Outer Light Brewing Company (OLBC) and Young Buns Doughnuts of Mystic, Connecticut have teamed up to release Young Buns Streusel Doughnut Cream Ale, a one-off release inspired by the gourmet doughnuts produced at the Mystic bakery. The beer, which will be available on draft and in 16oz 4-packs will be released at the brewery on March 10th, with limited distribution across Southeastern Connecticut to follow.
Anyone who's ever hit happy hour and subsequently remembered they hadn't eaten dinner while staring into a beer at another location sometime around midnight can probably feel the pain of the next morning right now, as you're reading this. Remember that? Well, let's not let that happen again, or allow ourselves to slap late night drive-thru - the FlexTape of Shame - over the leaky bucket of our decisions.
What we need is food with our beers, whether we're adding plates to pitchers and pints at the taproom, or exploring flavor combinations at home. Inspiration struck while I was at my first beer pairing dinner in over two years at The Little Pub in Fairfield, hosted by Greg Radawich, director of brewing operations at New England Brewing Company in Woodbridge. I'll get into what you can have from the brewery and pub, plus a few more ideas to serve as springboards for your own dives into brews and foods.
And if you missed this beer dinner, Little Pub will be hosting another beer pairing dinner with Fat Orange Cat brewery at Little Pub, Fairfield on Tuesday, March 1.
Emily Mingrone (recent winner for "Chef of the Year" at CT Restaurant Association’s Crazies Awards, and her partner, Shane McGowan, are expanding their presence in the New Haven area with a new spot opening this April, Fair Haven Oyster Co. Co-owners of Tavern on State, as well as the nose-to-tail butchery, Provisions on State, in the East Rock neighborhood, they are poised for a trifecta with this new seafood focused oyster bar on the waterfront of the Fair Haven Marina, a beautiful old water town dating from the late 1700’s.
Who doesn’t love a wedding? Wait…what? Did you know that Oktoberfest got its start in 1810 as a celebration of the wedding of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen? (please try saying that last name after a stein of brew.) We can get onboard with any wedding celebration that involves giant pretzels, bratwurst for miles, and beer flowing like a Bavarian river. Another little factoid for you to thrill your beer-buddies with: the current Oktoberfest in Germany only serves beer from the original six breweries in Munich. Our list, lucky for you, is a tad longer. You can call that a win and not even have to fly anywhere. Oktoberfest, weddings, whatever you are celebrating-Raise those steins! Prost!
Enjoy these 25+ spots to celebrate OKTOBERFEST in Connecticut!
From beaches to boathouses we’ve been thoroughly enjoying our local waterside dining venues. We recently had the opportunity to dine at The Boathouse at Saugatuck. If you haven’t been in quite a while it’s time to come back, and you’ll be in for a pleasant treat. Located upstairs at the Saugatuck Rowing Club, the restaurant has seen a couple of transformations over the past few years. The newly renovated interior boasts a coastal yet elegant setting along the river - the vibe here is upscale yet relaxed. Another noticeable change is the food. The menu has gotten a whole new wardrobe and wears it well.
We sat down to talk with Scott Greene. The Boathouse’s General Manager joined the team just months before the pandemic gripped our local businesses. His vision, creativity and forward thinking has elevated the restaurant to new heights. He’s responsible for the arrival of Chef Jason Milanese and his newly invigorated menu where his inspiration and presentation is reflected in the flavors. Chef brings his experiences from Tarry Lodge as well as Relais Chateaux’s Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod.
La Plage is officially open in Westport. The Inn at Longshore and adjoining restaurant were recently acquired by the Greenwich Hospitality Group, the parent company of the Delamar hotels and restaurants. La Plage is their gift to Westport.
Pronounced plah-je, plage is the French word for beach, and a fitting name when you have a French chef at the helm in the kitchen. Until recently the restaurant was home to Pearl at Longshore which shuttered its doors in January. The interior has undergone a bit of a facelift to embrace its new coastal, casual vibe. Gone is the darker, refined and urban inspired décor which has been replaced with brighter white-washed walls, wicker lampshades and a livelier, beachier ambiance. Queue in the steel brass drums perhaps, but this isn’t your piña colada/Cheeseburger in Paradise type joint. This upscale yet casual eatery is best perhaps described as a beachy chic shack of sorts.
