Mar 3

Mar 3 Hanging Hills Brewery

Hanging Hills Brewery

What a fun spot. Hanging Hills has a great atmosphere for a place to sip some beers and enjoy the company you keep. At one point in our conversation with the bartenders, someone said, “it's fun making a thing and then sharing that thing.” I think that's an apt sentence for the craft beer scene in general, as well as this brewery, that is putting out some quality beers. Some are traditional styles but some are risky experiments worth exploring.

We went in search of the Ferris IPA, finding it both in plentiful supply and a very satisfying brew. We left with a four pack of that as well as some Metrix Lime lager. The metrix lime lager was a beer that, on paper, I expected to hate. My personal opinion is that Bud Light lime is an abomination - as the subject of a meme I love sharing goes something like, “If you see me drinking a bud light lime, I’ve been kidnapped and I’m trying to signal you.” I was surprised with this light lager. It has a citrus kick was more reminiscent of a hot summer night sipping a cold corona with a lime wedge. The lime is authentic and not huge or weird like you might expect and it is light and crushable at 4.5 ABV. This beer is a contender for my personal quest for a beer best enjoyed for right after I’ve finished mowing the lawn - the ultimate lawnmower beer.

As with many breweries, Hanging Hills had no shortage of IPAs. I found the variety amongst them satisfying in that they all tasted different - different hop character, different levels and type of malt, and different mouthfeel. Most importantly, even though I preferred some over others, all were supremely drinkable.

I love when you can get every draft beer in 2 flights. It’s a super flight!

Another beer we tasted was a NORA cupcake collaboration. The Hanging hill’s website describes ‘Dancing on My Own’ in the following way:

"We partnered with NoRa Cupcakes of Middletown to brew this bizarre and awesome porter. 18 lbs of vegan black and blue cupcakes partnered with Oregon sweet cherry and cacao nibs form a wonderful flavor rainbow of darkness."

This sounds like there is too much going on, but the cherries are subtle and interesting, the chocolate is understated but present, and the maltiness is just right. A very interesting beer indeed. I love the mental image of a rainbow of darkness, like something from a goth my little pony cartoon. One of the bartenders told us about how NORA the cupcake place used the beer to make a frosting for a cupcake as well, which is very fun. It’s like the inception of baked goods. A beer with cupcakes inside used to make a frosting that tops a cupcake. Boy, that's convoluted. The NORA cupcake shop has something called the gangsta cookie, that sounds like the kind of thing that bees a beer pairing.

When you get a flight of beers, you receive a small brown card to write in the 5 you want to sample. The back of the card is blank and the bartender pointed out the wall full of cards with artwork on the back. Reminiscent of the Ashley’s ice cream wall of art, I love this idea. It is building community in such a simple, easy, fun way. I drew a lame version of our CT beer and cookies logo and left it. Maybe it will be on the wall next time we go. Be on the look out for a few hanging hill beer pairings coming soon.