CAIUS FARM BREWERY

United States Brewpubs

BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT

Occupying a Cathedral-ceilinged white farmhouse in Branford, Connecticut, CAIUS FARM BREWERY is an expansively spare one-room venue with cement-floored pub area flowing right into the rear brew tank staging area. Praised as one of the best new American breweries, founder Caius Mergy, a local New Canaan/ Old Lyme zymurgist, decided to ‘pursue brewing while in college studying Roman sculpture’ – hence the Roman statue at Caius’s entrance.

Casius Farm’s elongated wood top left-side bar services centralized metal-wood tables and the scenic community tabled back deck. A once ‘derelict’ farm has turned into a Northeast mecca for barrel-aged and mixed culture brews as well as several stylishly derived variants.

I arrived on a windy Saturday, March ’25, to celebrate the brewery’s second anniversary. A cool local band played awesome ’70s rock tunes while I consumed a special-occasioned sour farmhouse ale and spirited nightcap while sharing a bready kolsch with wife. We came back noon the next day to consume five more provocative Casius Farm elixirs.

Crisp white-breaded pilsner malting and dry grassy Noble hop herbage sunk into ‘lemon candied’ tartness of German-styled Balbilla Kolsch, a brisk moderation.

Flagship farmhouse ale, Marcus, foeder-aged in white oak, let green and white grape esters sit alongside sourer lemon-peeled guava and gooseberry brining as cat-pissed acidulated wheat increased lactic acidity.

As the band stopped playing ’round 9 PM, nipped at velvety cognac-bourbon-aged barleywine, Domitianus, a bedtime escapade contrasting bourbon vanilla sweetness against bold dry burgundy wining above syrupy dark chocolate base – picking up tertiary bruised black cherry, blackberry, spiced rye and blackcurrant illusions.

Sunday morning woke up, ate breakfast and drove from New Haven digs to Casius Farms to try a few more elixirs.

Musky German helles lager, Sappho, fused barnyard grain husk to mildly creamed oats and white-floured breading, picking up slight gluey papering for oncoming herbal lemon spritz.

Oak-conditioned Japanese rice lager, Atia, maintained novel sake-riced plum wining given spritzy lemon lime twist.

Soda-like fruited kettle sour, Ovidius V, a veritable raspberry, blueberry and cherry Rollup with milk sugared oats creaming thickening its chewy gooeyness. In the midst, red grape esters, tangy tangerine pulp and salted orange juicing frolic.

Tropical New Zealand IPA, Cleopatra, utilized dry Nelson Sauvin/ Riwaka hops to advance advertised Gummy Bears tartness, peachy papaya tanginess and zesty pineapple fling as well as milder lemony grapefruit bittering and pithy orange peel sweetness above creamy oated wheat base.

Afterwards, bought home bottles of wheat farmhouse ales Seneca The Younger and Caligula (reviewed in Beer Index).

SLY BANDIT BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

WILTON, CONNECTICUT

Right off the Merritt on the Norwalk borderline in a gray two-story professional building, Wilton’s SLY BANDIT BREWING COMPANY opened July ’24. A family-owned venture led by Dave Guda – who initially brewed for weddings and quit his corporate job to become brewmaster – the cozy pub serves a large dalliance of diverse homemade ales alongside fine pub fare.

Upon entering, the first floor stations windowed overhead-doored brew tanks. But the tan-walled second floor sports the tidy pub space including several wood tables, a few TV’s and a red neon Sly Bandit sign welcoming patrons to the beautiful stone tile-walled 8-seat wood top bar.

Mw wife and I get there in time for the pub to open at noon on a Sunday, March ’25.

Dewy peat-malted amber lager, Vienna Lager, left sweet Easter breading, roasted chestnut and advertised ‘herbal spicing’ upon mild dried cocoa backdrop.

Snappy pale golden helles lager, We Don’t Talk About Helles, draped honeyed pale malts with Noble-hopped floral spicing and zippy grapefruit zing.

Lagered pilsner malts gave cold-filtered India Pale Ale, Trails Gone Cold, its brisk cleanness as dry IPA-like Azacca hop tropical fruiting spread across herbal Chinook hop pining. Lemon-spiced orange peel sugaring and yellow grapefruit tanginess enjoined pineapple, tangerine and peach illusions.

Soft-toned New England IPA, Delivery Day, mildly bitter yellow grapefruit and orange rind sedation contrasted tangy navel orange, pineapple, guava and tangerine tranquility as slight pine resin drifts into oated wheat creaming.

