When Chris Went: June 13th, 2021
Where: 91 Main Street, Portland, CT 06480
Concentric Brewing company opened in Portland in February becoming Portland’s first brewery. Coming from Middletown, the taproom is located just over the Arrigoni bridge making it conveniently located close to the highway and to my house. The name “Concentric” comes from the “common center” that the three founders have in brewing. The space has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating and lots of parking available. The taproom is a good size with a rustic feel and looks pretty different from all the breweries in old industrial buildings. Two of the unique parts of their taproom are the circular bar in the middle of the room instead of the usual rectangular bar, and the glass wall on the right side so you can see their 10 barrel brewing system.
When I went to Concentric for the first time two things surprised me. The first was that even as a new brewery, they still had a dozen beers on tap with a range of styles. I cannot tell you how many breweries I have been to that when they first open only have 3 or 4 beers on tap. I am not saying that is a bad thing, but usually it takes a brewery a year or so to build to such a large tap list. Another thing that struck me was that they had partnered with Hot Dogs in the Hallway, a gourmet hot dog company to provide a permanent hot dog stand inside the taproom. While their hot dogs were not comparable to Riley’s in New Britain, it was nice to have that option. When it came to their beer, I got a flight including a porter, stout, sour, and fruit beer. The Pineapple Sunset is for any pineapple lover as it is basically just alcoholic pineapple juice. My favorite was the Raspberry Ripple which had the right combination of sour and fruity flavor. I would definitely recommend Concentric Brewing and plan to return on a regular basis.
Other Cool Things:
- Mug club
- Corn hole outside
- Second parking lot in back
- Lawn available for extra seating
- Weekly events like Trivia, Beer Bingo, and live music
What I Drank:
Chris- Breakfast in the Caribbean (Porter) 8.5% – 3.5 out of 5
Chris– Udderly Whimsical (Milk Stout) 6.5% – 4 out of 5
Chris- Pineapple Sunset (Fruit Beer) 5.9% – 4 out of 5
Chris- Raspberry Ripple (Sour) 4.2% – 5 out of 5
Brewing Persuasion: 5 out of 5
Feeling persuaded yet?
Brewing Persuasions 