BARLEY HEAD BREWERY

January 25, 2019United States BrewpubsBARLEY HEAD BREWERY, MYSTIC CTJohn Fortunato

MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT

Just down the road from famous Mystic Pizza in the basement of a red brick warehouse building, BARLEY HEAD BREWERY opened in this quaint seaport village during 2017 (and closed during 2024).

Taking the rustic gray cement-floored space of a former jewelry store, Barley Head’s diminutive low-ceilinged two-barrel nanaobrewery includes several small sectioned-off brew tanks, three-seated wood serving bar (with large blackboard menu), right-walled couch, four left scattered seats, two window seats and many one-off homebrews by ex-Cottrell brewer Drew Rodgers.

I visited the humble underground pub during mid-January ’19, soaking up one signature staple and seven limited edition elixirs.

Approachable flagship offering, Saison du Maison IPA, coalesced dry saison yeast with IPA-like citric hops, leaving orange-peeled pineapple, mango and tangerine juicing upon mild herbal peppering, lemony grape esters and light earthen musk.

Another crossbred saison, Haley Farm Farmhouse IPA, brought sour lactic acidity and leathery barnyard funk to the lightly embittered citrus hop profile.

Dewy peat contrasted spicy yellow-orange fruiting for moderate Interstellar Secret IPA, an engaging English-derived, New England-styled moderate-medium body.

Floral citric herbage spiked 2nd Enthrallment IPA, leaving lemony grapefruit and orange rind bittering upon piney-hopped grouted oats.

Tart cherry piquancy inundated Love & Pop, an easygoing fruited Belgian ale with murky grain malting.

Lightly creamed specialty grain ale, Chevy Levee & Rye let peaty caraway-seeded rye malting run amuck on brusque herbal citrus hops.

Chocolate-y raisin sweetness uplifted Dave The Great Dubbel, allowing mild burgundy, fig and date illusions to encounter dewy peat serenity towards the midst. The nitro version added mildly creamed walnut, hazelnut and black cherry nuances to the Raisinette-candied glaze.

www.barleyheadbrewery.com

30 MILE BREWING CO.

January 24, 2019United States Brewpubs30 MILE BREWING CO., OLD SAYBROOK CTJohn Fortunato

OLD SAYBROOK, CONNECTICUT

Hidden inside a brick terra cotta warehouse-garage along the railroad tracks of Long Island Sound-bound Old Saybrook, 30 MILE BREWING CO. opened its doors in 2016 (and closed January 2022). A quaint cement-floored dig with green and grey walls, indoor patio setup and 3 TV’s, its charm lies in its lean simplicity and good beers.

As of my initial mid-January ’19 fling, there were bottles and cans available for outside consumption. I got to sample eight well-defined homebrews on my early afternoon stopover with wife and dog, Roscoe, before escaping the oncoming snowstorm.

Signature India Pale Ale, Baby Fight Club, stayed tarter than tangy as its spangling citrus gleam allowed spicy grapefruit, orange and tangerine juicing to rise above mild lupulin-oiled pine tones and dry pale malts.

Dryer citric conciseness saddled Baby Fight Club (Double Dry-Hopped), a zestful IPA securing tingly lemon, grapefruit, orange and tangelo licks with herbal-licked grassy hop astringency.

Easygoing Mosaic-Citra-Cascade-hopped smoothie, Sum Pulp New England IPA, retained its stylish grapefruit, pineapple and orange zestfulness above gentle coniferous pining and modest crystal pale malting.

For audaciously wondrous one-off, Going Sour: Pomegranate, mild acidic salinity underlined pleasantly tart pomegranate sourness contrasted to perfection by sweet vanilla sugaring (and picking up latent gooseberry-cranberry snips).

Nearly as fine, Going Sour: Black Currant utilized subtle blackcurrant-spiced tartness to appease its moderately acidic salinity, leaving white grape, green plum, green apple and gooseberry illusions in its wake.

Stylishly soft-toned Rymley’s Winter Warmer, a dryer-than-sweet barleywine, placed muted red grape, red cherry and plum tones above aridly earthen caramel grain malts.

Happily abstruse Raison Saison plied golden raisins to its banana daquiri-sweetened Graham Cracker spine while wispily white-peppered lime tartness secured the rustic grained underbelly.

