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Forest City was our first brewery tour in CT. We did Sam Adams tour years ago, that is in Massachusetts. This brewery located right next to Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown. Following Google map, we thought there would be nothing here till the end. Far end, a flag hanging and cars parked in a empty closed down factory looking area. The place is pretty nicely designed with good ambience which I valued. Liked wall paintings also. We had 2 flights. Not like in CA, here calls sampler the flights. There were numbers from 1 to 4, light to strong. Beer was cold and fresh, like made of mountain water or something. As a IPA fan, loved 3 and 4. Cool place to hang out, but no food. I need food to drink beer. Maybe just me. Definitely we will come back.
This is a small brewery that has a nice selection of beer. We enjoyed their sours and IPAs. The bartender was super friendly! They also serve some food like pretzels, pizza, cookies and chips. They also have games. We really enjoyed island time and sweet Mary sour ale!
After a grand visit to SB, my friends and I definitely wanted to check out the new Forest City. I was pleasantly surprised by how different the vibe was. There was no loud music blasting, and the seats were better set-up for bigger parties. (Our party of 5 was a little too cramped at SB.) I'd say overall, we were more comfortable chilling at FCB. There were 4 beers to try on this given Saturday, so I tried them all. Truly, nothing compares to their Stargazer IPA. It's definitely one of the best IPAs from the Hartford area I've had, so mad props for that. Otherwise, though, I found the other beers not as good (Farmhouse, Ginger Saison, and another I can't remember). They made up for it with the Stargazer, though, because I could have definitely had many glasses of that. I look forward to coming back and scoping out their additional beers. (And did I mention, I'll snag a Stargazer?)
Forest City is a nano brewery, one of 3 breweries/cideries located in the Remington Rand Building. It's pretty tiny, but very friendly, with a nice local vibe. There's a small sitting area, and then the brewing operation in the other area, with a bar where you can place your orders. The day we visited was chill and relaxed, and the staff contributed to that relaxed vibe. At the time of our visit, they were dog friendly, but I always recommend asking or calling ahead, as regulations and enforcement change. There's no real outside area, because of the shared building experience. Beers were really great! They have a nice variety, from stouts to IPAs to sours. The Blaubeere sour was quite good, nice dry blueberry sour.
This is a great start up brewery with great potential to grow. My first visit, a flight of all available on tap. Six on this day, 4 of the 6 way above average, steady throughout. I recently heard they closed for only a couple of day to expand their line - very good sign of growth. I've heard other good reviews from acquaintances, all of whom I would quantify as Micro Beer Snobs and hard to please. Forest City is also well situated in a growing revitalizing business district of Middletown, including another shining star, Stubborn Beauty Brewing Co., 2 doors down from Forest. Two breweries hop - not a bad score.
I heard about this brewery from some friends who were visiting the other brewery located in this same building. It had some good reviews so I decided to give it a shot, and I'm so glad I did! The tasting room has a really nice setup - it gets busy, but there's wall space for drinks, as well as a number of tables with stools in the middle and some stools along the wall. There's also a lot of art on the wall, which gives you something to look at while enjoying some good beer. I've officially been twice (they were closed for brewing when I was in the area last night), and they've had four to five beers on tap each time. The first time they didn't have an IPA so I decided to try the Wild Time Pale Ale, not expecting much (because I'm truly an IPA or DIPA lover)...but it was really, really good! I was blown away by how much flavor it had, and the ABV was only 5.5. The next time I went they had that same pale ale as well as another IPA (Remington IPA, 6.5 ABV), which also blew me away - juicy and thick. Can't quite decide which I liked more (I think I liked the flavor of Wild Time but the finish of Remington, but it's so hard to decide...thank goodness for flights!). I can't wait to try the new stuff they're brewing. They offer 32 oz and 64oz growler fills and they'll fill a growler you bring from home as well (currently there's a limit of 64oz per style of beer). There's plenty of parking available, as well as food trucks (and they let you bring food in to enjoy while you're drinking - good setup for that if you get a table). Definitely stop in to try this brewery!
Had a flight and a classic stout. Very good stout! Smooth and creamy. Very cool vibe here also and good seating. Love the warehouse brewery pop ups! This is a fun place for a few flights and to go growlers!
