Thomas Hooker Brewery

I’ve been to Hooker Brewery a few times, most recently last night for a HYPE event. I love that there’s always something new to try and the staff is always, always friendly. Maybe it’s because I actually stopped to talk to the two who were pouring exclusively for us (hi Jen and Miller!) but they took the time to get to know my taste in beer and recommend what they thought I’d like the most, both in their own beers (Down the Gose is my new favorite) and with other breweries.
It’s a HUGE location, mostly open to standing room, with a few broken-​in couches in the front room aka Visitor’s Center. You can get a quickie tour with a sample or two of whatever is brewing and an inside look at Phyllis and Lucille (the filling/​labeling machines).
I’ll be interested to see if they hold onto this location when/​if their new DoNo Hartford location opens or if they find a way to preserve the murals on their walls and bring them along.

Where do I start… Watermelon or chocolate truffle stout? Beers are killer and well made and The Staff are nice and knowledgable. I come to fill my growler and now I can have a pint of my fav Brew and be greeted by the cutest cat, blumpkin :)

One of my favorite breweries. There is no bad time to go. There is brewery’s open house, 1^st and third Fridays 5 – 8 pm for unlimited beer and a pint glass only $ 10. There is also Saturday tours and $ 5 gets you 10 4 oz. tastings (plenty for me!!!) and a tour of the brewery.
I love their selection of beers (at least 8 on tap). The Chocolate Truffle Stout is super flavorful and not even that heavy for a stout. It is a collaboration with Munson Chocolate. The Demure Smoked Saison had a real smoky flavor to it, like nothing I’ve ever had. I think it would be amazing with some bbq. My favorite hot summer beer is their watermelon beer. Not at all too fruity and as light as beer can get without tasting light dirty water. The rest are great too… its hard to cover all of the deliciousness (Munich Lager… another standout with deep flavor).
The people here is great. though the atmosphere is pretty basic. There is plenty of standing area and a small couch area inside. They also have a REALLY nice and spacious deck area. I just wish they had more tables, regular or high top to stand or sit and play games. They also have a retail area to purchase a case of beer or some of their hilarious «Hooker» clothing and hats.
I’ve noticed there is always some food being offered for purchase by various vendors — I’ve heard it is hit or miss depending on where the food is from. It is a nice option if you start to think you had too much! I’ve seen people bring food and think that is a great idea too. I’ve tried to look up a pizza delivery place before but don’t know the area well and Unilocal didn’t reveal a lot of options unfortunately. I’ll have to test the waters and let ya’ll know what I find!

Love it here! The atmosphere is laid back and easy going. The beer is awesome. You get a wrist band with 10 sample tickets. There are comfortable couches, nice televisions playing the games popular at the time and movies (JAWS when I was there) and great beer! It’s a very reasonable price for tastings and a tour. It is a good time! We always leave satisfied.

I have attended many open houses and found them to be outstanding. Great employees, nice facility and overall good time.

Came to the Brewery on a Saturday afternoon. $ 5 gets you 10 4 oz. tastings and a tour of the brewery. I believe they have a groupon special right now so if you’re planning to go, i’d check that out. As for the beer, it was great. Make sure to walk into what appears to be a gift/​apparel store for more beer options! I didn’t notice it until i was down to 4 more tastings which was quite unfortunate. The tour was quick and simple, just the way I like it. I wish there were more activities around but overall, definitely worth the money. This is the first brewery i’ve been to in CT so it’ll be my base for comparison. If you’re ever in the bloomfield area, you should definitely stop by! Parking can be a little hard on Saturdays as it gets pretty crowded though.

