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.