Brewing Persuasions

Front Porch Brewing Company

When Chris Went: November 29th, 2020

Where: 226 North Plains Industrial Road #4, Wallingford, CT 06492

Wallingford has a pretty robust brewing scene with three breweries (Center Street, Cliffside, and Front Porch) and a cidery (New England Cidery). There are only a few places in Connecticut that you can go to one town and visit four places for craft beer or cider. Front Porch opened their taproom in late 2017 and are a true microbrewery. The taproom is very small with only 5 or 6 tables inside during normal times, although when we went in November it was still warm enough to use their outdoor seating. Like many microbreweries it is in an industrial park and the taproom is not much more than a bar inside a garage with a few tables. Most likely you will drive right passed the brewery without even realizing it.

Chris: We decided to hit up Center Street, New England cidery, and Front Porch all in one day due to how close they all were. I had been to Front Porch before, but most of my friends had only had their beer from stores. The taproom is not much to look at and did not have a huge selection of beer, but they did try to get a least one beer per popular type. They had a few IPAs, a stout, and a sour. Obviously I decided to go for the stout, their Pistachio Puff Pastry. It was a white stout which was brewed with pistachios, lactose, vanilla beans, cacao nibs and marshmallow and was created in collaboration with Abomination Brewing Company in North Haven. All of my friends absolutely loved the beer, but I personally was not a fan of the stout. I thought it was way too sweet despite being an imperial at 10.1%. Overall, I would say that I have not been a fan of Front Porch Brewing’s beers. I have never given one of their beers above a 3.25 on Untapped. With that said, I know a lot of people, including friends who went with me in November, love their beer. They are closed for the winter season until April 1st, but maybe when they reopen, I will give them another shot.

Other Cool Things:

Dog friendly
Cool glasses (see image)
Cans to-go
Outdoor seating

What Chris Drank:

Chris: Killer Limes From Outer Space (Sour) 6% – 3 out of 5

Chris: Pistachio Puff Pastry (Stout) 10.1 % 3 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 2.5 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

Northern Row Brewery and Distillery

When: September 26, 2020

Where: 111 W McMicken Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45202

At home in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, Northern Row Brewery and Distillery is settled in a pre-prohibition building originally constructed in 1895 as the icehouse and storage space for the historic Christian Moerlein Brewery. Northern Row is Cincinnati’s first brewery & distillery combo. They pride themselves on crafting traditional beers under the Northern Row name and spirits with a modern twist under the Five Stories brand. This multifaceted business has gone to extensive efforts to preserve the original parts of the building and repurpose other parts of Cincinnati’s heritage that may have otherwise been left behind or forgotten. That’s what drives their slogan, “all outcasts welcome!”

Shannon: Northern Row is easily one of my top 5 favorite brewery’s in Cincinnati. I stumbled across this place by accident one day when I couldn’t find immediate parking outside Rhinegeist Brewery. I decided to go over a street and see if their was any parking there and low and behold, I found a brewery instead! I bailed on my original plan and immediately gave all my attention to this new find and I’m so glad I did. The brewery aesthetic, food, and beer are all incredible in their own right. They have tons of options for food, hard alcohol, and beer. One of the best beers I’ve had from Northern Row is their variation of Black is Beautiful. Their contribution of the Black is Beautiful initiative is a dark chocolate and roasted coffee beer with a rich malt finish. I truly love so many of their other beers though too!

Other Cool Things:

Initiate Project Sanitizer! Northern Row is producing alcohol base hand sanitizer available to the Cincy community!
Full food, beer, cocktail, wine, and spirits menu!
Northern Row is their brewery name and Five Stories is their spirits brand
Offering curb side pick up for growlers, food, and hand sanitizer
Cool merch available
Kid friendly taproom
Pets welcome in the outdoor courtyard area!
Free wifi – love to see it
Cincinnati’s modern day streetcar rides directly past the brewery & distillery

What Shannon Drank:

Shannon: Miller (Rosemary American Rye Ale) – 4 out of 5

Shannon: Black is Beautiful (Stout) 6.5% ABV – 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 5 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

Center Street Brewing Company

When Chris Went: November 29th, 2020

Where: 24 Wallace Avenue, Wallingford, CT 06492

Center Street Brewing Company in Wallingford opened their taproom almost two years ago, and has been a family run business from the beginning. The brewery’s location was completely remodeled for the taproom and had lived many lives before being a center for craft beer. Before Center Street came to Wallace Avenue, the location had been an art studio, a recording studio, and an auto repair shop. The two things that I noticed when I walked in was that it definitely was a repair shop, but also how it felt like fall in New England. So obviously it WAS fall in New England when I went, but Center Street tries to keep the unique feeling of a northeastern fall going year-round. It creates a very welcoming environment, but I am pretty biased being a native of New England. I want to go back in the summer because they have windowed garage door on the front which they open up, and I have always liked fresh air coming into taprooms. They had a decent amount of high top tables and outdoor seating, and a good sized parking lot, so it was a pretty convenient trip.

Chris: Speaking of convenience, Center Street had a good selection and variety of beers. They currently have 10 beers on tap ranging from IPAs, Pilsners, Porters, and Browns. They also have cider, wine, cocktails, and soda, so no matter who you are going with, you will be able to find something for everyone. I was also impressed by their musical choices as they were playing 2000s rock the entire time we were there. When it comes to their beer, I had their Charlie Brown Ale and Mocha Jo Porter. Both were good, but to be honest, I wasn’t really thrilled with the beer, although one of my friends loved it. To be fair, two beers is a small sample size, so I hope I can go back soon to try some more.

Other Cool Things:

Cans-to-go
Wine, Cider, Cocktails, and soda available
Alpaca snacks made from their beer!
Flights
Merch for sale

What Chris Drank:

Chris: Charlie Brown (Brown Ale) 5.7% – 3 out of 5

Chris: Mocha Jo (Porter) 7.1% – 3.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 3.5 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?