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| Outside the Side Entrance |
Why should I visit Thomas Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield?
Because it's AWESOME!!!
I have visited Thomas Hooker Brewery on several occasions over the past few years and every time is more enjoyable than the last. My girlfriend and I were introduced to the brewery by two of our best pals JMoney and Emoney.
If you enjoy Craft Beer or just good, fantastic times in general, then a visit to Thomas Hooker Brewery is a must. This Place Rocks! The Beer is Awesome. The People are Awesome. The Vibe is Awesome and the Experience is, you guessed it, Pretty Good. Just Kiddinggggg...it’s Awesome!!!!!!
Thomas Hooker Brewery offers tours and tastings on the first and third Friday of each month from 5-8PM (referred to as the Friday Open House) as well as on each Saturday from noon to 5 pm. For $10 on Friday night, you get a Thomas Hooker Brewery Pint Glass, a Brewery Tour and a tasting of various Thomas Hooker Brewery creations on tap. On Saturday afternoons you pay just $5 and get the tour and tasting minus the pint glass (the glasses are available in the gift shop, however). A portion of the proceeds from the tastings go to The Village for Families and Children (yet another great reason to stop on by).
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| The New Tasting Room (Gift shop on the Left, Tasting Bar in the Center) |
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| View of Tasting Bar (from the doorway that leads to the old tasting room) |
During the tour you will get a brief but thorough explanation of the brewing process at Thomas Hooker Brewery. For anybody who enjoys good craft beer, this is a very informative experience.
During the tasting, you will get to sample a rotation of the various beers that are brewed at the Thomas Hooker: Hop Meadow IPA, Blonde Ale, Imperial Porter, American Pale Ale, Irish Red, Liberator Doppelbock, Munich Style and Old Marley Barleywine, as well as the seasonal ales - Chocolate Truffle Stout, Watermelon Ale, Octoberfest, Nor'Easter Lager. The beers offered vary from hour to hour and day to day.
Thomas Hooker Brewery offers so much more than just the tour and tasting however. You can also purchase any number of hilarious shirts and other items from the gift shop area.
The overall vibe of the place is not to be missed either and can’t really be duplicated elsewhere. This is the perfect place to come hang out with a few of your friends in a casual atmosphere and enjoy the best beer that Connecticut has to offer.
Don’t worry about not being able to enjoy the beer that you just sampled at home either. You can get both new and old growlers filled with your favorite Thomas Hooker Brews. Imperial Porter and Liberator Doppelbock can be filled in a new growler for $17 or refilled in an older growler for $14. All other beers can be filled in a new growler for $11 or refilled in an older growler for $8. (Growlers can be filled outside of the Friday and Saturday tastings as well, from 9AM to 5PM Monday-Friday).
The atmosphere in the tasting room is nice and casual. You can converse with your friends, play video games or learn a little bit about the history of Thomas Hooker Brewery. You can also chat up the workers serving the beer samples or talk with any of the other Thomas Hooker Brewery employees you might see floating around.
As if everything I've mentioned isn't enough, you also have the opportunity to challenge your friends (and those you may have just met) at video games on the large flat screen in the tasting room. Also, spread throughout the tasting room are pictures of different Thomas Hooker Brewery events throughout the years.
If you're looking for a more vibrant/boisterous Happy-Hour-esque scene, you probably want to go on a Friday night. The place is a little more crowded, there is usually music playing and various food offerings. If you wish to experience a tour and tasting in a more relaxed atmosphere, Saturday may be your best bet.
Thomas Hooker Brewery is located at 16 Tobey Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
For more information and to reserve a spot for a Saturday tasting, head to hookerbeer.com
