Clocktown Brewing Company

When: April 7th, 2023

Where: 135 S Main st #3, Thomaston, CT 06787

Clocktown Brewing is in Thomaston, Connecticut. Chris and I stopped there before a Wolf Pack game in April. The brewery gets its name from Thomaston being the location of many clock factories in the early 1800s, including inventor Eli Terry‘s factory.

The Brewery is located in the former Seth Thomas Clock Company factory from 1853. Its tap room is a good size and leans into its old factory atmosphere. There is also a large outdoor seating area, but it was still too early in the season for us to use it during our visit. Clocktown has been brewing since 2020, and they have a full bar and restaurant menu including wood fire pizza and brunch. When we went, happy hour had brought in a quite large crowd. Despite their large beer menu, I liked that they stuck to their own beers with only a few guest ciders on tap. Clocktown features a wide assortment of beers; anytime a brewery chooses to have a variety of beers instead of 8 IPA’s is a win in my book. Considering that Thomaston isn’t a big town, I was surprised at how busy Clocktown was on a weekday afternoon, and if you like a busy atmosphere then this place definitely has it.

Nick: Of the six beer’s that I tried when I was there, the two that stood out to me the most were the 12:43 Sour and the Ol’ Red ale. Ol’ Red is a Irish Red Ale, crisp with a malty flavor. The 12:43 was my favorite, with a pomegranate flavor. It was nice, but they definitely don’t rely on the fruit flavor as much as other breweries might. I also had the Sucker for Blonde’s, a Belgian Blonde, which according to Untapped, is one of their more popular beers. Blonde’s are really hit or miss for me, and I didn’t find anything remarkable about this one. Overall though, I would really enjoy coming back here for Sunday brunch if it wasn’t so far away from where I live.

Chris: From the moment we entered Clocktown Brewery, it was clear that the founders had invested time and effort into their taproom. This wasn’t some garage brewery; it was a full restaurant, brewery, and bar with plenty of TVs for us to watch the Yankees lose. When it comes to the beer, my favorite was the Time Flies Doppelbock which had a nice malty flavor while still being much lighter than a stout. I was also a fan of the 12:43 Sour, but I wish it was sweeter. Overall, Clocktown is a nice place to bring a friends and family to with some great food and good beer.

Nick: 12:43(Sour) 5.2%- 4 out of 5

Nick: Ol’ Red(Irish Red Ale) 5%- 4 out of 5

Chris: Time Flies (Doppelbock) 7.6% – 4 out of 5

Chris: Choffee (Stout) 6.8% – 3.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 3.5 out of 5

New England Brewing Company

This particular iteration of New England Brewing opened in 2002 in Woodbridge, CT. New England brewing is an icon of the greater New Haven craft beer scene, and their beer is found all over the region. Their Sea Hag IPA seems to be at almost every bar and restaurant across Connecticut. Another one of their well known beers is the G-bot which was previously called the Gandhi bot. This beer managed to turn into a story unrelated to its flavor, but you can read about it here. If you like IPA’s you would probably like this place and already know about it. The location has a good amount of outdoor seating and lots of parking, and if you are so inclined, it is also very close to a bus line.

Nick: I went with a friend who raved about this place and I was eager to go. They told me all about the history of the place and how great their beer is. However none of the beers I tried impressed me. Of the five I tried, I liked Kewl Beans and Elm City the best, but none of them were ones I would get again if I went back. Unfortunately for me, IPA’s are really popular here, and I rarely enjoy an IPA.

Chris: I was able to go to New England Brewing company a few times, most recently in October with a friend. The brewery seems to concentrate on IPAs, and those are all the beer I see of theirs at bars and liquor stores. But as an Stout and Sour fan, I had to try those. My favorite beer was the Weiss Trash Berry which was nice and fruity with tart raspberry taste, and it was low in alcohol level. A close second was the Wonktoberfest Bier, a dark lager, which was a light beer with a great malty flavor.

Other cool things:

  • Food trucks
  • Open mics
  • Charity events
  • Homebrew competitions
  • Lots of merch

What we drank:

Nick: Kewl Beans (Oatmeal Stout) 6%- 3 of 5

Nick: Red Wine Barrel Aged Wududator (Bock) 8%- 3 of 5

Chris: Wonktoberfest Bier (Schwarzbier) 5.4% – 4 out of 5

Chris: Weiss Trash Berry (Sour) 3.4% – 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion:

Location: 4 out of 5

Lots of parking and conveniently located next to route 15, but the outside looks like a warehouse.

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5

Plenty of indoor and outdoor seats with a nice clean inside and decorated with cool chalk art.

Alcohol: 3 out of 5

We weren’t super impressed with the beers we had and the beers on tap were very IPA focused.

Paddle Creek Beer Company

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