When we went: April 22nd, 2022
Where: 6 Main St, Centerbrook, CT 06409
Surfridge Brewing Company opened its first location in California in 2019, and followed that with a Connecticut location in 2021. The name of the company comes from a former seaside community that is now a blue butterfly preserve. When Nick and I went in April, they had not been open for that long but were already quite popular. I will say that Surfridge is not a typical east coast brewery, as soon as we walked in I got a lot of California vibes. The décor has a large butterfly mural, and food and drink menu reflected west coast styles. Back in April, 7 of the 8 beers were IPAs which I was not a fan of. I will say that I checked their website and they seem to have really branched out from that so I will have to go back to try their sours and stouts. The brewery has plenty of seating both inside and out, a good thing considering how busy they were when we went. Surfridge also offers pizza, oysters, and appetizers, as well as cocktails for non-beer drinkers.
Chris: As I mentioned before, I was not a fan that Surfridge was clearly an IPA brewery, but I am happy to see that they have a much bigger offering presently. Considering the brewery offers oysters on the menu, I am glad to see they have an oyster stout on the menu. Back in April, I ordered the Brewing Owl Milkshake IPA, and typically I like milkshake IPAs, but this beer was overly hoppy and it overpowered the vanilla taste. I also ordered the Gimme One Kolsch, but as most Kolschs, it was pretty bland. If it wasn’t for the increase in variety in the menu, I would not be going back.
Nick: I rather liked the Gimmie One Kolsch, but I feel like I enjoy them more than Chris does. Overall I had a similar view as Chris, this is clearly a place with a lot of IPA’s and I am not an IPA fan. I had hoped to like their TriCove Cuddler Pale Ale but that was my least favorite of the five beers that we tried. I always like a dog friendly brewery and with the new menu options I would like to go again.
Other cool stuff:
- Merch available
- Can get a reservation
- Dog friendly patio
- Cocktails
What we drank:
Chris: Brewing Owl (Milkshake IPA) 7% – 3 out of 5
Chris: Gimme One Kolsch (Kolsch) 5% – 3 out of 5
Nick: The Tricove Cuddler Pale Ale (Pale Ale) 5%- 2 out of 5
Nick: Gimme One Kolsch (Kolsch) 5% – 4 out of 5
Brewing persuasion: 3 out of 5
Feeling persuaded yet?
Brewing Persuasions 