Craft Beer on Vacation – Part 1 – So Cal Craft Beer Blog

Connecticut

Whenever I travel, I try to find craft beer brewed by Independent Brewers in the places I visit. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it’s affirming and can be almost magical. In this series, we’ll be exploring, first, the craft beer I sampled in Connecticut. Next, BeachRock Bill will tell us about “Boston’s Three ‘T’ Brewers.” Lastly, we’ll cover a few discoveries in Maine that had us considering a more permanent residence there.

Photo by Chauncey. This article will focus on the first two canned beverages. The bottle of “Peeper” Pale Ale from Maine Beer Company is a placeholder for a subsequent Maine craft brewing article in this series.

We’ve got two households we visit in the Constitution State — one that’s closer to New York and another that’s adjacent to Katharine Hepburn’s old stomping grounds in Old Saybrook.

Connecticut has some quaint Prohibition Era rules about the sale of liquor — you can’t buy it in the Stop & Shop, but you CAN buy it at your local package store, but not on Sundays.

Our hosts in the southwestern part of the Land of Steady Habits took it upon themselves to introduce us to a few local brews. I love that spirit of adventure and applaud their efforts to cater to my interests and passions.

Industrial Arts Brewing Company (IABC), New York

*Image courtesy of Industrial Arts Brewing Company website*

The first new (to me) offering was “Wrench” by Industrial Arts Brewing, a “lush & zesty” hazy IPA, with an ABV of 7.1% and “a pithy explosion of aroma and flavor, beyond hazy, loaded with Mosaic and Citra to the point of stickiness.”

*Image courtesy Industrial Arts Brewing Company website*

Born in 2018 in the Hudson River Valley, Industrial Arts has two taprooms: one in Garnerville, NY on the western side of the Hudson (pictured), the other in Beacon, NY, on the eastern side, in the Hudson Highlands.

Like our next selection (Lawson’s), IABC supports its communities in a variety of ways. On their website, they say they believe in their “ability to foster positive change through direct partnership with advocacy groups,” supporting “organizations whose missions align with the physical landscape (responsible land use, protection of the environment, sustainability, agriculture) and the social landscape (building community and providing for the underserved).”

In fact, the brewery’s Landscape Lager series “are seasonal releases of traditional lagers made with 100% New York State-grown ingredients, showcasing the NYS agricultural industry’s ability to supply high quality ingredients to craft beverage manufacturers.” Profits from the sale of these lagers are donated to “nonprofit organizations focused on the environmental and agricultural health of communities in the Hudson Valley and beyond.”

Lawson’s Finest Liquids

Lawson’s Finest Liquids is a “family owned, award-winning brewery, taproom, and retail store located in the Mad River Valley of Vermont.” The first of the two beers we tasted, however, was brewed at Two Roads Brewing in Stratford, Connecticut, not far from where we were staying. My assumption is that this arrangement allows for larger-scale, closer-to-the-customer brewing and canning.

“Sip of Sunshine,” according to Lawson’s website, is a “lupulin-laden India Pale Ale packed with juicy tropical fruit character, bright floral aromas and delectable layers of hop flavor.” At 8% ABV, this IPA is on the high end of the “happiness spectrum.”

According to a wonderful history of Lawson’s by Kristen Foster on goodbeerhunting.com, “Kicking It Old School,” Sean and Karen Lawson opened for business in 2008, after Sean had been home brewing for many years. “Sip of Sunshine” was their “little sprinkle of magic,” that transformed the brewery “from hometown hero into national player.”

“Hazy Rays”

*Photo by Chauncey, taken in Nate & Wallace’s gazebo*

We got a chance to sample another of Lawson’s brews at our second stop in Connecticut — this one purchased at Rooney’s, a package store on Route 156. We were visiting confirmed cocktail and wine drinkers that we’ve known from time immemorial. Part of our ritual is to enjoy a Manhattan (or two) upon reuniting, followed by beverages of choice.

I was very surprised when Wallace, whom Eleanor and I met in college, ditched her Pinot Grigio for a second six-pack of Hazy Rays. Her husband, Nate, could not, however, be budged from his Manhattans with Guinness chasers. And that’s okay: to each his own.

You may remember the jet-setting Nate from our recent post on “Summer Beer News.” He had sent a photo and review of a Kentish strong ale called “Bishop’s Finger.” Nate is a man of strong tastes and even stronger adherence to his druthers.

A word on independent craft beer and supporting local communities

Lawson’s Finest has an award-winning Social Impact Program, appropriately called “The SIP.” The SIP won a “Platinum Crushie” at the 2022 Craft Beer Marketing Awards in the category “BIGGER THAN BEER: CAUSE-RELATED BEER PROJECT OR CAMPAIGN.” I couldn’t manage to find more information about why Lawson’s Finest was selected, but the cans for “Black is Beautiful,” “Things We Don’t Say,” and “Brave Noise Pale Ale” were featured on CBMA’s recognition announcement.

“Black is Beautiful,” an Imperial Stout, is “a collaborative effort to raise awareness for the injustices people of color face daily and to raise funds for police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged,” according to Weathered Souls Brewing Co., which launched the collaboration. Lawson’s donated 100% of their Black is Beautiful beer sale profits to the VT Peace & Justice Center Racial Justice program, Allied Vermont and The Root Social Justice Center
“Things We Don’t Say IPA” aims to “call attention to the stigma surrounding mental health. Proceeds support Hope for a Day and Washington County Mental Health Services“
“Brave Noise Pale Ale” was brewed to “help end sexism in the brewing industry and beyond by donating 100% of all sales to VT Network’s Uplift VT program, an organization working to eliminate sexual and domestic violence in Vermont.”

It’s amazing the journeys that beer inspires. When you travel and look into what you’re drinking on the road, whole new communities, if not worlds, open you to new experiences and changed perspectives, which may end up elevating your appreciation of all our planet has to offer, just from a sip of water, barley, hops, and yeast fashioned by artisans who have dedicated themselves to their craft and so much more.

Cheers! Until next time,

— Chauncey B, aka, the So Cal Craft Beer Blogger

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Featured photo by Chauncey B. of a recent summer scene in New England.