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LEISURE & HOSPITALITY BOOK OF LISTS 2020 | 67 LARGEST BREWERS IN CONNECTICUT (Ranked by number of employees as of October 2019) Largest brewers in Connecticut (Ranked by number of employees as of October 2019) Rank Brewer No. of employees/ Public tours Type/ Barrels produced annually (a) No. of varieties/ Selected top brands Head brewer/ Year founded 1 Two Roads Brewing Co. 1700 Stratford Ave. Stratford, CT 06615 203-335-2010; tworoadsbrewing.com 150 Y Regional 70,000 50 Honeyspot Road, Ol' Factory, Lil' Heaven, Cruise Control, Lil' Juicy, Tanker Truck Sour Series goses Phil Markowski Master brewer 2012 2 Stony Creek Brewery 5 Indian Neck Ave. Branford, CT 06405 203-433-4545; stonycreekbeer.com 80 Y Regional 15,000 - 60,000 23 Cranky, Big Cranky, Little Cranky, Dock Time, Ruffled Feathers, Stony Joe, Sun Juice, Crum, Festbier Ed Crowley Owner 2010 3 Thomas Hooker Brewing Co. 16 Tobey Road Bloomfield, CT 06002 860-242-3111; hookerbeer.com 39 Y Microbrewery 10,000 20 #NoFilter, Blumpy, SuperDuper Double Citra Curt Cameron President 1996 (b) 4 Cambridge House Brew Pub 357 Salmon Brook St. Granby, CT 06035 860-653-2739; cbh.beer 32 Y Brewpub 500 Varies Ben Adams Head brewer 2005 5 Thimble Island Brewing Co. 16 Business Park Drive Branford, CT 06405 203-208-2827; thimbleislandbrewery.com 30 Y Microbrewery 14,000 63 American Ale, Coffee Stout, Ghost Island Double IPA, Sea Foam Pale Ale, Thimble Lager, Island Hopper Michael Fawcett Co-founder 2010 6 New England Brewing Co. 175 Amity Road Woodbridge, CT 06525 203-387-2222; www.newenglandbrewing.com 27 N Regional 15,000 20 Sea Hag, Fuzzy Baby Ducks, Supernaut, Imperial Stout Trooper, Elm City Pilsner Jeff Koebbe Greg Radawich Head brewers 2002 7 Powder Hollow Brewery 504 Hazard Ave. Enfield, CT 06082 (c) 860-996-0092; powderhollowbrewery.com 25 N/A Brewpub 2000 13 West Coast Style IPA, Hop Hazard Double IPA, Strawberry Fields, Lift Your Kilt Scottish Ale Michael McManus Owner 2014 8 Counter Weight Brewing Co. 23 Raccio Park Road Hamden, CT 06514 203-821-7333; counterweightbrewing.com 18 N Taproom 12,000 62 Crucial Mass, Headway, Work Horse Pilsner, Crimson Briar, Dusk, Space Coyote Matt Westfall Owner Sean Piel Head brewer 2017 9 Back East Brewing 1296 Blue Hills Ave., Suite A Bloomfield, CT 06002 860-242-1793; backeastbrewing.com 15 N Microbrewery 6,500 20 Ice Cream Man IPA, Rakautra IPA, Misty Mountain IPA, Porter Vincent Rossin Head brewer 2012 10 Shebeen Brewing Co. 1 Wolcott Road Wolcott, CT 06716 203-514-2336; shebeenbrewing.com 12 N/A Microbrewery 3,000 20 Chocolate Cherry Cannoli, Alpaca Blanca, Baby Seal Dance Party, Stuck in a Roundabout Richard Visco Head brewer 2012 11 Hog River Brewing Co. 1429 Park St., Unit 115 Hartford, CT 06106 860-206-2119; hogriverbrewing.com 11 N Microbrewery 500 35 Local 35 IPA, Hartford Pale Ale, Gobblefunk Boysenberry Sour, Golden Messenger Kölsch Ben Braddock Owner 2016 12 Black Hog Brewing Co. 115 Hurley Road, Building 9A Oxford, CT 06478 203-262-6075; blackhogbrewing.com 10 Y Microbrewery 6,000 30 Hog Lager, Granola Brown Ale, Shook, Disco Pig Series, Black Hog Invasion Tyler Jones Head brewer Justin Benvenuto Assistant brewer 2014 13 Labyrinth Brewing Co. 148 Forest St. Manchester, CT 06040 N/A; www.lbc.beer 10 By request Brewpub 1,000 45 Turbo Love Juice, Erebus Oatmeal Stout, Hesperia IPA, Wail of the Banshee, Pan's IPA, Siren's Song Sean Guara Head brewer 2016 14 No Worries Brewing Co. 2520 State St. Hamden, CT 06517 203-691-6662; noworriesbeer.com 10 N/A Taproom 600 (d) 21 Hakuna Matata Blonde Ale, Still of the Night Stout, Waves not Worries Barleywine Kevin Mark Dan Whittle Co-owners 2015 15 Overshores Brewing 250 Bradley St. East Haven, CT 06512 203-909-6224; overshores.com 10 N/A Microbrewery 2,000 5 Simpel Belgian, Tripel Brun Belgian, Belle Fermiere Saison Mike Dryburgh Head brewer 2014 16 Relic Brewing Co. (e) 95B Whiting St. Plainville, CT 06062 860-255-4252; www.relicbeer.com 9 N Microbrewery 3,200 15 Violet Ray IPA Mark Sigman Owner & brewer 2012 17 Still Hill Brewery 1275 Cromwell Ave., Building C Rocky Hill, CT 06067 860-436-6368; stillhillbrewery.com 8 Y (f) Microbrewery 