Welcome to CT Podcast bringing 'Beers at the Beach' to Norwalk

Contributed photo Host of The Welcome to Connecticut Podcast, Ken Tuccio, is throwing a series of beer tastings at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk this summer titled "Beers at the Beach." Contributed photo Host of The Welcome to Connecticut Podcast, Ken Tuccio, is throwing a series of beer tastings at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk this summer titled "Beers at the Beach." Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Welcome to CT Podcast bringing 'Beers at the Beach' to Norwalk 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

NORWALK — Norwalker Ken Tuccio is as big an advocate for the craft beer industry as it gets and one can tell by listening to The Welcome to Connecticut Podcast.

On Tuccio’s weekly show that he tapes from his home office in Norwalk there has been a host of recognizable guests.

Whether it be TV personalities like Jerry Springer and Adam Richman or celebrity chefs like Aaron Sanchez, there is plenty of intriguing interviews to go around.

But the large focus of many of his podcasts is the local Connecticut craft beer industry.

“I’m a big fan of the beer scene — nation wide I love craft beer,” Tuccio said. “It’s a topic that I’m comfortable with. It’s something I know a lot about.”

The Connecticut native, who grew up in Ansonia and went to school at both ECSU and SCSU, started his career as a stand-up comedian and writer — publishing a book in 2008 titled “The Tuccioholic Book.”

Tuccio said his inspiration for the podcast came when he realized he wanted to feature personalities around the state in a new form of media.

“I started the podcast because I thought there was a hole in the market in terms of something that could provide an inside look at the people in Connecticut,” Tuccio said.

The show celebrated its one-year anniversary in March with a live podcast at Two Roads Brewing in Stratford, which became known as “The Beer Summit,” and featured local breweries such as Two Roads, Beer’d Brewing, Half Full Brewing, Black Hog Brewing, Sheen Brewing and OEC Brewing.

This summer Tuccio is planning a series of beer tasting events at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk — titled “Beers at the Beach.”

The first tasting will feature Beer’d Brewing Co. and will take place on Thursday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 online ($45 at the door) and include open taps and a choice of a hamburger, veggie burger or two hot dogs.

The tasting will be catered by Ripka’s Beach Café and will take place rain or shine next to Ripka’s.

“The entire concept of the series is to bring breweries to Fairfield County that are not easily accessible,” Tuccio said. “I want this to become what Alive@Five is. I want this to become that (Alive@Five) for beer in Norwalk.”

The tasting will include a live interview with the owner/brewer of Beer’d, Aaren Simoncini, and an audience Q & A.

Beer’d opened in 2012 and recently upgraded its nano brewery to a 36-barrel system.

Simoncini said that while the small volume makes it difficult to expand distribution to a larger part of the state, he hopes to make his beer more available over time.

“I don’t want to piss people off because we’re so unavailable,” Simoncini said in an interview with The Welcome to Connecticut Podcast. “I want everyone to have access to our beer, but we’re working on it.”

Tuccio said that he hopes events like Beers at the Beach will allow local craft beer fans to try something new without having to drive the long distance it takes to go to a brewery like Beer’d, which is located in Stonington, CT.

“If you’re going to drink and have a good time, you don’t want to have to drive an hour and 45 minutes there and then drive an hour and 45 minutes home,” Tuccio said. “Let’s make it convenient.”

Details on the other tastings have not been released yet, but Tuccio said he hopes to nail down dates and breweries in the coming weeks and will release the details on his website welcomect.com.

Tuccio also stressed he expects the event to sell out sooner rather than later.

“We're capping the tickets at 150,” Tuccio added. “The event is going to sell out with Beer’d Brewing there.”

The Welcome to Connecticut Podcast is posted every Thursday on welcomect.com and is also available on iTunes. Tickets for Beers at the Beer are available on welcomect.com. Tuccio can be followed on Twitter @RhymeswithPen.