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

Beer’d Brewing Company – The Silo

When we went: January 23th, 2020

Location one: 22 Bayview Ave, Stonington, CT 06378

Location two: 225 Leonard Dr, Groton, CT 06340

Beer’d Brewing Company opened in Stonington in 2012, which makes it old for the Connecticut craft brew scene! Brand new is their location in Groton, which opened this month! The two of us have never been to the Stonington location but managed to stop by their Groton taproom recently. While the taproom is not very big, it is very nice, with a clean modern look to it, decorated with action comic-like art. The owners clearly wanted to created a place to hang out with friends without any distractions because no one under 21 years old (human or animal) is allowed in. This makes it tough for families to go but really nice if you don’t want to be bothered by wild children or barking dogs.

Chris- I personally loved the look of Beer’d and while I am sad doggos can’t go in, I can understand it. They are not the only place to not allow dogs or kids, and I think we have all been annoyed at some point by bored kids who have decided to make the taproom a (loud) playground. The convenience of Mystic Cheese Shop right next door makes this a nice one stop brewery that you could spend considerable time at. Beer’d had a large selection and variety of beer with 15 beers and 1 cider on tap when we went. Although it will be difficult to try much of their selection as they do not do flights here. I did manage to knock back a few drinks starting with the Bong Appetit, a thick breakfast milk stout with a light salty flavor. I also had the Cold as Weisse, a Berliner Weisse with a great cherry and lime fruitiness with a light sour kick and a good aftertaste. Overall this is a good place to hang out with some friends and enjoy 1 to 8 beer’ds. Just kinda wish I got a discount for having a beard.

Shannon – As someone who works in the New London/ Groton area, I’m super excited that Beer’d is open for business! Outer Light Brewing Company and Tox Brewing Company are great, but it’s nice to have a third brewery to add to the mix after a long day at work. Like Chris already said, flights are a no-go here, so I was only able to have two beers before calling it a day. One of the beers I knew I had to have was Connecticut Casual, a German pilsner. Why did I have to get it? Well, when I moved to Connecticut from Pennsylvania I keep saying that my new personality was going to be “Connecticut casual.” It’s silly, I know, I know, but it is what it is. Beyond the coincidence of the name, my favorite thing about Beer’d actually wasn’t the beer – it was the glass that it came in. I’m a big sucker for nostalgia and paying homage to local communities, and Beer’d got my heart when I realized that on the glass was the New London/ Groton Gold Star Bridge, three beer tanks, and a submarine! I mean, come on?! Talk about a cool little tribute to Beer’ds new home in the submarine capitol of the world.

Other cool stuff:

  • Located right next to the Groton/ New London Airport
  • Mystic Cheese Shop right next door (they deliver right into the brewery!)
  • Large selection of canned beers to go
  • Brew merch
  • Super cool action comic-like wall art
  • No children allowed (human or dog)

Our Persuasion:

What we drank: 

Shannon: Connecticut Casual (German pilsner) 4 out of 5

Shannon: Cold as Weisse – Cherry Lime (Berliner Weisse Sour) 3.5 out of 5

Chris: Bong Appettit (Breakfast Milk Stout) (Collab with Hanging Hills) 4 out of 5

Chris: Cold as Weisse- Cherry Lime (Berliner Weisse Sour) 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 4 out of 5