Beer. And Lots Of It
I began this particular page in 2008 when there were four breweries in Connecticut: Cottrell, Hooker, New England, and Olde Burnside. Only one had a tasting room (Hooker) and each was pumping out only a handful of beers. There were a few brewpubs operating as well.
Area Two Brewing Experimental Brewing, Stratford
And we only had five breweries in 2011. Then there were thirty in 2015. 45 in 2016. Nearly 60 at the end of 2017. Nearly 100 at the end of 2019. You get the point… the industry has exploded here and I’ve enjoyed watching it happen and writing about it.
Although the lists below are constantly in flux, I am confident that my list is consistently the best and most accurate one that exists. If you know of anything missing or outdated, let me know.
Jump to Breweries in planning
Jump to Closed breweries since 2010
Jump to Cideries & Kombucheries
(Meaderies are over here along with non-carbonated wine-like hard cider.)
Operational Breweries & Brewpubs
107 Independent Operational Breweries as of 5/31/2022 according to my (correct) counting system. Everyone views different set-up scenarios differently. On my main list, I don’t count second locations or distribution-only breweries, and “collectives” are counted as 1.
Links go to my visit reports, many of which need updating in 2022 and beyond
Hopmeadow Brewing Company, Avon
Coles Road Brewing, Berlin
Broken Symmetry Gastro Brewpub, Bethel
Back East Brewing Company, Bloomfield
Thomas Hooker Brewery, Bloomfield
Breakaway Brew Haus, Bolton
DuVig Brewing Company, Branford
Stony Creek Brewery, Branford
Thimble Island Brewing Company, Branford
Aspetuck Brew Lab, Bridgeport
Berlinetta Brewing Company, Bridgeport
Brewport Brewing Company, Bridgeport
Firefly Hollow Brewing Company, Bristol
Evening Sky Brewing Company, Burlington
Cheshire Craft Brewing Company, Cheshire
Counter Weight Brewing Company, Cheshire
Little House Brewing Company, Chester
Hop Culture Farms, Colchester
Stranger Tides Brewing, Colchester
Norbrook Farm Brewery, Colebrook
Charter Oak Brewing Company, Danbury
Quirk Works Brewery and Blendery, Danbury
High Nine Brewing, Deep River
BAD SONS Beer Company, Derby
Almost Famous Brewing Company, East Granby
East Hartford Brewing Group, East Hartford
Paddle Creek Beer Company, East Hartford
The Beeracks (Armada, Overshores, Hoax, Erector, etc.), East Haven
Niantic Public House, East Lyme
Problem Solved Brewing, East Windsor
Powder Hollow Brewing, Enfield
Surfridge Brewing Company East, Essex
Hops on the Hill Brewery, Glastonbury
The Brewery at Maple View Farm, Granby
Cambridge House Brew Pub, Granby
Bank & Bridge Brewing Company, Groton
Barley Head Brewery, Groton
Outer Light Brewing Company, Groton
No Worries Brewing Company, Hamden
City Steam Brewery Cafe, Hartford
Hog River Brewing, Hartford
Phantom Brewing Company, Hartford
Kent Falls Brewing Company, Kent
Black Pond Brews, Killingly
2nd Bridge Brewing Company, Manchester
Ericit Brewing Company, Manchester
Labyrinth Brewing Company, Manchester
Urban Lodge Brewing, Manchester
Forest City Brewing, Middletown
Stubborn Beauty Brewing Company, Middletown
Dockside Brewery, Milford
Milford Point Brewing, Milford
Tribus Beer Company, Milford
5 Churches Brewing, New Britain
Alvarium Beer Company, New Britain
Brewery Legitimus, New Hartford
BruRm @ BAR, New Haven
East Rock Brewing Company, New Haven
Tox Brewing Company, New London
Candlewood Brewing Company, New Milford
Housatonic River Brewing, New Milford
NewSylum Brewing Company, Newtown
Reverie Brewing Company, Newtown
Stewards of the Land Brewery, North Branford
Great Falls Brewing Company, North Canaan
Twelve Percent Beer Project, North Haven
Shunock River Brewery and Village Cafe, North Stonington
Spacecat Brewing Company, Norwalk
Epicure Brewing, Norwich
These Guys Brewing Company, Norwich
Black Hog Brewing, Oxford
OEC Brewing, Oxford
Relic Brewing Company, Plainville
Concentric Brewing, Portland
Bear Hands Brewing, Putnam
The Crossings Restaurant & Brewpub, Putnam
Redding Beer Company, Redding
Nod Hill Brewery, Ridgefield
Still Hill Brewery, Rocky Hill
Fox Farm Brewery, Salem
CT Valley Brewing Company, South Windsor
Kinsmen Brewing, Southington
Transcend Beer Crafters (née Skygazer Brewing), Southington
Witchdoctor Brewing, Southington
Half Full Brewery, Stamford
Lock City Brewing, Stamford
Beer’d Brewing, Stonington
Athletic Brewing Company, Stratford (Non-alcoholic)
Fairfield Craft Ales, Stratford
Two Roads Brewing, Stratford
Broad Brook Brewing, Suffield
Clocktown Brewing Company, Thomaston
Bad Dog Brewing Company, Torrington
