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20+ Places for Oktoberfest in CT: 2019 Edition

Features Oktoberfest Holiday Festival CT Beer Beer Garden Events

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson September 08, 2019

It may be called OKTOBERfest, but 2019’s Oktoberfest festivities are kicking off as early as September! Breweries are creating their own German inspired beers while popular restaurants are providing their own renditions of bratwurst and more. Get your lederhosen ready… Oktoberfest 2019 is here!

The Hops Company, Derby

The Hops Company will be hosting its 4th annual Oktoberfest on Sunday, October 13, 2019 beginning at 12:00pm. Featuring Von Trapp Brewery, the day will include live bands, giveaways, and specialty casks. A highlight of The Hops Company’s Oktoberfest is the Stein Hoisting Contest. Each winner will receive an overnight stay for two at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT.

Half Full Brewery, Stamford

Oktoberfest in the Park, presented by Half Full Brewery, returns to Stamford on September 27 & 28. Festivities include food trucks, a Pop-Up Beer Garden, and Live Music from a variety of local and regional acts. The festival is held in support of the Mill River Park Collaborative and takes place on The North Lawn & Grand Steps in Mill River Park in downtown Stamford.

Troupe429, Norwalk

Saturday October 5 is PRIDEtoberfest at Troupe429 in Norwalk. The free event features plenty of drinks, food, and live performances.

Sandy Hook Craft Beer Festival, Newtown

Just in time for your Octoberfest parties comes the Sandy Hook Craft Beer Festival. There are currently over 45 breweries signed up and 6 food trucks. Additional vendors will provide food, candy, spirits and other shopping fun. Join them Saturday October 15 from 1-5pm.

Growing CT Beer At Fox Farm Brewery

Features Ingredients Brewery CT Farms CT Beer Beer Local Artisan Local Farm Homepage

James Gribbon August 25, 2019

Beer, as I've said so many times on this site, is food. Beer is a farm you can drink. It's an agricultural product that comes to us from fields of grain and leafy green hop yards, even down to the yeast brewers culture and grow from the skins of fruit in orchards. The massive proliferation of breweries in Connecticut - many of them less than five years old - means a huge uptick in the need for all these natural products. I wanted to take a look at how the rise of craft beer is affecting the state of agriculture in the Constitution State, and how breweries and farms are working hand in hand to create and restore the growth of Connecticut beer. This will be an ongoing series as summer days get shorter and we approach harvest time, but I thought the best way to start would be with a place that brings agriculture and beer together, and I started with at Fox Farm Brewery.

SoNo Seaport Seafood Reopens: Iconic Waterside Seafood is BACK!

Restaurant South Norwalk SONO Norwalk Seafood Comfort Food Kid Friendly Waterfront Patio Outdoor Dining Openings Homepage

Andrew Dominick August 01, 2019

After a two-and-a-half-month hiatus, SoNo Seaport Seafood is open once again, serving up the ocean’s bounty with a few exciting changes.

In mid-April, the 35-year-old South Norwalk mainstay announced they would shut down shop while the restaurant, outdoor bar, and patio all underwent renovations. To oversee it all, SoNo Seaport’s owners, the Bloom Family, brought in a legit Fairfield County chef to consult on the project.

That’s where Matt Storch enters the fray. But make no mistake, the chef/owner of Match and Match Burger Lobster wasn’t merely brought in to make decisions on what furniture to buy and what color paint should go on the walls. One of Storch’s focal points at SoNo Seaport was to give an outdated menu a much-needed refresh.

Bear's Smokehouse BBQ Opens In-House Brewery in New Haven w/ Black Hog Brewing Co

Restaurant Brewery BBQ New Haven Openings Beer CT Beer Live Music

CTbites Team June 18, 2019

Bear’s Restaurant Group, which includes Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ in Windsor, Hartford, and South Windsor, and Blind Pig Pizza in Hartford, today announced the official opening of its in-house brewery. This past week, in partnership with Black Hog Brewing Co., the on-site brewery debuted its first five beers brewed in-house and will now be offering them for consumption on-site or to-go in 32-ounce crowlers.

