Field Trip: Breakaway Brew Haus [Bolton, Connecticut]

Beer aficionado Fritz Moritz (who you may recall picked me up a can of Alchemist Brewing Co.'s famous "Heady Topper" a few years ago) sent me a few suggestions for breweries to try for my September trip to New England. While big breweries are good, some of the coolest and most fun places are small, so I chose Bolton, CT's own Breakaway Brew Haus, the brainchild of a guy named Matt Soucy. This brewery has been covered by a handful of Connecticut newspapers and websites, and has steadily gained popularity since it opened earlier this year.

Breakaway is located not too far from where I grew up, so it was a short, scenic drive through the country to get there. The brewery is currently run out of Soucy's home and was born from his history as a homebrewer. Making beer in one's home, which I covered a couple of times before, is a great way for hobbyists to practice their craft and many breweries have been started out of this kind of domestic experiment. Matt focuses on making good beer often with local ingredients, and since he respects the sixteenth century German purity law known as Reinheitsgebot, some of his beer is made using only four traditional ingredients - water, hops, barley, and yeast.

We parked on the street and walked down his driveway to the house. To get the beer, you first stop off at an expandable tent on the driveway and fill out a State of Connecticut-mandated form. Once that's done, you approach the garage window and Matt pops out. Samples of each of the beer are available, and of course I tried all three.

They change as Matt makes the beer, but the offerings that day were:

• "Face Plant #1" - a 7.89% ABV IPA made with Mosaic and Eukanot hops. (Left below) 
• "Face Plant #2" - an 8.10% ABV DIPA made with Citra hops (Right below)
• "Bonfire Stout #3" - a 6.60% ABV stout made with local honey, Citra hops, and cacao nibs. 

I enjoyed both samples; The #1 was tangy and brassy, but not harsh; the #2 was a sweeter and juicier version of the #1, also a bit softer. Both were good examples of what I like in DIPAs - not a ton of bitterness, but good refreshing flavor and a strong showing of hops. All of them, by the way, are variants - Matt is constantly improving and adjusting these blends, so there's always new stuff to try.

What really drew my attention on the menu was the "Bonfire Stout", which resembles both in name and in blend Fremont's "Bonfire" which I love. A note about filling up - Matt does not have a bottling line (yet) so for now, you've either got to bring your own bottle or buy a 750mL Breakaway-branded fliptop bottle (reusable, of course, and can be refilled for a $1 discount.) Since I didn't have a bottle or growler with me, I nabbed a fliptop bottle, filled it up with "Bonfire Stout", and brought it home for a closer look.

Pours nicely and generates some thick white fuzzy foam. It's quite dark, with some sediment in there. 

It's not heavy, but not light either - just the right balance of drinkability and flavor. The cacao nibs come through pretty nicely and I think the hop blend gives it a little levity. I'd definitely suggest this as a year-round dark beer, and would love to not just drink it, but perhaps try it in beer bread. 

So far, so good. If you ever find yourself in central Connecticut, give Breakaway Brew Haus a try. Matt is passionate about his craft and knows his stuff, and judging by the steady stream of customers we observed coming up to the window to fill up their bottles, Breakaway won't be small for long. I've never reviewed a brewery this small before (with the technical exception of Nano Brew in Cleveland) so if you're interested in getting some really great small batch beer, sign up for the mailing list, show up early, and get your fill!