Beer

[upstater]

According to NEB's facebook page their tasting room is closed for renovations. Better check with them that they'll be open on the 13th.

Can you buy 6 packs directly from them? Ill be in New Haven soon and would like to bring some beer back home.

 

[Bezzz]

Can you buy 6 packs directly from them? Ill be in New Haven soon and would like to bring some beer back home.

I've never been there so I don't know...give 'em a call.

 

[cw00dson24]

Can you buy 6 packs directly from them? Ill be in New Haven soon and would like to bring some beer back home.

Yes and No. For the most part they only fill growlers at the brewery. Every once in a while they will sell cans/bottles of special releases, but they do not sell cans of Seahag, 668, Gandhi, etc. at the brewery.

 

[upstater]

Yes and No. For the most part they only fill growlers at the brewery. Every once in a while they will sell cans/bottles of special releases, but they do not sell cans of Seahag, 668, Gandhi, etc. at the brewery.

Thanks. Any local stores in New Haven that stock them?

 

[Mike75]

Thanks. Any local stores in New Haven that stock them?

Go to Amity Wine just down the street

 

[Rico444]

Thanks. Any local stores in New Haven that stock them?

You should be able to find Sea Hag, 668, and Elm City Pils fairly easily. Gandhi Bot, not so much...they're not going to put it out on the shelf, you'll have to ask if they have some in back. They don't brew Fuzzy Baby Ducks very often, and when they do, it's not bottled. They'll tap a keg or two at the brewery, and every so often will send a keg out to a local restaurant. The last time it was on at the brewery, word got out before they opened, and a huge line formed. Before they even opened the doors, they put out a tweet saying if you're not in line already, you're not getting FBD as they knew it would be kicked by then. I'm still waiting to try the stuff myself; you have to be pretty quick about getting down to the brewery (or restaurant if they announce they have it) to try some.

 

[8893]

@upstater , I don't recall your beer preferences, but unless you're a fan of boozy, malty Belgian ales or average Pilsners, I wouldn't recommend loading up on either the 668 or Elm City Lager. They're both fine for what they are, but neither is extraordinary imo. I notice that a lot of the college kids seem to gravitate towards the 668 because it is sweet and boozy. The Elm City Lager is a decent warm weather quaffer, but nothing remarkable.

If you're an IPA fan, the Sea Hag is the one to load up on. And in the unlikely event that you find any Gandhi-Bot, grab as much of that as they will sell you.

I agree that Amity Wine is a good call, but you should be able to find it in lots of places around the greater New Haven area and beyond. Look at the dates on the tag on the six-packs and try and grab the freshest ones.

 

[upstater]

@upstater , I don't recall your beer preferences, but unless you're a fan of boozy, malty Belgian ales or average Pilsners, I wouldn't recommend loading up on either the 668 or Elm City Lager. They're both fine for what they are, but neither is extraordinary imo. I notice that a lot of the college kids seem to gravitate towards the 668 because it is sweet and boozy. The Elm City Lager is a decent warm weather quaffer, but nothing remarkable.

If you're an IPA fan, the Sea Hag is the one to load up on. And in the unlikely event that you find any Gandhi-Bot, grab as much of that as they will sell you.

I agree that Amity Wine is a good call, but you should be able to find it in lots of places around the greater New Haven area and beyond. Look at the dates on the tag on the six-packs and try and grab the freshest ones.

Thanks for the advice.

I basically drink Ommegang here in New York state, I like the Blonde Ales (the Belgian Style). Lately Ommegang has gone toward IPA, Belgian-style. Yeasty. Not as big a fan.

Always have some Anchor Steam in the fridge. I would buy Allagash (Maine) all day too but it comes and goes up here.

Otherwise, I am just drinking local beer (Flying Bison, Big Ditch and Community Beer Works). Of these, I think only Flying Bison distributes out of state. They do an excellent job.

Thanks for the advice on 668. I'll look for SeaHag. I had GandhiBot at a restaurant up here in Buffalo and liked it quite a bit.

