Connecticut and Rhode Island Updates Sept 2017
By Chris Sullivan
Connecticut
At City Steam Brewery and Café in Hartford, brewer Sam Pagano is ready to ramp up some beers for early fall. Oktoberfest is a 5.7% 25 IBU crisp and malty brew that has been lagered for over a month before reaching the draft lines at the pub. Also on the malty front, look for Sweet Lew’s Portly Porter a 5.3% 28 IBU brew aged on toasted coconut and locally roasted coffee. To round out the malt season, look for Back to Earth, an 11% 55 IBU Imperial Stout aged in fresh Tennessee bourbon barrels.
Over in Waterbury at Brass Works Brewing, their Oktoberfest is primed for release on Sept. 9 at the brewery. This is a malty brew with 27 IBUs and registers 5.1%. There will also be a release of barrel aged Abel Porter. This rich porter aged in a bourbon barrel that also contained maple syrup. This 5.5% brew was aged for eight months and is ready for the malt lovers out there.
According to Emily Sauter at Two Roads Brewing in Stratford is hosting its Ok2berfest event Sept. 16 and 17 at the brewery. The event features two music stages, two beer gardens and almost every food truck in Connecticut! Tickets can be purchased at the brewery website. Also watch for the release of the newest Tanker Truck series beer; Plum Gose a 4.2% beer made with tart Italian plums. This beer exudes a pinkish color and is exceptionally refreshing for the end of summer. Look for the beer in 4 packs of cans and draft accounts.
In Oxford, brewer Tyler Jones of Black Hog Brewing has finalized two releases for September. Autumn Nugget is a wet hop ale with nugget hops and is being packaged in 16-oz cans for the first time. The beer is 6.5% and will also be available on draft accounts. Making the beer involved 150 pounds of hops for the 30 barrels of beer and also includes vanilla bean pods, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg. No pumpkin is involved in this autumnal treat. CT Love Bomb is back in 16-oz cans and draft at the brewery. The wet hopped IPA is made with all CT grown hops and features a blend of Summit, Alpha Aroma, Newport, and Cascade hops. The hops go from vine to kettle in less than 45 minutes and the final product is a 5.5% brew with heavy citrus forward aroma.
Bad Sons Beer Co. has opened in Derby and is cranking out a variety of IPAs. Look for Hooligan IPA, featuring Mosaic, Idaho 7 and Citra hops on draft at the tap room. This beer is 7.2% with 53 IBUs. Flight Risk is a session IPA with falconers flight hop and makes for an easy drinking 4.5% brew that is available on draft and in cans. Lupefied is the brewery DIPA, at 8.8% and 110 IBUs it packs quite a punch. The beer features CTZ hop blend, Citra and Centennial hops. This is then enhanced with a dose of lupulin powder from Ekuanot and Mosaic hops.
Broad Brook Brewing in East Windsor is releasing several new beers to start the fall. Jigawatts 2.0 is an unfiltered evolution of 1.21. Also look for Euphoria unfiltered IPA, which features columbus, mosaic, and citra hops. This beer is scheduled for mid-September and is planned to be a juice bomb and will be in cans and draft formats. Finally a new Helles style lager is coming named simply, Munich Lager. The beer will be available year round in draft and potentially draft format.
Moving to Branford, look to Thimble Island Brewing Co. to release Dark Pumpkin Porter for the fall. This is a malty brew at 5% and some nice roasted notes to match up for a cool fall evening.
Just down I-95 a visit to Brewport in Bridgeport, where Jeff Browning has just celebrated the one year anniversary of the pub. Anniversary ale is an all mosaic session IPA at 5%, with a hazy straw color and lots of citrusy notes through the finish.
Rhode Island
Sean Larkin of Revival Brewing in Cranston has quite a lot planned for the early fall. Pinky Swear Berliner Weisse is a 3.7% brew that is kettle soured with tons of raspberries and blueberries result in a very refreshing and tart drink. This beer is available at the brewery only in draft. An additional beer at the brewery is What Cheer Pilsner is a 5% brew with 18 IBUs and is a Bohemian style pilsner that is clean and crisp for enjoying with friends. One more new beer available now is Fanny, dedicated to Fanny the Elephant. This is a wet hop session IPA with seven hop varieties: Simcoe, El Dorado, Mosaic, Equinox, Centennial, Kohatu, and Rakau. The final beer is 4.7% and 45 IBUs.
Trinity Brewhouse in Providence is brewing up a batch of the coffee milk stout. Brewer Tommy Tainsh is excited to have this 4.2% sweet and roasty brew on tap lines at the pub.
