brewing their award-winning beer at some of the best breweries across the country using their established methods and recipes.  Well, wouldn’t you know it, but there is plenty of room at the massive Two Roads Brewery in Stratford for beer production from other companies?  So, let’s look deeper into Ryan and the Beaster Bunny and Eviltwin Brewing and why they just might take over America, one brewery at a time.

Beer: Ryan and the Beaster Bunny

Brewery:  Eviltwin Brewing (and here’s their site in Denmark)

Two Roads Brewery Has Some Serious (Meat)balls this Weekend

Get your mind out of the gutter, people.  We’re talking about Two Roads Brewery having The Local Meatball shop on hand for their Saturday food truck experience from 3-7 on 5/11, the start of CT Beer Week.    Since TLM launch on 4/20, Mike’s been gaining quite a following of ballers.  There’s no doubt that Mike will be serving up some Serious meatballs, his standard formulation made with Saugatuck Craft Butchery beef and other local ingredients.  Here are descriptions from his site about the meatball choices (there is usually Serious and one other on special):

SERIOUS:  made with the finest ground beef from Craft Butchery, we use only the best local ingredients. Soaked in our traditional sauce, they are like no other. These balls burst with flavor and are our version of the classic.

Future Specials

KICK IN DA:  made with the most tender local pork around and some hot cherry peppers to give them just the right kick. Served in a chunky, spicy sauce, they’re a win-win.

IN THE BUFF:  fresh ground chicken and our own buffalo sauce—these are the perfect combination of heat and flavor.

HONEY’S:  honey BBQ sauce from a local favorite and a tender, juicy pork ball…who needs ribs when you’ve got balls?

JEWELS:  these salty, sweet creations are what we like to call a “breakfast ball.” Made with delicious ground beef, sausage, bacon and chunks of melted cheddar cheese. Topped off with the tastiest local maple syrup on a soft, light and airy snowflake roll. They’re jewels.

Here’s how to do it:

1)  Place your oder.

2) Grab your slider, Average Joe, or Grinder.

3) Head upstairs to Two Roads Brewery  and down those meatballs with some old cold brews.  We highly recommend the saison.

4) Fill up some growlers or growleritos (they are so cute and tiny).

5) Get some more meatballs before you leave.

Two Roads Brewing Co.

1700 Stratford Ave

Stratford, CT 06615

Phone:  (203) 335-2010

To do: CT vineyard and brewery bus tour with tastings from Slow Food Shoreline

How do you like your food?  Slow with a heaping of healthy local goodness?  That’s basically the mantra of Slow Food Shoreline, a chapter of the larger Slow Food USA organization.  According to the SFS site:

“Slow Food Shoreline’s mission is to promote cooking and nutritional education, with a focus on using local ingredients, to improve the health of the region. Our focus is on teaching scratch cooking using whole ingredients, with an additional focus on fresh, local, and seasonal products. We believe that teaching core cooking skills and encouraging a love of food and cooking, is the best way for participants to sustain what they’ve learned and change eating habits long term, as well as become better informed consumers. Through cooking demonstrations, tastings, cooking classes, and other food education opportunities, we’ll provide the community with the confidence, knowledge, and motivation to build healthy and delicious food habits.”

We definitely are on board with this and think a focus on “slow” cooking from scratch and on local ingredients elevate not only the taste of the food, but also is pretty zen and meditative.  If you can’t find yourself and your center by baking a batch of brownies or preparing a roast, you’re doing it wrong!

Poetic Pints at Two Roads Brewery Tuesdays in April to Help Stratford Library

Mending Wall by Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbour know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
“Stay where you are until our backs are turned!”
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, “Good fences make good neighbours.”
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
“Why do they make good neighbours? Isn’t it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That wants it down.” I could say “Elves” to him,
But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father’s saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, “Good fences make good neighbours.”

Update:  Two Roads has reignited last year’s campaign, so come by every Tuesday of April 2014! 

April is National Poetry Month, though every month should be.  Perhaps one of Dan’s favorite times of year is when he teaches how to read and gather all the meatiness from poetry…even how to write it with his students.  There’s just something amazing about a poem that has the ability to inspire, freeze a moment or message, then transfer it into your heart and mind for safekeeping.  Some of Dan’s favorite poets are Robert Frost, William Butler Yeats (we learned a lot more about him during our recent trip to Ireland), Saul Williams, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Allen Ginsberg (“Howl” is beyond compare).

Two Roads Brewery + Food Trucks = Weekend Fun!

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

and I, I took the one that lead to the brewery

and that has brought me all the hops and barley in the world.

-Robert Frosty Mug

We heard about Two Roads Brewing a while ago and were happy when they opened up in December. But, because they are in Stratford and we were in Greenwich, we weren’t sure when we could travel out there. Well, as a stroke of pure genius, we decided to break up an annoying drive to Ikea to return some glöreögköps  and kröakelörigöbrigs (sp?) with a trip to Two Roads.

It’s pretty easy to get to, just past Bridgeport and right off exit 31. And, parking wasn’t too hard to get even though it was packed. We rushed out of our car because we were dying of hunger and Fryborg (RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!), a food truck serving up french fries, sandwiches, natural sugar sodas, and other fried goodness was there. We knew that we wanted fries, but what kind and variation?

1. Dutch Fries with a mound of fries topped with curry ketchup, mayo, and minced onion?
2. BLT Fries with hand-cut fries topped with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, chopped bacon, and mayo?
3. Italian Fries with crispy fries topped with pesto mayo, tomato, and Pecorino cheese?
4. Bacon, Egg & Cheese Fries with Belgian style fries topped with a fried egg, melted American cheese, and bacon?
5. Assimilation Fries with golden brown fries topped with a fried egg, American cheese, 1000 island dressing, and onion?
6. Chili Cheese Fries with our delicious fries topped with truck-made chili and cheddar cheese?

Dayummm