Mystic, Connecticut
- crazyonbrew
- May 31, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 26, 2019
Come for the Pizza - Stay for the Beer!
For Chris' birthday this year, we wanted to go someplace away from the city, but close enough that a two-day trip would be reasonable over Memorial Day Weekend 2019 (but not Monday, we had big plans to lay around and do nothing that day - Zzzz).
Enter
. It's a small town that both of us had visited separately on past family road trips, but we had never been to together. Fans of the 1988 flick '
' know it's a small village right on the water, now known for it's pizza, but the town itself is rich with history and filled with small business shops and (of course) breweries.
Our first stop was a brewery located in Stonington, right next door to Mystic. The brewery was in what seemed to be a converted industrial building or warehouse that housed many shops in a flea market feeling. Beer’d taproom was great, making use of the industrial vibe while still feeling very modern. Great beer as well. We got to try three samples a piece, starting with their Dogs and Boats, which is their flagship beer. It was a good IPA, with a dry malt finish. The mosaic hops rounded out the citra well, making it juice forward without being overwhelmed by tropical notes that you would have otherwise. I loved their collaboration with Pipeworks called Dogs vs. Shinobi. We used to live in Chicago, and we’re always happy to find Chicago beers or collabs whenever we can. It followed the same IPA characteristic, but added guava puree and Simcoe hops. The result was a very refreshing, easily drinkable beer that wasn’t too juicy or fruit forward. Other standouts included Cold as Weisse, a drinkable and light Berliner Weisse, and P^2, a great brown porter with lots of carbonation and a robust body.
Our next stop was Grey Sail Brewing, right across the river in Rhode Island. It’s taproom is in a very unique Colonial style house. They have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating and tables, equipped with board games and corn hole. Plenty of space if you bring your children or dogs to run around outside. They offer a few snacks inside by the taproom; but outside they offer brick oven pizza!
The first thing we noticed about their taproom was that they served a number of IPAs. Their Flying Jenny IPA was a standout to me. The fact that they add hops in the kettle and the fermenter really showed through; the beer had an almost dank flavor that made the beer that much more interesting and delicious. Their Small Craft Advisory series was interesting as well. The standout there is their Tart Cherry Gose, which was refreshing given the heat. I would’ve preferred it to have a little more yeast flavor, but it’s brewed with kelp, which I’m sure impacted the brewing process in a way I’m not familiar with. I wasn’t a huge fan of their Dinghy Party (Key Lime). I actually love Key Lime Pie, but this one was a little too sweet at first. It did change once it got a little warmer and was a little less sweet.
By the time we reached Cottrell, I had had quite a bit of beer and was feeling pretty good. Little did I know that Cottrell is very generous with their free samples, so I was set for a while upon leaving. The brewery itself is located in an out of the way industrial area with corn hole boards and table seating outdoors. But on to the beer. As mentioned, Cottrell’s owner believes in free samples, and given that it’s the oldest running brewery in Connecticut, it seems perhaps set in it’s ways. Their Glory is a very good Czech pilsner. In fact, all of Cottrell’s beers stood out as good examples of the styles, and the brewery had quite a few different styles lined up. Perry’s Revenge stood out to me the most. It’s a Scottish Ale, but made the correct way. Many Americans assume Scottish Ales should be smoked, like Scotch, but this is completely wrong. Smoked beers are a German invention, while Scottish Ales, also known as wee heavies, should be dark and malty. We tried some of the Perry’s Revenge aged in whiskey barrels. this was delicious enough that we snagged a bottle to bring home. Another standout to me was their Old Yankee Ale. It was a great english-style beer with lots of good malt.
Barley Head was our stop final stop on Saturday night. They are located on Water street, just off of Main street in downtown Mystic. Their entrance is well marked, but takes you slightly underground. The taproom space is small, but cozy. It was not crowded when we arrived at 8:30 pm or so, but a wave of people hit around 9 pm with a line almost out the door. Our seats were being scouted just as we were packing up to leave. I suppose this means they get a big rush before they close up shop at 10 pm on a Saturday night.
This is a neat, dedicated nano brewery with the set up to make two beers at once. You would think their selection of beers at the taproom would be limited, but they had a generous selection of eight beers on tap and one casked. The main standout was their Mahogany Reef, a Belgian dubbel. It's a great dubbel; nice layers of malt, a slight burnt caramel flavor, and a beer that really sticks to your mouth. The 5G Brown is another very good beer. In America, we tend to think of brown ales as nutty, but this wasn't the case historically in English pubs. This beer could be at home there, with a nice, rich body and no discernible nuttiness. Their Water Street Razz is an approachable fruit beer, but seemed a little light on flavor to me. This may have also been because I had spent the day drinking a large selection of IPAs. Speaking of IPAs, their Saison Du Maison is billed as a farmhouse IPA. I love the farmhouse style, and may have gotten too excited at the mention of the style. I couldn't detect too much of it in this beer. Nevertheless, it's a good, solid IPA.
On Sunday, we ventured outside Mystic to New London, and local micro brewery Tox. For a taproom that had only been open seven weeks by Memorial Day weekend, this was a great find, and my favorite brewery of the trip. If you check it out, I recommend starting with the Mantis. Billed as a Connecticut table beer, this ale is made with a strain of yeast found on the cacao tree in South America. The rarest thing about this yeast is that it is a new discovery, and was thought extinct. Tox snatched some up and made a great, funky, low ABV beer. The yeast has characteristics of Brettanomyces without the full level of funk. Definitely a good beer to have at the end of a long day. Another refreshing beer was their Gift Vienna Lager. It had good malt notes and a rich body, and in my opinion, blows Boston Beer's version out of the water. My wife was a big fan of their rx lot series beer, rx 1881. It's a hibiscus cream ale, and a limited release, so if you're in the area, make sure you try some while you can. Other standouts were Dart Frog, an IPA brewed with New Zealand hops with a crackery, almost sourdough finish, and Idaho 7 Pollen, which is brewed with the up and coming hop, Idaho 7. If you're in the mood for a good coffee stout, look no further, as their Deadly Nightshade is a standout. They made a coffee roaster and periodically will change out the beans to experiment with how it affects the beer. We had the Rwanda bean version and it was dark and smooth without being too bitter. Great place to stop by if you're passing through Connecticut.
Our last stop was Outer Light Brewing, located in Groton. This was also in an industrial area, but had a well laid out taproom, with a good dozen or so beers on tap. For flights, you write your requests on a paddle board and they are served in cute little round glasses.
Their Hoppy Beerday is their anniversary double IPA. It's brewed with all Australian hops this year, which gives it a slight tropical fruit and papaya flavor and makes it dangerously drinkable. A standout is the Tail Rocker Rye IPA. While IPAs aren't a style I love, I can appreciate a good one, and given the rye, this beer is nice and smooth going down. Their cherry milk stout, Bring in the Dancing Lobsters, is a good milk stout, sweet and smooth. I felt it could have used a little more cherry to make the point, but I can appreciate them not wanting to slide into fruit beer territory. The same is true of their Pineapple Cloudbreak. A take on their Cloudbreak IPA, it could've used a little more hint of pineapple to set it apart. One beer that may seem gimmicky but is very delicious is their Ninja Trail Green Tea Pale Ale. It does indeed taste like green tea, but not so much as to overpower the ale. I'm not sure how many of these I would enjoy in a row, but one hit the spot. Ultimately, the best beer I had here was the Libation Propaganda coffee stout. This is one beer that isn't seasonal and you may be able to find outside of the taproom. It shows that they've worked on the recipe and nailed it down.
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