Shunock River Brewery and Village Cafe

When: January 14th ,2024

Where: 2 Wyassup Rd, North Stonington, CT

Rest directly on the Shunock River, the Shunock River Brewery probably has the more scenic and rural New England look to their taproom as any brewery I have been to. The place gives the feel of a local pub where the staff knows all the patrons and their families. There is the sense that the owners have intentional built a smaller brewery and want to keep that small local pub feel. Walking in from the large parking lot, you can see why they would want to keep their vibe as we immediately felt cozy and ready to grab some beer. This is a place where you can spend hours and relax with your drink and their wood fired pizza. They only had six beers on tap, but had a good range of styles within their limited selected. The indoor space isn’t very large and all the tables are oak barrels, but they manage to fit in some live music and events. The only thing that confused me was that the full name of the brewery is Shunock River Brewery and Village Café, but I didn’t see anything that made it a café.

Chris: Even though they only had six beers on tap, they offered a flight so we were able to try everything they had to offer. My favorite of the batch was the Honey Maple Brown Ale, made with Connecticut malts and had a nice sweet finish to it. Their Lemon sour was also enjoyable as I am always a fan of citrus, and even more of a fan of sours that have some sweetness to them. I definitely want to make a trip back to try some of their other offerings as they rotate their beers selection pretty often.

Nick: I like a place that wants to make itself a part of the community and Shunock really tries to be a part of the community that is North Stonington. As you see in the picture its right on the river and is right in the middle of town. This place’s decor screams New England community and its beer fits that too. I don’t care for IPA’s but im sure the clientele who regularly visit Shunock love it. Shunock doesn’t feel like a brewery that is going be up on all the latest brewery trends, but it isn’t trying to be either. And I think that makes is what made our visit enjoyable.

Chris: Honey Maple Brown Ale (6.7%) – 4.5 out of 5

Chris: Lemon Sour (5%) – 4.5 out of 5

Nick: River Monster IPA (8.1%)-3.5 out of 5

Nick: Lemon Sour (5%) – 4 out of 5

Other cool things:

• Live music
• Food menu
• Wine and Cider available

Beer: 4 out of 5

Location: 3.5 out of 5

Atmosphere: 4.5 out of 5