If there is one thing that makes us long for summer all year long it is the ability to eat, play, explore, even sleep and just “be” outside. That carefree feeling of stepping outdoors without the boots and the hats and the puffy coats. Grab your flip-flops, maybe a bit of sunscreen and off we go! Ah, the carefreeness of it! And eating outside? How can it be that a bit of sun and air will elevate even the simplest food? A hot dog never tastes better around a campfire or at a ballgame. A bag of chips at the beach with a sandwich? Perfection. So, to that end, we have compiled a list of GREAT WATERFRONT DINING spots-some of which have indoor dining with fabulous views and many perch you outside on beautiful, expansive decks or docks to enjoy their dishes. If a simple hot dog tastes great outside, these venues will have you giddy.
Ok, not the cran-grapefruit-vodka-lime type of SeaBreeze, the actual sea breezes. I think we can all agree that everything tastes better eaten outside, or better yet, by the water. The warm sun on your face, a slight breath of air coming off the Sound and subtle scents of briny water wafting. You hear the clink-clank of ropes on masts, a boat horn here and there. Hello, seagull, nice to see you and no, I won’t give you a fry. These fries are too good to give to the gulls, that’s why.
Fries and more, The Galley Waterfront Cafe is a place to head this summer. Motor up by boat and grab lunches to go or sit awhile at their outdoor seating and take in views of Norwalk Harbor while you hungrily gobble up bites of their fantastic sandwiches.
Today is National Beer Day and, like all "Day" Days, it is both a transparent marketing ploy, and an outstanding excuse. Tacos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Point at "October 4" on the calendar with the hand not currently shoving one in your mouth. Crave adrenaline, passive exercise, and possible vertigo? August 16th is National Roller Coaster Day, for all who observe. The point is, no one's revoking your wedding invite for not sending a National Donut Day card, but your coworker karma will get a boost if you take the opportunity to bring a box to work.
In early December of 2010, a friend invited me to the soft opening of a restaurant and would have been exactly on time, if she had planned to be 90 minutes late. I stood, alone on the fringes the entire time, with no real reason to be there, pathetically grateful every time the staff brought a passed hors d'oeuvre or drink my way, when a woman took pity on me and introduced me to her group. The standard "what do you do" included the writing I'd been doing on motorsports, and one of the group turned out to be our own Stephanie Webster.
"Write up a review for me," she said. "If I like it, maybe we'll post it."
Ten years ago, it became my first post for CTBites in an ongoing column titled Friday Froth. Back then, the state had about 6 breweries. By 2020, I was this site's Beer/Editor-At-Large, and the 2020 Connecticut brewery count had reached 100. We were, for a time, in the world or craft beer we'd hoped to see.
Last week we took a beautiful scenic drive to Essex Connecticut to check out Carlson’s Landing. With stunning views of the Connecticut River, and located next to a bustling shipyard, the restaurant offers a perfect mix of stunning views, safely distanced seating, an elegant interior and delicious food and drink.
The restaurant is spearheaded by seasoned restaurateur Robert Rabine, founder of Cafe Routier in Westbrook, who’s also a former food and beverage writer with over 300 published recipes and reviews. Executive Chef JP Dillon (formerly of Trumbull Kitchen in Hartford, Birch Hill Tavern and The Beamhouse in Glastonbury, and Hidden Still Restaurant & Moonshine Bar in Ellington) recently joined forces with Rabine.
Two Connecticut breweries scarcely 6 miles apart sent entries cross-country to be judged at this year's Great American Beer Festival, with Counter Weight Brewing Company of Hamden, and East Rock Brewing Company of New Haven bringing gold and silver medals back to the Constitution State. The Great American Beer Festival invites industry professionals from around the world to sit together in small groups and, without knowing the brand name, taste beers and bestow awards of international significance. After drawing a crowd of over 60,000 and over 2,300 breweries to Denver last year, the 2020 awards were announced virtually this month.
If you've ever held one of those “I [pizza] New Haven” shirts in your covetous gaze, here's where to get one. There's your first bit of info in this story. Finding this place isn't difficult, it's right next to the entrance to I-91 on State St. in New Haven. That parts are easy. Finding out about Da Legna x Nolo is a bit more of a story. Thankfully, it involves pizza and drinks, and I'm here to tell you the whole thing.
