Tag Archives: MYSTIC CT

BANK & BRIDGE BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

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MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT

Right next door to Mystic Pizza in a beautifully prominent beige marble-columned gothic edifice, BANK & BRIDGE BREWING began operations July ’21. Downtown Mystic’s second brewpub (after Barley Head), this ‘laidback production brewery and taproom’ also offers fine culinary cuisine.

Bank & Bridge’s pristine white-walled interior features several skinny beige-marbled community tables with plastic stools fronting the exquisite 14-seat slate-topped bar. Antique lights add to the vintage feel.

The cement-floored brew tank area is off to the right, a semi-private couched lounge area is situated near the front windows and wall-hung caricatures of Bob Marley and Amy Winehouse are to the left.

The fab pub food menu offers fried chicken, rib eye and cod sandwiches plus burgers and appetizers. Guest taps and red-white wines are available and a game room keeps kids busy.

My wife and I visit on a crowded Saturday afternoon to try all four available home-crafted brews plus Vermont’s Snow Republic Chocolate Twix Highway Milk Stout (reviewed separately in Beer Index).

Image result for bank and bridge brewing mystic

Crushable light pilsner, The Joker, maintained a musky herbal grained rusticity, lemon-dropped tartness and dry cracked corn malting, staying true to style.

Fluffy cumulous-headed amber yellowed Mystic IPA, a New England-styled medium body, coalesced Citra-hopped grapefruit-orange zesting, Galaxy-hopped piney floral herbage and Nelson Sauvin-hopped pineapple, guava and gooseberry tropicalia above a delicate oated wheat base.

Brisk floral-spiced citrus zesting, hard-candied raspberry tartness and mild coconut watering emerged for Shock-Hop-alypse, a tidy NEIPA with minor pine resin.

Sharp redcurrant-juiced citrus tanginess emboldened Imperial IPA, Celestial Navigation, letting orange-peeled grapefruit, tangerine and clementine receive juniper-licked pine tones.

BARLEY HEAD BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

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MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT

Just down the road from famous Mystic Pizza in the basement of a red brick warehouse building, BARLEY HEAD BREWERY opened in this quaint seaport village during 2017.

Taking the rustic gray cement-floored space of a former jewelry store, Barley Head’s diminutive low-ceilinged two-barrel nanaobrewery includes several small sectioned-off brew tanks, three-seated wood serving bar (with large blackboard menu), right-walled couch, four left scattered seats, two window seats and many one-off homebrews by ex-Cottrell brewer Drew Rodgers.

I visited the humble underground pub during mid-January ’19, soaking up one signature staple and seven limited edition elixirs.

Approachable flagship offering, Saison du Maison IPA, coalesced dry saison yeast with IPA-like citric hops, leaving orange-peeled pineapple, mango and tangerine juicing upon mild herbal peppering, lemony grape esters and light earthen musk.

Another crossbred saison, Haley Farm Farmhouse IPA, brought sour lactic acidity and leathery barnyard funk to the lightly embittered citrus hop profile.

Dewy peat contrasted spicy yellow-orange fruiting for moderate Interstellar Secret IPA, an engaging English-derived, New England-styled moderate-medium body.

Floral citric herbage spiked 2nd Enthrallment IPA, leaving lemony grapefruit and orange rind bittering upon piney-hopped grouted oats.

Tart cherry piquancy inundated Love & Pop, an easygoing fruited Belgian ale with murky grain malting.

Lightly creamed specialty grain ale, Chevy Levee & Rye let peaty caraway-seeded rye malting run amuck on brusque herbal citrus hops.

Chocolate-y raisin sweetness uplifted Dave The Great Dubbel, allowing mild burgundy, fig and date illusions to encounter dewy peat serenity towards the midst. The nitro version added mildly creamed walnut, hazelnut and black cherry nuances to the Raisinette-candied glaze.

www.barleyheadbrewery.com

 

 

JEALOUS MONK SOCIAL HALL & BEER GARDEN

BEER PUB,

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MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT

At Olde Mistick Village just off Route 95 in the maritime hamlet of Mystic, JEALOUS MONK SOCIAL HALL & BEER GARDEN re-creates a German beer hall with its multi-purpose beergarden, community dining and general spirit.

The spacious outdoor area includes an overhang-decked section with wooden tables plus a few Adirondack-chaired fire pits. Inside, medieval chandeliers hang from the arched ceiling at the left bar (with 32 draughts, 4 TV’s and electronic beer menu) while the beautiful gray-tiled floor adds class.

During a lovely Thursday afternoon, August ’18, my wife and I plus youngest son visit on the way to Newport. Of the 32 tapped selections, four are basic proprietary brews crafted at Pittsburgh’s Penn Brewing. Griddled cornbread is recommended alongside German schnitzel and bratwurst dishes.

As for the four Penn brews, simple Bavarian-styled Penn Pilsner brought lemony pleasantries to musky Hallertau hop herbage, desolate caramelized malting and lightly perfumed wheat respite. Soapy Hefewiezen let stylish banana-clove-bubblegum conflux become tarter than expected, but lacked resilience. Sharply citrus-pined India Pale Ale retained yellow grapefruit tanginess and musty earthiness. Mossy dried fruiting relegated understated Dunkel.

I also quaffed two tremendous dark ales, Outer Light Libation Propaganda Stout and Revival White Electric Coffee Stout (reviewed fully in Beer Index).