Spoke + Spy Ciderworks is a craft cidery that opened in Middletown, Connecticut in March 2018. It…read morewas founded by husband and wife Ronald and Kimberly Sansone. Ronald lived in London, England for a time and worked as a graphic designer. While in London, he saw how popular hard ciders were and it sparked his interest in the beverage. After returning to the states, he began making his own cider at home and enrolled in programs at Cornell and Oregan State Universities. He won numerous accolades over the years from his homemade ciders. Eventually, the Sansones decided to open their own cidery that featured hard ciders made from locally sourced apples. The cidery 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. Sansone named the cidery 'Spoke & Spy' as a reference to the building's history as a bicycle factory as well as the Northern Spy Apple (one of Sansone's favorite varieties). I first visited Spoke + Spy 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 cidery, I was very thirsty. The taproom is decorated with all sorts of bicycle memorabilia. I decided to order a sampler flight that consisted of six ciders ranging in flavors from pear to grape. I liked them all, but my favorite was a tart, semi-dry strawberry-rhubarb cider called "Love Shouldn't Hurt". I ended up purchasing a growler of it to bring back home. If you plan on visiting the cidery in Middletown, I must recommend making it a craft beer afternoon because the Remington Rand building is also home to Stubborn Beauty Brewing and Forest City Brewing.

Cool place. I guess new thing in CT is touring breweries…read more We did 3 brewery tour while we were visiting CT. This place is located right next to Forest City Brewery. I never tasted cider as beer, but liked them a lot. We tried a flight with 8 different ciders. Some tasted like apple juice with bubbles, but pretty good. It was 20F below out side, in side of this old factory converted brewery was not much warmer, but extremely good ambience. Definitely we will visit here again whenever we are in CT.

The place is clean, the owners are AMAZING!!! The beer selection is well rounded, so everyone will…read morefind something they like. The outdoor patio overlooks Main Street. It's such a good vibe, very relaxing yet trendy and oh so cool. The food trucks are also great! I highly recommend this place!!! Super glad they are here!

Coles Road Brewing is based in Berlin. I have been there each of the last 3 Novembers for a…read moreWingsgiving my friend plans. The space is perfect for small, medium or large get togethers. I know they are very flexible with my friend. The beer is good. They make a mix of things. Recently, I had an IPA and a slightly spicy Mexican lager. I wouldn't put their beer in the top tier, but it's good. They also sometimes have food trucks. 4 Stars

Second time coming here. Decent selection of beers/ciders on tap as well as some new slushies…read more 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

Sorry no pictures…read more This is a small brewery with a good selection of beers and food options available. I had a Lucky Charm Irish Red Lager. It was super refreshing after being outside on a hot day. Flavor profile was delicious. The brewer/staff working today (7/14/24) was very friendly and welcoming. I would definitely return and try more of their beer selection.

Yes, variety of foods to go with drinks and tastings. Very…read morenice staff. Great atmosphere.

Excellent cocktails and friendly staff in a great setting! Will definitely be going back.read more

Cool venue overall. 3.5 rounded up for having some local 3rd party drink options, a large clean…read morespace, food truck and a bunch of fun vendors with booths setup while we were there (though I believe it was the last day for that). It's not very local nor particularly convenient to any of my normal routes, but it was a nice stop on the way home recently. They're in the back section of a multi-tenant complex, sharing part of a steel / metal siding "Butler" building with a few others such as a cross-fit place. Decent enough parking, huge indoor space with games, some TV's, a large bar and very nice, newly built restrooms. The beer overall was pretty good. All seemed clean, refreshing, and of sufficient quality, but none of the ones I tried were enticing enough for me to consider any to go. The sour was probably my favorite overall. The water station needs work. It doesn't work all that well / kind of slow, and it's frustrating to find yet another business won't serve water (even when not busy, and apparently even if you're seated at the bar. I get it, that costs time and thus money, but it seems odd to expect people seated at the bar to get up and walk away for a water. If there wasn't any bar seating, it would make more sense to me. (Couple places in Manchester follow the same trend, but neither of those has bar seating.)

Rule of 3 offers several beer options and all done well. The owners set up a very inviting…read moreatmosphere with large TVs and games to play. You can sit with friends play cards or pick a day board for a couple rounds. Plenty of seating available. Service is friendly and knowledgeable on the beer selection. They have cool merch with their cool logo. Enjoy!

I FINALLY made it into ARK. They've been open a year now and it's so cute inside. They had a…read moremusician playing when I popped in yesterday, and everyone who works here is so nice. I had an orchard spritz, which was super smooth and refreshing. I'll have to come back for a tour at some point and to try their cheeseboards, they look awesome. If you're looking for a gift for someone, they have multiple sizes for their bottles, which is great.

This got me; At ARK Distillery, we believe that acts of random kindness can create ripples of…read morechange. That's why we are committed to hosting charity events and donating a portion of our proceeds each year to local causes close to our hearts. We strive to embody our name by spreading love and generosity with every bottle we create. They got my Vote so this is what i did for them. I was able to put them up on Yelp so everyone can spread the word.. and the wonderful and exciting vibes are a great addition to the local Community... Thank you for the tasting today and the private tour. It was much appreciated.

We were surprised! Typical food at CT breweries tend to be mediocre. This place was a bit above…read more It's a scratch kitchen, so no prepackaged anything. Everything was made in house. They had healthy options (veggie burger was fantastic) and you're typical not to healthy foods. I had an intriguing drink with vodka, carrot juice and mascarpone that blew me away. It was soooo good. The only issue we had was the noise. It was loud. There was a large table full of very loud people. Some acoustic treatments would help. Overall experience was great and will definitely be back.

Awful. I stopped in because they advertised smash burgers, which I love. It was terrible. The roll…read morewas huge and not toasted or even warmed, the burger was about 1/8 of a pound and it was NOT what a smash burger is supposed to be. No crispy edges, no greasy goodness. They gave me a mountain of over cooked French fries of which I ate about eight and left the rest. I tried samples of two of their brewery draft beers and they were barely cold. I need my beer ice cold so I passed on beer at a brewery. OMG. I also ordered the carrots as a side and they were delicious so that was good. $22 plus tip right down the drain. Never again.

Fantastic place to grab a drink! Perfect for watching the game and a quick lunch. Service was…read morespeedy and the drinks were reasonably priced.

What an awesome hidden gem! I've driven by this brewery a hundred times and finally made time to…read morecheck it out. Very cool atmosphere and helpful bar tender. You can order more than just beer here - including cocktails. I sampled some beer but just wasn't in the mood so I got an old fashioned. Pretty good for $10! They have a bunch of games and other things to keep you and your group occupied. Will definitely visit again!