A trip through Connecticut offers casinos, museums, antique shopping and more;

Connecticut, an easy drive from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and eastern Pennsylvania even for a day or weekend getaway trip, is the southern gateway to a New England vacation. Hotels, inns, resorts, and romantic bed and breakfasts are plentiful. Connecticut tourism runs the gamut from a family vacation at Ocean Park Beach in New London to playing the slot machines at the casinos to browsing antique stores in Litchfield.

Among the highlights for tourism in Connecticut are the slots and table games of the Foxwoods casino and Mohegan Sun casino in the eastern part of the state. Mystic has the renowned Mystic Aquarium – great for families with children – and Mystic Seaport, a museum of seafaring.

Hartford, the geographic centre of Connecticut, has the bright new Connecticut Science Centre, attracting families and science buffs from far and wide. The capital city also has a home of American writer Mark Twain. Famous eagle-watching river cruises and steamboat cruises and antique railroad excursion trips entertain tourists along the Connecticut River near the town of Essex.

The coastal Fairfield region presents a range of outdoor and family fun like the Beardsley Zoo and Barnum Museum in Bridgeport and the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk. New Haven claims to be the home of the first pizza in America; don’t pass through the city without stopping at a pizza parlour.

The Litchfield region is classic small-town New England. A drive in the region reveals small towns with village greens and steepled churches, stone walls and fields, luxury inns and dining – and lots of great antique shopping.

Plentiful shopping also can be found at Olde Mistick Village in Mystic, as well as the Tanger Outlet Centre in Westbrook and the Clinton Crossing outlets in Clinton. As with all parts of New England, inland and waterfront parks for hiking, biking, and play are easy to find.

Connecticut does not have a “beer town” so I will give you the low down on the brew-pubs and breweries of the state;

Brü Rm. at BAR, 254 Crown Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511

This place is pretty interesting brew pub. They have a restaurant in one area, a bar in another and a club/dance floor in another. it’s a one stop shop for going out. A large, open, industrial. Blank concrete walls that appear to be cracking, a massive garage door. A modern/industrial thing going on? There is a front room with a bar, pool tables, etc. A chill room with big couches, a back room with a stage for live bands. Another back room which is a dance club, which also has an outdoor room for the warmer months. A dining room/brewpub. and two more floors of grain lofts, and private group seating areas. They usually have 5 of their own beers on tap, but they also have Bud, and other macros on as "guest" taps as well? The house brewed beers are pretty good, but they only have one seasonal on, and the four year round brews were not exactly adventurous. Plus $4 a pint is also a nice price to pay for good beer. The service is good, and the pizza here is awesome and available with many odd toppings (Mashed potatoes). Overall worth stopping at if you find yourself in New Haven to grab a pie and some fresh brewed beer.

Cavalry Brewing, 115 Hurley Road, Bldg 9A, Oxford, Connecticut, 06478.

Cavalry Brewing beers are brewed using traditional English methods on American equipment to create fresh and flavourful ales and stouts to entice the most discerning palate. Each product is a balance between the barley and the hops to provide an easy drinking ale or stout. Located in an industrial park. The physical location is similar in scale to New England Brewing, but their focus is more on session beers. They will fill growlers, but do not have their own? The owner/brewer is very friendly, will give you samples, and loves to talk beer.

City Steam Brewery Cafe, 942 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut, 06103

City Steam is the most central Brewpub in the metro Hartford area and perhaps one of the better watering holes in Downtown Hartford. Beer rotates and can range from average to fantastic. They usually have about 10 beers on tap. The styles ranged from biere de garde, to Dortmunder, to IPA, to bock, to light lager. There’s also a comedy club downstairs. Located in a beautiful historic building that also houses the downtown Residence Inn. Gorgeous from the outside and spacious in the inside. The wooden floors and walls are nice, but a bit worn in the bar area. The entire space is large with vast ceilings and consists of three levels; Basement: Comedy Club Level 1: Bar, restaurant and pool table room, Level 2: More dining space. The menu’s above average with some nice snacking foods.

Cottrell Brewing Co. 100 Mechanic St, Pawcatuck, Connecticut, 06379

Cottrell Brewing Company is a Connecticut-based micro brewery, manufacturing delicious craft beers a fine New England tradition. Founded back in 1996 as a family owned brewery by Charles and Ann Cottrell in honour of their heritage and family name. The brewery is in the same factory walls as where their ancestors worked and owned the C.B. Cottrell & Sons, Inc. (an 1800's manufacture of printing press).

Their flagship brew is Old Yankee Ale, which is a medium bodied, American Amber Ale, that has a great up-front malt taste with a refreshing hop finish. More recently, they launched Mystic Bridge, which is a great example of a year ‘round New England IPA. A mild earthy IPA with hints of citrus, this beer is great for paring with foods or for session drinking.

TOURS / TASTINGS; Monday-Wednesday by appointment; Thursday a tour at 3 p.m. Friday tours on the half hour from 3-6 p.m. Saturday tours on the half hour from 1-5 p.m. last tour at 5

New England Brewing Co. 7 Selden Street, Woodbridge, Connecticut, 06525.

Founded in 2001 this brewery produces a good, but small line up up of beers. They welcome visitors any time so if you are in the area why not stop by for a tour and a taster, take you growler and get it filled (not cash only) Their final Friday tastings are a great time but the only time they are “really” open to the public. Not much to say about the place as it is just a brewery and not meant for the public. What they try to do on the Fridays is great though.

Olde Burnside Brewing Company, 776 Tolland St, East Hartford, Connecticut, 06108

This is a small, barn-like Ice Store. Their main business is selling ice, but there’s a small room where they brew and where the fermentation tanks are. Nevertheless, their beers are all over the place, especially in neighbouring Manchester. If you want their beer, go to a bar for their Ten Penny, or go to a Package Store for their seasonal stuff. I would not go out of my way to go here, unless I lived in East Hartford Tour are only available by appointment only.

