Breweries & Brewpubs & Cideries

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.

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 If you know of anything missing or outdated, let me know.

Skip to Breweries in planning
Skip to Closed breweries since 2010
Skip to Cideries & Kombucheries

Operational Breweries & Brewpubs

102 Independent Operational Breweries as of 8/1/2020 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 2020 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
Brewport, Bridgeport
Better Half Brewing, Bristol
Firefly Hollow Brewing Company, Bristol
Little House Brewing Company, Chester
Hop Culture Farms, Colchester
Stranger Tides Brewing, Colchester
Norbrook Farm Brewery, Colebrook
Charter Oak Brewing Company, Danbury
High Nine Brewing, Deep River
BAD SONS Beer Company, Derby
Fat Orange Cat Brewing Company, East Hampton
Paddle Creek Beer Company, East Hartford
The Beeracks (Armada, Overshores, Hoax, Erector, etc.), East Haven
Niantic Public House & Brewery, East Lyme
Noble Jay Brewing Company, East Lyme
Problem Solved Brewing, East Windsor
Cold Creek Brewing & Tavern, Ellington
Powder Hollow Brewing, Enfield
Hops on the Hill Brewery, Glastonbury
The Brewery at Maple View Farm, Granby
Cambridge House Brew Pub, Granby
Barley Head Brewery, Groton
Outer Light Brewing Company, Groton
Counter Weight Brewing Company, Hamden (moving to Cheshire)
No Worries Brewing Company, Hamden
City Steam Brewery Cafe, Hartford
Hog River Brewing, Hartford
Phantom Brewing, 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
Veracious Brewing Company, Monroe
5 Churches Brewing, New Britain
Alvarium Beer Company, New Britain
Brewery Legitimus, New Hartford
BruRm @ BAR, New Haven
East Rock Brewing Company, New Haven
Erector Brewing at NOLO, New Haven
Tox Brewing Company, New London
Housatonic River Brewing, New Milford
NewSylum Brewing, 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
Iron Brewing Company, Norwalk
Epicure Brewing, Norwich
These Guys Brewing Company, Norwich
30 Mile Brewing, Old Saybrook
Black Hog Brewing, Oxford
Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores (OEC) Brewing, Oxford
Relic Brewing Company, Plainville
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
Cottrell Brewing Company, Stonington
Athletic Brewing Company, Stratford (Non-alcoholic)
Fairfield Craft Ales, Stratford
Two Roads Brewing, Stratford
Broad Brook Brewing, Suffield
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
Willimantic Brewing Company, Windham (Willimantic)
Little Red Barn Brewers, Winchester (Winsted)
Luppoleto Brewing Company, Windsor Locks
Connecticut Brewery Collective, Wolcott (Shebeen & others)
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
Stony Creek Brewing at Foxwoods, Ledyard
Powder Hollow Middletown, Middletown
The Stack/Bear’s Smokehouse, New Haven
Half Full Third Place, Stamford
Area Two Experimental Brewing, Stratford

Keg Distribution-Only Breweries

Lost Tourist Brewing, Meriden
Watson Farmhouse Brewery, Southbury

Breweries & Brewpubs in Planning

This list contains the breweries that, as of last check, are still in the game…

Black Helmet Brewing, Barkhamsted
Skulls Brew House, Berlin
Berlinetta Brewing Company, Bridgeport
Cheshire Craft Brewing Company, Cheshire
Kinsmen Two, Clinton
Almost Famous Brewing Company, East Granby
East Hartford Brewing Group, East Hartford
Surfridge Brewing, Essex
(New) Steady Habit Brewing, Haddam
(New) Hanging Hills Brewing, Hartford
Lost Viking Brewing, Harwinton
Bak Brewing, Milford(?)
Dockside Brewery, Milford
Battle Jacket Beer Company, New Haven
Shallow Seas Brewing Company, New Haven
Loaded Dragon Brewing Company, North Branford
Trillium Farm & Brewery, North Stonington
Spacecat Brewing Company, Norwalk
Nothing Sacred Brewing, Plainville
Concentric Brewing, Portland
Centerline Brewing, Putnam
Boondoggle Brewing, Rocky Hill
Clocktown Brewing, Thomaston
Bad Dog Brewing Company, Torrington
New England Motorcycle Museum Brewpub, Vernon
WeHa Brewing Company, West Hartford
Fifth Year Brewery, West Haven

The Boroughs Brewing, Unknown
Dudleytown Brewing Company, Unknown
Moran Brothers Brewing, Unknown
Outside the Lines Brewing, Unknown

Breweries Probably Not Happening

These folks were once listed above, but I’m no longer confident they will ever open… will remove as they remove themselves from the game.

Fancy Giraffe Brewing, Bolton
Mythical Brewing Company, Branford
Sad City Brewing, Hartford
Lost Elm Artisan Ales, Stafford Springs
Walnut Mountain Brewery, Torrington

Closed Breweries & Brewpubs (Since 2010)

Brew Pub at Mohegan Sun, Montville (RIP 2011)
Tullycross Tavern and Microbrewery, Manchester (RIP Nov. 2013)
Cavalry Brewing, Oxford (RIP May 2014)
Guvnor’s Brewery, Norwalk (RIP Dec. 2014)
Top Shelf Brewery, Manchester (RIP July 2016)
Tidal River Brewing, Canton (RIP Oct. 2016)
Southport Brewing Company, Various towns (RIP Various dates)
Hell or High Water Brewpub, Norwalk (RIP Oct. 2017)
Hooker Test Kitchen, Montville (March 2017)
Church Owl Beer, Stratford (RIP Feb 2018)
(Old) Olde Burnside Brewing Company, East Hartford (RIP Dec. 2018)
Carriage House Brewing, Canton (RIP April 2019?)
Parable Brewing Company, Manchester (RIP Apr. 2019)
Bad Dream Brewing, New Milford (RIP June 2020)

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 (Not yet open)

Kombucha

Cross Culture Kombucha, Danbury