Sausage and peppers pretzel!!! Score! Delicious! I caught outside Hooker brewery. Nice job guys!!!read more

Holy cow!! We had the buffalo chicken pretzel with bleu cheese and the plain salted pretzel with…read morethe hooker brewery pale ale cheddar and bacon cheese sauce! Great concepts for variety, friendly staff, and downright amazing fresh pretzels! It is dangerous close location outside of the colt building apartments as they are so good!! Wonderful and must try!

Friendly staff, excellent brews, and pizza and pretzels made in a brick oven that are amazing…read more Great flavor combinations. They work very well with the local community and host the local community foundation's Giving Brewsday every year on Giving Tuesday right after Thanksgiving.

5 Churches is a brewery in the downtown New Britain area. It's located in an industrial looking…read morebrick building, but when you climb the stairs to the main tap room, you'll see high ceilings and lots of cool wood. A gorgeous space. 5 Churches also has a pizza oven, although I haven't tried their food. When I visited, I ordered a 4 beer flight with an American style IPA, an Imperial IPA, a Das Froot Blueberry Pancake Sour, and a Mashacre Imperial Stout. The Blieberry Pancake as a sour was well executed and tasty. Great color, density and mouthfeel too. The other beers were accurately described and pretty good. Would definitely return to check out more beer. 4 Stars

Huge place! Excellent service. Large pours! We were there for a literary event, and the dedicated…read moreroom was well-suited to the purpose.

This is one of the few CT breweries that's isn't riding the IPA wave. They have a great variety of…read morebeers so go try them out! Talk to the bar tenders, the ones I've chatted with have been super nice and they know what they're serving. There's a very cool vibe from the old industrial building and the decor is funky cool. Dogs are welcome. There's no 'food' but they do sell snacks and Parkville Market is just up the street. Lately one of my fabulous Hartford spots.

Located conveniently right by the mall entrance. The line was intimidatingly long but moves super…read morequick! The pretzels were coming out fresh and were warm, thick, and fluffy. Looked to be very clean as well.

A good go-to for a quick bite when walking through the mall. The line is always long but the staff…read moremoves it quickly. I typically will go for the pepperoni bites with marinara or cinnamon with glaze. Compared to other locations, the pretzels here aren't super greasy thankfully. I wish they offered forks for the bites instead of a toothpick. Logically I guess it makes sense but the bites are too big and the toothpick doesn't really hold them up.

I haven't been to Relic in a long time. Last time I was there it was still just one tiny room…read moreserving their beer and a selection of whiskies. They've since expanded the size of their tasting room into another huge, open space full of high tops and comfortable lounge seating along with a bar mixing up creative cocktails. The new space also has tons of pinball machines and other games. We stopped in after a movie on a Friday at about 6:30. There were a few groups hanging out but it wasn't too busy at all. It was pretty chill vibe, and I got the sense that a lot of locals frequent them, which is cool. We hung out for nearly two hours and by the time we left the only other folks there were at the bar in the front room. The beer is still good! I did want to try some of their cocktails though. They have some pretty creative cocktails made with interesting homemade syrups, shrubs, and the like. I tried the Honey Don't which was tart but well balanced. I wished it was a little spicier, but I am a spice fiend.Then I felt for something a little sweeter so I went with the Poolside gossip. All the different ingredients really combined into a unique and delicious flavor! I really enjoyed what they have going on. The space was comfortable and relaxed and there's something on their drinks menu for literally everyone, plus entertainment. They have small snacks available, but you're also welcome to bring your own food. So it's basically like a very relaxed bar. We'll definitely be stopping in more frequently!

Relic Brewing is a craft brewery that opened in Plainville, Connecticut in February 2012. It was…read morefounded by brewer Mark Sigman. Although his professional background was in advertising, Sigman had been an avid homebrewer since 1994. Eventually he decided to open his own brewery. Sigman chose the name "Relic" to reference his world travels. Aiming to craft artisanal ales inspired by flavors from around the world, he thought of himself as more of a chef than a brewer. Sigman doesn't brew beer based on which styles are trendy, but rather beers that he personally enjoys with tastes that he views as complimentary or exciting. I have visited Relic Brewing multiple times since I first became serious about craft beer in 2013. At that time, Relic was one of maybe 10 breweries in the state (today there are over 100). Of those original 10, only half remain in business. The taproom was very small during my initial visit: about 10 square feet and they only served small free samples. I recently stopped there with my older son because it occurred to me that I hadn't been there in at least 10 years. A lot had changed! In 2016, a full bar was added and Relic began to serve full pint pours as well as craft cocktails. A large back room addition opened in 2019, which featured a fully furnished lounge and a pinball arcade slowly evolved. When I first arrived, I ordered a taster flight which featured "Oktoberfest", "Nebraska IPA", "The Whim" (New England IPA), and "Double Whim" (Double New England IPA). I grabbed my flight and headed to the back room with my son. He was so excited to play the pinball machines and other various arcade games. The two of us had a nice father-son bonding experience playing pinball as I also enjoyed my beer samples; the "Oktoberfest" was my favorite! If you like great beer paired up with pinball, then head down to Relic Brewing!

My son's high school friend lives in Germany but graduated from a local private school. We took her…read morealong with another friend and both our kids to East Side for an authentic German meal. It was a BLAST! The food was excellent and authentic (according to the German girl!) and the ambience was perfect. I've never been to Germany but I felt like I was in EPCOT and my son's friend was thrilled. She said it was so much like her home city. We drove over an hour to go here and it was totally worth it. We will go again.

This restaurant was on my son's bucket list - I used to eat here when I was younger, and after…read moreeating here, remembered why I don't go back - too touristy for me. We shared the Wurst platter and potato pancakes, which were very good. My Jager Schnitzel was just ok.

Best brewery I've been to so far in the Hartford area and I've been to at least a dozen. Unique…read morevariety. Tastes like top notch homebrew. Their lighter beers have complex subtle flavors where most breweries would just have token light beers for non craft beer drinkers. Nice outdoor space and a whole food menu. Bartender calls it "Baskin Robbin's of Beer" and he'll give you as many samples as you want to help you decide.

Came here after a work meeting. Driving in parking can be a bit tight. But you can also park on the…read morestreet. The team got a few drinks that they enjoyed and the boss order some apps that were good. Inside was spacious and I think they got two bars. There is plenty of seating also. I ordered the cheese steak wrap with tots and it was really good. When you order your food, they would send you a text when your food is ready for pick up. Overall a good place to have a drink and have a bite eat.

Ok. Y"all why didn't I know this existed. It is a cute brewery. I mean I feel like this brewery is…read morefor the gurrrls. It has as interesting wine and cocktail as it has beer. Now I only asked about wines, but just the amount of variety in wine selection blew me away. Also, I just had the pleasure of having an app bug the menu looks extensive for a brewery. Loving the fact that I can possibly add a bunch of different proteins into solid salad options. I was tempted to to do that but just needed a little fuel before hitting the road. I got the hummus app which doesn't so d like a big deal to make- but let me tell you- there is craft I. This hummus plate. The beet flavor is a delish variation. The nuts and cheese complement it well. It's also a feast for the eyes! See the pic! Service was friendly and attentive I will be sure to bring friends for a nice cocktail. The patio beckons!

Great place to grab a pint! Nice draft beer selection, good service, and ample parking. What more…read morecan you ask for? I didn't get a chance to try the food, but it looked good. Hope to come back next time I'm in town.