Pair these new brews with Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ favorites, smoked in the Kansas-City style that McDonald enjoyed growing up in Kansas City, Missouri. Some of these tasty morsels include: Baby Back Ribs, Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Kielbasa, Turkey, Texas Sausage, Brisket and Burnt Ends served as a Sandwich, Entrée or Combo Plate.

Connecticut’s Brewery Legitimus & Barden Farm Partner Again for 2nd CSABC (Community Supported Agriculture, Beer & Cheese) Share

Features CSA Local Artisan Local Farm CT Beer Cheese Farm to Table

CTbites Team May 23, 2019

Brewery Legitimus, the 7 barrel craft brewery co-founded by husband and wife team Chris and Christina Sayer, is partnering once again with Barden Farm (New Hartford, CT), to bring a Community Supported Agriculture, Beer & Cheese (CSABC) Share to the community. Back for a second year in a row, the 10-week “Farm, Beer and Cheese Share” begins July 11th and will run until September 12th.

The first in the area, the CSABC share brings together locally grown produce from Barden Farm, locally crafted beer by Brewery Legitimus, and locally made cheese from several different farms in CT.

A CSABC share membership is $485 for the 10 Weeks and includes Craft Beer from Brewery Legitimus, Cheese and of course a Farm Share from Barden Farm. It works just like a CSA. Here’s what’s included:

8 Connecticut Brewfests for Spring/Summer 2019

Features Beer CT Beer Festival Events

James Gribbon April 24, 2019

Flowers aren't the only things to start popping up this spring, as brewfest season follows the sun into outdoor spaces all over Connecticut. Below is a short list of several notable events from around the state, from the eastern shore, all the way down into lower Fairfield County. Take a look, and start planning early.

Black Hog Suds & Curds

On Saturday, April 27th, the owners of Black Hog Brewing and Caseus bring 10 of the finest cheese makers in New England, plus 18 breweries, to their location at 115 Hurley Rd. in Oxford. Tickets include a glass and sample pours throughout the day, plus cheese samples and beer and cheese to-go.

Brewfest At The Beach

Ocean Beach Park in New London is the setting for the 2019 Brewfest At The Beach, featuring over 150 beers on tap, live music, "brew friendly food," and a wine tasting all included with the price of admission. The brews and views are available to you after work from 6-9pm on Friday, May 10th, and proceeds benefit Camp Rotary.

SONO 1420, Small Batch Distillery Featuring Hemp Distilled Spirits, Opens in South Norwalk

Features Ingredients Openings South Norwalk SONO Distillery Cocktails Spirits Homepage

Kristin L. Wolfe April 20, 2019

It was a vote of 14 to 20.

One hundred years ago in 1919 Connecticut State Senate couldn’t ratify the 18th Amendment which made Connecticut one of two states at the time to defeat prohibition.

It was a real moment in history, and now a real moment for SONO 1420, the revolutionary new distillery making waves in the world of spirits. As far as everyone knows, they are THE only distillery around using hemp seed in its remarkable mash for whiskey as well as other parts of the plant for its flavorful and aromatic essence in gins, bourbons, and ryes.

Smokin' Hops Brewfest by Bears Restaurant Group April 20th

Features Festival CT Beer

Stephanie Webster April 13, 2019

On April 20, visit Hartford for the Smokin' Hops Brewfest 2019, presented by Bear’s Restaurant Group . A ticket includes a Smokin’ Hops Brewfest Commemorative Tasting glass, tasting of 40+ beers from 12 local breweries, tasting of an exclusive small batch beer brewed for the festival by Alvarium Beer Co., and live music by Hartford’s own, Boo-Yah. Buy tickets here. The event benefits Knox, Inc, a community-building organization that plants 500- 1,000 trees each year, maintains 20 community gardens, supports 6 urban farmers, trains young adults in landscaping, provides environmental education, and beautifies Hartford’s parks and green spaces.