Southport Brewing Company, 850 West Main Street Branford 06405.

This new establishment can be found just off Rt. 1 in Branford, CT. The interior of this location is closer in appearance to the Southport location than their other locations and is more airy. The restaurant has a bar / open kitchen area, and a back room for dining. I sat in the bar area, slighty dark interior with large glass windows overlooking the road. Outside seating was available too. Large warehouse ductwork adorns the ceilings. Large bar seats about 30. Like their other locations, this one has overpriced food and a decent selection of their own beers that tend towards the average. Not a place for a beer geek. more of a place to take the family if you want to be in a TGI Fridays like atmosphere but want beer brewed on the premises.

Other SBC locations are; 1950 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden, 06514; 33 New Haven Avenue, Milford, 06460; 2600 Post Road, Southport, 06490 & 131 Summer St. Stamford, 06901

The Brew Pub at Mohegan Sun. 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville, Connecticut, 06382

Located in the Race Book, visitors can enjoy a variety of domestic and imported draft beers, including Mohegan Sun Ale brewed by Budweiser, while viewing the continuous racing and Jai-Alai action or playing video slots. Worth a look in if you are visiting the Casino but otherwise not worth bothering with its all part of the tourist trap and even though there are brew tanks its not a brew pub.

The Cambridge House, 357 Salmon Brook Street, Granby, Connecticut, 06035

Nice place about 15 minutes west of the airport. They only had 4 of their own beers on tap but they were very drinkable, especially the IPA. They also had another 8 or so micros. Seems a slightly above average brewpub. The atmosphere was great, and the food was pretty solid. Bright, and clean with a variety of rooms and porch, etc. Well worth a stop if you are in the area.

The Griswold Inn, 36 Main Street, Essex, Connecticut, 06426

The Griswold Inn was founded in the late 18th century and is the oldest standing inn and tavern in the United States.

The pub has the feel of a true New England relic. High ceiling, dim lights, antiques and art everywhere, ornate wood furnished. Truly cosy, warm, and inviting.

Maybe not a "true" beer destination with five standard taps including Sam Adams, Sam Seasonal, etc. Although, The Griswold Inn features its own privately brewed "Revolutionary Ale", which is worth trying.

The food is excellent. Simple plates, fresh and home made. Try the grilled cheese and home made tomato soup.

Monday nights means folk music and sea shanty's, a packed pub with people slamming their glasses on the table and singing.

Thomas Hooker Ales & Lagers, 16 Tobey Rd, Bloomfield, Connecticut, 06002.

First established over ten years ago as the brewing arm of the Trout Brook Brew Pub, the company and its brands were purchased by the current investor group in 2006. Precipitated by the closure of the adjacent brew pub in mid-2003, Troutbrook Brewery became a manufacturing micro brewery with a new focus on distribution. The products were re-introduced to the market as Thomas Hooker Ales & Lagers in August, 2003. It's far removed from the main eating and drinking venues in town, and difficult to find as its located in the industrial, frog hollow section of Hartford. Let's just say it's not the area where you want your car to break down on the way there. The building itself is a neat old factory with the original swinging wooden gates at the front entrance. Physically, the building is split up into a number of rooms. The bar area is not too large, and is heavily wooded and dark. Some booths around the perimeter, high tables in the middle. A nice place to have some beers. The dining room is in the middle of the building and is kind of choppy. There's a large banquet room and a pool room that has a couple other games and a living room-like set-up with a large TV with comfy couches surrounding it. In the back, behind large glass windows, is the brew room, visible from the dining room. A great place to chill out and have a meal while supping some above average craft beers usually around 8 – 10 taps pouring.

Tullycross Tavern & Microbrewery, 1487 Pleasant Valley Road, Manchester, Connecticut, 06040

This used to be a John Harvard's Brew House, and the decor still shows that. Walls around the bar are a little bare and could use a dash of touching up. Just ignore the walls and pay attention to the flat screens they have hanging around.

As far as featured beers, they were about 9 beers on draft with options like TCT Pale Ale, Catcher In the Rye-P.A., Irish Stout, Belgian Perti at Night, Tempting Murphy Imperial Stout, Spring Bock and a Brown Ale on cask. The beer is a funny thing because Tullycross knocks it out of the park when they get something right, but there are a few that just don't work. They do a "Tavern Sampler”. The bartender was solid overall with responsive & prompt service.

A solid tavern/microbrewery that appears to have some initial growing pains. I think they've been open since mid-March 2011, the place is going through some growing pains hopefully these details will work out. If anyone checks it out please let me know.

Willimantic Brewing Co, 967 Main St, Willimantic, Connecticut, 06226.

A rather out of the way location; Willimantic isn’t really a town you are likely to be just passing by and, for most people, it will take a special journey. But it’s worth it. The beers are rock solid and often adventurous, if not all world beaters. The location is right in the centre of town. The building used to be the post office and a pretty grand one at that. The monumental scale and soaring ceilings mean it isn’t the most cosy or intimate place but that’s just a minor point. Quite opulent surroundings, with the look of one of those ornate Victorian gin palace pubs albeit the original use was very different. There are 2 main areas a bar area and a dining area with some outside seating for those sunny days.

Food is pretty decent. Not only do they have their own beers but they also have quite a few guest taps, mainly supporting other local breweries. A nice touch, and rare for a brewpub to welcome the "opposition". The brew master likes to put up his beers against other breweries so that you can compare styles, a cool touch. There are usually about 20+ taps covering the full range of beer styles. I would drive up there for mid afternoon and sleep over in the motel at the other end of town and do a full session in the bar it is awesome.

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