SoNo microbrewery and pub opens with eight varieties

Head brewer Anderson Sant'anna Delima at the new Hell or High Water brew pub on Washington Street in South Norwalk, Conn. Head brewer Anderson Sant'anna Delima at the new Hell or High Water brew pub on Washington Street in South Norwalk, Conn. Photo: Alexander Soule / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Alexander Soule / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 86 Caption Close SoNo microbrewery and pub opens with eight varieties 1 / 86 Back to Gallery

It did not come to hell or high water, but after nearly two years of anticipation a new SoNo brew pub has switched out brown paper in its windows to reveal pub stools, a bar and gleaming copper tanks where it will crank out new beers.

The Hell or High Water Brewpub opened with little fanfare on Friday at 136 Washington St. in South Norwalk, offering eight beers brewed on the premises with another three in the works under Anderson Sant’anna Delima, head brewer.

Owned by Mayub Murshed, the brew pub also boasts a gourmet tavern menu, from local standards like oysters on the half shell, to nibbles like an artisanal cheese and meat platter, to unusual entrees like roasted bone marrow. Entrees run between $8 and $20.

The unabashed stars of the show are the beers, however — and Sant’anna Delima is more than happy to rattle off not just the brewing process for each, but their histories and antecedents. They range from Belgian-style Dubbel, Trippel and Red Strong Ale; to German Kolsch; to California Brown Lager, which prompts a retelling of the brew’s lore dating back to the California Gold Rush.

Hell or High Water brings a microbrewery back to South Norwalk two years after the closure of Sono Brewhouse on Marshall Street, along with the brief-lived Guvnor’s Brewery whose quarters have been taken by Hell or High Water. Prior to that, the storefront near the corner of Water Street was occupied by candy proprietor Sweet Rexie’s that had relocated to Southport.

Sant’anna Delima promises there will be more than enough at Hell of High Water to tempt the taste buds — the bar has eight taps through which he plans to rotate new beers regularly, with the tanks currently brewing a New England IPA, a Belgian-style Saison and a California lager. He hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and attended culinary school before a career in New York City and elsewhere (including one stop in 2012 where his bar was unable to hold back the rising waters of Sandy).

Hell or High Water has no plans for now to expand beer distribution beyond its walls in SoNo, but Sant’anna Delima believes plenty will visit to experiment with what he says will be an ongoing selection of new varieties.

“I mill the grains myself,” he said. “It’s a real brew pub.”

— Kaitlyn Krasselt contributed to this report.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-354-1047; www.twitter.com/casoulman