Beer... It's Not Just For Beer Drinkers Anymore: Meet The Brut IPA

Features Friday Froth Beer CT Beer

James Gribbon April 05, 2019

Beer: it's not just for beer drinkers anymore. Seriously. New or casual drinkers can steer themselves safely away from anything resembling what would have been considered an actual beer even five or six years ago, and still be paralyzed with overwhelming options. Wine drinker? There's a chance I've already converted you through the deft application of a gose made with grapes, or a raspberry lambic. Are most beers too: bland/malty/hoppy/bitter, or sour for you? No problem! Because brewers can load your pint with so much lactose they call it a milkshake, and you can drink actual donuts. That's between you and your pancreas.

Brut IPAs - the actual champagne of beers - are a very new, entirely American style. They're sweet and dry, beginning to show up all over the place, and I thought this week I'd do an explainer and review a few brewers' early efforts. Drinkers of the bubbly, drinkers of the murky, and Connecticut craft beer fans in general: you may just be about to have a new summer fling.

How New Haven’s Salsa Queen Became the State’s First Black Female Brewer (via CT Magazine)

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Connecticut Magazine March 12, 2019

We love celebrating local CT entrepreneurs. Connecticut Magazine gives a shout out to this trailblazing woman who’s shaking up the primarily male dominated craft brewing industry. We also hear that Rhythm beer will be available at Chef Chris Scott’s highly anticipated Birdman Juke Joint in Bridgeport.

Craft beer needs more diversity. The realization hit New Haven’s Alisa Bowens-Mercado five years ago while she was at a beer festival. She didn’t mean diversity in terms of more women and minority ownership of breweries; not yet anyhow. Back then she was thinking about diversity of flavor.

At that festival, every beer she tried was either too hoppy or too sour for her taste. She felt the craft industry needed more approachable options for drinkers like her.

“I want to make a beer that, when I go to a beer festival, that I can drink,” she told her husband.

Four years later Rhythm Brewing Co. was born and Bowens-Mercado, owner of Alisa’s House of Salsa, a dance studio in New Haven, became Connecticut’s first female African-American brewer. This month, as she celebrates Rhythm Brewing’s one-year anniversary, the company’s flagship product, Rhythm Unfiltered Lager, is available at more than 200 locations across the state. Bowens-Mercado is also getting ready to start distributing it in the Bahamas.

Sneak Peek: Two Roads Brewing Opening $15 million "Area Two" Expansion, March 11th

Restaurant Features Openings Brewery Beer CT Beer

James Gribbon February 26, 2019

I love taking people to the tasting room at Two Roads for the first time and showing them all the history you can touch in the place. Feel how the wooden floor is worn down here? This is where decades of workers had to walk to get between the machines of the factory. Look and you can see some of the machines they built and used, just off from the giant mash tuns which rise up through the floor behind the glass. The wooden floor they cut out for the tuns got chopped into pucks and laid down as the bar surface we're leaning on now. Cool, right? The building next door, Two Roads' 25,000 square foot, $15 million dollar expansion, Area Two, is brand new - but it already has plenty of stories to tell.

Area Two will open to the public on Monday, March 11. The new facility is a short walk across the hop yard from the mothership brewery, on the same side of the street. The focus of Area Two is the production of wild, sour, and spontaneously fermented beers.

East Rock Brewing Company Opens In New Haven

Features New Haven Brewery Openings Beer Dinner CT Beer

James Gribbon January 24, 2019

Pull back the hour hand on the clock of geologic time and the land in what was once New Haven begins to fill in. The sandstone rises up, glaciers come and go again in reverse, and the scenery levels off. The view across the water isn't Long Island - the glaciers pulled that land back with them - it's what will become Morocco. Now spin the clock forward again. The continents drift - ice, then not ice again - and the land erodes away until something seems to rise up again: the traprock scarp we know as East Rock. There's a lot of history here, and the newest bit to crop up is East Rock Brewing Company.

The Social Craft Beer Bar & Kitchen in New London: 50 Hyper-local Craft Beers on Draft

Restaurant New London Beer CT Beer Bar Comfort Food Pub

CTbites Team December 19, 2018

Sick of the same old greasy bar food consumed with flavorless big beer brands while out with colleagues or friends on Friday night? Me too. Skip the ho-hum bar and head directly to The Social, a relatively new spot on Bank Street in New London. Providing a new and much needed hang-out spot, the Social gives diners great food, a family-friendly atmosphere, and an extensive beer list; it definitely knocks it out of the park as a new place to spend Fridays after work or Saturday evenings with family or friends.

