Fat Orange Cat
What do you do when you get out of work early enough on a Saturday? You go to a brewery of course, or in our case... a few! We had been wanting to get back out to Fat Orange Cat in Easthampton, CT for awhile - unfortunately for us weekend workers, it's a bit difficult as they're only open on Saturday & Sunday afternoons. However we got an early out and made it in time to finally catch up with our feline-centric beer friends!
FOC is a farm brewery and is mostly an outdoor space - the brewery itself is inside a barn - with a special set up just outside for can sales and brewery souvenirs. Even when it's busy, (which it was), there are plenty of places to duck away and relax with your beer outside the barn. There are a few fire pits and numerous chairs and tables cozily set up around them. The vibe is welcoming and inviting, like you're at a friends house for a bon fire and beer share! Oh, and what would a farm brewery be without goats and chickens!? Of course Chris made quick friends with the goats!
They had 11 beers on tap and we tried 9 of them. Technically we had the 10th beer before... so really we only missed one... which was The Raven chocolate raspberry porter. Not sure how we let that one get by us, but we'll have to try that one for sure if it's on next time we visit!
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| Inside the barn at Fat Orange Cat |
All their beers were solid and impressive! Our favorites were the Peanut Butter Brown Ale 8.1%, Hannah Banana NEIPA 8% (which they mentioned was extremely popular that day), and Vito the Beer Whale Cat NEIPA 8.5%. Also noteworthy that we suggest you try is probably one of their most unique beers... the Jalapeno Jack Cream ale - which we didn't have Saturday, but we have had before and it's awesome! It's spicy and flavorful, but no heat - it's perfect to pair with tacos or nachos!!
Some more pics from Fat Orange Cat:
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| Loc Ness Monster or cute kitty cat? Actually its the FOC Less Monster! |
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| Wall of kitty friends! |
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| Fat Orange Cat tap list |
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| Stubborn Beauty Conqueror Imperial Brown 9.5% |
Since we were in the general area, we decided to keep on with our adventure and head up to Stubborn Beauty in Middletown, CT. They're located in a mill just a few blocks from the hustle & bustle of Main Street... and Eli Cannon's beer bar/restaurant - where any CT beer nerd will tell you these two places have put the area on the map!
We've had numerous beers from Stubborn Beauty over the years, but never made it up to the brewery before. As most of the breweries we visited Saturday, it was busy and unfortunately very cramped. We didn't see anything on the tap list that we hadn't had before so we opted for one of our favorites, Conqueror Imperial Brown Ale 9.5%. This beer is running on all cylinders... malty, roasty and just a little boozy... just what we needed on a crisp autumn day!
Another beer worth mentioning that you should try from Stubborn Beauty is one of their best in our opinion: Nummy Nummy DIPA 8.1%. A very hoppy and citrusy beer - it's definitely one of our favorites and we always order it when we see it on tap while out at our favorite beer bars. You should too!
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| Forest City |
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| Chris & Chris! |
On our way to Stubborn Beauty we noticed there was another brewery in the mill called Forest City... so we took a stroll down to check it out! We walked in and were greeted by the bright and inviting atmosphere which included cool local art on the walls... not to mention a happy welcoming staff. It was busy but the space is spread out and we had no problem finding a place to sit and relax.
We chatted with owner/head brewer Chris Coughlin, who was such a pleasure to meet and talk to! He had mentioned in conversation that he had been working hard for the last 14 hours to make sure things were working properly in the brewery. As tired as I can imagine he must have been, it was hard to tell - Chris was one of the happiest and most friendly people we met all day and it was obvious to us the love he has for his brewery and visitors!
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| Flight at Forest City |
If you're planning on going soon, definitely try the Forest City Oktoberfest (Vienna style lager) 6.7% while you can! Also on tap Saturday which we've read have also been available in limited quantities in area bars: Stargazer IPA 7%, Riddler IPA 7.7%
Definitely check these 3 breweries out! We will definitely be back to all of them soon!! Stay tuned for part 2 of our weekend, coming later this week!