Cascadian dark ale, Black IPA, let Black Patent-malted dark chocolate roast and coffee-burnt hop char outdo IPA-like grapefruit and pineapple bitterness, retaining softly creamed nitro-like insouciance.

Dry, lightly creamed, obsidian-hued easygoer, Sly Bandit Porter, caressed mild wood-burnt coffee bittering with nitro-injected dark chocolate resin, picking up charred walnut and Brazil nut influence.

Nut-charred Brazilian coffee roast boosted soothingly fine coffee stout, Midnight Oil, contrasting dry espresso bittering against sweet chocolate syruping and light berry snag.

Another choice coffee roaster, Dead Of Night, a dryer Imperial Stout, stayed bitterer than Midnight Oil as its ashen nuttiness soaked into dark chocolate resin ahead of its steadfast latte finish.

Interesting chipotle peppered Imperial Stout, The Heat Is On, brought a mild ancho chili burn (and Band-aid like astringency) to richly bittersweet cocoa-dried midst before its milk-sugared coffee relief gains slight wood char.

RULE OF 3 BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

EAST HAMPTON, CONNECTICUT

Inside a yellowed corrugated aluminum overhead-doored shop at the lower Connecticut River Valley, RULE OF 3 BREWING opened for biz August ’22. Manned by astute local brewers Scott Cross and John Vitale, Rule of 3 hopes to bring “innovative spins on classic styles to activate taste buds.”

Inside, the high ceilinged cement-floored pub relies on the simple splendor of a lacquer wood top 14-seat bar (with 12 draughts), a few wood community tables and two TV’s.

My wife and I visited mid-afternoon, March ’25, trying all eight highly approachable brews before landing at Casius Farm’s 2nd annual fest.

Brisk lemon-spiced golden lager, Patio Party, received celery-watered crisping and slight hay-dried leathering for its pale malt base.

Reliable Twisted Trickster Pale Ale let spiced red and yellow fruiting and mild herbage reach lightly charred hop bittering.

Sessionable IPA, Kidder, shone zesty lemony yellow grapefruit bittering and sweet orange peel tanginess upon light hop pining.

Just as easygoing, tropical New England IPA, Goon City, sprinkled lemon zest upon salty guava tartness, grassy hop astringency and distant herbage.

Offbeat copper-bronzed Ol’ Einstein Brown Ale guided mild chestnut sweetness into bland orange oiling.

Steadfast vanilla porter, Mage, secured rich dark chocolate malting to mild vanilla creaming over sugary maple oats.

Cinnamon and nutmeg spicing given light powder sugaring for wondrously confectionery winter warmer, Saint Krampus, leaving dry tobacco roast on its back end.

Mighty molasses-sapped maple stout, Heckyl & Clyde, draped syrupy maple upon milk-sugared coffee, caramelized chocolate and honeyed oatmeal.

CONCENTRIC BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

PORTLAND, CONNECTICUT

Coming to fruition in 2021, Portland’s CONCENTRIC BREWING COMPANY occupies a grey brick warehouse across the Connecticut River from liberalized Middletown. A plastic-furnished right side deck leads to the entrance of Concentric, a porcelain-floored pub featuring a centralized octagon-shaped beeswax concrete top bar (with two draught boards housing eight draughts each), wood-stooled tables, a few booths, large staged brew tanks and black art deco ceiling.

My wife and I perused Concentric noon time on a Saturday in March ’25.

Brusque, though light-bodied, Czech-styled Portland Lite Pilsner retained dry floral-spiced lemon spritz and mild herbage.

Brisk clean-watered IPA-like lemony grapefruit sunshine and sweet orange-peeled pineapple tang girded Pat’s Pale Ale, leaving light pine resin on its dry back end.

Easygoing Motueka-hopped New England IPA, Moving Target 7: African Queen, took tart guava-gooseberry tropicalia on an ascendingly bitter journey past lemony grapefruit bittering and above mild oated creaming.

Richer marshmallow vanilla-fluffed NEIPA, Bridge Traffic, coalesced sweet orange peel briskness with bitter yellow grapefruit swagger, tangy berry zing and drifting pineapple-guava tropicalia.

Black Patent-malted dark chocolate, black coffee and charred oats contrasted burnt caramel sugaring of Quarry Brown Ale, picking up latent nut singe.

Fudgy Imperial Stout, Double Stuffed, merged creamy vanilla-topped chocolate cake with dried cocoa powdering.

Aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels, boldly red wine-spiced Imperial Stout, Tarmac 2019, let dry bourbon, burgundy and pinot noir serenade cinnamon-cumin seasoning in rich dark chocolate setting.

STONY CREEK BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT

Inside a 30,000 square-foot white aluminum-paneled, aquamarine blue-topped boat house along the industrialized Indian Neck riverway in Branford, STONY CREEK BREWING COMPANY began operations in 2010.

An enormous microbrewery with large production facility, expansive front deck, capacious plastic-furnished back patio and huge windowed brew tanks, Stony Creek’s cement-floored, black ceilinged pub features a corrugated aluminum-sided wood-top bar (with two tap stations holding eight draught handles each), several stooled and chaired tables, tin-covered Edison lights, a loft area and a kitchen.

My wife and I grab seats at the bar to eat Mashed Potato Bacon wood-fired pizza alongside nine rangy elixirs.

Pedestrian light-bodied golden lager, Bobcat, at least bested Budweiser with its musty maize dried herbage and fizzy yellow fruited spicing in a lightly smoked beechwood-like setting.

‘Laidback’ Vienna lager, Dock Time, stayed crisp as dewy peat grazed fig-spiced cocoa malting and wispy floral perfuming.

Tart raspberry entry gained oaken vanilla tannins and rigid lemon acidity for Berried Alive Vanilla Raspberry Sour, a sour-candied Fruit Roll-Up.

Brown-sugared pumpkin spicing of Gourd Fellas Pumpkin Ale gained subtle fig sugaring and slight Red Hot cinnamon heat.

Briskly easygoing India Pale Ale, Mountain Brew, allowed creamy vanilla foam to engage sunshiny yellow grapefruit and sweet orange peel zesting, spritzy lemon-liming and tangy pineapple salting.

Dry yellow grapefruit rind and orange pith bittering embedded Savage Stride IPA, a slightly skewed New England-styled medium body with ancillary raw-honeyed herbage and dank pine lacquer contrasting sugary pale malting.

One more dry stylish goodie, Just Another IPA, placed pine needled lemony grapefruit bittering and bark-dried musk across candied orange tartness.

Christmastime-seasoned Frosty Spice Winter Ale shook cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger above mild vanilla sugaring.

Wonderful winter warmer, Noel’s Nightcap, regaled brown-sugared cinnamon spicing and marshmallow vanilla creaming, picking up ginger, nutmeg and cumin seasoning atop milk chocolate richness.

HOAX BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

Homebrewers Austin Scott and Sean Ricci began crafting beer, March 2018, joining New Haven’s Beeracks collaborative brewing co-operative with Overshores, Armada, Front Porch and Nighthawk around 2022. Working under the guise of HOAX BREWING COMPANY, Scott and Ricci have found local success with well rounded liquid fare and wood-fired pizzas.

An outdoor front deck leads to the front door of the mod-designed tan brick warehouse housing Hoax. The epoxy-floored pub features a slate top 12-seat bar under an enclave (with ten draught handles), three opposing couch booths, windowed purple couches and rear brew tanks. A loft mezzanine area offers further seating. Black exposed pipes and zapped lighting hang from the aluminum ceiling.

My wife and I gathered at Hoax’s Beeracks joint to down a few suds on a cold Friday afternoon, March ’25.

Crushable pilsner-malted House Lager retained easygoing corn-liquored whiskey bent for perfumed orange riffs.

Easygoing blonde ale, Lightening Strike, slid lightly spiced yellow fruiting across mildly perfumed hops.

Ultra-dry pine lacquering coated lemony grapefruit bittering and musky orange oiling as well as floral-perfumed juniper swagger of ‘experimental hopped’ Imperial IPA, Apres Apizza.

Lemon-soured raspberry tartness outdistanced light marshmallow chocolate sweetness of moderately acidic fruited sour, Raspberry Toasted Marshmallow Sleight Of Hand.

Salted raspberry, pineapple and pink guava pucker outdid banana-chipped sweetness of Tropic Thunder, a sassier fruited sour.

Day-old coffee roast stained sugar cookie and vanilla adjuncts as sour cherry seeped thru bitterer-than-sweet pastry stout, Stout Darn Time.

Rich milk-sugared coffee and sweet vanilla creaming got draped by maple syrup for golden stout, Mugsys Morning, leaving wintry cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin spicing on its vanilla coffee stead.