EAST WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT
In a red-bricked industrial strip mall behind a busy brown-sided billiards hall at Sofia’s Plaza in the quaint Tobacco Valley town of East Windsor, BROAD BROOK BREWING COMPANY occupies the suede-textured walls of an unfinished plank-boarded warehouse. On my initial Saturday evening sojourn, February 2014, Broad Brook reached full capacity as local beer enthusiasts, traveling brew hounds and New York Times scribe Chris Brooks crowded the tiki-lounged central serving station.
My wife and I grab one of the tables across the bar to taste a few generous samples while the bartenders keep busy distributing growlers-to-go.
Owned and operated by three seasoned homebrewers, Broad Brook did well at a few local and national beer contests before opening its doors during the winter of ’13.
The wide ranging beer selection includes flagship, Broad Brook Ale, with its earthen ESB-like morning dew picking up mild perfume-hopped bittering and moldy orange compote above biscuit-y caramel malts.
Light-bodied Chet’s Pale Ale brought honeyed red-orange-yellow fruiting to floral spiced whims for familiar sessionable alacrity. Equally affable German-styled moderation,6 Balls Alt, prodded dried fig and grapefruit with light peppered hop bittering and toasted caramel sugaring.
Possibly the most intriguing elixir on this cold winter’s night, Pink Dragon Wit offered soft-toned hibiscus flowering to champagne-fizzed lemon zest and saison-like sour fruiting. Its herbal Belgian yeast peppering and cider-sharpened banana-clove-bubblegum whir receded at the doughy bottom.
Homewrecker Holiday Ale plied molasses-sugared coffee tones to cherry-pureed prune, raisin and fig dried fruiting as well as dirty earthen minerality.
For dessert, easygoing Porter’s Porter retained a dry stout likeness as Baker’s chocolate, cocoa nibs, raw molasses and sour cherry illusions flooded its dark-roasted hop char.
Before leaving, picked up growler of Broad Brook Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, a clean-watered English-styled dark ale with chalky cocoa bittering leading the way for oats-roasted dark chocolate malting and spiced iced coffee follow-up. Its nutty bottom heightened the overall bitterness.