Just in time for an Oktoberfest celebration, East Rock Brewing’s long-awaited beer hall opens for business at 3 p.m on Thursday at 285 Nicoll Street. German-inspired beers and pretzels will be on the menu at the 100-seat taproom, under renovation until recently in the former Rockbestos wire manufacturing facility.
The new space features German-style communal tables, industrial-chic high ceilings and exposed ductwork. A full menu of T-shirts and other branded merchandise is on offer at the front, along with a “growler bar” where patrons can get containers filled with beer to drink at home.
East Rock Brewing’s beers have been available on tap in the area since August. Thursday’s opening event will feature 12 lagers and wheat beers including a hopfen lager, helles lager, Oktoberfest beer, weisse beer and pilsner. Whole G bakery, another German-inspired purveyor, will bake Bavarian-style pretzels off-site to enjoy with the brews.
Brothers Tim and Shaun Wilson, natives of the New Haven area, said they were “honored to provide a cheerful social space where residents of New Haven and beyond can enjoy a couple frothy glasses of German-inspired beer.”
East Rock Brewing is New Haven’s first full-scale brewery to open within city limits in decades, although New England Brewing operates nearby in Woodbridge. The Wilson brothers first announced their plans for the brewery in February 2016, adopting a goat-head logo honoring the Goatville section of East Rock. Years of planning, community meetings and renovations ensued.
The beer hall will be open for business Wednesdays through Sundays, with parking available in a nearby lot and a garage accessed from Mitchell Drive. Children are welcome but pets are not allowed in the brewery and beer hall.
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