Last week, my family and our “COVID cohort” had a small beer tasting from two incredible local breweries. I must confess that I am not a huge beer person, nor do I enjoy the traditional beers found at every summer barbeque and sports game. But, with a deep interest in broadening my drinking horizons, as well as supporting our local breweries, I began my research. By my not being a beer person, I wanted a full range of friends to try along with me. So, those who love to drink beer and whose last memory of beer was at a college party all came together to try these brews, thus the opinions given are from many different perspectives.
While there are many breweries in Connecticut, and New York I wanted to focus on the two closest to Greenwich that happened to be in Stamford! Half Full Brewery and Lock City Brewing each have their own unique repertoire of drinks. While we didn’t get to try every drink on either of their menus, we chose a selection we felt was indicative of their full selection.
Our favorite beer is Lock City Brewing’s Over the Garden Wall Cherries and Lime which is a sour beer made with sweet cherries and key limes. Since Lock City Brewing only has three beers available for purchase right now, Over the Garden Wall Cherries and Lime was the only one we tasted. This interesting brew is definitely a beer with lovely hoppy notes but presents a fruit-forward taste that is sour without feeling like you’re sucking on a lemon slice. It has a nice hoppy aftertaste that isn’t too strong. This beer is perfect for everyone (over the age of 21). This being a favorite beer is not to discredit or say the other beers aren’t good – it’s just a testament to how amazing this beer is.
From Half Full Brewery we tried five different beers. Their selection was much more extensive – they truly do have a different beer for everyone. They have four main categories of beer: their core series, csa project series, supernova series, and their limited release beers. Their core series brews are available all year-round. The csa project series creates completely unique beers with Half Full Brewery collaborating with local craftsmen. Their supernova series is a varied selection of fruity sours. Their limited release beers are ones that are only in stock for a short time and are brewed in small batches.
The first beer we tried was their Beacon New England IPA. It was an all-around hit. Everyone loved it – many even went back for seconds. It’s a nice, all around beer. It was very smooth and had a full body taste. A true classic.
The next beer we tried was Within Reach a peach wheat ale. This beer layers the subtly sweet flavors of peach over the top of “wheaty” lower notes. It’s very light and perfect for a summer day. Overall, it’s a well-rounded beer with some fun layers of flavor.
We also tried Rise & Shine which is a collaboration between Half Full Brewery and another local “brewery” Rise Coffee. Rise & Shine is a deep porter combined with Rise’s cold brew coffee. This one was not our favorite, only because it was a touch too dark for our tastes. However, replacing Guinness in any recipe with this beer would be absolutely delicious and would add a lovely and rich flavor to any dish.
For comparison, we also tried a sour from Half Full Brewery. When Half Full says sour, they’re not kidding! This one definitely puckered some lips, but in the best way! This beer was very subtly hoppy with a punchy fruit forward taste. The blood orange packs a delicious punch. While this was not a huge hit among the group, it was personally one of my favorites. I felt that the sour notes created an incredibly interesting flavor with the hops for a perfect summer evening beer.
Our last beer that we tried was the North Stamford Grapefruit Belgian Witbier. This beer is part of Half Full Brewery’s collection of brews highlighting the different parts of Stamford. This was a delightful beer to drink. It was perfectly smooth, not bitter or too sweet. The hops were perfectly balanced, and it left a clean aftertaste. In my humble opinion, this is the perfect beer.
Between these two breweries, there is a beer that everyone could enjoy. The range expressed in various types of beers between Lock City Brewing and Half Full Brewery is fantastical and classic all at the same time. If you’re someone who loves beer and has their go to brand, try mixing it up and getting a few different beers to try – you just might find your new favorite brew. If you’re not a fan of beer, you too can try a few different cans from either of these places -you might just be a convert in waiting.
