New England Brewing Company - Woodbridge — Restaurant in Woodbridge

I won a tour for four at NEBCO from a raffle at a fundraiser being held for the New Haven Old Black Women‘s Rugby team. I am a huge craft beer enthusiast and have enjoyed NEBCO since I’ve moved to CT, so I of course went all in with my tickets on this raffle. I was excited to have won the tour, but I did not realize how in depth and enjoyable the experience would be. Madeline was our tour guide and she was great with communicating and working out a time to schedule the tour off the bat. When we arrived, she greeted us and poured us a drink, taking the time to explain the options on draft and then brought us around back to see the behind the scenes of what makes NEBCO function. We really went deep into the back, and we’re up close to all the machinery. I enjoyed her pointing out the Easter eggs around the building (look out for Elvis themed items) and the stories that came around every corner. Madeline knew the beginnings of how it all started, turns out the owner is her dad, and she showed us the old canner that they used to use and how slow of work it was back then! I have gone on many brewery tours and this one was the most in depth and personal by far. Madeline did a great job of really giving us a taste of what NEBCO is all about and it is more than just the taste...

Stopped in on a Friday afternoon on our way up to Hartford. Pretty busy for mid-afternoon! Location was a bit weird, in the back of a car dealership.

They had expanded their outdoor space because of COVID, including a really nice, new metal roof gazebo. Some of the tables have no covering, and unfortunately we had one of those tables initially. It was a really warm Friday afternoon with the sun beating down, so we were probably going to leave after one round. Fortunately, someone left from under the aforementioned gazebo, so we moved and stayed for a couple more rounds. They should think about maybe adding a few more umbrellas.

Beer was good. Liked the Supernaut, but I'm a fan of mosaic, so what can I say. No flights, and everything was served in plastic cups.

From a COVID safety standpoint, the servers were sanitizing tables and stools after each party, although it's kinda hard to spray sanitizer on a table with holes in it, but A++ for effort. Hand sanitizer was available at the entrance. I'm not really sure the tables were actually spaced 6 feet between parties, because they looked a lot closer than 6 feet. Back to back between two seated persons was maybe...

Fantastic brews, bad business.

Downsides:

1. that despite being very popular, it's a very small operation; long lines, etc etc. But it's a brewery, not a bar, so whatever. Not a deal breaker.

2. This small amount of help translates to downsides like no e-mail address for contact and them not answering phones often.

3. 668 Neighbor of the Beast and Ghandi Bot are literally some of the best beers I have ever had...too bad you can't find it anywhere. My local package store is absolutely the best for craft beers and even they can't get any. They all keep pushing their mediocre Sea Hag IPA, which is horse piss in comparison to their best beers.

Every store I've asked have no idea when it's going to come in. I even had one guy tell me it would be the next day, only to show up and have him shrug his shoulders at the MIA delivery truck. This is probably another result of NEB's lax communication skills.

They've certainly missed out on a ton of sales due to their seemingly broken distribution model. But at the end of the day, the beer as fantastic. Just wish they could keep up...