Coming across like a delightful creamed coffee, Astute Stout brought vanilla-beaned espresso adjuncts to the fore while sweet caramel latte, cinnamon and dark fruiting shaded the jaunty java juggernaut.

30milebrewingco.com

TWO ROADS / EVIL TWIN SAIGON SCOOTER SELFIE VIETNAMESE STOUT

January 23, 2019Beers A-Zimperial stout, TWO ROADS BREWINGJohn Fortunato

On tap at Woodstack Pizza, creamily brown-sugared coffee sweetness envelops rich java-influenced stout collab between two respected Connecticut brewers. Vietnamese iced coffee continuance gains light bourbon vanilla, milk chocolate, cacao nibs, cinnamon, molasses and café au lait illusions to further sweeten decadent coffee milkshake alternative.

EVIL TWIN AUN MAS A JESUS (BOURBON AGED)

January 23, 2019Beers A-ZEVIL TWIN BREWING, imperial stoutJohn Fortunato

On tap at Taphouse 15, leathery dry bourbon influence gains bitter Blackstrap molasses edge for oncoming dark chocolate, black coffee and oaken vanilla perk as well as slowly seared wood-burnt hop char.

KENT FALLS COFFEE MILK STOUT

January 23, 2019Beers A-ZKENT FALLS, milk stoutJohn Fortunato

On tap at Ambulance, off-dry medium roast Ethiopian coffee frontage gains mild chocolate-milked vanilla creaming to contrast light earth-scorched wood tones. Minor lactic souring encounters dainty espresso bittering in the backdrop.

GUN HILL VOID OF LIGHT (PEANUT BUTTER)

January 23, 2019Beers A-Zdry stout, GUN HILL BREWINGJohn Fortunato

On tap at Taphouse 15, creamy peanut-buttered Void of Light variant retains dark-roasted nutty mocha richness. Rich peanut butter setting given black coffee, cocoa and chocolate resilience to invigorate walnut-seared charred hop bittering.

ADIRONDACK PEANUT BUTTER PORTER

January 23, 2019Beers A-ZADIRONDACK PUB, mocha porterJohn Fortunato

On tap at Ambulance, dark-roast peanut buttering buttresses dry cacao nibs influence and hop-oiled coffee snarl. Black chocolate, burnt walnut and Brazil nut illusions seep thru rich peanut-buttered mocha façade.

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CENTRAL WATERS BOURBON BARREL CHERRY STOUT

January 23, 2019Beers A-ZCENTRAL WATERS, oak-aged stoutJohn Fortunato

On tap at Ambulance, dry black cherry souring gains tart red wine tannins and sweet bourbon drift for fruitful Imperial Stout. In the midst, sweet mocha pleasantries contrast pinot noir sentiments and delicate oaken vanilla bittering. Bourbon-draped black cherry protraction unfurls wispy raspberry, blackberry and boysenberry illusions way beneath the lightly vinous surface.

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NESHAMINY CREEK MAXIMUM MOCHA PORTER

January 23, 2019Beers A-Zcoffee porter, NESHAMINY CREEKJohn Fortunato

On tap at Hoover’s, aggressive Rise Up! dark-roast coffee bittering reinforced by nutty chocolate, espresso and cocoa bean rollick. Maximum coffee thrust picks up mild hop char at the bold mocha finish. Excellent java alternative.

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RARE FORM FUDGE FANTASY STOUT

January 23, 2019Beers A-Zmilk stout, RARE FORM BREWINGJohn Fortunato

On tap at Growler & Gill, fudgy black chocolate quaintness gains cookie dough smidge over dry cola-walnut confluence. Not an overtly sweet stout. And its fudge fantasy’s a little undetermined.

RARE FORM KARASS ROBUST PORTER

January 23, 2019Beers A-Zmocha porter, RARE FORM BREWINGJohn Fortunato

On tap at Growler & Gill, velvety porter offers dark chocolate and bitter cocoa to dry earthen nut char and smoked peat dinge with reliable results.

RARE FORM MEMBERS ONLY BROWN ALE

January 23, 2019Beers A-Zbrown ale, RARE FORM BREWINGJohn Fortunato

On tap at Growler & Gill, clean amber-hazed moderation brings appeasing peanut-shelled walnut roast to spiced toffee sweetness and earthen soy-sauced black patent-like malting in nearly sedate manner.

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