This was the third stop on the CT Beer Trail tour my boyfriend and I took 2 weeks ago, and also my personal favorite of the day. Believe it or not, on Saturdays from 12−5PM, $ 5 gets you 10 tastings (even though my trip there was included in the tour, I checked the normal prices). They had 14 beers on tap when we went, so it was much like unleashing a bunch of amped-​up kids on a new playground. Try all the beers!
I tried the Demure Smoked Saison (really nice subtle smoked flavor), the Honey Berry Happiness Ale (bright, fruity, and super bubbly), the Soft Spoken Biere de Table (a little less interesting, but still enjoyable), and the Nor’Easter Winter Lager (my favorite of the bunch – deep and flavorful with pronounced caramel notes). All of them were excellent, and I really wanted to try more, but at this point in our tour, I was starting to get beer fatigue and we had 3 more stops to go. I’m itching to come back and use up all 10 samples, and maybe grab a six-​pack of the Nor’Easter as well. Next time!
We also went on a tour where we got to try some freshly made beer (not my thing, but still a cool experience). What struck me about this brewery was how their quirky sense of humor is incorporated into everything they make, from the signs all over their brewery to the names of their beer (Stacy’s Mom). They also named their brewery cat Blumpkin which is really… special, and Blumpkin herself was sitting on a couch looking perfectly pet-​able. Probably because of that irreverent sense of humor, the crowd here tends to be young 20−30-somethings. With the casual couches, pulled pork sandwich station, and funky music, the overall vibe was fun and energetic, full of people enjoying some good beer with friends. I’m already planning my next trip back!

A great, local brewery. Craft beer breweries are starting to pop up all over Connecticut, but Hooker is one of the originals.
On Friday nights throughout the year, Hooker has all you can drink beer for $ 20 accompanied with a Thomas Hooker pint glass to keep. It’s a great deal and an excuse to get together with a group of friends. I have gone to multiple charity events at Hooker. They are always open for supporting a good cause.
Hooker has great beers of all types. Their chocolate stout is currently in season. If you haven’t gotten «caught with a Hooker», then you should soon!

I really enjoyed my visit here. Definitely one of the better brewery tours I’ve been on in terms of value. You get a tour and 10 samples for $ 5. There’s an outdoor area to sit when the weather is nice. Sometimes there’s food trucks too which is great if you start getting a little buzzed lol. I had only tried 2 Hooker beers prior to my visit, so it was nice to taste their other beers.

We’ve hosted a company event for the last two years at Hooker Brewery and couldn’t be happier. They are very easy to work with, so accommodating and are used to hosting events at their brewery all the time. They can recommend caterers they are used to working with and really make the event easy and fun for you. Their beer is outstanding and they are constantly swapping out what’s on tap. Definitely give them a try for your next event, or go their when they have open tasting nights! Don’t get caught without a Hooker!

It doesn’t get much better than this. For only $ 5 you get a tour of their brewery (which is a decent size compared to many other craft breweries), 10 4oz samplings of any of their beers currently on their many taps and an afternoon to relax. It’s in an odd area, but once you get inside all of that is forgotten. We came on a Saturday afternoon and the place was about half full, giving us plenty of room to move around and to get to one of the two different bars to get our samples. The tour was pretty thorough and lasted about 15 minutes. The guide was very knowledgeable about not only the beer making process but their go-​to-​market strategy and the state of business overall. The beers themselves were a full gamut of options so they had many to choose from for whatever your tastebuds desired. I definitely recommend stopping by for a fun afternoon.

A group of 4 of us went because we purchased the groupon. The groupon got all of us a tour, 10 tastings each and a pint glass.
This brewery is not the best looking on the inside as it has a bunch of old couches and a bit of a basement feel but most of their beer is really good.

What a great way to spend a few hours for some pre-father’s day festivities. For $ 5 you get a 4oz sample of 10 beers of your choice and a tour of the brewery. The beer selection was great and we got to try tons of flavors we’ve never seen before. Both the hubs and I loved the Munich lager which was smooth and perfectly balanced. The honey berry and watermelon were fun seasonal flavors. If you like a more dry cider theirs was light and fresh. We will absolutely be back and bringing friends with us!
*The Comfort Zone pretzel food truck outside was an awesome added bonus! We snagged a garlic butter pretzel for $ 4 that was fresh out of the oven and awesome! It was the perfect way to round out our visit (and sober up a bit before the ride home). I’ll be disappointed if they weren’t there the next time we go :(

While dining one evening at the Storrowton Tavern, I had a glass of The Storrowton Lager and was told it was brewed by Thomas Hooker Brewery and in fact was Hooker’s Munich Lager, a helles style Bavarian beer. At first taste, I was struck by how closely it mimicked the great lagers of Munich and for a brief moment before I new its origin, I thought it was an Augustiner Edelstoff, high praise indeed. From that moment THB was on my list and yesterday I finally dropped by. The brewery while open was not conducting tours or tastings as there are specific schedules for those events and honestly I just wanted to see the place and pick up a six pack of Munich Lager. The interior bottling area can be viewed from the lounge area and it was spotless, stainless steel shiny. The tasting area is large with a small comfortable seating area to ruminate about your beer tasting choices. On the other side of the room is a beer/​ale display for purchase as well as growlers, glasses, tee shirts and the like. I was anxious to try Hooker’s Amber Ale so I headed out to the nearby Republic Gastro-​Pub for a glass, yup that too turned out to be a very pleasant quaff.

