New England Brewing Co.

You cannot talk about Connecticut craft brew without talking about New England Brewing Company (NEBCO). Largely considered the OG in the state, NEBCO has been turning out quality beers since 2002 and was one of the few sources of quality local beer for many years. The recent explosion of breweries across the Nutmeg State occasionally leaves NEBCO as little more than a footnote, but a trip there reminds the craft beer drinker of an old standby. I have been to NEBCO multiple times, but here is a trip I took as a spur of the moment opportunity to have a mid-Saturday pint.

Located just off of rt.15, west of the tunnel, NEBCO is definitely one of the easier places to get to. Ample parking and good signage serve as augurs for what you experience inside. A medium sized taproom with a large bar that is well laid-out for both pours and growler fills. One thing I like about this place is they do half pours, a $2-$3 small glass that really lets you sample a wide variety of beers without potentially getting stuck behind a pint of something that may not be up your alley.

Since I have had many NEBCO beers in the past, on this trip I sampled a few novel additions to the tasting board: Coffee Ghost Pidgeon (Coffee porter) and Wududator (Doppelbock). I found the coffee porter to be very on-style - pure coffee notes, some malt and very little hops or booze. The doppel was interesting with a medium body full of caramel notes the seemed to coat my mouth. Both beers seemed successful in spite of my high expectations for NEBCO brews, though I do think there is room for them to experiment and hit some of the crazy flavor notes and profiles some of the younger guys are doing.