 

[8893]

Thanks for the advice.

I basically drink Ommegang here in New York state, I like the Blonde Ales (the Belgian Style). Lately Ommegang has gone toward IPA, Belgian-style. Yeasty. Not as big a fan.

Always have some Anchor Steam in the fridge. I would buy Allagash (Maine) all day too but it comes and goes up here.

Otherwise, I am just drinking local beer (Flying Bison, Big Ditch and Community Beer Works). Of these, I think only Flying Bison distributes out of state. They do an excellent job.

Thanks for the advice on 668. I'll look for SeaHag. I had GandhiBot at a restaurant up here in Buffalo and liked it quite a bit.

Well scratch what I said then, because you might like 668 quite a bit given your preferences (it's a strong Belgian Blonde Ale). It sells like crazy for them, so obviously lots of people like it; just not my style. Funny, I'm not crazy about the styles Ommegang makes generally, but I recently tried their new IPA (Nirvana, I think?) and liked it a lot more than I expected to. It was not Belgian-style at all to my palate; tasted like a very good American IPA to me.

 

[Rico444]

Thanks for the advice.

I basically drink Ommegang here in New York state, I like the Blonde Ales (the Belgian Style). Lately Ommegang has gone toward IPA, Belgian-style. Yeasty. Not as big a fan.

Always have some Anchor Steam in the fridge. I would buy Allagash (Maine) all day too but it comes and goes up here.

Otherwise, I am just drinking local beer (Flying Bison, Big Ditch and Community Beer Works). Of these, I think only Flying Bison distributes out of state. They do an excellent job.

Thanks for the advice on 668. I'll look for SeaHag. I had GandhiBot at a restaurant up here in Buffalo and liked it quite a bit.

Ommegang....mmmmm. I really liked Three Philosophers. I'm planning on going up next August for (what should be) Mike Piazza's induction into the Hall of Fame, and can't wait to go to the brewery.

 

[defaultroute]

Question for you all. My family lives in northern Fairfield county and I'm meeting up with my father next weekend in VA. He is bringing down beer and I'm making a list. I'm pretty familiar with the CT beer scene. I know SoS will be near impossible to get. But I'm going to get some Mayflower Porter, and Back East. Summer Ale. I'm hearing good things about Grey Sail Captain's Daughter, but interested in some other recommendations. I like it all, but not belgians.

I'm familiar with Two Roads, Black Hog, Relic, Firefly Hollow, NEBCO, etc.... But looking for other recommendations. Thanks!

 

[upstater]

Well scratch what I said then, because you might like 668 quite a bit given your preferences (it's a strong Belgian Blonde Ale). It sells like crazy for them, so obviously lots of people like it; just not my style. Funny, I'm not crazy about the styles Ommegang makes generally, but I recently tried their new IPA (Nirvana, I think?) and liked it a lot more than I expected to. It was not Belgian-style at all to my palate; tasted like a very good American IPA to me.

Ommegang's Belgian Style IPA is Cooperstown Ale.

Right now I'm into something they make called Gnomegang (Belgian Blonde).

I was not a big Belgian style person because I associated Belgians with Kwak and Chimay, etc. But recently this place opened up the street (http://bmbflo.com/the-beer/) walking distance, 15 minutes, and I've had many of their Belgians, which are not sweet. A big fan of Belgians now.

 

[8893]

Question for you all. My family lives in northern Fairfield county and I'm meeting up with my father next weekend in VA. He is bringing down beer and I'm making a list. I'm pretty familiar with the CT beer scene. I know SoS will be near impossible to get. But I'm going to get some Mayflower Porter, and Back East. Summer Ale. I'm hearing good things about Grey Sail Captain's Daughter, but interested in some other recommendations. I like it all, but not belgians.

I'm familiar with Two Roads, Black Hog, Relic, Firefly Hollow, NEBCO, etc.... But looking for other recommendations. Thanks!

SoS should not be impossible. Tell them to go to whatever package stores they frequent most often and ask for it. They should be able to get at least a 4-pack for you. Same with Captain's Daughter.

