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

Yankee Cider Company

When: June 1st, 2025

Where: 23 Petticoat lane, East Haddam, CT

Yankee Cider Company was started as the Staehly Tree Farm in 1985 as a Christmas tree farm. In 2014, they added wine to their products and opened their cider and wine taproom in 2019. The taproom is located in a renovated old barn, which gives it a very New England feel. Staehly Farms owns and operated Yankee Cider Company, and they produce many of the fruits for their products for a farm to glass approach. The inside of the barn is decently large, but there is a lot more seating outside and even some firepits to hang around. We were very glad that their taproom had flights as Yankee Cider has a huge variety with 12 ciders and 6 wines on tap with lots of to-go options.

Chris: I’ve had Yankee cider a few times now and I’ve always appreciated their huge variety and willingness to experiment. They have your typical flavors with sweet to dry options, but they also have ciders you won’t find anywhere else. Cider flavors like peanut butter, chocolate strawberry, or snickers. The experiments don’t always work out, but it keeps me coming back to try them. From what I’ve had, my favorite was the Chocolate Strawberry which tasted exactly how it sounds and was definitely on the sweetish side. Caramel Apple Cider Donut was also pretty good, but I wish it was as sweet as the name suggested.

Nick: Yankee Cider isn’t too far away from where I live, and they have their cider on tap at a lot of breweries, including my local Brewery Niantic Public House. On this particular visit, we tried an assortment, and most of them were excellent. On this particular trip, my top two were the Honey and the Strawberry. But the Honeycrisp, Blueberry-Peach Cobbler, Peanut Butter, and Rochambeau Raspberry were not far behind. They have a great outdoor seating area and what had to be the most eclectic playlists I have encountered at a Taproom. East Haddam is a bit out of the way, but there are tons of different options for everyone to enjoy!

Other cool things:

  • to-go wine and cider
  • Snacks
  • Local farm products for sale
  • Weekly trivia

What we drank:

Chris: Chocolate Strawberry (Sweet) 6.7% – 4.5 out of 5

Chris: Caramel Apple Cider Donut (Spiced) 6.5% – 4 out of 5

Nick: Blueberry-Peach Cobbler (Sweet) 6.7% – 4.5 out of 5

Nick: Honeycrisp (Sweet) 6.9% – 4.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion:

Cider: 4.5 out of 5

Location: 3.5 out of 5

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5