Counterweight Brewing Company

When: June 18th, 2025

Where: 7 Diana Court, Cheshire, CT

Counterweight Brewing Company was founded in Hamden in 2017 but they outgrew their original location pretty quickly. In 2022, they relocated to their current and much larger facility in Cheshire. The taproom at Counterweight Brewing was one of the largest I had seen with a large outdoor space and two entire floors and bars on the inside. Like many breweries, they seem to focus on IPAs but do have a splattering of other styles like wheats, sours, and an occasional dark beer. The main advantage of this space is how much they can do with it, they have enough space to host multiple events and have food services like Ritual Pizza (previously located inside Labyrinth brewing). This means that if you don’t want to do trivia or get too close to the live music, there are still plenty of places for you to sit inside and out.

Chris: With how large of a facility Counterweight had, I was expecting a wider variety in their styles. I understand that most people are going to want IPAs and light beers, but their other options were more limited than I expected. That being said, there were multiple styles available to us when we visited. I chose to get a wheat ale, Farmhouse ale, and a sour. Of course my favorite was the sour, Crimson Briar with a nice raspberry taste to it with some tart. Other than that, I wasn’t really a fan of the other beers I had but I think that had more to do with the limited variety in styles I like.

Nick: I really liked the Sour Crimson Briar, I think it was both Chris’s and mine favorite. It had a really nice Raspberry and Cherry flavor. I really wanted to like some of their other beers, but the Daybloom and CW Saison were alright, but didn’t stand out to me much. I loved a lot of the guest taps, but I do wish that I liked more of what they had. The location was really nice, though, and I can see why it’s so popular, great downstairs, outside, and upstairs.

Other cool things:

  • Merch
  • Cans to go
  • Lots of events
  • Pizza, burgers, and hot dogs available
  • Lots of guest taps

What we drank:

Chris: Daybloom (Wheat) 5%- 3 out of 5

Chris: Crimson Briar (Sour) 4.8% – 3.75 out of 5

Nick: Crimson Briar (Sour) 4.8% – 4 out of 5

Nick: CW Saison (Farmhouse Ale) 6.6% – 3 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion

Beer: 3 out of 5

Location: 4 out of 5

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5

Cheshire Craft Brewing

When: September 4th, 2025

Where: 125 Commerce Court, Cheshire, CT

When I pulled up to Cheshire Craft Brewing, I was expecting another run of the mill former warehouse turned brewery taproom, but I was pleasantly surprised by how large it was well planned out. There is plenty of seating inside and out with a newly added covered space out back. After the aesthetic, the next thing I always take notice of is the what’s on tap. Cheshire had a wide variety of beers with lights, darks, bitters, sweets, and lots of things for non-beer drinkers. The taproom offers wine, craft cider, and canned cocktails from Waypoint Spirits. Looks at their website, they also seem to have lots of events lined up like music bingo, yoga, speed dating, and live music.

Chris: With so many options available at Cheshire Craft Brewing, I had to get a flight. There was a lot to like, but my favorite was the Orangey Sky, a Kolsch that actually had flavor for once! The blood orange added to this beer made it even more refreshing and less boring than most Kolschs. The Shire milk stout was also pretty good and had a sweet and slightly chocolatey flavor to it.

Nick: Chris and I came into CCB rigtht when they were opening for the day. I also liked the Orange Sky, but my favorite was the Fruity Kettles: Strawberry Agave. The combo gave it a bit of a lemon flavor which was really refreshing. Fruity Kettles is a series that they do at CCB, and while they didn’t have it on tap right then, I took some of their Strawberry Kiwi home with me too. I also tried a trio of wheat beers, Gaarden Hoe, Strawberry Fields and Summer Knights but none of them really jumped out to me.

Other cool things:

  • Lots of events
  • Snacks available
  • Food trucks
  • Wine, cider, and canned cocktails

What we drank:

Chris: The Shire (Milk Stout) 6.6% – 4 out of 5

Chris: Orangey Sky (Kolsch) 4.9% – 4.5 out of 5

Nick: Gaarden Hoe (Wheat Beer) 5.3% – 3.5 out of 5

Nick: Fruity Kettles: Strawberry Agave (Sour) 4.5% – 4.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion:

Beer: 4 out of 5

Location: 3 out of 5

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5

Relic Brewing Company

When: June 18th, 2025

Where: 95B Whiting Street, Plainville, CT

Relic Brewing Company has been a staple of Plainville for some years and it has gone through a couple different changes in that time. I first went to Relic way back in 2018 and have stopped in periodically since then. In its current form, Relic has an unassuming look from the outside, but a large modernist feel on the inside. The space can fit quite a large crowd on couches, high-tops, and a bar. Relic also offers event space and a decent sized Pinball arcade. Like a lot of breweries now, Relic is trying to give people a lot of options so they have a large cocktail menu to go along with their beer options. That being said, the variety on the beer menu was okay, but it was missing anything fruity like a sour. This could be indicative of the turn towards light beers in the craft brew scene so I tried not to judge them too much on that.

Chris: The menu at Relic was pretty IPA heavy when we went back in June, but I was able to get a pretty nice stout, their Death by Tiramisu. This is a 8.5% pastry stout that was incredibly flavorful with tastes of milk, chocolate, coffee, and hazelnut. I had to take it easy after that beer as I was driving, but I was able to sample some other beers. I had the Whiting St Lager, but found it pretty bland. The newest trend in craft beers are lagers and I just cannot get into it.

Nick: I didn’t dislike any of the beers at Relic, but I also can’t say that any of them left any kind of impression. The Amber Ale was my favorite, it was malty and smooth, and I felt like I wanted to like it more than I did. The Whim is a New England-style IPA, which I don’t usually go for, but in this case, I liked it more than I typically like IPAs. I really enjoyed the setup with the arcade games; it added a unique touch to the brewery. However, I would have liked something other than the Pinball machines.

Other cool things:

  • Pinball arcade
  • Snack menu
  • Cocktails
  • Event space

What we drank:

Chris: Death by Tiramisu (Imperial stout) 8.5%- 4.5 out of 5

Chris: Whiting St (Lager) 5.6% – 3 out of 5

Nick: Amber Ale (Red Ale) 5.5% – 3 out of 5

Nick: The Whim (New England IPA) 6.5% – 3 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion:

Beer: 3 out of 5

Location: 3 out of 5

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5