Together We Drink
  • Home
  • About
  • Master List
    • Beer
    • Breweries
  • Top Picks
  • Worth A Shot

No Sour Grapes Here: OEC Brewing Produces the Best Sours in New England

6/27/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Shane Carley

Brewery Name
: OEC Brewing

Type of Brewery: Retail Brewery

Location: 7 Fox Hollow Road, Oxford, CT 06478. It’s a little off the beaten path, down a long and winding road past a few scattered office buildings and up a small hill. You may think you’ve gone too far, but you haven’t. You’ll see their name painted on a rock at the base of a long driveway. Just go up the drive and you’ll see their building and parking lot. 
 
Website: http://oecbrewing.com/
Facebook: OEC Brewing
Twitter: @OECBrewing
Instagram: @oecbrewing
Picture
Background: When you think of New England sours, OEC is the first brewery that comes to mind. These guys are the best. The top of the top. The cream of the crop. The undisputed champions of beers that made your taste buds scream and your lips pucker. If you like sours, chances are you’ve heard of OEC. Oh, and for the curious: OEC stands for Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores, which translates to "Order of the Eccentric Boilers."
 
Growlers: Yes. You can purchase growlers there (and at a very reasonable price) or bring your own. OEC prefers to fill pop-top growlers rather than screw-top because of the process through which they inject CO2 into each beer. Because of the added CO2, OEC’s growlers keep much longer than growlers from many other breweries. According to the brewers, an unopened OEC growler can last several months before declining in quality. It’s worth noting that not every beer is available for growler fills. When I visited, there were just two options for fills, with the remainder able to be purchased in bottles. ​
Picture
The Beers: OEC had eight beers on tap when I wandered in, and, of course, I had to try all eight of them. Normally I wouldn’t bat an eye at tasting eight different beers, but sours are a bit of a different animal, and a part of me was nervous about pouring that much acid into my system at once. I shouldn’t have been. Each and every one of these beers was delicious, well balanced, and left me wanting more.
 
  • II Citra - Sour/Wild Ale - This was the first beer I tasted, and I immediately knew I was in for a treat. This beer has a nice tartness to it, but it doesn’t overwhelm the palate. Aged in wine barrels, it definitely comes away with a nice amount of white wine flavor, making it fairly accessible to non-sour drinkers. The citra hops give it a nice pop of citrus flavor on the end, too. I came away with a growler of this one.

  • Exilis - Berliner Weiss - This is a really well-crafted beer, and while I found that it was a little too wheaty for my personal palate, OEC keeps homemade raspberry syrup on the bar specifically to be added to this beer. The addition of the raspberry takes this beer to a whole new level, dampening some of that wheat element that I don’t love and making this one of the beer beers I tried all day.

  • Aura - Sour/Wild Ale - I've never been so certain that York would love a beer. Here's the description: "Aura is a blend of a young ale brewed with elderflowers and honey and a blend of 1- and 2-year-old spontaneously fermented ale (Fermented in oak barrels and matured in Pink Granite). After blending Aura is dry hopped for 3 days with German Hallertau Blanc hops." Elderflowers. Honey. Oak fermented. Dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc. That’s a recipe for success right there, and every flavor comes through.

  • Panale - Russian Shchi - I was fascinated by this beer. OEC’s interpretation of a Russian Shchi (an older style of beer from the 18/19th centuries), there’s a lot going on here, including the addition of sourdough bacteria, which I was fascinated by. I found that this beer drank very light, without a ton of body behind it, but had a great sour element to it that made me feel like I was drinking pure sour essence. I’m not totally sure whether I liked that about it or not, but it’s impossible to deny that it was a unique drinking experience.

  • Artista Zynergia: Orenji #1 - Saison - Here’s another one where I feel like I have to just let the description speak for itself: "This blend is 30% young ale and 70% 1-year-old ale matured in Pinot Noir/Gin (Portland, OR) & Zinfandel (Napa, CA) barrels with the addition of yuzu and oranges from our greenhouse." That’s a lot of different flavors that OEC is asking to play nicely together, and you know what? It all works.

  • Artista Zynergia: Gosatequin (Blend #3) - Gose - I loved this beer. Unabashedly loved it. It has a really beautiful sour pucker on the front end that wakes your taste buds up the second it hits your tongue, and it also had a rich, fully body that actually stands up to the aggressively sour profile. I expected a much lighter beer with a sour finish, so this turned my expectations on their head in the best sort of way.