My star rating breakdown is really 4.5 stars for friendly staff and awesome beers and then 3 stars for atmosphere. The taproom itself is cute and cozy but I was not generally impressed with it. I will say, the main bar has amazing woodwork and is beautifully crafted. The standard fluorescent light flooding the space is not great but it gets the job done. The staff were so friendly. Everyone just seemed ready to help and they made themselves available when they saw people were around who needed beer. They offer flights with 4, 5, or 6 beers. Which rocks. I like being able to pick how many pours I get and not being locked into an arbitrary number. However it is also key to note that six beers (at least the end of October 2017 when we went) covers the whole menu besides the guest tap. I appreciate that. Rock on FC. FINALLY (but not to be over looked) is the beer. The Wild Time pale ale and El Dorado IPA are two of the best in their respective categories I have ever had. The other beers were well balanced and just good. I was totally impressed. All that said, not every beer was a rockstar and I would love to see some cooler lighting. I will be back here for sure. You should visit too.
Very small jam packed tasting room. It's funny, at breweries I have found that everyone even when it's packed is friendly. Interesting beer selection. The milk stout was soft on the palate but rich in flavor. The Odin IPA was excellent well balanced and enjoyable. Prices are great and I will be back
This is a brand new place that just opened three weeks ago. The GPS brought us up short but we kept going and ended up driving over the train tracks and found it. Super clean and friendly with delicious beers. We walked in and were waited on right away with a smile, unlike at Stubborn Beauty where we were ignored for over five minutes. They had a really great ginger beer that I'll be going back for among three others that were awesome. Try them out!
What a cool low key place to spend some time. Stopped in with the hubs on a recent Saturday afternoon and walked into a small tasting room with a good amount of seating, high tops and bar seating along the walls. We started with a flight of everything on tap and honed in from there. I liked the Blueberry sour and the Pilsner, my husband liked the IPAs. We brought light snacks but others brought in sandwiches, the staff was super chill and friendly and the mix of customers ranged from leashed Puppies to young families to retireees and Weslyan students discussing Chem PHds in between. The bathroom was indoors and very cean. We'll be back.
This place is awesome!! Stopped in here after enjoying a brew over at Stubborn Beauty, and was thoroughly impressed. The atmosphere is unique, because you feel like you're in a farmhouse kitchen. The employees were very friendly, and recommended that I order a flight. To try all four of their beers it was only $7, and the sizing of the samples was extremely generous. I was also able to find a seat at a table, which was a huge plus. I enjoyed all of the beers I tried, which included a saison, a kolsch, an APA, and a stout. I'd have to say that the ginger saison was my favorite out of all of the beers. I found it to be refreshing, and the ginger wasn't too overpowering. Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by the employees and beers, and will definitely be returning in the near future.
1 year ago
Second time coming here. Decent selection of beers/ciders on tap as well as some new slushies I tried the Newfie slushie -Rum and tropical fruit juice frozen, mixed with lemon-lime soda and a cherry. We also got the Fresh Blau; blueberry cider and hard cider. This was a great mix since I'm mostly a sour beer person. We also got some German chocolate to snack on, a meat stick, and a pretzel with sweet and spicy mustard. Dog friendly establishment read more
5 years ago
Forest City Brewing Company is a craft brewery that opened in Middletown, Connecticut in April 2016. It was founded by brewer Chris Coughlin. While a student at Northeastern University in Boston, Coughlin developed an interest in brewing. He took classes at various breweries after graduating and over the years he learned the craft. When Coughlin became serious about opening his own brewery, he decided to name it "Forest City" after Middletown's nickname. Although Middletown isn't exactly 'foresty' today, the areas around Main Street and Wesleyan University were leafy and heavily wooded for centuries before floods took their tolls on the trees in the early 20th century. Coughlin says, "I thought the name for my brewery, Forest City, would reflect an earlier time and a juxtaposition of old and new." The brewery officially opened to the public in 2016 inside Middletown's old Remington Rand building. The historic building complex opened in 1896 as the Keating Bicycle Factory. Throughout the decades, motorcycles, automobiles, typewriters and even military missile parts were manufactured there. The building closed its doors in the early 1970s and fell into disrepair. The city later took it over and by 2009 it had been refurbished with several new tenants renting space inside. I first visited Forest City in August 2019. I was training for the upcoming Closer To Free ride, so I decided to cycle from my home in North Haven all the way to Middletown (21 miles). By the time I made it to the brewery, I was very thirsty. The taproom is inviting and cozy. I decided to order a sampler flight that consisted of Champ Brut IPA, Good Sesh (Session IPA), Double Dry Hopped Hazegiving (IPA), and Brown Cow (Milk Stout). The latter was my favorite; it had nice creamy notes of chocolate milk. I ended up purchasing a growler of it to bring back home. If you plan on visiting the brewery in Middletown, I must recommend making it a craft beer afternoon because the Remington Rand building is also home to Stubborn Beauty Brewing and Spoke + Spy Ciderworks. read more
