WeHa Brewing & Roasting Company

When we went: August 24th, 2022

Where: 141 Shield St, West Hartford, CT 06110

WeHa Brewing & Roasting Company is located in the Elmwood neighborhood of West Hartford and opened in October 2021. The name of WeHa brewery comes from the nickname of West Hartford. Walking into the brewery you will immediately notice that it is half brewery half coffee shop. I’ve seen breweries that offer coffee but WeHa is just as dedicated to coffee as they are to beer. The space gives off a college hipster vibe with a decent amount of indoor and outdoor seating. They had a decent variety with sours, lagers, IPAs, and a stouts on tap. WeHa brewery also offers food through Lucky 13 Kitchen which just opened up so we unfortunately didn’t get to try it out. The Brewery had a lot of natural light with nice large windows, it had a very college hipster vibe which seemed to fit the neighborhood that it was in.

Chris: Anytime I try a new place out I want to get a flight so I can get a feel of their overall beer quality. My favorite beer was The Breakup, a mango and blood orange sour with vanilla and lactose. This was a great beer if you like the fruity sours like me. Of course I had to try the stout, First Crack #1, especially since it was a coffee stout and WeHa is half coffee roaster. It had a really nice coffee taste and it didn’t let the 10.3% ABV overpower that flavor.

Nick: I also liked the Breakup the best, its the beer that we started with and unfortunately nothing else quite measured up. The Breakup had a nice strong mango flavor, a good sweet but sour flavor, and it was really refreshing. For a brewery with a relatively small selection I was happy with the fact that it wasn’t just a wall of IPA’s. The Freudian Sip was pretty good, but I had it right after the Breakup and that was a difficult beer to follow. I thought I would like the Resting Beach Face but the lime flavor was overpowering which is probably great for some people but I didn’t care for it.

Other cool stuff:

  • Cans to go
  • Merch available
  • Trivia nights
  • Coffee beans for purchase

What we drank:

Chris: The Breakup (Sour) 5.9% – 4.5 out of 5

Chris: First Crack #1 (Stout) 10.3% – 4 out of 5

Chris: Resting Beach Face (Sour) 6.5% – 3.5 out of 5

Nick: Freudian Sip (Lager) 5.4%- 3.5 out of 5

Nick: Brevity (Wheat Beer) 5.2%- 3 out of 5

Nick: Resting Beach Face (Sour) 6.5% – 3 out of 5

Brewing persuasion: 3.5 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

Surfridge Brewing Company

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?

Coastline Brewing Company

When we went: July 24th, 2022

Where: 4 Grove Beach Road, Westbrook, CT 06498

Coastline Brewing Company opened this spring in Westbrook, and Nick and I decided to finally swing by in July. Many breweries take awhile to find their footing when they first start up, with some giving the impression that everything was rushed and not planned out, but Coastline Brewing seems to have skipped those growing pains. When Nick and I walked up to the brewery, it was clear that the founder had thought about their theme, décor, and beer selection. I can’t tell you how many new breweries I have been to that have 3 beers, all IPAs with 8 guest taps. But Coastline had brewed in preparation for their opening and had a great selection of beers from a variety of styles. They had IPAs, stouts, sours, lagers, seltzer, and cider, all brewed by Coastline.

Nick and I got to enjoy these drinks in their boating themed taproom with the tap list written on oars, the tap handles being the handles of oars, and the flights served on paddles. Their mug club is even called the “First Mates Club.” Everything was clean, and there was plenty of indoor and outdoor seating available. The only thing missing is cans, but the staff said they are hoping to get a canning line going soon.

Chris: With so many beers available, Nick and I each got a flight, and the first drink to catch my eye was the Maple Donut Stout which sounds like it would be super heavy and overly sweet, but they found a good balance. My favorite was the High-C sour made with cherry and lime which was a great combination of flavors. The S.O.S stout was too mild for me, but I was a fan of the C-Water cider and both the cranberry lime and grapefruit seltzers. I always thought I hated seltzers, but I’m finding that seltzers on tap taste way better than those in the can. Coastline gave me a great first impression, and I would love to go back to see what else they brew.

Nick: I don’t know what was previously in this location, but just by walking into the place, you can tell that they have done a lot of work to make it their own. The nautical theme is quite popular along the shoreline, but Coastline really goes all out. I appreciate the owner’s dedication to the decor with all the boat theme details. I also really like that they put the brewing front and center, as most places seem to put their vats in the back, but they are fully in view at Coastline. Like Chris, I loved High-C Sour and the Cranberry Lime Seltzer, but I also liked the Beach Bum Amber. I thought the light honey taste was refreshing and not exactly what I expected when I ordered it – in a good way! I really like that they make their own cider, the C-Water. I am honestly surprised that more places don’t make their own, and I am excited to try their new cider, the Mango Sunrise, next time we go.

Other cool stuff:

  • Mug club
  • Merch
  • Growlers to go
  • Plenty of events
  • Dog and family friendly

What we drank:

Chris: Maple Donut (Stout) 9% – 4 out of 5

Chris: S.O.S (Stout) 5% – 3 out of 5

Chris: High-C (Sour) 5% – 4.5 out of 5

Nick: Cranberry Lime Seltzer 3.5%- 4 out of 5

Nick: C-Water (Cider) 5.6%- 4 out of 5

Nick: Beach Bum Amber (Lager) 5%- 3.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 4.5 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?