I went with several friends for the Saturday $ 5 ten-​tastes tour. I loved the dark beer and the atmosphere.
The layout is a bit confusing. You pay your money at the door. Then, before the tour, you pass some taps. These feature their regular beers. After that, you go into the back room to wait until your tour number is called. While you wait, you drink. The back room has the specialty beers.
People (as usual in Breweries) are mostly young and very friendly. The back room has couches, tables, board games, and very funny pictures on the wall… all punning on the Hooker Beer name. The tour itself is lead by… a tour leader… not an actual brewer or company big cheese. He talks fast and is very funny.
Warning: the side parking lot is narrow and there is a blind spot before you pull out… after TEN sample beers, it may be a challenge.

Great value for $ 5 for 10 samples on Saturdays. We went on a snowy day and it wasn’t crowded at all. I mean there were sometimes 2 – 3 people ahead of you but not huge lines or crowds. There was no space to sit in the front room but the back had a bunch of couches and merch to purchase. We picked up a $ 15 watermelon case (in February) to get us through the snowy winter.

Had a great time! A group of 4 of us went bc we purchased the groupon. The groupon got all of us a tour, 10 tastings each and a pint glass. The beer was good, we bought two growlers. The staff was very friendly, helpful and funny and the tour was nice. They had a good crowd the whole time so go earlier if you can.

I thought the beer was OK, my gripe is more with the way things are set up in there.
I tasted the Munich, which was my favorite, as well as the Soft Spoken. The Irish Red Ale and the Blonde Ale were decent. The Noreaster and the Tenacious were not my cup of tea.
The problem is that there is no organization here. There were easily 150 people there and no one knew where the lines were– in addition, as soon as you got the sample you basically just got back in line. Not that this is the brewery’s fault (well, kind of) but there were a TON of people just cutting in line. They also, oddly, have a Wii set up right were the line would be for the beer– I got a nasty look from some woman trying to play Wii bowling (because that’s what you are concerned about when you go to a brewery– the Wii bowling) that hit me when she reeled her arm back (because yeah, your not paying attention is MY fault).
I think maybe when your beer has gotten as popular as it is, that you should probably consider a more organized way of people getting their samples. I gave up after my 6^th sample and called it a wash and left. Also, probably best if you figure out if you’re a brewery, or a bar.

I attended the Hooker Open House on the first Friday of the month. For $ 10.00 you can have as many mini-​beers as you want, but you just have to be willing to stand in line each time. While I was frustrated at first by having to wait, I soon found that the line moved quickly and the small talk in line decreased the time. The Nor’Easter was the best beer by far, although the other beers on tap were good as well.
You can attend the 1^st and 3^rd Fridays of the month.
My favorite part of the experience is that Hooker Brewery donates money to a local organization with each ticket you buy, turning your drinking into a good cause.

10 beer samples for 5 bucks! Great place to come with a bunch of friends! Love the seasonal watermelon and the irish red.

** came here for a fully-​paid event, so no commentary on the prices **
Great, chill space and a great selection of beers to choose from. It really seems like they have about 10 of the most popular types of beers, and I was a big fan of the solid Amber and festive Oktoberfest.
Bartenders were all smiles and decently generous with the free tastes.
I loved eating dinner right next to the cylinders and beer making area.
They definitely love playing on their name, «hooker.» Kind of silly, but they can certainly sell lots of marketing paraphernalia that way.
Check out the extra parking in the back.