Center Street Brewing Co., Wallingford
Cliffside Brewery, Wallingford
Front Porch Brewing, Wallingford
Brass Works Brewing Company, Waterbury
Lasting Brass Brewing, Watertown
New Park Brewing Company, West Hartford
WeHa Brewing & Roasting Company, West Hartford
Willimantic Brewing Company, Windham (Willimantic)
Little Red Barn Brewers, Winchester (Winsted)
Luppoleto Brewing Company, Windsor Locks
The Brewery Collective/Velvet Libations Taproom, Wolcott
New England Brewing Company, Woodbridge
Woodbury Brewing Company, Woodbury
Taylor Brooke Brewery, Woodstock
Second Locations
Beer’d Brewing at the Silo, Groton
Thomas Hooker Brewery at Colt, Hartford
Powder Hollow Middletown, Middletown
Armada River Street Beer Hall, New Haven
The Stack/Bear’s Smokehouse, New Haven
Cisco Brewers at The Village, Stamford
Third Place by Half Full, Stamford
Area Two Experimental Brewing, Stratford
Distribution Only Breweries
Lost Tourist Brewing, Meriden
Watson Farmhouse Brewery, Southbury
Breweries & Brewpubs in Planning
Skulls Brew House, Berlin
Caius Farm Brewery, Branford
Malpractice Brewing Company, Cheshire
Kinsmen Two, Clinton
Rule of 3 Brewing, East Hampton
Unnamed Parkville Market brewery, Hartford
The Boroughs Brewing, Killingly
Brewbury, Middlebury
Bak Brewing, Milford
Unnamed Brewpub, Newington
Loaded Dragon Brewing Company, North Branford
Trillium Farm & Brewery, North Stonington
SoNo Brewing Company, Norwalk
Boondoggle Brewing, Rocky Hill
New England Motorcycle Museum Brewpub, Vernon
Unnamed VFW Building Brewery, West Hartford
Dudleytown Brewing Company, Windsor
Closed Breweries & Brewpubs (Since 2010)
Brew Pub at Mohegan Sun, Montville (Closed 2011)
Tullycross Tavern and Microbrewery, Manchester (Closed Nov. 2013)
Cavalry Brewing, Oxford (Closed May 2014)
Guvnor’s Brewery, Norwalk (Closed Dec. 2014)
Top Shelf Brewery, Manchester (Closed July 2016)
Tidal River Brewing, Canton (Closed Oct. 2016)
Southport Brewing Company, Various towns (Closed Various dates)
Hell or High Water Brewpub, Norwalk (Closed Oct. 2017)
Hooker Test Kitchen, Montville (Closed March 2017)
Church Owl Beer, Stratford (Closed Feb 2018)
Olde Burnside Brewing Company, East Hartford (Closed Dec. 2018)
Carriage House Brewery, Canton (Closed April 2019)
Parable Brewing Company, Manchester (Closed Apr. 2019)
Steady Habit Brewing, Haddam (Closed July 2019)
Erector Brewing at NOLO, New Haven (Closed September 2019)
Hanging Hills Brewing Company, Hartford (Closed March 2020)
Bad Dream Brewing, New Milford (Closed June 2020)
Iron Brewing Company, Norwalk (Closed July 2020)
Noble Jay Brewing Company, East Lyme (Closed September 2020)
Fifth Year Brewery, West Haven (Closed October 2020)
Stony Creek Brewing at Foxwoods, Ledyard (Closed March 2021)
Cold Creek Brewing & Tavern, Ellington (Closed June 2021)
Better Half Brewing, Bristol (Closed December 2021)
Fat Orange Cat Brewing Company, East Hampton (Closed December 2021)
30 Mile Brewing, Old Saybrook (Closed January 2022)
Cottrell Brewing Company, Stonington (Closed January 2022)
Veracious Brewing Company, Monroe (Closed May 2022)
Cideries
(For wine-like hard cider, go here.)
Yankee Cider Company, East Haddam
Spoke + Spy Ciderworks, Middletown
Stafford Cidery, Home of Crazy Cock Cider, Stafford
New England Cider Company, Wallingford
Tree House Orchard & Farm Fermentory, Woodstock
Kombucha
Cross Culture Kombucha, Danbury
Do you have any plans on doing a defunct list? More than just from 2010 to now?
Nah.
Don’t count us out just yet. We plan on distributing early next year!
NOTHING SACRED BREWING says “WE’RE STILL HERE”
I’d like to post this on my website, I might be missing the author’s name so I can give proper credit to. Thanks!
Watson Farmhouse Brewery in Southbury is close to opening
It’s on the list but since they are only Kegged Distribution only and aren’t “visitable,” they are separated from the main list.
What about Nordic Moon Meadery in Ellington CT?
Jake – years ago, after asking people in the industry, I was guided to slot the meaderies in the with the wineries. Now, years later, I probably disagree with that, but… I don’t feel like changing it. So they’re over here.
Nice job collecting all this information in one location.
Both Bank & Bridge and Barley Head breweries are located in downtown Mystic, not in Groton.
Sandy,
Mystic is not a real town. Both breweries are in Groton and pay taxes to Groton.
Thanks for publishing this list. This weekend I will close my goal of having been to every brewery in CT that is currently open. Love your in-depth reviews as well. I also chronicle my journies but do not go into the depth that you do.