1,000-1,500 18 Citrabration, Still Hill IPA, Nut on the Hill, VanHilla, ICaved NE IPA Scott Barbanel President 2016 18 Veracious Brewing Co. 246 Main St. Monroe, CT 06468 203-880-5670; veraciousbrewing.com 8 Y Brewpub 1,000 20 29 Pews IPA, Shortcut to Napi's NE IPA, Mommies Boy Pale Ale, Bloobs Blueberry Wheat Ale, Goldens Ale Mark Szamatulski Co-owner & brewer 2015 19 Hanging Hills Brewing Co. 150 Ledyard St. Hartford , CT 06114 860-263-7033; hanginghillsbrewery.com 6 Y Production facility with tasting room 2,100 10 Metacomet IPA, Hartbeat DIPA, Oh, NE IPA, Hills Pils, Ferris Session IPA Brian Cox Head of brewing operations 2016 20 City Steam Brewery and Cafe 942 Main St. Hartford, CT 06103 860-525-1600; www.citysteam.biz 5 (g) Y Brewpub 4,000 (h) 16 (i) Focused Haze NE IPA, Steampunk Porter, Naughty Nurse Amber Ale, Jungle Crush IPA Jeff Pasquale Head brewer 1997 21 DuVig Brewing Co. 59 School Ground Road, Suite 10 Branford, CT 06405 203-208-2213; www.duvig.com 4 Y Microbrewery 500 15 Cream Ale, English Brown Ale, Scotch 60, Oatmeal Stout, Bock Profile Dan Vigliotti Co-founder 2013 Source: Each brewer via survey and Brewers Association. Notes: Number of employees includes full-time and part-time. Regional brewers produce 15,000-6 million barrels per year; microbreweries produce less than 15,000 barrels per year with 75 percent or more beer sold off-site; brewpubs sell 25 percent or more beer on-site. Ellington's Cold Creek Brewery is currently closed for renovations. Unable to confirm data for 2nd Bridge Brewing of Manchester, Bristol's Firefly Hollow Brewing Co., East Hartford's New Park Brewing, OEC Brewing of Oxford, Outer Light Brewing of Groton, Manchester's Parable Brewing Co., Steady Habit Brewing of Haddam or Willimantic Brewing Co. N/A = Not available. (a) Some brewers preferred to give a range. (b) Current ownership took over in 2006. (c) Opened a second location in Middletown in Nov. 2019. CT brewers expanding in wake of historic liquor reforms Don't be surprised if Connecticut's competitive brewery industry gets even bigger in 2020, as a number of the state's largest beer-makers — Bloomfield-based Thomas Hooker Brewing Co., Hartford's Hog River Brewing Co., and Manchester's Labyrinth Brewing Co. — announced expansion plans recently in the wake of new state laws some say are the most significant liquor reforms since the Prohibition era. The laws, passed during the 2019 legislative session, more than triple the amount of beer a customer can purchase at breweries for off-site consumption, allow the cross- selling of in-state alcohol products like wine, liquor, meads and hard ciders, and consolidate the liquor permitting process. Connecticut breweries currently support more than 21,000 jobs in the state and generate a large source of revenue for wholesalers and distributors, industry experts say. Beer production has also soared from 23,372 barrels in 2011 to 213,606 in 2018, according to the Brewers Association. And those tallies are expected to get bigger. There were more than 100 Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau permits pending in Connecticut as of July, which experts say indicates how many entrepreneurs are planning new brewery sites. Source: Each brewer via survey and Brewers Association. Notes: Number of employees includes full-time and part-time. Regional brewers produce 15,000-6 million barrels per year; microbreweries produce less than 15,000 barrels per year with 75 percent or more beer sold off-site; brewpubs sell 25 percent or more beer on-site. Ellington's Cold Creek Brewery is currently closed for renovations. Unable to confirm data for 2nd Bridge Brewing of Manchester, Bristol's Firefly Hollow Brewing Co., East Hartford's New Park Brewing, OEC Brewing of Oxford, Outer Light Brewing of Groton, Manchester's Parable Brewing Co., Steady Habit Brewing of Haddam or Willimantic Brewing Co. N/A = Not available. (a) Some brewers preferred to give a range. (b) Current ownership took over in 2006 (c) Opened a second location in Middletown in Nov. 2019. (d) As reported to Brewers Association. (e) A restaurant was added in 2019. (f) Upon request —Compiled by Heide Martin and Stephanie Meagher.