Unless they are going to get growler fills for you at various CT breweries, there's nothing more I'd recommend beyond what you've covered, with the very notable exception of OEC in Oxford. I'm not generally a Belgian-style fan either, but I love Belgian sours, gose and similar styles, and the beers these guys are making are world-class, unique and stunning imo. If your father can get to their brewery and buy a few bottles of whatever they are selling, I'm guessing you would appreciate it.

 

[mauconnfan]

http://www.thesummerbrewfest.com/brewers-and-beer/

Went to the brewfest in Northampton MA yesterday with some couples. Great day, some real good beers, some not so good. I can tell you this as I tend to be a domestic beer drinker, it's not easy going through about 30-35 5-6oz samples and having your stomach feel really good. I mean it was like a time bomb as we grew into our 3rd hour LOL. Lefty's from Ludlow had an IPA that won the award for me and I'm not even an IPA guy. There was actually a couple good ciders there too as well as trying the Travelers lemon and grapefruit stuff which I lay know from commercials. Some big names, some locals were on hand and it was a fun day. Ended it at the East Side Grille for some dinner to ease the stomach woes and that worked excellent. A little walk around for the wives to shop and I found some nice ECCO golf shoes at Deals and Steals for 69 bucks normally 189. And of course people watching in town is always entertaining.

 

[methodology]

SoS should not be impossible. Tell them to go to whatever package stores they frequent most often and ask for it. They should be able to get at least a 4-pack for you. Same with Captain's Daughter.

Unless they are going to get growler fills for you at various CT breweries, there's nothing more I'd recommend beyond what you've covered, with the very notable exception of OEC in Oxford. I'm not generally a Belgian-style fan either, but I love Belgian sours, gose and similar styles, and the beers these guys are making are world-class, unique and stunning imo. If your father can get to their brewery and buy a few bottles of whatever they are selling, I'm guessing you would appreciate it.

SoS is starting to become impossible to find. I use to have a lot of luck at a packy I visit frequently but havent been able to score it in close to a month. After talking to the guy, he use to give me heads up when they were getting shipment, he told me the distributor and brewery are no longer telling places when they will be getting deliveries because there are too many truck chasers. They have even changed their delivery patterns to prevent the truck chasers. He also so once he gets it in one person finds out and they sell out in about hour or 2.

Was also told that Sea Hag will start to become very difficult to get. NEBCO is brewing it at full capacity right now so the package stores are getting the max amount they possible can but the popularity is starting to take off. My guy said dont be surprised if in a couple months its difficult to find Sea Hag.

Anyway if anyone is a root beer fan I picked up a 6 of "Not your Father's Root Beer" and I enjoyed them. I only drank a couple a night as they were a bit sweet but at 5.9% alcohol they are dangerous since they dont taste like beer at all and go down quick. Made a couple root beer floats with them also.

 

[8893]

SoS is starting to become impossible to find. I use to have a lot of luck at a packy I visit frequently but havent been able to score it in close to a month. After talking to the guy, he use to give me heads up when they were getting shipment, he told me the distributor and brewery are no longer telling places when they will be getting deliveries because there are too many truck chasers. They have even changed their delivery patterns to prevent the truck chasers. He also so once he gets it in one person finds out and they sell out in about hour or 2.

Was also told that Sea Hag will start to become very difficult to get. NEBCO is brewing it at full capacity right now so the package stores are getting the max amount they possible can but the popularity is starting to take off. My guy said dont be surprised if in a couple months its difficult to find Sea Hag.

Been hearing that about Sea Hag for a while from people connected to the industry in various ways. I think that the places I frequent for beer bars and package stores should still be in good shape, but we'll see. Not quite sure what's up with NEBCO, but I think there is a little more to it than simply increased popularity. That said, one of the hardest things to do in almost any business imo is to stay medium-sized in the face of increasing demand.