Largest Selection of Craft Beers on Draft in Southeast CT

The Social has selected hyper-local, local, regional, and U.S. beers, serving a whopping 50 on draft.

Half Full Brewery Winter Beer Garden To Open in Stamford's Mill River Park December 7th

Features Brewery Beer Garden Pop-Up Bar Stamford CT Beer Beer

CTbites Team November 30, 2018

Bear's Smokehouse Opens The Stack In New Haven: BBQ, Brewpub & Music

Restaurant BBQ New Haven Openings Bar Outdoor Dining Kid Friendly Beer Garden CT Beer Lunch Comfort Food American Homepage

James Gribbon November 09, 2018

CTBites' James Gribbon Gives Fall Road Trip Picks on CTStyle

Features Beer CT Beer

CTbites Team November 07, 2018

CTBites' own beer writer and food critic returned to WTNH's "CTStyle" on October 30th to discuss how breweries and fall road trips go together. Leaf peeping, orchard visits, whatever gets you out of the house, autumn is a great time to get to places you haven't been, and many of those out of the way places have a great brewery to visit. One of the spots mentioned in the segment was 5 Churches Brewing Company in New Britain, and you can watch the whole interview on CTStyle right here.

5 Churches Brewing in New Britain: Craft Beer For Pizzaphiles

Restaurant Brewery New Britain CT Beer Pizza Lunch

James Gribbon October 30, 2018

One of the greatest advantages of living in New England is our access to autumn. Our home in Connecticut means even if we live in urban convenience, the rural hills and river valleys of our state are a nearby drive away. This proximity gives us one of our best traditions: the fall weekend road trip. We can get out, see what nature has in store for us, and find ourselves in places which fall outside the rhythm and routine of our daily lives. Up towards the center of the state, past the historic colonial homes on Worthington Ridge in Berlin and into New Britain - a city many on the coast may not consider a destination - is 5 Churches Brewing, a place you should.

Podcast: An Interview with Patrick DiCaprio of Full Pours Podcast

Features Beer CT Beer Podcast

Ken Tuccio September 17, 2018

When Ken Tuccio first launched Food & Drink one of the things he wanted to do was a series of "With …" episodes. Episodes where he shared a meal or drinks with someone and had a conversation … not so much an interview, but more of a real chat. This is the first episode in that conceptualized sub-series. Ken sits down and has "Beers with" Patrick DiCaprio, the co-host of the Full Pours podcast. They discuss beer festivals, the boom of the CT beer scene, the new trend related to "one off labels" showing up in the market and more. Listen here.

20+ Places To Celebrate Oktoberfest in CT: 2018 Edition

Features Holiday Oktoberfest Beer Garden CT Beer Events

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson September 05, 2018

Fall is here! That means spice pumpkin lattes, apple picking, Halloween shopping, and of course… Oktoberfest! Connecticut restaurants, farms, museums, and fairgrounds are holding their own versions of the German holiday. These places are serving up German-inspired cuisine, brews, music, entertainment, and more. We will continue to update this list as venues announce events. Check back for more events throughout the month.

Friday Froth: An ESB Or Three?

Features Beer CT Beer Beer Garden Brewery

James Gribbon August 31, 2018

This week we're going to look at some beers which could be confused for the country's least glitzy style, the Extra Special Bitter, or ESB. Most people who had access to beer, legally or not, in the Cro-The problem with taste sensations is their inevitable ubiquity. Like a new song quickly overplayed into agonizing repetition, the new hotness becomes common as mud or lobster mac and cheese. Bloody Mary gimmicks are an excellent example.

Magnon craft beer era of the 1990s will remember Red Hook ESB. It was a good touch bitter, with a sharp roast and a twinge of sweetness to its malt-forward profile. English inspired bones fleshed out by a toddling American craft beer industry, it sold a ton as a delicious change of pace from Bud/Miller/Coors/Molson/Corona, and was to be one of the first brands bought and ruined by "Big Beer," in this case Anheuser-Busch.