  • Nepenthes Hydromelita (Blend #2) - Braggot - A braggot is a blended combination of mead and beer. I can’t claim to have ever tasted one before, but what was put in front of me here was outstanding. This blend is made with sage and lavender, and while I’ve been disappointed by the inclusion of lavender in beer before, OEC adds it with an appropriately deft hand. Adding herbs and spices to beer is always a tricky business, but OEC has balanced every other beer so well that I should have known I had nothing to worry about. Oh, and this one clocks in at what ought to be a palate-busting 9% ABV, but you’d never know it by how smoothly it drinks.

  • Oudilis Cerasus (Blend #2) - Lambic/Kriek (Personal Favorite!) - This beer...wow. So many flavors. So many layers. So delicious. This beer has a wonderful sour nose, a full, flavorful, fruity body, and a really crisp, clean finish. The flavors are well rounded, and the transition from the sour pucker on the front end to the bold fruit flavor on the body is outstanding. I could drink a thousand of these.
Picture
Vibe: This place is awesome. Getting here is a bit of an experience as Oxford, CT isn’t...well, it isn’t particularly close to anything. About two hours outside New York City and 45 minutes or so from the shore of the Long Island Sound, OEC is nestled into the lush, beautiful countryside of Connecticut. To get there, you’ll pass through some small towns, drive along some narrow, winding roads, and ultimately make your way through a generously spaced neighborhood of commercial buildings before you find OEC nestled atop a small, wooded hillside.
 
The facility itself looks almost homey. Some tanks are visible and the people walking out the front door dollying pallets of beer to their cars are hard to miss. But overall, it doesn’t necessarily look the way you might expect one of the most celebrated breweries in New England to look.
 
That all changes when you open the front door (which, I would like to note, is so tall and beautifully crafted that it almost feels like entering a castle). Take one step into the interior of the building and you’ll see a handful of brewing tanks to your right, just behind a small row of tables. Go up a small set of stairs and the area opens up in a big way. Looming before you is a huge tasting room, filled with various types of seating, and a door to a small porch outside where you can sit and sip your beer in sunny weather (sadly, it was raining when I arrived).
Picture
I sat at the bar myself, where I had to laugh a little every time someone new sidled up to order a drink. Each new person was greeted with some variation of “hi, welcome to OEC! You know all of our beers are sour, right?” I can only imagine how many surprised (and probably negative) reactions they’ve received in the past from people expecting a more standard brew. As much as I love sours, I fully understand that they are an acquired taste, and it’s probably best to make sure people know what they’re getting into.
 
I ordered all eight beers that OEC had on tap, and sat there for probably a little over an hour, sipping each one in turn. Sours are delicious, but, as much as I love tart beer, I figured it was best to give myself a little time to adjust to the acidic assault on my stomach. I only say this because, although I spent a lot of time at the bar, I never felt like I was being hustled out the door or pressured to leave. The staff could not have been friendlier, and I enjoyed talking to the women running the house. The patrons were friendly as well, and I had the chance to talk to a few different people as they came up to order drinks. If it weren’t for the fact that I had to get back in my car and drive home, I would have been happy to order another drink and spend even more time there.
Picture
Dogs: Yes, you can bring your dog to OEC Brewing. A little while after I arrived, someone came in and sat just behind the bar with the most adorable black lab puppy I’ve ever seen in my life. A few minutes later a family with three tiny children came in and sat at the bar. The kids playing with the puppy pretty much put my beer drinking experience on cute overload.
 
Price ($ to $$$$$): $$$$$. Look, there are no two ways about it: these are pricey beers. Even the tasters aren't cheap--the eight-beer sample flight I ordered cost me $25. But the fact is, you get what you pay for. You’re not going to find a place that puts more care into the brewing process. Hell, you’re not going to find a place that puts more care into the bottling process. Or the growler filling process. Every step of the way, OEC is dedicated to putting the best possible product in front of their customers. That translates to higher prices, but it’s something you’ll have to make peace with. Beer this good doesn’t happen by accident, and you’re paying premium prices for a premium product. Bottles generally run in the $13 to $20 range, though some occasionally run low and others occasionally run high. 
 
It’s also worth noting that you can purchase bottles online and pick them up in the taproom. Although the taproom itself is only open one day a week, you can also pick up your purchases during normal 9-5 hours on weekdays (although you should reach out to give them a heads-up 24 hours before). OEC will store your purchases for you until the end of the calendar year, giving you plenty of time to make it to the taproom for pickup. That said, they also charge a $1.50 storage fee per bottle. This is more than reasonable, but it is something you should be aware of.
Picture
Did Shane Buy Yet ANOTHER glass? You bet I did! As always, if a brewery I like sells a style of glass that I don’t have, I am literally powerless to resist buying it. This time, it was a stemmed sour glass with a slightly fluted body.
 
