Paddle Creek is a small brewery located on Main Street in East Hartford, Connecticut. The owners have been brewing since 2015, but they officially opened Paddle Creek in August 2020. The taproom is small, but the cozy confines make it feel like a comfortable place to enjoy a craft beer. They feature a small outdoor seating area, as well as food trucks and live music on certain nights. There are plenty of IPA’s and a variety of other other beers. When we went, they didn’t have any stouts or porters available, but the bartender told us that they were out of stock of a few beers. Their website does list a coffee stout and a pretzel porter as in stock. All of their beers were available as to go cans.
Chris: Paddle Creek brewing is a small brick building that gave me the vibe of an old fire station that was decorated with…paddles and canoes. Nick and I each got flights that were also served on paddles. I wanted to try some of their dark beers, but they were sold out at the time, so I will try not to hold that against them. Of the beers I had, my favorite was the James, a peach flavored sour. I had high hopes for their Silence of the Pumpkins but felt it was kind of bland. Obviously, I will have to go back when some of their delicious sounding dark beers haven’t been sold out.
Nick: The beer that stood out to me the most was James. James is a light sour with a giant peach flavor (get it?), its tart but refreshing. Another two beers that I liked were the Silence of the Pumpkin and Lawn Racer. Silence of the Pumpkin is a pumpkin beer with a smooth body and a slight caramel flavor. Lawn Racer is a Kolsh that had a refreshingly fruity taste and was very easy to drink.
Other Cool Stuff:
- Membership club
- Live music
- Food trucks
- Cans to-go
What we drank:
Chris: Silence of the Pumpkin(Pumpkin Beer) 7% – 3 out of 5
Chris: James (Sour) 3.5% – 4 out of 5
Nick: James (Sour) 3.5% – 4 out of 5
Nick: Silence of the Pumpkin(Pumpkin Beer) 7% – 3 out of 5
Brewing Persuasion: 3 out of 5
Brewing Persuasions 