COUNTER WEIGHT BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

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HAMDEN, CONNECTICUT

Exhibiting their motto of “exploring innovative methods,” bucolic hillside pub, COUNTER WEIGHT BREWING COMPANY (located two miles south of Quinnipiac University) allowed former New England Brewing Company owner, Matt Westfall, and head brewer, Sean Piel, to refine many popular ale styles, embrace German pilsners and delve into ‘passion projects.’

Opening its doors at a former retrofitted gym in 2017, the rustic white aluminum-topped beige-bricked Industrial taproom features a wood-floored, right side, twelve draught bar with beautiful mosaic wood side wall and tidy coffer wood ceiling.

Four community tables and barrel seating are available indoors. Upstairs, an extra tap room has more community seating. Outside, a butterscotch-hued fenced patio with blue umbrellas is where my wife and dog join me to try seven sturdy brews on a sunny Saturday afternoon, August ’21.

I’d already enjoyed conventional flagship IPA, Headway, a few years hence (reviewed in Beer Index).

CTMQ&A: Matt Westfall of Counter Weight Brewing

On draught, traditional pilsner Workhorse is Counter Weight’s ‘core beer.’ Its cool lagered keller-styled crisping allowed dry raw-honeyed husked grain leathering, grassy Noble-hopped lemon musk and herbed alfalfa acridity to politely unite.

Herbaceous Coolship Kellerbier retained spritzy lemon-candied tartness and grassy hop astringency atop bready whole grain malts. Simply excellent!

Toasty oak-conditioned Czech pils, Drevo, let spritzy lemon zest, musky raw graining, mild Saaz hop bittering and dry spicing coalesce.

Sweet-breaded Vienna malting engaged Fest Bier, a Marzen-styled lager with lemony orange desiccation contrasting floral-daubed honey spicing beneath the soft grain surface.

Buttery banana-breaded CW Hefeweizen gained bubblegum sugaring and subtle clove spicing above its herbal Tettnang-hopped pilsner malt base.

Lemony orange rind bittering anchored double dry-hopped IPA, Superfluous, picking up mango-peach-pineapple subtleties to contrast herb-tinged pine resin.

Zestful glowing yellow-hazed IPA, Creature Preacher, utilized fruitful Citra/Galaxy hops for its bright lemony grapefruit-tangerine effervescence and spicy mango-papaya-pineapple splash hovering above hearty caramelized pale malts.

NEW PARK BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

West Hartford Business Buzz: November 2, 2020 - We-Ha | West Hartford News

WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

Becoming West Hartford’s first craft beer operation on March 25, 2017, NEW PARK BREWING boasts a rotation of ‘originally designed’ recurrent, seasonal and one-off elixirs with popular hoppy IPA, Cloudscape, leading the way. Set in a 19th century-built Industrial zoned edifice with high ceiling, cement floors and decorative wood mosaics, the casual juke joint’s a popular attraction for the so-called streetcar suburb.

Managing the 2,500 square foot warehouse, New Park owner John Doyle hired home brewing biomedical scientist Alexander Dee to man the upgraded tanks installed during Covid 19 shutdown upon my August ’21 sojourn to the Nutmeg State. Twelve reclaimed wood-planked taps at the chestnut-topped serving station provided the varied suds emanating from the windowed right side stainless steel tanks or the nearby barrel aging room.

Ten community benches, a few wood tables, a host of Edison lights and back-walled surfboards garnish the white-walled pub. A wood-barriered community tabled patio and covered outside deck area provide ample extra seating. A private backroom is setup for parties and banquets.

Starting three weeks ago (July ’21), New Park installed a wood-fired pizza hearth at the new arched hole in the wall behind the bar. Organic wine is also available.

The Barrel Room | New Park Brewing

Dewy sweet-leafed mossing and gentle Tettnang hop herbage guided Helles Lager, leaving honeysuckle-perfumed pale malt spicing on the tail end.

Mild lemon lime-salted Don Limon Gose retained a sugary lemonade twist in a limestone-soured oceanic mist.

Sumptuous Market Saison let white-peppered herbage seep into the zesty lemon spritz and mandarin orange licks of its barnyard-dried leathering.

Three fruited Mosaic-hopped Berliner Weisses then caught my attention.

Blackcurrant-clad blackberry and blueberry puree resonated for Blender Black & Blue, a tart citrus-prickled moderation.

Veritable Smoothie-styled Berliner, Blender Tango, conditioned on mango, strawberry and tangerine, stayed ultra-tart as lemony yogurt souring crowded the thickly pureed fruiting.

Mild Blender Bramble, conditioned on strawberry, blueberry and blackberry and reminiscent of a fruited cobbler, placed tart rhubarb-pied boysenberry, cranberry and pomegranate illusions in the back.

Then it was on to a trio of New Park’s durable, rangy India Pale Ales. Though I missed out on flagships, Cloudscape and Headband, these others were equally compelling.