Food: Not really. There are some snacky options like chips or a soft pretzel, but OEC isn’t equipped with a full kitchen for food service. That said, from what I saw it looks like they are fine with you bringing outside food in. I saw a couple of pizza floating around on the tables inside.
 
Final Thoughts: If you like sours, you absolutely have to visit OEC. I’ll put it in the simplest possible terms: they are the best. They know what they’re doing. They had a half dozen or so different styles of sour beer on tap when I visited, and each one was better than the last. They aren’t just experts on goses. They aren’t just experts on weisses. They aren’t just experts on lambics. They’re expects on all of those styles and more. OEC has my highest possible recommendation. For lovers of sour beer, this is a can’t miss place.
 
-- Shane

Don't forget to follow us on social media!

Facebook: Together We Drink
Twitter: @TogetherWeDrink
Instagram: @TogetherWeDrink
Untappd:​ Together We Drink
1 Comment

Auburn Alehouse Is a Picture Perfect Northern California Beer Destination

6/20/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Brian York

Brewery Name: Auburn Alehouse
Type of Brewery: Brewpub
 
Location: Auburn, California
 
Website: http://auburnalehouse.com/
Facebook: Auburn Alehouse Craft Brewery
Twitter: @Auburn_Alehouse
Instagram: @auburnalehouse
 
Background: I grew up in New York and lived in Washington, DC for quite some time after that. I thought I knew what traffic was. Then I got to California and was re-educated. This particular time, I was headed from San Francisco to Tahoe, and for one reason or another got a bit of a later start than planned. This meant that what could potentially be a three-hour drive was going to take us closer to eight. Thankfully, Auburn Alehouse was a perfect pit stop to aim for along the way. Far enough to make good progress, close enough to provide a light at the end of the traffic tunnel.
Picture
I had heard a bit about Auburn Alehouse and tried a few of their brews at last year's beer week, but, since it's a ways outside of the city, I hadn't ever gone to visit. Enter the perfect opportunity. Auburn Alehouse brews a huge spectrum of beer styles, which is something that is always attractive to me. Better yet, they pull it off--Auburn Alehouse has great beers in all parts of that spectrum.
 
Growlers: On almost everything, yes. They've got a couple nitros along with a small number of the specialty seasonals that aren't eligible, but everything else is fair game!
Picture
The Beers: So, so, so many beers here. They do a great job of bottling enough to provide for sale but not so much that it starts to get old. Their bar sports a few nitro taps, some cask ales, and a whole mess of taps for their house and seasonal beers. I couldn't resist the hoppy stuff, but I threw a black lager in for good measure. Here's what I tried:
 
  • Black Lassie - Black Lager - this style has been growing on me and made for a great first pint this visit since it was so cold out. Really rich and roasty, this provides all the flavor of a good stout without quite so much of the filling body.
 
  • Gold Digger - IPA (Personal Favorite!) - expertly layered with hops at every turn. This has so much body for an IPA that I'd have totally believed this was more of an IPL. West Coast-style without too much pine and a gorgeous, clear, golden pour.
 
  • PU240 - Imperial IPA - On this little vertical of IPAs, I expected the PU240 to be my favorite, and, while good, was sooo dank that I think it lost some of the hop brightness. The beer is a dank brew lover's dream and sits at 100 IBU.
 
  • ZZ Hop - Triple IPA - This beer is very everything. Very hoppy, very malty, very piney, very floral. Its big in every direction! 9.4% ABV and 140 IBU offer a glimpse at how robust it is, and it has a great name to boot!
Picture
Picture
Vibe: "Town square brewpub" feel here. It was clear upon arrival that this is the place to be on a Friday night for good craft beer and a solid end of the week reward meal. We hadn't seen much in the way of crowds or even many other places to stop before arriving here, but when we did, it was definitely a buzzing place.
 
Family friendly and a great watering hole with a large group, the layout is conducive to having whatever type of experience you're looking for. Plenty of room to sit at a table and a huge bar make for a great use of space and easy ability to get the next round. Staff was great and managed the crowd extremely well.
Picture
This was also one of the better incorporations of the actual brewing section into a pub area that I've seen. Two floors of windows at the far end of the building give you a glimpse into the tank area, and they have it lit in a way that highlights the machinery without blinding the dining room. By design, it's definitely a different feel from the warehouse-style brewery that I see a lot in the city, and I wish it were a little more obvious that you were actually in the brewery. That said, this allows them to have more space, a bigger menu, and to capture the town square vibe that works so well for them.
 
