Powder Hollow Brewery — Restaurant in Enfield

This review is part of my quest of visiting all CT breweries. I came to Powder Hollow Brewery in February 2024 and was not impressed. So I decided to try visiting it the second time for a fair review, but it still did not work out.

The brewery is located in its own separate building. It is separated into 3 spaces: main L-shaped hall, smaller room on the second floor and a patio. This separation allows for some privacy should you wish it. The aesthetic of the brewery is nice, it looks like a log cabin from the inside.

What wasn't great are the beers. I tried all the beers on tap the previous time and did it again for this review. Plus I previously bought cans of Powder Hollow beer from grocery store. The majority of the beers are watery and lack taste. It might be good for a hot month to quench your thirst, but craft beer enthusiasts will find it below average. The only beer I liked was the Mellow Mayhem (Russian Imperial Stout), but it is out of production already. The other fine beer was their signature 1929 Prohibition Porter, due to its interesting smoky profile. But all the other beers completely missed the mark for me. You can order beer flight of 4 to try the beers here. No food is served except several snack options and no food trucks are available onsite.

There were other smaller reasons for my rating: The attitude of the bartender. There was no greeting, no fake smile and even no question like "What would you like to drink?" when I ordered a flight. The bartender blankly and silently stared at me during all the interactions. The guest wi-fi connection dropped frequently. In the end, I had to turn the wi-fi off to surf the web. They have couches available. But the top of the couch in the corner (where I was sitting) was not nailed to the base. So I almost flipped over when I sat close to the edge.

It looked like the place had its own community and the whole attitude there was different. Plus this might be a good hangout spot to bring your friends to. Hopefully, your mileage would...

Vile- adjective: extremely unpleasant. I feel that this best describes the beer that this brewery creates. I have been to their Enfield Brewery three times, the most recent being last month because it was a convenient middle ground for old high school friends to meet up. I usually get flights so I can try their seasonal offerings, after each sip I was welcomed with a taste that made me believe that these beers were second fermented in a old stinky boot. Their Oktoberfest is a disgusting mess that nowhere near resembles a well crafted German lager. I'm pretty sure most Germans would rather drink hot lava, then the swill produced by Powder Hollow. When I see their cans in the store I shed a tear thinking about the cooler space they are wasting, in place of well crafted beer. I noticed last time I was there that they opened a wine section which is a fantastic idea so people can wash the taste of the beer out of...

Powder Hollow is a unique pub experience. As a microbrewery there are always new recipes for tasting and they offer flights of 4 or five just for that.

They don't offer any food but are fine with BYOF. On Thursdays they have a local caterer bring in steam table eats that are surprisingly satisfying and no charge to patrons.

If you're wanting a good spot for a larger group, they have a great upstairs room that easily accommodates 20 or so.

Manager Linda is friendly and very accommodating. Our group brought in meatballs and chicken but forgot forks, which she supplied.

We have never had a bad time at Powder Hollow and like the casual, friendly atmosphere, which the locals obviously see as the place to go.

In an out of the way location off I-190 E you could miss this...