TORRINGTON, CONNECTICUT
In the heart of blue-collar Industrial town, Torrington, CAMBRIDGE HOUSE occupied the large first floor space of the exquisite green-marbled green-awninged Mertz Building. Opened in September ’08, then closed due to tax woes, 2010, the original Cambridge House operated from May ’06 ’til its untimely demise.
My inaugural rain-soaked journey to this semi-remote western Connecticut borough in June ’09 proved fruitful. Entering into the elegant wood-furnished left-walled bar with large exposed ducts, high ceilings, and multiple TV’s, this capacious brewpub-restaurant served notice with bulky aluminum brewtanks at its large-windowed frontage. A small loft area over the right side dining area added to the elegance and a family-styled dining room was off to the far left. Beer-grained pizza, brew-wiches, beer-battered fish, and burgers filled the menu.
I had broccoli-cheese soup with perfumed floral-fruited corn-oiled metallic astringency Litchfield County Lager, lemony orange-bruised hop-spiced honey-soured twiggy-leafed Torrington Summer Ale, and brown chocolate-y spice-hopped wood-toned tea-like ESB.
Fruit-hopped wood-lacquered currant-embittered peach-apple-pear-tinged CBH IPA had mightier grapefruit presence than softer spice-hopped red-fruited banana-bruised cantaloupe-tinged CBH Big Hoppy Imperial IPA.
Well-rounded Three Steve Stout maintained sturdy coffee-beaned maple-sapped black chocolate-y frontage, sticky anise follow-up, and tar-like cedar-burnt oats-charred backdrop.