Stony Creek Brewery

When we went: January 30th, 2020

Location A: 5 Indian Neck Avenue, Branford, CT 06405

Location B: Foxwoods Casino

Stony Creek Brewery opened in Branford in 2015 and is located right on the Branford River. This huge facility boasts a large parking lot and tons of both indoor and outdoor seating. The indoor taproom gives a tiki-bar-like vibe (or maybe that’s just what we think) but they definitely play up the coastline location with the décor and logo. The taproom also has a second floor for events too! In addition, they have a patio and outdoor bar with multiple fire pits and spaces to play corn hole or bocce ball. Overall, their Branford location is massive and beautiful, especially during the summer. They opened a location at Foxwoods Casino too, so if you suddenly become thirsty from all that gambling, you can stop by and have a drink.

Chris- Stony Creek is one of my favorite breweries and this not the first time I have gone. I love the atmosphere of the place, and because of how massive their place is, you don’t have to worry about the crowd on a busy day. I really feel like I’m in a stylish beachfront tiki bar when I am there. They usually do a food truck, especially during warmer months so you can really stay all day, enjoy the sun, drink some beer, and grab something to eat while playing plenty of outdoor games. Stony Creek is open seven days a week which I am a fan of because few breweries are open in the early week. When it comes to their beer, it’s quite good. They have a large selection and many different types of beer, including one of my all-time favorites, their Nitro Chocolate Porter with Peanut Butter. The last time I went though I got the “Mango Zinger,” a Sour which had a nice fruity flavor with just the right amount of sour, and “Woodsy Breakfast Porter” which was perfect for the cold day it was.

Shannon- This place really does have some great drafts. I always enjoy starting off my visit here with a flight. I don’t get to come often, so when I do, there’s always a handful of beers I’m dying to try. So much beer, so little time. Our last visit I got a flight with: “La Garza Laid Back Lager” (a lager), “Stony Boogaloo” ( a lager), “Winter Weight” (a porter), and “Montoweiss” (a hefewizen). I liked the Montoweiss so much that I got a full pour after finishing up my flight! I would 10 out of 10 recommend this brewery to anyone looking to enjoy a nice day with some family or friends.

Other cool stuff:

  • Open 7 days a week!!
  • Food trucks during the warmer months/ in-house pizza during the winter
  • Outdoor spaces for games like cornhole and bocce ball
  • On the water with dock access
  • Cool people join the mug club
  • They do brewery tours on Saturdays and Sundays for just $5! (includes sampling)
  • Mini merch store
  • You can see right into where they do all their canning

Our Persuasion

What we drank:

Chris: Mango Zinger (Sour) 4 out of 5

Chris: Woodsy Breakfast Porter 4.5 out of 5

Shannon: Montoweiss (Hefewizen) 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 5 out of 5

Tox Brewing Company

When we went: January 23th, 2020

Location: 635 Broad St, New London, CT 06320

What does toxicology and beer have in common? If you ask the three co-founders of Tox Brewing Company, they’ll say they’re the perfect theme combination for New London’s first brewery and taproom, which they opened in 2019. Tox gets its name from one of the owners interest in poisonous mushrooms, poisonous plants, and poisonous drugs. I mean, come on, how cool is that? These guys name all their beers after poisonous plants and animals, like “Belladonna,” a chocolate coconut stout, “Deadly Nightshade,” a coffee milk stout, and “Placebo Effect,” a cream ale. They’ve leaned so far into the toxicology theme that their tap handles look like mushrooms, the bathroom walls have sketches of molecular poisons, and their logo is a poison dart frog.

Disclaimer: If you’re reading this and starting to worry that you might get poisoned by Tox beer, don’t worry! They don’t actually brew with any poisonous plants or fungus. There are no actual toxins in their beer…..ya know, besides the alcohol.

Shannon- Tox is a suave little spot with friendly and helpful staff. I love the branded beaker-style tasters glasses they use for flights (which you get to keep!) and I love their dedication to the toxicology theme. These guys are brewing a good variety of popular styles and doing some pretty intriguing things with each of them. I’ve been impressed with almost every beer I’ve tried. I’m a big fan of their IPA’s and DIPA’s, but even their stouts are stupid good. The only beer I can think of that didn’t do it for me (but was still good but only in small amounts) was the “Wisteria,” a maple coffee stout. I love sweet things as much as the next person, but this one was H.E.A.V.Y sweet.

