Hoax Brewing Company

When: June 21, 2024

Where: 687 State St, New Haven, CT 06511

Last weekend, Chris and I embarked on a brewery-hopping adventure in the New Haven area, with a stop at the unique Hoax Brewing in East Haven, Connecticut. This brewery stands out with its intriguing blend of craft brewing and a full-service restaurant, Nolo.

Hoax Brewing has an impressive variety of beers. Whether you’re a fan of hoppy IPAs, rich stouts, or something lighter, there’s something on the menu for everyone. The added convenience of their own parking lot, a rare find in New Haven, ensures a stress-free visit. 

However, they do not offer any flights, preventing us from sampling more of their beers in a single visit. Additionally, the brewery has limited canning, so taking your favorite brews home isn’t always an option. No merchandise is available, which might disappoint those seeking a souvenir. Lastly, the absence of outdoor seating means you’re limited to the indoor atmosphere.

The combination of a good variety of beers, a full-service restaurant, and convenient parking make Hoax well worth the visit. We highly recommend stopping by Hoax Brewing at Nolo for a memorable experience.

Nick: I only tried three beers when I went to Hoax, but my favorite was definitely the Cotton Candy Sleight of Hand Sour. That is unsurprising as, according to Untapped, it’s one of their most popular and highest-rated beers. It has a very sweet candy flavor, and I would definitely get it again. I also liked the Seany Palmer, another Sour, but this one combines tea and lemonade, hence the name. I also got the A Bone in Her Teeth, a blonde ale, which was just fine.

Chris: Since we could not do a flight at Hoax, I went to my top two beer styles, a sour and a stout. Hoax’s Triple Berry Crumble Sour was definitely my favorite; it is thicker and has a very fruity taste. The Mugsy Morning Stout was your typical coffee stout with a nice flavor but was particularly unique. Looking online at the other beers they brew, I would have loved to try more, so we must plan another trip.

Nick: Cotton Candy Sleight of Hand (Sour 4.5%): 4.5 -5

Nick: Seany Palmer(Sour 4.5%): 4-5

Chris: Triple Berry Crumble (Sour) 4.8% – 4.5 out of 5

Chris: Mugsy Morning Stout (Coffee Stout) – 4 out of 5

Outside Hoax/Nolo

Other Cool Things:

  • Originally, Hoax was just going to be a placeholder before they picked a real name
  • You can get Merchandise online
  • Self-distributed
  • Second brewing location at the The Beeracks in East Haven

Beer: 3.5 out of 5

Location: 4 out of 5

Atmosphere: 3.5 out of 5

Dead Language Beer Project

When: May 10th, 2024

Where: 1429 Park St #115, Hartford, CT

Dead Language Beer Project is Hartford’s newest brewery, located in the old Hog River Brewery facility. Opened by Alvarium’s founding brewer and his wife this spring, it’s a welcome addition after Hartford lost four breweries in the last few years, including City Steam, just a few months ago. The taproom has done its best to distinguish itself from Hog River and even has a second tap in the works in a space I never saw at Hog River. There is some outdoor seating and plenty of indoor seating, with tables, high tops, and benches. The facility is located next to restaurants, but it seems the axe-throwing place in the same building is no longer there. Dead Language advertises itself as focusing on lagers and IPAs but has more variety than you would think from that description. There were some flavored lagers, dark lagers, and some sours that helped us fill out our flight list. Unfortunately, because they are so new, they do not do cans, crowlers, or growlers yet, but they plan to launch those soon.

Chris: My expectations were pretty low going into Dead Language Brewery as I usually find lagers pretty boring, and IPAs are usually not my thing. But I was happily surprised by this brewery, especially when it came to their variety. My favorite beer was their Little Death, a Czech Dark Lager. Whenever you have roasted malts in the beer, I will be happy. I was also a fan of their Fluffhead, a Wheat Beer that has a nice vanilla taste to it. All their beers are poured in half liters or liters, with extra large glasses for the liter sizes.

Nick: My two favorite beers at Dead Language Brewing were the Fluffhead Wheat and the Twin Snakes Sour. I loved the unique atmosphere they’ve created; it’s distinct and has its own style, different from other breweries. They’ve done a great job maximizing the space, and the outdoor seating area is perfect for enjoying a nice day. It’s a spot I’ll be visiting again!

Chris: Little Death (Lager) 5.3% – 4.5 out of 5

Chris: Fluffhead (Wheat Beer) 4.8% – 4 out of 5

Nick: Twin Snakes (Sour) 3.4% – 4 out of 5

Nick: Fluffhead (Wheat Beer) 4.8% – 4 out of 5

Other cool things:

  • Restaurants located next door
  • Cider, soda, and wine served
  • Merch for sale
  • Mug club

Beer: 4 out of 5

Location: 4 out of 5

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5

Shunock River Brewery and Village Cafe

When: January 14th ,2024

Where: 2 Wyassup Rd, North Stonington, CT

Rest directly on the Shunock River, the Shunock River Brewery probably has the more scenic and rural New England look to their taproom as any brewery I have been to. The place gives the feel of a local pub where the staff knows all the patrons and their families. There is the sense that the owners have intentional built a smaller brewery and want to keep that small local pub feel. Walking in from the large parking lot, you can see why they would want to keep their vibe as we immediately felt cozy and ready to grab some beer. This is a place where you can spend hours and relax with your drink and their wood fired pizza. They only had six beers on tap, but had a good range of styles within their limited selected. The indoor space isn’t very large and all the tables are oak barrels, but they manage to fit in some live music and events. The only thing that confused me was that the full name of the brewery is Shunock River Brewery and Village Café, but I didn’t see anything that made it a café.

Chris: Even though they only had six beers on tap, they offered a flight so we were able to try everything they had to offer. My favorite of the batch was the Honey Maple Brown Ale, made with Connecticut malts and had a nice sweet finish to it. Their Lemon sour was also enjoyable as I am always a fan of citrus, and even more of a fan of sours that have some sweetness to them. I definitely want to make a trip back to try some of their other offerings as they rotate their beers selection pretty often.

Nick: I like a place that wants to make itself a part of the community and Shunock really tries to be a part of the community that is North Stonington. As you see in the picture its right on the river and is right in the middle of town. This place’s decor screams New England community and its beer fits that too. I don’t care for IPA’s but im sure the clientele who regularly visit Shunock love it. Shunock doesn’t feel like a brewery that is going be up on all the latest brewery trends, but it isn’t trying to be either. And I think that makes is what made our visit enjoyable.

Chris: Honey Maple Brown Ale (6.7%) – 4.5 out of 5

Chris: Lemon Sour (5%) – 4.5 out of 5

Nick: River Monster IPA (8.1%)-3.5 out of 5

Nick: Lemon Sour (5%) – 4 out of 5

Other cool things:

  • Live music
  • Food menu
  • Wine and Cider available

Beer: 4 out of 5

Location: 3.5 out of 5

Atmosphere: 4.5 out of 5