Yankee Brew News Archive

What's Brewing: Connecticut

Originally Published: 08/97

By: Gregg Glaser

Openings - Closings - Promises

Two brewpubs and one cidery opened in Connecticut last spring - the Southport Brewing Company in the Southport section of Fairfield, John Harvard's Brew House in Westport and the Original American Cider Company in North Stonington. One brewpub, Glastonbury's Alewife Grille & Brewery, closed its doors on May 17 for sixty or so days of renovations, and several other existing and potential brewpubs and micros promised beer before the end of the summer.

The Southport Brewing Company (203-256-2337) opened a 160-seat brewpub last April 14 with ten ales on tap. That's a large number of beers to offer right out of the starting gate. Head Brewer Mark DaSilva trained at Boston Beer Works, and his apprenticeship paid off well. At a first tasting all his beers were smooth, clean and tasty. The Naughty Nurse (an occasional YBN writer and reviewer) and I especially enjoyed DaSilva's Bitter Commuter ESB and Sasco Hill (English-style) Pale Ale. Other beers at Southport include Irish stout, porter, red ale, light ale, blonde ale, American pale ale, IPA, American wheat and, for the summer, a Bavarian-style wheat beer.

May 14 was the opening date for John Harvard's Brew House (203-457-2337) in Westport. The 165-seat brewpub opened with six beers brewed by Geoff DeBisschop, formerly a brewer at New Haven Brewing. DeBisschop's beers included a light lager, pilsener, pale ale, nut brown ale, porter and raspberry ale. August will see a Belgian witbier and several German weizens (hefe, dunkel and bock) at John Harvard's, and in September the Octoberfest beer will appear.

The Original American Cider Company (860-535-4650) in North Stonington sells its cider in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts in kegs, 1/2-gallon growlers and 12-ounce six-packs. The sweet cider is made from a mix of several varieties of apples, slightly sweetened with brown sugar, fermented with ale yeast and carbonated, according to owner Don Benoit.

New England Brewing Company (203-866-1339), a Norwalk micro housed in the same building with The Brewhouse restaurant, held a homebrew competition on May 4. The winner of the Brewmaster' Cup, a beer to be brewed by New England Brewing and served on tap at The Brewhouse, was none other than the Naughty Nurse. The Nurse's ESB has yet to be named by the folks at New England Brewing, but the obvious is obvious. The question is, will they? Look for this beer sometime in September. In other news at New England Brewing, Marley Hodgson has been named the brewery's new General Manager. Summer beers for the brewery are American Wheat, Raspberry Wheat (bottles and draft) and a Czech pilsener (draft only). The annual Maerzen (bottles and draft) returns in September.

Colorado Brewing & Trading Company (303-442-2799), a Danbury brewpub under construction, was hit by a firebug on May 25 - the same arsonist who Danbury fire officials think is responsible for setting 55 fires in the last 14 months. Luckily for Colorado Brewing, no one was hurt, and damage was minimal. Workers had just completed demolition on the space and framing was in the earliest stages. The brewhouse had not yet been installed, but some of the kitchen equipment was destroyed. Colorado Brewing will rebuild in the same space, but their August opening has been pushed back to December.

The Classic Rock Brewpub (203-792-4430) in Danbury may be brewing their own beer in August. The restaurant/night club opened last May in a location at the edge of Danbury Airport. Chefs Dennis Simonson and Mitch Bielanos began operations serving about 30 bottled beers and installing four draft lines. They also purchased a 10-barrel, two-vessel (kettle and fermenter) brewing system from Specialty Products. Once BATF approval is obtained, Classic Rock plans to begin brewing extract ales and lagers.

For the past several months I've written in this column about the imminent opening of brewpubs and micros in Connecticut. Rather than rehash all the info on each of these, here's a brief rundown of who has promised beer by the end of the summer and new offerings from existing craft brewers: Bank Street Brewing (203-325-2739), a Stamford brewpub, with a new wheat beer; Blue Sun Brewing (203-778-4654), a Danbury contract brewer, with the first kegs of Blue Sun Ale; City Steam Brasserie & Brewery Cafe (860-525-1600), a Hartford brewpub, an opening; Cottrell Brewing (860-599-8213), a Pawcatuck micro, with the first bottles of Old Yankee Ale; New Haven Brewing (203-772-2739), a New Haven micro, with three bottle-conditioned beers - Broken English Ale, Copper Ale and Harvest Ale - and Luscious Lemon Ale in kegs; Essex Brewing (860-691-0408), a Niantic micro, with a blonde ale; Farmington River Brewing (860-242-3722), a Bloomfield micro, with 22-ounce bottles of Blonde Ale and Mahogany Ale; John Harvard's Brew House (860-644-2739), a Manchester brewpub, with a Belgian witbier and southern German weizens (hefe, dunkel and bock) and an Octoberfest in September (the Manchester and Westport John Harvard brewers share their beer yeasts); Indian Neck Brewery (203-785-5393) a Branford brewpub, with a possible September opening; Nutmeg Brewery, a New Haven brewpub owned by the folks at the Hartford Brewery (860-246-2337), an opening; Olde Wyndham Brewery (860-423-0444), a Willimantic micro, with the first kegs and bottles of Frog 'n Hand Pub Ale; Post Road Brewing (860-442-1200), a Waterford brewpub, with a cream ale, a nut brown ale, a dry stout, an apricot wheat ale and a new brewer, Brooks Townsend; Trout Brook Brewhouse (860-951-1680), a Hartford brewpub, with a dry stout, a Czech pilsener, a raspberry wheat ale and a Bavarian heffe-weizen on tap and Meadows Light (the same beer as the brewpub's Mike's Light) served at Hartford's Meadows Music Theater; and Willimantic Brewing Company/Main Street Café (860-423-6777), a Willimantic brewpub, with their own beer at last.

Page 3 YBN Connecticut Column August-September