In 2006, Curt Cameron asked for a Thomas Hooker beer at a Farmington restaurant to see if the bar carried it. A woman overheard him and asked about the beer’s origination. When she heard it was made in Connecticut’s capital, she scoffed.
“If it’s from Hartford, it can’t be any good.”
That dismissive response stuck with Cameron, who had just taken over the Hooker beer brand and brewing operations from the previous owners. He was determined to prove the naysayers wrong. “You look for things that motivate you,” he says.
A year later, Cameron moved the Hooker brewing operations, which were first established as the brewing arm of the Trout Brook Brew Pub on Hartford’s Bartholomew Avenue, to the current flagship location on Tobey Road in Bloomfield. The brewery’s reputation grew exponentially, becoming an established brand at restaurants and package stores throughout the state.
Now, a decade after the move, Thomas Hooker has returned to the city with a new tasting room and small-batch brewery on the ground floor of the South Armory at the former Colt firearms complex. Thomas Hooker at Colt opened in July, featuring 10 rotating beers on tap and indoor seating for about 75 in a convivial atmosphere.
“We’ve been trying to get back to Hartford for a long time,” says Cameron, referencing previous deals that didn’t pan out: plans to bring the brewery to the former Hartford Times building (where UConn’s new downtown campus resides) and a potential move to the Downtown North redevelopment by Dunkin’ Donuts Park, home of the Hartford Yard Goats.
The available space at the Colt complex was ideal, Cameron says, with tall windows and an expansive patio for warm-weather socializing. “This is a great way to sort of dip our toes back into Hartford.”
The tasting room’s design reflects the history of the building, keeping with its industrial theme. A custom-made bar uses Southern yellow pine timbers from the building’s former shooting range, with bullets still embedded into the wood. The ceiling, painted blue with gold stars, pays homage to the signature onion dome atop the building.
The Colt brewery produces just 100 gallons at a time, making it easy for Hooker to experiment with new styles and recipes.
Cameron has seen the Connecticut beer scene mushroom in the past decade, watching breweries proliferate in all corners of the state.
“I’ve been impressed by how once that tipping point got hit, how it went crazy,” he says. “Everyone’s opening up venues like this – like the advent of a local bar again that makes their own product. We’re having a pretty good time with it.”
As more and more breweries came online in Connecticut, Cameron says, Hooker, one of the more senior brands in the state, became “like the old guys.” With lots of new local competitors, the brewery team pushed to continue to raise its profile and try new styles, like a New England-style IPA and a lime gose.
“It was a challenge for us,” he says. “We started coming out with all sorts of new crazy stuff, and I think that we really bounced back quite nicely.”
FEATURED/NOTEWORTHY BEERS: Hooker’s #NOFILTER, a “juicy New England-style IPA” dry hopped with citra and mosaic hops, “is sort of our hit song right now,” says Cameron. Other year-round brews recently found on the Colt tap list include the Belma IPA, with hops grown on a farm in the Yakima Valley of Washington; a Blonde Ale and the Hop Meadow IPA with a blend of cascade, centennial and simcoe hops.
Winter seasonals have returned, like the Nor’Easter Winter Lager and Hooker’s sweet Chocolate Truffle Stout, brewed with proprietary cocoa powder from Connecticut’s own Munson’s Chocolates. Hooker will soon introduce a new imperial milk stout, Reindeer Slayer, along with a new batch of Ode to Blumpy, an IPA named for the beloved brewery cat who died in July.
Springtime will bring Hooker’s fruity seasonal Watermelon Ale, and the Nectar of the Goats session pale ale, created for the Yard Goats, will get some recipe tweaks for the 2018 season, Cameron says.
TASTING ROOM HOURS, AMENITIES: Hooker at Colt plays host to live music, regular trivia nights and board game meetups. In the summer and fall months, popular Pups and Pints nights attracted local dog lovers to the patio with their canine pals (complete with a biscuit bar and water bowls.)
FOOD OPTIONS: Guests are welcome to bring their own food, and the Eats 2 Go cafe next door to the brewery offers a menu of snacks, like nuts, cheese and charcuterie, panini, a pulled pork sandwich, quesadillas and a “dip flight” with pico de gallo, hummus and guacamole served with corn tortillas. Items are $5 to $18.
PRICING: Pours in 16-ounce portions are $6 and $7. Growlers in 32-ounce sizes are $9 to 12; 64-ounce growlers are $17 to $20. Flights, with four sample-size glasses, are $8.
Hooker also offers wines by the glass ($6 and $7) and by the bottle ($25 to $35.) Cocktails, like old-fashioneds, Manhattans and margaritas, are $8. Spirits, including a selection of whiskey, Scotch and bourbon, are $8 to $15.
Thomas Hooker Brewery At Colt, 140 Huyshope Ave., Hartford, is open Monday through Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. 860-461-0945 and hookerbeer.com/colt.