Dogs: No dogs inside here since it's more or less a restaurant. I went during the winter, but I believe when the weather gets nicer there is some outdoor seating that would provide pup-ability in the summer.
 
Price ($ to $$$$$): $$. Full pours range from $5ish to $8ish, depending on what's available. Their flagship stuff is delicious and is sold for $5 even, which is tough to beat. They do flights, half pours, and bottles of most beers as well. Food is very reasonably priced and a real highlight of this venue.
Picture
Food: The food here is a pretty significant plus as far as brewpubs go. The menu is huge, and everything we tried was excellent. Good food at a place like this is an absolute must, and Auburn Alehouse hits every mark with options ranging from small plates to southern food to pizza and burgers.

We visited during normal dinner time but also saw some info about all sorts of beer/food pairing events, special menus, holiday events, and several other fun happenings that centered on good food with good beer.
 
Final Thoughts: So very glad we made a point to stop here on our trip. There is so much beer in San Francisco and Oakland that I admittedly don't get nearly as much as I'd like from breweries in the rest of Northern California. Auburn Alehouse was a reminder that the rest of the area has beer just as good, and benefits from having a little more space to put up a shop. Happy to say that this will surely become a tradition as part of the trip to Tahoe moving forward!

​-- York


Don't forget to follow us on social media!

Facebook: Together We Drink
Twitter: @TogetherWeDrink
Instagram: @TogetherWeDrink
Untappd:​ Together We Drink
1 Comment

Heady Topper. Focal Banger. What Could be Better than a Visit to The Alchemist?

6/6/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Shane Carley
​

Brewery Name: The Alchemist 
Type of Brewery: Retail Brewery

Location: 100 Cottage Club Rd, Stowe, VT. Once you take the turn off the main road, you can’t miss it.
 
Website: https://alchemistbeer.com/
Facebook: The Alchemist
Twitter: @alchemistbeer
Instagram: @alchemistbeer
YouTube: Alchemist Beer
Picture
Background: Most people know about The Alchemist at this point. Most famous for Heady Topper, one of the most famous beers in the world, head brewer John Kimmich has become famous for making delicious and (until recently) difficult to obtain beers. The brewpub that originally served as the brewhouse for The Alchemist burned down years ago, and the brewery has had no retail taproom in the intervening years. As a result, getting your hands on beers like Heady Topper and Focal Banger required either spending hours outside a beer store waiting for a delivery or hitting up one of the local establishments with a distribution agreement. Fortunately, that changed last year. At long last, The Alchemist finally opened a brand new retail establishment, and good lord is it beautiful. My wonderful girlfriend planned a trip to Stowe for us on my birthday, and was only too happy to swing into the facility for some beer.
 
Growlers: No growlers, but all of their beers are available in cans.
Picture
The Beers: When the new facility opened, The Alchemist was finally able to get back to brewing more of the beers that helped put them on the map in the first place. Sure, Heady Topper and Focal Banger are the biggest names, but the expanded capacity has allowed Kimmich and his team to brew more of their classic recipes--as well as a few new, experimental beers. When I stopped by, there were five beers available:
 
  • Heady Topper - Double IPA - The myth. The legend. I’ve spoken to many people who say they like Focal Banger better than Heady Topper, but, to me, Heady is still king. Drinking freshly canned heady topper is an experience that any beer fan should have, and you can absolutely taste the crispness of the fresh hops here. Heady was a beer that helped kickstart the New England IPA craze, and it’s easy to see why this beer still makes people go crazy.

  • Focal Banger - IPA - Just because I tend to like Heady better doesn’t mean I don’t love Focal Banger. This is an absolute banger (pun intended) of a beer. Again, the freshness of the cops comes through with a really crisp and aromatic head. The flavor is a little more mellow than Heady Topper, but you still get that tiny hint of citrus that plays nicely against the more dominant hop flavor.
 
  • Crusher - Double IPA - Crusher has a slightly maltier profile than either Heady or Focal, proving that The Alchemist is capable of playing well in a lot of different spaces. Even under the IPA/DIPA umbrella, there are a lot of different ways to go with a beer, and Crusher offers a little bit of citrus, a little bit of melon, and a nice, strong malt backbone to support it all. While I don’t think it stacks up to Heady Topper, that’s definitely something that comes down to personal preference--fans of maltier IPAs might well find themselves enjoying this beer more.
 
