Still Waiting for Nutmeg Ale*

Drinking Every Connecticut Beer

*Please, no. I’m not. Really.

[2014 Update: With breweries now opening every couple of months in Connecicut, I need to amend something. Whenever you read "I will drink every beer in Connecticut" or some variant thereof on any pages on CTMQ, do not take it literally anymore. For it has become impossible. I suppose if I was unemployed and childless, but somehow had a running car and disposable income I could theoretically keep up with it all... but... that's not me. I never give up on lists, but come on. This one went from "doable and noble cause" in 2011 to "mind-blowingly impossible" in 2014 and beyond.]

For my visits to the actual breweries, Go Here

Here’s a short list of the last five beers I’ve reviewed

I’ve had a page here on CTMQ about our local breweries for years. And it’s always been fairly sparse. That’s because there was a paucity of Connecticut breweries. Then, like mushrooms after a rain, 2012 saw a huge resurgence of Connecticut breweries. There were some legislative changes that helped this growth along and while I can’t keep up with them all, I believe they were almost all positive. (I saw “resurgence” because back in the day, CT had a ton of small breweries.)

And I’m not talking about Sunday and holiday sales or the relatively new change that allows us Nutmeggers to purchase alcohol all the way up until 9PM; no, I’m talking about stuff like tax code changes and zoning changes that will allow breweries to sell their beers on site. And maybe instead of sipping 6oz samples, we’ll be allowed to actually enjoy a real pint at a brewery. And I think we can now have true brewpubs too. Whatever the reasons, it’s a good time to be a beer drinker in Connecticut. This, after 100 years or so of brewing futility.

These pages will be somewhat difficult to keep as ordered as my brain would like. Beer provenance is sometimes a tricky thing. There are private label beers1 and contract brewed2 beers and purposely exploitative “local” beers that aren’t local at all. There are restaurant-labeled beers that may or may not be local. Add to all this the fact that things change. Recipes change and brewing contracts change. Particular beers come and go.

For example, at this moment in July 2012, Charter Oak Brewing Company is headquartered in “southwest Connecticut.” They just released their first beer, but it’s contract brewed in Massachusetts. For now. I think they plan on becoming operational in Connecticut at some point. Then there are the beers like the on-tap “Gris Revolutionary Ale” at the wonderful Griswold Inn in Essex – which is private label Anheuser Busch beer. Sorting this stuff out takes effort, people – of brain AND liver.

I shall do my best.3, but welcome any corrections and changes that come with this sort of thing.



Yeah, I know, he has a dirty shirt. And toddlers shouldn’t handle beer.

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Again, these lists are constantly in flux. Please let me know any changes you know about, for as far as I know, no one else has even attempted to keep such a list straight. I’ve lumped ALL of our breweries into one list for simplicity because what is a guy’s garage today maybe be bottling tomorrow. Every brewery gets equal billing on CTMQ – but no, these guys are at least a few steps above your neighborhood homebrewer.

Also, when applicable, the smaller brewers who make experimental batches of stuff – which will be hard to differentiate for the brewers who don’t yet bottle anything – will have separate sections for those one-off beers. I’ll figure it out… Somehow. And heck, some of these may never actually become operational.

CT’s Actual Beer Producing Breweries and Their Beer:

Note: Links below go to My pages about their beer, not their websites!

Back East Brewing Company, Bloomfield

Beer’d Brewing, Stonington

Black Hog Brewery, Oxford (in planning)

Black Pond Brews, Danielson (in planning)

Blind Pug Ales, Plymouth (in planning)

Broadbrook Brewing, East Windsor

Cavalry Brewing, Oxford

Charter Oak Brewery, Norwalk (in planning)

Compo Hill Brewing Company, Westport (in planning)

Cottrell Brewing Company, Pawcatuck

Dawley Brewing Company, Newington (in planning)

DuVig Beer Brewing Company, Branford (in planning)

Firefly Hollow Brewing, Bristol

Half Full Brewery, Stamford

Hog River Brewing, Hartford (in planning)

Kent Falls Brewing Company, Kent (in planning)

Maltose Express Brewery, Monroe (in planning)

New England Brewing Company, Woodbridge

No Worries Brewing Company, New Haven (in planning)