Speaking of increasing demand, I heard that FBD is out again, but have yet to taste the new batch. I think NEBCO is still closed for growler refills because of some work on their tasting room, but I'm not on FB so don't know for sure. One thing I do know is that they make it remarkably difficult to allow you to purchase their product, and in the long run I'm not sure if that's a good business model in an increasingly competitive and saturated market.

Funny you say that about SoS, as just yesterday I thought I had the opposite experience. My local packy guy had a fresh four-pack waiting for me, and he had a Captain's Daughter for me, too, so I was beginning to think that the market was loosening up. Then he explained that SoS had just come in and that it had been a couple weeks since he had any, and that he had turned away several non-regular customers in the meantime who simply walked in the door and asked for it, and then walked out. So I guess it's not getting any easier after all; I just lucked out.

I see that Stony Creek is out in cans now, and I'm hearing increasing buzz about the brewery. Does anyone know if the beer is getting any better? I tried the Cranky IPA a few months ago and thought it was meh--quaffable but nothing special. Sounds like it's a nice place to visit though.

 

[upstater]

In Montreal right now, fresh local Unibroue beers. They ain't serving 9% Fin du Monde in 12 oz. glasses up here. Try 24 oz. Maudite is good too.

 

[mauconnfan]

In Montreal right now, fresh local Unibroue beers. They ain't serving 9% Fin du Monde in 12 oz. glasses up here. Try 24 oz. Maudite is good too.

Is there any Kraft beer there?

 

[Bezzz]

I was at Maximum Beverage in West Hartford Friday. I asked the manager if he ever gets SOS. He said yes, they just got 5 cases last Tuesday, they announced it's arrival via Snapchat. It was sold out within 20 minutes.

By the way, you can keep track of where it's available on this great site. It's currently on tap at Artisanal Burger in Manchester.
https://www.beermenus.com

 

[UConn4ever]

Craft beer cellar in West Hartford had SoS on Friday they were allowing people to buy cases at a time saw one guy loading 5 cases into his trunk. Joes in East Windsor and Harry's in Vernon get shipments towards the beginning of each month even though this month they were a little later then normal. But those places limit it to 2 cans per person

 

[alexd]

Firefly Hollow in Bristol tapped a brand new IPA last weekend. Amazing.

Up Quark IPA
Up Quark IPAThis resiny American IPA blends both new age American Hops with experimental German varieties. Look for up front flavors of soft stone fruits, mango, tangerine, and citrus. The beer finishes dry with lasting herbal flavors reminiscent of gunpowder green tea, pine resin, and black pepper spice. By blending hop varieties from two very distinct growing regions, we’re able to achieve loads of complexity and subtle flavors.
ABV: 6.0%
OG: 13.5 Plato
Grist: Bohemian Pilsner, German Vienna, Flaked Maize
Kettle Hops: Mandarina Bavaria, Hallertau Blanc, Citra, Hull Melon
Dry Hops: Citra, Mandarina Bavaria, Hallertau Blanc, Mosaic, Hull Melon

 

[Waquoit]

SoS is starting to become impossible to find.

I was at a place with a big draft selection and asked if they had anything new that wasn't on the menu. He said they just tapped SoS. I ordered one and it was very good. But when I settled the tab I saw it was $9. for a 10oz. glass. No beer is that good. SOS certainly wasn't.

 

[8893]

I was at a place with a big draft selection and asked if they had anything new that wasn't on the menu. He said they just tapped SoS. I ordered one and it was very good. But when I settled the tab I saw it was $9. for a 10oz. glass. No beer is that good. SOS certainly wasn't.

I agree. That's gouging. I think I posted upthread about guy in a New Haven package store a few months ago who was going to charge me $21 for a four-pack of the 16 oz. cans and I told him to keep them. It's good, but that's ridiculous. The 10 oz. glass is the most offensive part of your situation imo, but $9 is high even for a pint.

 

[Waquoit]

The 10 oz. glass is the most offensive part of your situation imo....

Thank you. 10oz isn't a beer. It's a sample.

 

[upstater]

Is there any Kraft beer there?

Kraft is dead to me.