  • Beelzebub - Imperial Stout - It’s always interesting to see a brewery known primarily for its hoppy beers take a stab at a stout, but Beelzebub straddles the line between the two styles. Beelzebub is a hoppy stout that I actually found myself liking quite a bit. It’s rich and chocolatey, but the hops add just a little bit of buzz on your tongue. It’s not enough to pick out any particular hop profile, but it lends a little bit of bitterness to counterbalance the richness. I’m not sure it’s my favorite style of stout, but it’s definitely one worth trying.
 
  • Broken Spoke - American Pale Ale - Broken Spoke is a pale ale made with Amarillo hops, and it goes down extremely smooth. At just 5% ABV, this is a beer that won’t knock on you on your ass--unlike most of The Alchemist’s other offerings. Broken Spoke is smooth and citrusy, but not in a “New England juice bomb” sort of way. It’s more of an understated complement to beers like Heady Topper and Focal Banger, and a welcome addition to The Alchemist’s repertoire.
Picture
Vibe: The new facility is, in a word, awesome. The building itself is absolutely gorgeous, with a stunning white facade adorned with Alchemist-themed art on all sides. There are massive picture windows that extend almost all the way to the roof, offering a glimpse at the brewing area that makes up the majority of the building’s interior.
 
Of course, the best part of the new building is the fact that The Alchemist has really figured out how to streamline purchasing. Gone are the days of standing in line for hours: they’ve made getting in simple, getting tasters simple, and purchasing beer simple. When you walk in the door, you can head to the left to sample the beers the have on tap, and, when you’ve made your decision, you can head over to the registers on the right. There are a few barriers to make sure things remain orderly, but you should get to the front of the line in short order. The fridges are continuously stocked, ensuring that even when the people ahead of you purchase the maximum amount of beer permitted, you’ll never have to wait to get yours.
Picture
Speaking of purchasing limits, the fact that you can now walk in on any given day and purchase an entire case of Heady Topper is crazy to me. I remember the days of fighting for every possible can, and you a simple trip to Stowe can result in multiple cases of amazing Alchemist beer. One of the best things about the new taproom is how cleanly laid out it is, and how well labeled everything is. You won’t have to guess about purchasing limits: there are multiple signs telling you exactly how much of each beer you can purchase. And at just $12.50 per four-pack, why wouldn’t you purchase the maximum?
 
The Alchemist offers a wide variety of merchandise to select from, including the classic t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats. They also offer unique glassware, which I had to purchase, as well as a few more interesting offerings. The Alchemist partnered with a local restaurant to produce Heady Topper hot sauce, and I was too intrigued to pass it up. No shock here: it’s delicious.
 
Maybe the coolest part of the entire experience was seeing the massive brewing area behind the taproom. The Alchemist has come a long way from their old, limited brewing capacity, and an even longer way from their brewpub days. The massive tanks really drive home just how much beer the brewery is now able to produce, and anyone who has ever tasted what The Alchemist puts out can’t help but be excited by the prospect of more.
Picture
Dogs: Yes. You can bring your dog to The Alchemist taproom. They don’t serve food there, so there isn’t much trouble your pup can get into. You’ll obviously want to keep them on a leash, but they’re pretty dog-friendly. You can even get Alchemist-branded dog collars and leashes!
 
Price ($ to $$$$$): $$. I was floored by how affordable The Alchemist’s beers were. Every beer they make comes in at just $12.50 per four-pack, which is astonishingly low for beer of this quality. Given that beers from Tree House, Bissell Brothers, and other well-known New England breweries can cost upwards of $17-$20 per four-pack, this is amazingly affordable.
 
Food: No food (unless you count hot sauce). The taproom is for beer only.
 
Final Thoughts: I was thrilled with my experience at the new facility. It’s massive. It’s beautiful. It’s convenient. It’s streamlined. I’d honestly be hard-pressed to think of a single thing they could even improve. The Alchemist makes some of the most delicious beer in the world, and it’s great to see that they’re putting that brewing expertise to work by filling the new facility with old classics, new experiments, and, most of all, amazing people. I can’t wait for the chance to come back.

-- Shane

1 Comment
    Follow @togetherwedrink
    Instagram

    Drink With Us

    Three friends. Three corners of the country. One passion for beer.

    Recent Blogs

    Heady Topper. Focal Banger. What Could Be Better than a Trip to The Alchemist?

    The Hills Are Alive (with Incredible Beer) at von Trapp Brewing

    Get Out of the City and Into Woods Beer Co.

    Categories

    All
    Brewery Posts
    California
    DMV
    Misc
    New England

      Contact Us

    Submit

    Archives

    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Master List
    • Beer
    • Breweries
  • Top Picks
  • Worth A Shot