Beer. And Lots Of It

I began this particular page in 2008 when there were four breweries in Connecticut: Cottrell, Hooker, New England, and Olde Burnside. Only one had a tasting room (Hooker) and each was pumping out only a handful of beers. There were a few brewpubs operating as well.

And we only had five breweries in 2011. Then there were thirty in 2015. 45 in 2016. Nearly 60 at the end of 2017. Nearly 100 at the end of 2019. You get the point… the industry has exploded here and I’ve enjoyed watching it happen and writing about it.

Although the lists below are constantly in flux, I am confident that my list is consistently the best and most accurate one that exists. If you know of anything missing or outdated, let me know.

Skip to Breweries in planning

Skip to Closed breweries since 2010

Skip to Cideries & Kombucheries

Operational Breweries & Brewpubs

102 Independent Operational Breweries as of 8/1/2020 according to my (correct) counting system. Everyone views different set-up scenarios differently. On my main list, I don’t count second locations or distribution-only breweries, and “collectives” are counted as 1.

Links go to my visit reports, many of which need updating in 2020 and beyond

Hopmeadow Brewing Company, Avon

Coles Road Brewing, Berlin

Broken Symmetry Gastro Brewpub, Bethel

Back East Brewing Company, Bloomfield

Thomas Hooker Brewery, Bloomfield

Breakaway Brew Haus, Bolton

DuVig Brewing Company, Branford

Stony Creek Brewery, Branford

Thimble Island Brewing Company, Branford

Aspetuck Brew Lab, Bridgeport

Brewport, Bridgeport

Better Half Brewing, Bristol

Firefly Hollow Brewing Company, Bristol

Little House Brewing Company, Chester

Hop Culture Farms, Colchester

Stranger Tides Brewing, Colchester

Norbrook Farm Brewery, Colebrook

Charter Oak Brewing Company, Danbury

High Nine Brewing, Deep River

BAD SONS Beer Company, Derby

Fat Orange Cat Brewing Company, East Hampton

Paddle Creek Beer Company, East Hartford

The Beeracks (Armada, Overshores, Hoax, Erector, etc.), East Haven

Niantic Public House & Brewery, East Lyme

Noble Jay Brewing Company, East Lyme

Problem Solved Brewing, East Windsor

Cold Creek Brewing & Tavern, Ellington

Powder Hollow Brewing, Enfield

Hops on the Hill Brewery, Glastonbury

The Brewery at Maple View Farm, Granby

Cambridge House Brew Pub, Granby

Barley Head Brewery, Groton

Outer Light Brewing Company, Groton

Counter Weight Brewing Company, Hamden (moving to Cheshire)

No Worries Brewing Company, Hamden

City Steam Brewery Cafe, Hartford

Hog River Brewing, Hartford

Phantom Brewing, Hartford

Kent Falls Brewing Company, Kent

Black Pond Brews, Killingly

2nd Bridge Brewing Company, Manchester

Ericit Brewing Company, Manchester

Labyrinth Brewing Company, Manchester

Urban Lodge Brewing, Manchester

Forest City Brewing, Middletown

Stubborn Beauty Brewing Company, Middletown

Dockside Brewery, Milford

Milford Point Brewing, Milford

Tribus Beer Company, Milford

Veracious Brewing Company, Monroe

5 Churches Brewing, New Britain

Alvarium Beer Company, New Britain

Brewery Legitimus, New Hartford

BruRm @ BAR, New Haven

East Rock Brewing Company, New Haven

Erector Brewing at NOLO, New Haven

Tox Brewing Company, New London

Housatonic River Brewing, New Milford

NewSylum Brewing, Newtown

Reverie Brewing Company, Newtown

Stewards of the Land Brewery, North Branford

Great Falls Brewing Company, North Canaan

Twelve Percent Beer Project, North Haven

Shunock River Brewery and Village Cafe, North Stonington

Iron Brewing Company, Norwalk

Epicure Brewing, Norwich

These Guys Brewing Company, Norwich

30 Mile Brewing, Old Saybrook

Black Hog Brewing, Oxford

Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores (OEC) Brewing, Oxford

Relic Brewing Company, Plainville

Bear Hands Brewing, Putnam

The Crossings Restaurant & Brewpub, Putnam

Redding Beer Company, Redding

Nod Hill Brewery, Ridgefield

Still Hill Brewery, Rocky Hill

Fox Farm Brewery, Salem

CT Valley Brewing Company, South Windsor

Kinsmen Brewing, Southington

Transcend Beer Crafters (née Skygazer Brewing), Southington

Witchdoctor Brewing, Southington

Half Full Brewery, Stamford

Lock City Brewing, Stamford

Beer’d Brewing, Stonington

Cottrell Brewing Company, Stonington

Athletic Brewing Company, Stratford (Non-alcoholic)