Olde Burnside Brewing Company, East Hartford

Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores (OEC) Brewing, Oxford (in planning)

Overshores Brewing, East Haven

Powder Hollow Brewing, Enfield (in planning)

Relic Brewing Company, Plainville

Shebeen Brewing Company, Wolcott

Steady Habit Brewing Company, Haddam (in planning)

Still Hill Brewing Company, Glastonbury (in planning)

Stony Creek Brewing, Branford (in planning)

Stubborn Beauty Brewing Company, Middletown (in planning)

Ten Point Brewing, Wilton (Doubtful)

These Guys Brewing Company, New London (in planning)

Thimble Island Brewing, Branford

Thomas Hooker Brewery, Bloomfield

Top Shelf Brewing, Manchester

Two Roads Brewing, Stratford

United Nutmeg Beer Company, New Haven (in planning)

Witchdoctor Brewing, South Windsor (in planning)

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CT’s High-Quality Homebrewering Operations:

Note: These are the legit homebrewers who go all out with professional looking labels and websites and great beer. They may move up a category some day, if they so choose.

Back Room Brewery, Fairfield

Bottom-Side-Up Brewing Company, Vernon

Lasting Brass Brewing, Waterbury

Left Lane Brewing, Norwalk

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CT’s Contract/Partner Beers Brewed in CT:

City Steam Brewery Bottles(Contracted with Hooker ’12, Two Roads ’13)

Continental Beer Company (Contracted with Cottrell)

The Great New London Brewing Company (“Partnered” with Cottrell)

Southport Brewing Company Bottles(Contracted with Hooker)

State Line Brewing (by Cottrell, specifically for Trader Joe’s)

Stony Creek Beer (Contracted with Hooker – brewery in planning!)

Weed Brewing (Contracted with Hooker)

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CT’s Actual Beer Producing Brewpubs and Their Beer:

Bru Room at BAR, New Haven

Cambridge Brew House, Granby

City Steam Brewery, Hartford

Guvnor’s Brewery, Norwalk

Pies and Pints Brewpub, Waterbury

Southport Brewing Company, 4 Locations that brew (Milford does not)

Tullycross Tavern, Manchester – closed in 2013

Willimantic Brewing Company, Willimantic

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Currrently Not Brewed in CT CT Brewing Companies:

Beaver Beer, “Westport” (Paper City Brewing, MA)

Cambridge House Beer, “Granby” (Paper City Brewing/Opa-Opa, MA)

Charter Oak Brewing, “New Canaan” (Paper City Brewing, MA)

Farmington River Brewing Company “Simsbury” (Mercury Brewing, MA)

Hartford Better Beer Company (Shipyard Brewing Co, ME)

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Private Label Restaurant Beers Brewed in CT:

Carbone’s Kitchen, CK Ale (Back East Brewing)

Max Restaurant Group, Brewtus Maximus (Thomas Hooker Brewing) – now in bottles as of 10/12

Flanders Fish Market, Cappy’s Ale (Thomas Hooker Brewing)

Sliders Sports Bar & Grill, Flippin’ Bird Ale (Thomas Hooker Brewing)

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Beer Marketed/Labeled for CT Market, But Not Brewed in CT:

Gris Revolutionary Ale at the Griswold Inn, Essex (Budweiser)

Mohegan Sun Ale (Budweiser)

Mystic Seaport Ale, Mystic (Shipyard Brewing, ME)

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1Private labels are when breweries label a beer to match a particular restaurant or local theme – or something like that. I have no idea how many of these exist in Connecticut, but I’ll try to sort them out.



2This will be tricky. Two Roads Brewing down in Stratford and Thomas Hooker (Bloomfield) seem to be our top contract brewers at the time of this writing. And what they brew now for other brewers won’t necessarily be what they brew in the future. Or the past. You see what I mean about it being tricky? Here’s some more info on contracting. And some more. Contracting isn’t a bad thing necessarily. Some incredible beers are contracted to other physical breweries simply for capacity and distribution reasons. Here’s the best explanation of it all.



3As with everything on CTMQ, my opinions are my own. They are often woefully unresearched and personal. I don’t like pilsners much at all. I don’t like fruity beers, pumpkin beers, or spiced beers. You very well may like this stuff and hate what I love. Just buy local, try it and find your own favorites.