Friday night we popped a Stoneface IPA when Chris got out of work. We love their beers. This IPA is so drinkable yet packed with hops and flavor. Just a solid IPA. Easily one of our favorites these days. Oh and we popped the porter for the first time earlier in the week. Amazing stuff. Just buy Stoneface already, we promise you'll love 'em!
Stoneface (NH) IPA 7.2%
Our Saturday started off very early - for our standards I suppose. We got word that Beer'd Brewing planned to open early at 11am in celebration of their first day selling CANS!!! That was reason enough for us to get out of bed early! Heck yeah!
Of course Chris was amped to go - like a kid on Christmas he somehow woke up before our alarm - which we figured out how to set a song to, and then didn't even get to hear it go off! He knew the only way to get me up is to feed me (ha!) so he made me breakfast in bed - and he was right - and it worked!!!! He's a keeper folks, all mine!!!
When we got to Beer'd at 10:30am there was already a bit of a line - so it was worth it getting up a bit early to guarantee us some cans! I believe they said they started with 40 cases of Hobbit Juice DIPA 9.2% and only a handful of cases of Dogs and Boats DIPA 9.1%. We really wanted some Dogs and Boats so thankfully we got there early - we managed to get 4 packs of both! Huzzah!
Huge congrats to the Beer'd gang - this is a huge level up for these guys - they've been working extra hard to get cans out to the masses. Co owner, Precious, said they had been working hard at getting a canning system for the last 6 months - and tasting room guru, Greg, mentioned they had spent the last 3 days straight canning. So exciting!! We especially love the labels done by a local artist - their brewery dog, Lily, is portrayed on the Dogs and Boats can - how cute!! Love!
Of course Chris was amped to go - like a kid on Christmas he somehow woke up before our alarm - which we figured out how to set a song to, and then didn't even get to hear it go off! He knew the only way to get me up is to feed me (ha!) so he made me breakfast in bed - and he was right - and it worked!!!! He's a keeper folks, all mine!!!
When we got to Beer'd at 10:30am there was already a bit of a line - so it was worth it getting up a bit early to guarantee us some cans! I believe they said they started with 40 cases of Hobbit Juice DIPA 9.2% and only a handful of cases of Dogs and Boats DIPA 9.1%. We really wanted some Dogs and Boats so thankfully we got there early - we managed to get 4 packs of both! Huzzah!
Huge congrats to the Beer'd gang - this is a huge level up for these guys - they've been working extra hard to get cans out to the masses. Co owner, Precious, said they had been working hard at getting a canning system for the last 6 months - and tasting room guru, Greg, mentioned they had spent the last 3 days straight canning. So exciting!! We especially love the labels done by a local artist - their brewery dog, Lily, is portrayed on the Dogs and Boats can - how cute!! Love!
So the Beer'd cans worked out well for our plans - after some lunch and errands we headed out to Norwich for some baseball at Dodd Stadium (home of the CT Tigers). This game was actually the Hartford Yard Goats who have been using the stadium as home base until their home stadium in Hartford is complete. We met up once again with our good friend - beer and baseball lover - Marko Fontaine, as well as few others - and tailgated before the game! Yes I know what you are thinking... what's with the cups? I thought you had cans? Well yes - but we poured them into cups to share beer with our friends who hadn't yet tried Beer'd brews! Sharing is caring, folks!
Quick mention here... Philly's is one of the best cheese steaks out there - and it's conveniently located at Dodd! We live for these things... and of COURSE they go great with brew and baseball. We recommend the EXTRA CHEESE! Yeah, they kinda went a bit nuts here, but we ordered it extra and I'm certainly not complaining! It was amazing - thanks Philly's guys! They also have a separate restaurant also located in Norwich.
So they don't have a ton of craft beer at Dodd, but there are a few options. Thankfully they always have ONE local brew on tap (located on first base side). Last year it was Two Roads (Stratford, CT) Lil Heaven session IPA 4.8% - this year we were SUPER excited to see one of our favorite local breweries, Outer Light (Groton, CT) on tap - the Subduction IPA 6.8%. Love this brew! Hope it stays throughout the season - I will be more than happy to drink this at every game!!