You may already be familiar with Da Legna's earlier space, located farther down State Street's restaurant row, and separating itself from the scrum of the Elm City's pizza scene by focusing on creative, sourdough based pies inside a setting designed in a recent century. Seating space and parking were issues at the former spot, so when owner Derek Bacon and chef Dan Parillo spotted the old Jet Cleaners space (probably the only laundromat to be designed by a famous architect) open up down the street, they jumped on it.
In October of 2019 I sat down with Tony Karlowicz at Back East to visit the brewery and talk about the 2017 gold medal won by his porter at the world's largest beer competition, the 2018 expansion that nearly tripled his brewing capacity, and the giant new taproom he'd hired an architectural firm to design and build for the spring of 2020. We shook hands and said we'd see each other again when I could write the article about the grand opening in April. Ten months and a global disaster later I looked at the glass in my hand as I sat, finally, for the first time, in that tasting room. Printed just above my thumb were the words "Find Your Way Back."
NewSylum Brewing Co. owners Mark Lennon, David Kingsley and Mark Tambascio had been planning their brewery for several years as a taproom-centered operation. One that took full advantage of their unique location in Newtown within a historic building at what was formerly Fairfield Hills Hospital, a psychiatric facility on a 100-plus-acre campus with more than a dozen buildings.
NewSylum Brewing Co. in Newtown opened during the coronavirus pandemic in a historic building in the former Fairfield Hills Hospital, a psychiatric facility.
Then the coronavirus hit.
The brewery was slated to open the first week in May, but Connecticut was still shut down and the taproom the owners had envisioned as the centerpiece of their business couldn’t be opened. “We had to shift gears from our original plan,” Lennon says.
They hadn’t planned on canning their beer but quickly contracted with a mobile canning company, and began offering curbside pickup.
The bar where my initials were once carefully poured into the foam crown of a Guinness every time I called, with a place setting waiting both in case I wanted a snack, and to save my favorite spot, is gone forever. It was my first local, a place close by where reliably stopping in and not causing too much trouble develops into an earned mutual welcoming. The place feels like a friend's living room - you know where to sit, they know what you like, and everyone slips easily back into the conversation you shared last time you stopped in. The whole experience, whether as a relief from the day, the glow of alcohol, whatever brought you back through the doors - it just feels warm. Like I said at the start, it's gone now. The place I mention hasn't been open for years, but what about your place? What about so many of these shared environments whose doors we'll never walk through again? What will it be like at the old regular tables and spots we used to take up now the ones who lived through America's epidemic experience may reopen? "Everything's changed," they tell us - but can anything be the same?
The coronavirus pandemic's outsize effect on the restaurant, bar, and brewing industries has been apparent and catastrophic, but hope greets us in the knowledge that even as we all stay at home, we're finding new ways to stand together in support of the people who need us. The American craft brewing industry's will to work with one another is famous, and All Together - a collaboration spearheaded by Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn - is a way consumers and brewers alike can join up to support service industry, breweries, and healthcare workers. Fifteen Connecticut breweries have already joined up to produce an All Together beer.
The owners of Other Half share the message, recipes, and label designs on the All Together website:
The wave of local breweries made this new world possible, but for now their doors are mostly closed. Here's what we can do to see them open again.
Breweries are still allowed to sell to-go orders, offering pickup or curbside delivery options. This post will list info on breweries, their hours, and links to order online. I won't be able to find them all, so I encourage readers, brewers, and reps to include further info about their operations in the comments section below. Most breweries are small businesses, and all depend from some degree or entirely on in-person sales. Let's help the brewers and staff keep the Connecticut beer culture we love going.
Because they apparently didn't have enough on their plates with Black Hog brewing, Ordinary cocktail bar, OLMO, Caseus, and The Stack in New Haven, Jason and Tom Sobocinski and Tyler Jones have launched Continuum Distilling in Waterbury. The distillery logo features a hop surrounded by the tricorner symbol for recycling, an emblem of their process, which takes the often discarded "trimmings" from area breweries, and reduces them to an unusual, boozy essence.
I made it up to Continuum last weekend for their grand opening, and my first impression was that it shares a building with Brass Works Brewing. Neat! I'd had several Brass Works beers before, but I'd never been, so a single trip can be a BOGO for the efficiency-minded drinker on the go.
