Thimble Island Brewing

This brewery is located in an industrial area very near I-95. My wife and I met some friends there and it was a great place for a beer and a conversation. We found ourselves there on a Saturday night in January and the place was hoping. There were a few large parties and a number of couples enjoying a variety of available beers as well as an increasingly common staple at breweries, the food truck parked out front. They have a crowler machine which seals a large can to capture fresh draught beer to take with you when you go. I know it may have its drawback but I love not having to lug around and store giant glass jugs to get some fresh local beer.

Thimble Island is also the home to the 12% Beer Project. This is a program that allows small breweries or companies that don’t have a space at all to brew a batch of beer and pour it in their own tap room. It results in lots of unique inspired brews that would not otherwise see the light of day or at least not the light of Connecticut.

My wife had the lager and I had the coffee stout. Both were good, the stout was traditional tasting, nothing over the top and crazy but also not too simple, a malty roasted pint of yumm on a cold evening. The lager, we both thought was exceptional. It is light and crisp but also loaded with fruity and bread notes that made it head and shoulders above most commercially available lagers.

Even though there were lots of people in the tap room there was plenty of space at a number of tables. We had a very nice time catching up, laughing, and sipping some quality brews. Thimble Island isn’t too far from home, so this is definitely a return location for us.