What a great opportunity to get up and close with the beer you already love and enjoy.
I’ve been to Hooker before– years ago– and am glad to see that the space has expanded, due to (yay!) the need to accommodate popular demand. For $ 5 you get 10 «tastes» of the various beers on tap (and sometimes by the bottle, depending on what’s around), as well as an optional tour that lasts roughly 25 minutes.
Here’s how it works:
You enter. You pay your $ 5 (cash, I believe, is preferred). You strap on a bracelet, and pick up a plastic cup that holds roughly 3 — 4 oz. You enter the room and sidle up to the bar. Your bracelet is equipped with 10 tabs that strip off, and are placed in a receptacle each time you redeem a taste. Through a doorway is the «visitor’s center,» which contains information about the history of the place and its beers, as well as another bar, and the merchandise counter. There are plenty of couches, chairs, and high tables which are perfect for congregating.
Tours occur loosely. They basically wait until they think there are enough people interested, announce it in both rooms, and tell you where to meet up. Despite its expansion, the place is still fairly small, so you’re not likely to get lost. ;-) The tour is informative without being boring, and the staff seem engaging enough. We found it worthwhile.
On our most recent trip, we were pleased to taste the Watermelon Ale, Hefeweizen, Soft Spoken, Demure, Irish Red, Octoberfest, and Nor’Easter. Thankfully, there’s always a lot of variety on tap, so there is something for everyone. On Saturdays, they’re open from 12 — 5. We arrived at about 1:45, and left around 2:40. The lines were nonexistent/​short when we first arrived, and pretty long when we left. My advice is to go early, and enjoy yourself leisurely.

Nice little brewery.
People are helpful and friendly.
It seems like a cool gig to have. Talk to people, drink good beer… I need this job.
The tour was interesting and informative… not boring at all and worth the quick little ten minutes.
Definitely worth visiting for a nice little afternoon trip.

I think this is a pretty fun place to spend a Saturday afternoon. The beer is great, and you get to drink quite a bit of it for a measly $ 5. Bring some friends, hang out on the couch, chat up some strangers. Even though you are allotted 10 3oz tastings, we discovered that a few friendly people were willing to give out their unused tickets. We actually had to say «no thank you» to some of these offers after 2+ hours of drinking (and feeling the effect of 30+ ounces of beer).
The ambience– it’s a brewery. It stinks, feels like a warehouse, no food or snacks– it’s simply a brewery with lots of delicious beer and Hooker swag for sale. The room in the back is much cozier to hang out in. If you’re really interested in the history of the brewery and the beer making process, do the tour. Otherwise, I’d say you wouldn’t be missing anything great if you decided to skip it.
I was really surprised at how much I liked the Watermelon Ale! I was super skeptical as I don’t normally enjoy flavored beers, but this was freakin tasty. I’m also a fan of the Nor’easter, IPL, and Brewtus Maximus. They have so many different beers on tap that there’s bound to be something for everybody.
The only bummer is the lines. It had gotten so crowded by late afternoon that we were going up for a beer and immediately getting back in line, because the wait was that long. It won’t prevent me from going back though!

Four of us took visited the Hooker Brewery on a rainy day for something to do. We’ve lived in Hartford for awhile and never quite made it to the brewery. Apparently 200 other people had the same idea we did because this place is on the smaller side and it was crowded!!! YOu get in line for a bracelet and grab a cup. Then you wait in line at the bars and try 10 different beers. If you like one in particular, you can just keep getting that one.
You basically have a bracelet with 10 tear off tickets. The best part was that sometimes we had people who werent using their remaining tickets (or were designated drivers) come up and give us theirs. So we really ended up with a lot more. There are beers with higher alcohol content (XPA), flarvored ones (watermelon ale), then stouts, and I think another IPA. The small cups they give you get filled to the top with each return to the line, so you actually end up drinking a fair amount. Theres also a store to buy very reasonably priced Hooker gear (glasses, tshirts for $ 10, etc).
Overall ifs a fun little place. We didnt take the tour, but i dont imgaine its very long since the place is on the smaler side. You could go and probably get out of there in an hour or two.

I’ve only come here for their beer tastings on select Friday’s. Parking gets crowded if you come late. But they have all of their draft to sample, which is great for any amateur beer-​goer. Irish Red, Watermelon and the Chocolate Stout are my personal favorites. For $ 10, it’s a great start to any weekend AND you get a pint glass on your way out! :)
Can’t beat free folks