ALWAYS CREATIVE WHILE STAYING CLASSIC – TWO ROADS BREWING COMPANY

By Andy Crouch
Two Roads Brewing opened in 2012 with big ambitions to provide contract brewing operations for smaller breweries, a service in great need. Started by a small group of partners, including Brad Hittle, the former CMO for Pabst, Two Roads made an immediate name for itself with the hiring of veteran brewmaster Phil Markowski, previously of Southampton Publick House in New York. He has won dozens of medals at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup and wrote a book on Farmhouse Ales. The brewery started big, with a 100-barrel system and capable of producing up to 200,000 barrels a year. The team renovated a 100-year-old brick manufacturing building in Stratford, Connecticut, on six acres. A quick detour off I-95 in Stratford, Two Roads has established itself as one of Connecticut’s best breweries. Consistent with its early mission, Two Roads continues to produce beers for a range of brewers and celebrities, including the Flavortown Spiked drinks for Guy Fieri. In addition to contract brewing for other brands, including Notch Brewing, Two Roads released a line of traditional beers under their own label. The beers are solid expressions of classic styles. The brewery also produces a fun range of seasonal beers, including the popular Roadsmary’s Baby Pumpkin Ale, and a series of variety packs. Let’s take a look at a sampling of their current portfolio.

ROAD 2 RUIN alcohol by volume 9%
Known as one of the nation’s top brewers of Belgian style and influenced beers, including saisons and beautiful sour beers, Markowski has largely transitioned to more commercially viable offerings, including several banger double IPAs. Road 2 Ruin features many of the numbers you’ll see on cans of other big, brawny DIPAs but it remains masterfully drinkable and lighter on the palate than similarly situated bruisers. Brewed with a light malt backbone in contrast to some boozier DIPA versions and hopped with all American varieties, including Cascade and the lesser appreciated Magnum, Palisade, and Summit, Road 2 Ruin’s aroma is redolent of bright citrus fruits, including grapefruit and sweet orange, pine, over a light grainy malt base. The flavor follows with a wash of citrus fruits, with bits of pith and peel mixed in followed by a rinse of sweet and even lightly toasty malts. Additional characters include a bit of earth and spice from the hops and some light-warming booze on the finish. A somewhat subdued and thereby perhaps more drinkable Double India Pale Ale, Road 2 Ruin remains a tempting beer.

TWO JUICY HAZY DOUBLE IPA alcohol by volume 8.2%
Two Roads pays attention to trends and knows that two things sell better than almost anything. The result is the Two Juicy Hazy Double IPA. An unfiltered and cloudy big IPA, the beer pours with an even and uniform off-orange haziness and a solid white head of foam. Hopped with Hallertauer Blanc, Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria hops, the aroma fills with grapefruit, pine, tangerine, and orange peel, all against Two Roads’s familiar soft malt backbone. Consistent with this increasingly popular style, Two Juicy’s flavor is all sweet fruit and pale malt with low bitterness and a surprising lack of alcohol presence for a higher ABV offering.

NO LIMITS HEFEWEIZEN alcohol by volume 5%
Markowski has long been a proponent and brewer of classic styles, often with a little twist to keep your interest. No Limits is a classic German hefeweizen style, straight down the middle, and never disappoints. It starts with a small whip of white foam, a little less than you usually expect with the style. The classic hazy golden hue of the Weiss style provides the first glimpse of the style followed closely by the rich aromas of banana, clove, wheat, and yeast in the nose. The phenolics on No Limits initially appear a bit tame compared to some more expressive German examples but there is a fun liveliness to it, mixed with some vanilla and other fruit hints. A quick punch of spiciness bites in the flavor, followed by notes of sweet fruit and wheat, all finishing with a touch of carbonation bite and some lean banana notes. A great sessionable choice often found in a 16-ounce pounder can.

OL’ FACTORY PILS alcohol by volume 5%
In more than a decade in business, Two Roads continues to brew eclectic styles that both invite novices and engage the most cynical craft beer nerds. The brewery adopted its philosophy, the “road less traveled,” early in its existence and it’s on display in the brewery. The 100-year-old building is cavernous inside, offering a laid-back vibe, and remains a great place to visit for a beer or two, especially as a break on long drives from Boston to New York. An early entry into the craft lager renaissance, Ol’ Factory Pils is a delight to drink. Easy drinking enough to satisfy picky macro drinkers yet with enough character to capture the jaded craft lager lover’s attention, the beer blends tradition with American innovation to create a hybrid take on the classic style. Pours with a solid, fluffy white head on a solid base of carbonation. A light, haziness settles over the straw color. The aroma mixes pils malt, mild toasted notes, and light herbal grass with a quick zip of noble and American hops. The flavor follows with a soft pils malt character followed by a bite of noble hops, some grassy notes, and a touch of citrus. Clean, crisp, and fun to drink a few of on a summer day.

LIL’ HEAVEN CRUSHABLE SESSION IPA alcohol by volume 4.8%
Two Roads has long been interested in lower alcohol beers and its session IPA offering, Lil’ Heaven, has moved from merely sessionable to crushable in its marketing in recent years. That makes sense as it’s light on the palate but filled with bursts of fruit and an overall great drinking lower alcohol IPA option. It focuses on three hops: Azacca, Mosaic, and Equinox. Lil’ Heaven pours with a slight haze and an off-golden to slightly orange hue and two fingers of froth that retains well. The aroma fills with stone and tropical fruits, light herbal hop notes, and a touch of bready malt. The flavor largely follows suit, if a bit muted, with a mixture of tropical fruits, including grapefruit and orange, with bits of pineapple and apricot added. There is a slight herbal note in the smooth finish.

Two Roads brews are available from Atlas Distributing and Commercial Distributing Company.
TWO ROADS BREWING COMPANY
Stratford, Connecticut
www.tworoadsbrewing.com