Thomas Hooker Brewery

Rob and I just got back from a tasting and tour at Thomas Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield. Previous to this, I only tasted the IPA, which wasn't that great. But it's only about twenty minutes away from our house, so we figured we would give it a try.

It ended up being a lot more awesome than we thought it was going to be. For only $5, you get a pint glass, you get to try all of the beers on tap, and you get a tour. They started us off with their watermelon ale. It smelled like a Jolly Rancher. Rob described the aftertaste as "like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." They also had the American Pale Ale and an Irish Red Ale that were both good. Our favorite (or at least my favorite) was the Lager. We were hoping to try the Oktoberfest, which was just named the best Oktoberfest by the New York Times, but they didn't even have any left in the building. That's how popular it's become since that article.

While we were trying all the beers, we got to chat with some cool people who knew a lot about beer. Alexis is the office manager for the brewery, and she told us that the hops are grown up at a farm in New Hartford, probably not far from Sequassen. Josh (or John? Let's call him J) doesn't work for Hooker, but he is a homebrewer, and volunteers to lead the tastings and tours on the weekends.

After trying all of the beers on tap, J led us on a short tour of the facility, showing us where the grains are stored, turned into mash, boiled and brewed. I thought it was pretty interesting. Rob was taking mental notes for his future homebrewing. We also got to try the Blonde Ale straight from the brewing vat. It's a very light beer with an aftertaste sort of like Kix. I liked it a lot.

So afterwards we got hang out, drink more beer, and ended up buying a growler of the Lager. It was definitely a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We'll more than likely end up going there some time again and bringing friends along.

Beer tastings 12-6 every Saturday and Friday's 6-9 (sometimes to benefit a charity).

*UPDATE* Sad News! We went again this past Saturday (2/21) and they are no longer giving away pint glasses as part of the tasting (but you can still buy them for around $4). And, according to Rob's friend who volunteers there, the price might soon go up to $10. It's still worth the money though. Where else can you basically get all the beer you can drink (especially good beer) for only $10?
Also, "J" is really Joe. I tend to remember things better when I don't spend three hours straight drinking.