I had this crazy idea...
This website is about beer and the
State of Connecticut,
AKA, “the Nutmeg State.”
I have lived in Connecticut for close to
25 years. I have worked in & managed
retail "package" stores for 20 of those years. I occasionally write about beer and wine for a local newspaper, the Greenwich Free Press.
A few years ago, the Connecticut beer scene was really starting to pop. I felt that I needed to know more about it, and I had this crazy idea: to visit all of Connecticut's breweries. I started in the Litchfield Hills, then turned my attention to the prolific I-91 corridor, then looked east to the Quiet Corner and the Shore. Within a year, I had visited every brewery in the State.
Thing is, I had to plan my visits around the breweries’ opening days and hours, which often meant retracing my steps or ignoring quicker roads in order to fit as many breweries into a day’s work as possible. My travels belied the stereotype of Connecticut as a “drive-through” State. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever experienced, yet so many people take it for granted. More’s the pity.
So I got to know Connecticut because of beer. In fact, Connecticut has become a metaphorical adjunct in the beers I drink. I have come to think of it as Context-icut.
Beer is an adventure for me. I believe that’s true for most beer drinkers. We travel to get good beer, whether a few towns over or on a pilgrimage to a famous beer site. When we buy a special beer, it’s usually to drink it with others. We often refer to “session beers,” or even “lawnmower beers.”
Beer is not just drinking, it is where, when and with whom we drink the beer. Every beer has a story behind it!
Cheers!
