Connecticut Valley Brewing Company

First time back here in a year. The last time I came food was great! This time, not so much. Burger was bland. They got rid of the best thing on the menu (Fry Flight). Fried pickles came out cold and soft. Hugely disappointed from the last time I came. Hopefully I can change my review next time I come back.

Awesome service great excellent beer and food everything tasted great

There are car cruise events happening throughout the week throughout the warmer months. Cruisers hang out Sunday mornings for Cars & Coffee events and then on Monday nights are car themed nights. There's also open Cruise Night events on Thursday nights when every car is welcome to show up.

Beer was ok, trivia was horrible

Lots going on here. Car shows, music, food and other entertainment. Beer is good too!

For a cup of coffee in a pleasant environment, this was a great place, despite a long wait for a cup of drip coffee. In the afternoon, a little can of wine for my wife was $10.40, which I deem as too expensive. Where are the recycle bins? Maybe I missed them?

Good beer and venue, but the bartender is incapable of listening to simple instructions and then pulls an attitude when you try to correct his mistakes. Bartender kept opening new tabs for me and pretending he didn’t hear me say “I already have a tab”.

Great place and great beer, food is good too. Always something going on. A fantastic voyage LPA was great! Hummus platter and onion rings were nice. Outdoor area is amazing!

Came to cars and coffee this Sunday and waited over an hour for a breakfast burrito and I placed the order online, that is ridiculous

Thank you from Gothenburg in western Sweden for this excellent Pumpkin Patch Ale ? It will be warmly recommended from Halloween on next year to our Connectocut & Rhode Island relatives ? Coming to Hartford next time ?? ? ??

This review is a part of my quest of visiting all CT breweries. Around 2019 I came to Connecticut Valley Brewing Company and bought one of each beers they had. It ended up being about 4 dozens of delicious beer. So I planned this visit to the taproom only as a formality. However, the overall experience was a bit worse.

The place is big - it has a huge indoor space with multiple seating options, including couches. No separation, just one big room. Plus there is a big patio for warmer months. The went for a plane theme and decorated the room with it. It is a bit noisy inside when there are many people, but still manageable. The brewery has an excellent selection of beers of various styles. Since I tried every beer they had over the years of going to beer festivals where CTVBC is always present, I can say that their beers are amazing. Every style they produce is delicious. From the latest visits I would recommend Spiked Smoothie Strawberry Lemonade (Fruit Beer) and Camper's Maple Stout, as they just boast rich taste. You can also order beer flights, although the options are limited to 12 taps only.

There is a food served via a separate business which coexists in the same building - Birdhouse Coffee Shop. And this was a downer. I will leave a separate review for this business, as blaming the brewery for the quality of food is unfair. But this coexistence means, that you are now limited in food options and cannot bring your own or order from a food truck. So you're stuck with a very mediocre food and slow service.

Other problems I experienced were:
- Messing up my order. One bartender asked for beer numbers from the menu, while the other one asked for the names. The latter one messed up my position.
- By the end of Monday, which is not too busy of a day, restrooms lacked the paper towels.

Overall, the beers are great. The theme of the taproom is awesome. The service might have been better.

Staff was nice enough to sell me a beer 5 min before they closed... But noone seemed to know each other's names .. they have a great strawberry beer but other than that I don't like the environment here.

Huge food portions ! Great food & great night life scene :) Good for families, couples , friends , etc. and they share the space with good coffee / pastries shop.

Definitely a very nice atmosphere and worth a look. Ordering was chaotic only because it was classic car night and people were everywhere. Once we did get our food it was enjoyable and after a flight of beer we walked around and checked out some awesome looking hot rods.

Should have stopped here last on a recent vacation to Connecticut! By going here first, the bar was set too high for any other brewers to come close. This is not a slam on the other breweries as they also had very delicious products, but this, is to say how great Connecticut Valley brewery really is. Staff was incredible. Brendan, the production manager went out of his way for us. The brewmaster gave us a tour, the promotions manager brought up stories and told us as well as Brendan the history behind the brewery. Definitely going to be the first stop again on the next visit to Connecticut. I can honestly say that they had no product that I did not like. The dill pickle beer was delicious! Blackberry wheat best beer I’ve ever had! All of their smoothies are exceptional! Ice, tea, just unbelievable flavor.
Don’t just get lost in the incredible brewery and hospitality, right next-door is bluebird coffee. The person that made the coffee, also gave me a tour and explained in depth how coffee is roasted and blended to give us the different flavors that were available. Exceptional and opens early. Whether going to Connecticut just to be with friends or take in the beautiful state this place should be Tops on destinations.
Thanks again, to an incredible staff. We’ll see you again next year!