Forest City was our first brewery tour in CT. We did Sam Adams tour years ago, that is in Massachusetts. This brewery located right next to Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown. Following Google map, we thought there would be nothing here till the end. Far end, a flag hanging and cars parked in a empty closed down factory looking area. The place is pretty nicely designed with good ambience which I valued. Liked wall paintings also. We had 2 flights. Not like in CA, here calls sampler the flights. There were numbers from 1 to 4, light to strong. Beer was cold and fresh, like made of mountain water or something. As a IPA fan, loved 3 and 4. Cool place to hang out, but no food. I need food to drink beer. Maybe just me. Definitely we will come back. read more
This is a small brewery that has a nice selection of beer. We enjoyed their sours and IPAs. The bartender was super friendly! They also serve some food like pretzels, pizza, cookies and chips. They also have games. We really enjoyed island time and sweet Mary sour ale! read more
After a grand visit to SB, my friends and I definitely wanted to check out the new Forest City. I was pleasantly surprised by how different the vibe was. There was no loud music blasting, and the seats were better set-up for bigger parties. (Our party of 5 was a little too cramped at SB.) I'd say overall, we were more comfortable chilling at FCB. There were 4 beers to try on this given Saturday, so I tried them all. Truly, nothing compares to their Stargazer IPA. It's definitely one of the best IPAs from the Hartford area I've had, so mad props for that. Otherwise, though, I found the other beers not as good (Farmhouse, Ginger Saison, and another I can't remember). They made up for it with the Stargazer, though, because I could have definitely had many glasses of that. I look forward to coming back and scoping out their additional beers. (And did I mention, I'll snag a Stargazer?) read more
7 years ago
Forest City is a nano brewery, one of 3 breweries/cideries located in the Remington Rand Building. It's pretty tiny, but very friendly, with a nice local vibe. There's a small sitting area, and then the brewing operation in the other area, with a bar where you can place your orders. The day we visited was chill and relaxed, and the staff contributed to that relaxed vibe. At the time of our visit, they were dog friendly, but I always recommend asking or calling ahead, as regulations and enforcement change. There's no real outside area, because of the shared building experience. Beers were really great! They have a nice variety, from stouts to IPAs to sours. The Blaubeere sour was quite good, nice dry blueberry sour. read more
This is a great start up brewery with great potential to grow. My first visit, a flight of all available on tap. Six on this day, 4 of the 6 way above average, steady throughout. I recently heard they closed for only a couple of day to expand their line - very good sign of growth. I've heard other good reviews from acquaintances, all of whom I would quantify as Micro Beer Snobs and hard to please. Forest City is also well situated in a growing revitalizing business district of Middletown, including another shining star, Stubborn Beauty Brewing Co., 2 doors down from Forest. Two breweries hop - not a bad score. read more
I heard about this brewery from some friends who were visiting the other brewery located in this same building. It had some good reviews so I decided to give it a shot, and I'm so glad I did! The tasting room has a really nice setup - it gets busy, but there's wall space for drinks, as well as a number of tables with stools in the middle and some stools along the wall. There's also a lot of art on the wall, which gives you something to look at while enjoying some good beer. I've officially been twice (they were closed for brewing when I was in the area last night), and they've had four to five beers on tap each time. The first time they didn't have an IPA so I decided to try the Wild Time Pale Ale, not expecting much (because I'm truly an IPA or DIPA lover)...but it was really, really good! I was blown away by how much flavor it had, and the ABV was only 5.5. The next time I went they had that same pale ale as well as another IPA (Remington IPA, 6.5 ABV), which also blew me away - juicy and thick. Can't quite decide which I liked more (I think I liked the flavor of Wild Time but the finish of Remington, but it's so hard to decide...thank goodness for flights!). I can't wait to try the new stuff they're brewing. They offer 32 oz and 64oz growler fills and they'll fill a growler you bring from home as well (currently there's a limit of 64oz per style of beer). There's plenty of parking available, as well as food trucks (and they let you bring food in to enjoy while you're drinking - good setup for that if you get a table). Definitely stop in to try this brewery! read more
4 years ago
My star rating breakdown is really 4.5 stars for friendly staff and awesome beers and then 3 stars for atmosphere. The taproom itself is cute and cozy but I was not generally impressed with it. I will say, the main bar has amazing woodwork and is beautifully crafted. The standard fluorescent light flooding the space is not great but it gets the job done. The staff were so friendly. Everyone just seemed ready to help and they made themselves available when they saw people were around who needed beer. They offer flights with 4, 5, or 6 beers. Which rocks. I like being able to pick how many pours I get and not being locked into an arbitrary number. However it is also key to note that six beers (at least the end of October 2017 when we went) covers the whole menu besides the guest tap. I appreciate that. Rock on FC. FINALLY (but not to be over looked) is the beer. The Wild Time pale ale and El Dorado IPA are two of the best in their respective categories I have ever had. The other beers were well balanced and just good. I was totally impressed. All that said, not every beer was a rockstar and I would love to see some cooler lighting. I will be back here for sure. You should visit too. read more