Chris- Tox had a small but cozy taproom and I like the theme of the place. As Shannon said, their place is covered in mushrooms and frogs; just how Alvarium is covered in bees. For such a small place they had a pretty good selection and variety of beers. I had a few beers but my favorite was Buckeye which was sweet but light and milky, with hints of chocolate and peanut butter. They do flights here but with a token system, they give you one glass and four tokens and once you finish one of the tasters you trade in another token for another sample. On the plus side you get to keep the glass, on the downside it makes it awkward to share if you are a germophobe and you only get to try one at a time. Overall its a nice cozy place with decent craft beer, if you are in the area, give it a try.

Other cool stuff:

  • Food trucks during the warmer months
  • Dog friendly outdoor patio
  • Get four 5 oz pours of your choice and keep the beaker-style taster glass when you’re all done!
  • Toxicology themed-merchandise
  • For their checkout system, they stuck an iPad into the frame of an early-1990s Macintosh Classic II computer!
  • Survived the 1781 burning of New London by Benedict Arnold

Our Persuasion:

What we drank:

Shannon: Placebo Effect (Cream Ale) 3.5 out of 5

Shannon: Animalcule (New England Pale Ale) 3.5 out of 5

Chris: Buckeye (Milk Stout) 4 out of 5

Chris: Wisteria (Maple Stout) 2.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 3.5 out of 5

Powder Hollow Brewery

When we went: January 23rd, 2020

Location one: 504 Hazard Ave, Enfield, CT 06082

Location two: 62 Washington Street, Middletown, CT 06457

Powder Hollow opened in Enfield in 2014 and expanded to Middletown in 2019. Powder Hollow gets its name from the area where the brewery began. Powder Hollow is a part of Hazardville, which is a part of Enfield, which is part of Hartford county, which is a par….sorry I got distracted! Powder Hollow and Hazardville both get their name from the booming (no one has made that pun before) gunpowder industry in Enfield. This explosion (yes I did it again) in gunpowder production saw the rise of Colonel Augustus Hazard, who created Hazard Powder Company in 1843, hence the name Hazardville. The gunpowder industry eventually blew up (literally) in 1913, but the history is clearly still aflame. All this, not only influenced the name of the brewery, but also the logo – two rifles on a gunpowder barrel.

The Enfield location shares a building with R Dee Winery, so even winos can enjoy the trip up to the taproom. The Middletown location is right off of Main street, so not only are you within walking distance of over a dozen restaurants, you can also get Chinese delivered right to the bar thanks to the Chinese restaurant located next to the taproom. Unfortunately, this convenience does come with a price, specifically parking, which you have to pay for until 8pm. But if you can overlook the $1 an hour parking, both locations have great hours and are open 7 days a week.

Chris: We went to the Middletown location most recently, but Shannon and I have been to both locations a few times now. While the Enfield location is more out of the way for us, it has a nice feel to it. Middletown’s atmosphere is similar but with more exposed brick and lights made out of growlers, giving it a very rustic feel. The taproom is about average size with indoor and outdoor seating. The tap list is expansive and has a little bit of everything on it. They also do cider, wine, and cocktails, so everyone will find something they like. I have had a dozen of their beers over our many visits, but my favorites have, of course, been their darks. Checking my untapped I have Caffeination Station (Espresso Porter), Tony’s Twist and Stout (Milk stout), and 1929 Prohibition Porter (American Porter) all listed at 4 out of 5 or better. Their darks tend to be rich and smooth without making me feel like I just ate an entire pizza. Powder Hollow is a great brewery to go to any day of the week and bring even non-beer drinkers, if you want to associate with those kinds of people that is.

Shannon: What can I say that Chris hasn’t already? Well, for starters, everytime Chris and I have visited this brewery we’ve had the same bar tender. It’s always nice to walk into a place where you recognize the person behind the bar. Beer wise, I really enjoy their fruit beer called Strawberry Fields. It’s a tasty, refreshing, light beer that brings back those summer time feels. Overall, this place is great and you should definitely check it out. Beer is good. Good beer makes you happy. Happiness can be found at Powder Hollow Brewery. See you there, cheers!

Other cool stuff:

  • Some merch available
  • A few tasty snacks for purchase
  • Live music occasionally
  • Cans available!
  • Craft cocktails made by a cool bar robot!!
  • Cash is not accepted at the Middletown location – you can only pay with card
  • Shannon lives close by so you can just yell and she will come drink with you (it’s true, I will)

Our persuasion:

What we drank:

Chris: Pineapple Express (New England Indian Pale Ale) 2.5 out of 5 (I’m just not an IPA guy)

Chris: Tony’s Twist and Stout (Milk Stout) 4 out of 5

Shannon: Mango Milkshake IPA 3.5 out of 5

Shannon: Bayonet Blonde (Blonde Ale) 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 4.5 out of 5