Soft heather-like flowering caressed the mild pine-needled lemon, grapefruit and orange bittering plus ancillary peach-pineapple tang of Heather IPA.

Impactful herb-salted grapefruit, mandarin orange and peach tanginess galvanized wood-toned Expression IPA.

A maltier Imperial IPA alternative, Stereogram, contrasted sugared orange, pineapple, guava and passionfruit spicing with lightly pined herbal hop pungency above gluey wheated oats.

There were no dark ales on draught for my August ’21 visit.

HOG RIVER BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

 

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

In the rustic red-bricked Parkville section of Hartford, HOG RIVER BREWING COMPANY occupies a warehouse backspace in multi-storied Parkville Market, a recently renovated and reenergized food and drink complex.

Owned by German beer-lovin’ husband-wife team, Ben & Joy Braddock, Hog River began operations springtime 2016 and quickly flourished in its historic neighborhood digs (formerly Hartford Rubber Works factory). The Seibel Institute grad previously honed his craft at nearby Thomas Hooker and Willimantic breweries.

The cavernously cement-floored, reclaimed wood-clad, catacomb-like Industrial pub features a ten-seat/sixteen-draught serving station, several community tables, butcher block tables, several gear-related metal machine relics and cozy wood-bound couch lounge (with opposing elongated cafeteria counter). Barrels, tanks and brewing equipment settle at the overhead door.

A spacious outdoor patio fills up during my sunny August ’21 sojourn.

 

Hog River Brewing | Hartford's Craft Brewery

My wife grabs some Parkville chow to down at Hog River as I consume seven wonderfully diverse libations.

Dry earthen grains and wheat-husked astringency provide raw grained rusticity to the citric-spiced hop zesting of Warehouse Pils, an appealing lightweight.

Sweet Scotch-licked Vienna malting, leafy hop dewiness and mild dried fruiting saddled Oktoberfest, a crisp autumnal moderation.

A slightly drier stylistic changeup, Peels & Blossoms Wit forwarded lemon-peeled chamomile tea to coriander-spiced orange tartness and musty white peppered whim.

Tangy pink guava and pineapple puree adjuncts outdone by salty lemon-limed green grape vinegaring and chalky limestone parch penetrating Thingaling Sour, a mildly acidic tropical dry body.

Then came the “Big Beers.” Creamy peanut-buttered dark chocolate malting dominated Princess Butter Cup Chocolate Stout, overriding sweet vanilla-spiced bourbon and port wining plus subtle red grape tartness.

“Luscious” vanilla ice cream-drenched hot fudge sauce sweetened tart maraschino cherry bruise for luxuriously rich Brain Freeze Ice Cream Sundae Stout, leaving bourbon-soaked anise spicing and maple-glazed cocoa nibs splendor upon Graham Cracker honeyed wheat spine.

Heavenly lustrous Caribbean elixir, Mango & Coconut Tripel, aged in Jamaican rum, let mango-pureed coconut toasting, mild vanilla-spiced creaming and ancillary pineapple-salted guava tartness get seeped in buttery Chardonnay wining before boozy phenol ethers hit the tail end.

BRICK & FEATHER BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

Blog — Stephanie Gaston Designs

TURNERS FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS

Inhabiting a blue-gray paneled river-bound shack in the village of Turners Falls, BRICK & FEATHER BREWERY started operations October ’15 (and closed . Entrepreneurial husband-wife team, Lawrence George (experienced brewer formerly at Flying Fish and Berkshire Brewing) and Emily George specialize in “soft, rounded Belgian and American style ales” in a family friendly light Industrial environment.

Though Brick & Feather’s diminutive white-walled front pub contains only a few community tables and an L-shaped wood top bar in its aquamarine-walled setting, its cement-floored interior extends to an expansive stainless steel brew tank back space (with seven barrel system and canning line).

Right off the canal bike path at an olden bridge on the Connecticut River, B & F craft some of the best brews in the state. I bought five home brews on my July ’21 Pioneer Village journey.

Muskily dry yellow-cleared light body, Montague Gothic Kolsch brought champagne-licked green grape esters and wispily lingered herbal-tinged lemon rind bittering to cracker-like pilsner malts.

Musky straw-dried mineral graining and delicate floral herbage backed the brisk lemony hop fizz of Kitten With A Whip, a Bavarian-styled helles lager.

Lemony grapefruit salting spread to tart green grape, guava and red berry illusions as piney herbal-hopped floral whims gathered for Positively 11th Street, a dry-hopped pale ale.

Semi-sharp citrus spicing rode above dry pale malting for Scotland But Further, another dry-hopped pale ale. Lemony yellow grapefruit spritz mellowed out alongside mild mandarin orange tartness as lollipop-soured strawberry, peach and apricot illusions surfaced.

Exquisite hazy golden glowed Letters From Zelda, a zestful IPA, let pineapple-juiced orange peel tanginess settle alongside mild lemony grapefruit rind bittering and rustic pine resin.