Very small jam packed tasting room. It's funny, at breweries I have found that everyone even when it's packed is friendly. Interesting beer selection. The milk stout was soft on the palate but rich in flavor. The Odin IPA was excellent well balanced and enjoyable. Prices are great and I will be back read more
10 years ago
This is a brand new place that just opened three weeks ago. The GPS brought us up short but we kept going and ended up driving over the train tracks and found it. Super clean and friendly with delicious beers. We walked in and were waited on right away with a smile, unlike at Stubborn Beauty where we were ignored for over five minutes. They had a really great ginger beer that I'll be going back for among three others that were awesome. Try them out! read more
What a cool low key place to spend some time. Stopped in with the hubs on a recent Saturday afternoon and walked into a small tasting room with a good amount of seating, high tops and bar seating along the walls. We started with a flight of everything on tap and honed in from there. I liked the Blueberry sour and the Pilsner, my husband liked the IPAs. We brought light snacks but others brought in sandwiches, the staff was super chill and friendly and the mix of customers ranged from leashed Puppies to young families to retireees and Weslyan students discussing Chem PHds in between. The bathroom was indoors and very cean. We'll be back. read more
10 years ago
This place is awesome!! Stopped in here after enjoying a brew over at Stubborn Beauty, and was thoroughly impressed. The atmosphere is unique, because you feel like you're in a farmhouse kitchen. The employees were very friendly, and recommended that I order a flight. To try all four of their beers it was only $7, and the sizing of the samples was extremely generous. I was also able to find a seat at a table, which was a huge plus. I enjoyed all of the beers I tried, which included a saison, a kolsch, an APA, and a stout. I'd have to say that the ginger saison was my favorite out of all of the beers. I found it to be refreshing, and the ginger wasn't too overpowering. Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by the employees and beers, and will definitely be returning in the near future. read more
8 years ago
5 years ago
10 years ago
After visiting Stubborn Beauty for years, I had honestly given up hope that this place would ever open. However, today I was pleasantly surprised to see an "Open" flag out front. It turns out they've been open for 3 days, so it was lucky that we stumbled in there! The space is really nice and open, there's plenty of counter space for resting beers and elbows on and most importantly, the beer was surprisingly good! We got a flight, which consisted of the classic stout, American-English IPA, ginger saison and Spring pale ale. Across the board they were all very good, but the ginger really stood out to me. I can't drink wheat beers and I was thrilled to find out that despite the mouthfeel being similar to a hefeweizen, there's no wheat in this one! So for as long as it's available, I'm going to be back to drink it. They're only open Saturdays for now, but the owner (?) was hopeful that they'll be expanding their hours soon! read more
7 years ago
10 years ago
Such a great surprise to find this brewery open on our way to Stubborn Beauty- since both breweries are in the same building, we did a mini brew crawl! Forest City is a large open and airy space. The staff was very friendly and greeted us with huge smiles.I tried a 4 oz pour of the pale ale and ginger saison which was incredible!! I will be back for a growler fill soon. So happy to have another brewery close by! read more
10 years ago
7 years ago
This brewery is a great addition to this building where you already have a popular local brewery, Stubborn Beauty. Right now they have 5 beers on tap, and the Hazegiving was a great IPA, especially for a new brewery. I only took off a star because it was a pretty small fit and can get pretty crowded but I suppose they need to work with the space they have. They are only open from 2-6 on Saturdays but they seemed to be very popular during that time so hopefully they will have longer hours in the future. They also have food trucks outside if you get hungry, and some bags of chips if you don't want anything to big. I definitely would recommend this brewery, especially if you enjoy the craft beer scene and want to support local businesses. read more
10 years ago
Love the hazegiving! Also, seems like a family business! Everyone is pitching in! Love this place!!! read more
10 years ago
All around great! The beer, the brewer, his family, the atmosphere, etc. A 1 man show with his family assisting in his efforts to produce quality beer. Definitely make the trip over and check the place out. They offer 4 oz and 12 oz pours and 750 ML growler fills. Bring a few extra bucks to buy some pretzels, popcorn or Goldfish :) read more
9 years ago
10 years ago
8 years ago
10 years ago
More info about Forest City Brewing
180 Johnson St
Middletown, CT 06457
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(860) 788-2138
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http://www.forestcitybrewing.com
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9 years ago
