DANBURY, CONNECTICUT

In a heavy industrial section of Danbury, Connecticut, QUIRK WORKS BREWING & BLENDERY opened its side doored entrance April 29, 2022. A half-mile from Charter Oak, Quirk Works is Danbury’s second brewery.

Occupying a sleek overhead doored silver aluminum warehouse, Quirk Works’ manufacturing fixtures anchor the pub as the butcher blocked serving station provides spring-handled pipe fitted trays of beer for people at the olden lacquered wood community tables (with antique copper pendant lighting). Paved alley way seating’s also available.

Brewer Rick Cipriani ‘formulates ideas’ and skirts some traditional brewing techniques tinkering with hybrid styles. Former owner of nearby Brewster, New York’s Bull & Barrel, Cipriani brought his experienced hands-on approach to Quirk Works, where exotic infused beers and a rainwater-derived Belgian-influenced IPA are the new normal.

On my early March ’23 stopover, I grabbed a few inventive beers for the road reviewed below.

Sessionable clear golden helles lager/ light pilsner blend, Impractical Logic, a heartier cellared zwickelbier, utilized whole grain oated Cheerios cereal to promote its baked breaded base as presumable Noble hop herbage outdoes New Zealand hop gooseberry-guava souring and muskily floral lemon licks.

Mild apple, pear and tangerine tanginess picked up laidback earthen hop astringency for lightly caramel creamed Interchangeable Fate Irish Red Ale, picking up latent chestnut-pecan sliver.

Buttery oats-flaked red wheat anchored the raw-honeyed sourdough base of double dry-hopped NEIPA, Spontaneous Rhythm, undercutting its spicy orange-tangerine tang and tannic green grape esters.

A better NEIPA choice, partly sunny Cracker Perfection shines lemony yellow grapefruit zestiness on mild evergreen pining as salty pineapple-mango-guava tropicalia and light spicing beckon atop dry pale malts.

Musty oaken barrel aging gave Aged Beauty Imperial Old Ale its dry bourbon, whiskey and rye edge as peat-smoked barleymalts guard ancillary caraway seeded pumpernickel breading and pine nut buttering against rustic brown leaf astringency.

Rummy whiskey sweetness absorbed the candi-sugared dried fruiting of Golden Ingot Belgium Tripel (Barrel Aged Rye), leaving oaken vanilla, dry bourbon, butterscotch candy and Chardonnay illusions on the busy fusel backend.

Boozy butane-like Golden Ingot Tripel (Barrel Aged Single Malt) let its single malt Scotch whiskey entry receive sedate caramel, vanilla and varnished wood tones, but its burnt rubber sulfites will preclude all but the heartiest liquor lovers.