If you're like us, after you've had a few good craft brews, you maybe don't mind drinking something a little less in quality and easier on your wallet. I mean, don't get me wrong - most all beers there are a very affordable $6 - but sometimes you just feel like going old school. They have a "throwback" bar (located on third base side) which has Schaefer, Ballantine and Schlittz to name a few. Kinda fun. We were gonna get one and do a video, but alas, a little too early in the season so they weren't open yet. Stay tuned, we'll be visiting the throwback bar as soon as they're open...
Below, C.T. the Tiger came over to visit us - took a pic with the boys and gave us metal horns. This is one rock-n-roll tiger! Seriously, I hope more folks get out to Dodd for some games this season - this place is so much fun! You can support your local team while drinking local beer! DO IT!
NOTE: we will definitely be visiting Hartford when the new stadium is complete - heard there was gonna be some good brew up there, stay tuned, you know we'll give ya the scoop!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
...and that brings us to... SUNDAY FUNDAY! This was actually a pretty chill day by our normal Sunday standards, but we still got out and enjoyed some brew... of course we did!
Oh! Go here to hear Hump's Sunday inspirational quote!
We tend to stick to routine and our brains were still a little foggy - so it made sense to just start at one of our faves, Outer Light (Groton, CT) - and who did we run into - but our good friend, Jeanette Taylor, one of the chapter leads for the CT Girls Pint Out!
Dig it: Girls Pint Out is a national craft beer organization for women - their mission is to build a community of women who love craft beer and who are an active, contributing part of the greater craft beer community. Discover more about Girls Pint Out here).
Outer Light still had their Hoppy Beerday DIPA 8.9% on tap so we started with that. Just love this beer, get it while you can! I also ordered their Royal Sea Lavender Saison 5.8% which I fell in love with when I first had it awhile back - and it has just recently returned and I'm so happy about it - such a great beer! The floral nose will hit you straight away, great saison, just delish! Try it! VERY HUMPABLE!!!
Outer Light's description of the Royal Sea Lavender Saison: "Taste the light touch of honey, the fruity flavor of Triskel hops, the cloves and plums from Belgian yeast, all blended beautifully to accentuate the power of our lavender bouquet. Breathe deeply and let your troubles slip away into the Royal Sea".
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We then jetted back over the bridge back to New London and hit up High 5's for some wings and a few brews. We haven't written too much on this place yet, but we will, so stay tuned! We love Jenna, Dez & crew - they always have a great selection of beer and great eats. More on these guys soon! We enjoyed a Black Hog Brewing (Oxford, CT) Black Hog Down Black IPA 7.5% and Beer'd This Side of Paradise DIPA 9.3%. There's always a good Beer'd selection here - which rules! I love black IPA's/ales, my favorite style - the Black Hog was a solid brew. I really dig those guys - did you know they just won a gold medal for their Granola Brown ale in the World Cup Beer Competition in Philadelpha? I always said that beer was the best brown ale I've had, and now there's proof!! Congrats to Black Hog - and well deserved!!
We decided to head down to Oasis Pub to see our friend and bar manager, Sean Murray, who was tending bar that night - and were happy to find that all the DuClaw (MD) beers had made their way on tap! Wahoo! They had the Sweet Baby Jesus peanut butter porter, Dirty Little Freak Brown Ale and the Neon Gypsy IPA w/ blood orange. I gotta tell you, I was a bit disappointed with this version of the Neon Gypsy. It's a very hop forward beer and to me that's all I could taste, wasn't getting much blood orange. Especially when I've been recently enjoying Beer'd Brewing's 8 Days a Week with blood orange - Now THAT is a killer blood orange beer. Could have just been me, the lines, or anything really. Who knows. I do love the regular version of this beer and would love to A/B them together! Either way was a real treat to have the DuClaw beers on tap!
I then tried and ordered a Stillwater Artisanal - Stillwater is Nothing Big Bunny Is Everything chocolate milk stout 8%. This was a very sweet beer with dark chocolate notes, really liked it. HUMPABLE! The name is crazy though - apparently it's a collab with Arizona Wilderness Brewing. I do recommend this beer though if you're into this style. Chris got the DuClaw Dirty Little Freak Brown ale with a splash of Sweet Baby Jesus - ha! We enjoyed. Perfect end for the night.
