Even in a pandemic, people still want to be able to sit down on a late summer day and enjoy a cold, refreshing ale, shandy, or hefeweizen. To help with this, the Connecticut Brewers Guild has launched an app called the Connecticut Beer Trail, or “CTBeer Trail,” available on Apple and Adroid.
The app features a list of 115 operating breweries in the state, including 21 breweries in this region, from Glastonbury to Hartford to Enfield, using the GPS on your phone to tell you how far each brewery is, listing them by distance with a search option. Each brewery has a list of current deals and upcoming events.
The app replaces a physical paper passport book that the guild used to have, but still offers rankings and rewards for people who visit a required number of breweries. There are five tiers with names like “Hop Hunter,” “Can Crusher,” and “Trail Blazer,” depending how many breweries you visit in a year.
The app also features events that are not exclusive to a brewery. For example, an event is listed for the third annual Connecticut Craft Beer Fest at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre Nov. 14.
The beer trail began as a paper passport on Labor Day 2018, said Phil Pappas, guild executive director.
“We were really successful with the passport program,” Pappas said. “We’ve grown from 43 to 115 breweries. With the success we contacted a company, Brewer’s Marketing, based out of Florida.”
Brewer’s Marketing developed beer trail apps for Ohio, California, New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and the guild directors for those states, he said, were very happy with how it helped the brewery business.
A change in how the passport works, he said, is that it will no longer be based on the calendar year from January to January. Instead, the number of breweries you visit roll over for a full year from when you start.
Kat Manning, guild marketing and membership coordinator, said the new version steers beer enthusiasts to local breweries that they may not have been aware of, making it easier to find a place close by that people can visit with friends.
She said it also breeds a bit of fun competition.
“There’s a leaderboard of most visited breweries and the person who visited the most breweries,” she said.
It also builds relationships between beer drinkers from across the state to meet and get to know each other through the guild’s social media platforms.
To get a passport stamped, the person visiting the brewery has to be close enough to the location for the phone’s GPS to recognize you being at the brewery.
“It’s GPS fenced to the brewery’s tap room,” Manning said. “The GPS will recognize that they’re there.”
Local breweries have been pleased with the results of the app so far.
“It’s got a lot of new features we’re still exploring,” said Adam Delaura, owner of Labryinth Brewing Company in Manchester. “You can plan your beer adventure looking for new breweries. It’s easy to plan out wherever you’re headed.”
He said it’s great for when you’re on a day trip and want to find a nearby brewery.
“All the information is at the customer’s fingertips,” he said. “Whether they were just looking for us, or Manchester and the surrounding area, we’ll show up on that list. We really love that.”
He said that since the app lauched, travelers have been popping up, especially on the weekends.
Delaura admits he misses the interaction with new guests who come to visit and need their passport book stamped, but he appreciates when people tell him they came because of the beer trail and the app and the convenience of being able to use their phone.
“A lot of people who’ve come in since the app was launched, they’ve really appreciated it,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier for people who are on the go.”
Previously, he said, “your beer pass was the last thing you were thinking of packing. Most of the time you have your phone with you.”
Eric Mance, owner of Broad Brook Brewing Company in Suffield, said people who use the beer trail app should let them know that they’re there because of the app, because they sometimes offer deals for beer trail users.
“We used to have tours,” he said, referring to pre-COVID-19 pandemic events, which he hopes to eventually get back to, “and they’d come in and we’d do a tour and a tasting with some sort of a discount.”
For Jennifer Wright, co-owner of Luppoleto Brewing Company in Windsor Locks, which opened this past September, she said the app is helpful, because the brewery wasn’t on the paper passport last year and now new breweries can be immediately added to the beer trail instead of waiting for the new year’s passport to come around.
“I think it’s great because it allows people to find our brewery who may not know about us,” she said. “They can find us and take a trip to a particular part of the state and quickly find our brewery.”
She said Luppoleto only reopened in July after shutting down in March because of the pandemic. She said customers have shown up who didn’t know the fledgling brewery even existed.
“I really like the concept of the beer trail,” she said. “We’ve definitely seen the benefits. It’s very popular and we collaborate very well with other breweries. Working together as breweries, it’s a very positive thing for us all.”
LOCAL BREWERIES:
2nd Bridge Brewing Co., 642 Hillard St., Manchester
Breakaway Brew Haus, 5 Steeles Crossing Road, Bolton
Broad Brook Brewing (under
construction), 915 South St., Suffield
City Steam Brewery, 942 Main St., Hartford Road
Cold Creek Tavern, 175 West Road, Ellington
Connecticut Valley Brewing Co., 765 Sullivan Ave., South Windsor
Elicit Brewing Co., 165 Adams St., Manchester
Hanging Hills Brewing Co., 150 Ledyard St., Hartford
Hog River Brewing Co., 1429 Park St., Hartford
Hop Culture Farms & Brewing Co., 144 Cato Corner Road, Colchester
Hops on the Hill Farm Brewery, 275 Dug Road, South Glastonbury
Labyrinth Brewing Co., 148 Forest St., Manchester
Luppoleto Brewing Co., 20 Main St., Windsor Locks
Phantom Brewing Company, 290 Murphy Road, Hartford
Powder Hollow Brewery, 504 Hazar Ave, Enfield
Problem Solved Brewing Co., 2 North Road, East Windsor
The Brewery at Maple View Farm, 192 Salmon Brook St., Granby
The Crossings Restaurant & Brew Pub, 45 Main St., Putnam
Thomas Hooker Brewery at Colt, 140 Huyshope Ave., Hartford
Urban Lodge Brewing, 47 Purnell Place, Manchester
Willimantic Brewing Co., 967 Main St., Willimantic
COMING SOON:
Centerline Brewing Co., 114 Main St.,Putnam
Dudleytown Brewing Co., Windsor
Paddle Creek Beer Co.,
1277-1287 Main Street, East Hartford
LOOKING FOR A RIDE?
For people who don’t want to drink and drive, the Connecticut Beer Guild has partnered with Rides on Tap with Lyft to set up safe and secure rides.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Connecticut.beer/ctbeertrail
September 04, 2020
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Be a trailblazer; Follow the Connecticut Beer app - Journal Inquirer
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