Fairfield Craft Ales, Stratford

Two Roads Brewing, Stratford

Broad Brook Brewing, Suffield

Center Street Brewing Co., Wallingford

Cliffside Brewery, Wallingford

Front Porch Brewing, Wallingford

Brass Works Brewing Company, Waterbury

Lasting Brass Brewing, Watertown

New Park Brewing Company, West Hartford

Willimantic Brewing Company, Windham (Willimantic)

Little Red Barn Brewers, Winchester (Winsted)

Luppoleto Brewing Company, Windsor Locks

Connecticut Brewery Collective, Wolcott (Shebeen & others)

New England Brewing Company, Woodbridge

Woodbury Brewing Company, Woodbury

Taylor Brooke Brewery, Woodstock

Second Locations

Beer’d Brewing at the Silo, Groton

Thomas Hooker Brewery at Colt, Hartford

Stony Creek Brewing at Foxwoods, Ledyard

Powder Hollow Middletown, Middletown

The Stack/Bear’s Smokehouse, New Haven

Area Two Experimental Brewing, Stratford

Keg Distribution-Only Breweries

Lost Tourist Brewing, Meriden

Watson Farmhouse Brewery, Southbury





Breweries & Brewpubs in Planning

This list contains the breweries that, as of last check, are still in the game…

Black Helmet Brewing, Barkhamsted

Skulls Brew House, Berlin

Berlinetta Brewing Company, Bridgeport

Cheshire Craft Brewing Company, Cheshire

Kinsmen Two, Clinton

Almost Famous Brewing Company, East Granby

East Hartford Brewing Group, East Hartford

Surfridge Brewing, Essex

(New) Steady Habit Brewing, Haddam

(New) Hanging Hills Brewing, Hartford

Lost Viking Brewing, Harwinton

Bak Brewing, Milford(?)

Dockside Brewery, Milford

Battle Jacket Beer Company, New Haven

Shallow Seas Brewing Company, New Haven

Loaded Dragon Brewing Company, North Branford

Trillium Farm & Brewery, North Stonington

Spacecat Brewing Company, Norwalk

Nothing Sacred Brewing, Plainville

Concentric Brewing, Portland

Centerline Brewing, Putnam

Boondoggle Brewing, Rocky Hill

Half Full Third Place, Stamford

Clocktown Brewing, Thomaston

Bad Dog Brewing Company, Torrington

New England Motorcycle Museum Brewpub, Vernon

WeHa Brewing Company, West Hartford

Fifth Year Brewery, West Haven

The Boroughs Brewing, Unknown

Dudleytown Brewing Company, Unknown

Moran Brothers Brewing, Unknown

Outside the Lines Brewing, Unknown

Breweries Probably Not Happening

These folks were once listed above, but I’m no longer confident they will ever open… will remove as they remove themselves from the game.

Fancy Giraffe Brewing, Bolton

Mythical Brewing Company, Branford

Sad City Brewing, Hartford

Lost Elm Artisan Ales, Stafford Springs

Walnut Mountain Brewery, Torrington





Closed Breweries & Brewpubs (Since 2010)

Brew Pub at Mohegan Sun, Montville (RIP 2011)

Tullycross Tavern and Microbrewery, Manchester (RIP Nov. 2013)

Cavalry Brewing, Oxford (RIP May 2014)

Guvnor’s Brewery, Norwalk (RIP Dec. 2014)

Top Shelf Brewery, Manchester (RIP July 2016)

Tidal River Brewing, Canton (RIP Oct. 2016)

Southport Brewing Company, Various towns (RIP Various dates)

Hell or High Water Brewpub, Norwalk (RIP Oct. 2017)

Hooker Test Kitchen, Montville (March 2017)

Church Owl Beer, Stratford (RIP Feb 2018)

(Old) Olde Burnside Brewing Company, East Hartford (RIP Dec. 2018)

Carriage House Brewing, Canton (RIP April 2019?)

Parable Brewing Company, Manchester (RIP Apr. 2019)

Bad Dream Brewing, New Milford (RIP June 2020)

Cideries

(For wine-like hard cider, go here.)

Yankee Cider Company, East Haddam

Spoke + Spy Ciderworks, Middletown

Stafford Cidery, Home of Crazy Cock Cider, Stafford

New England Cider Company, Wallingford

Tree House Orchard & Farm Fermentory, Woodstock (Not yet open)

Kombucha

Cross Culture Kombucha, Danbury