Beers on Window Sills Goes to 30 Mile Brewing Co.

If there’s one thing I love to do, it’s to visit new and unknown (at least to me) breweries. Googling around Connecticut, I found about 40 breweries, many of which I had never heard of. Before Friday, Old Saybrook’s 30 Mile Brewing Company was one of them. My wife, Jeannie, and I took a ride up and crossed it off our list. It was pretty solid!

First, a little about 30 Mile. According to Brewct.com, it was founded in 2016 by Old Saybrook native Luke Maynard and his business partner David Prather, not too long after the two met at a home brewers club named M.A.S.H. (Maniacal Association of Shoreline Home-brewers). When Luke and Dave started brewing beer together, Luke drove 30 miles to get to Dave’s house. Now, Dave drives 30 miles to get to the brewery. See where I’m going with this? Sometimes, the best name for your business is the one staring you right in the face.

Luke and Dave pride themselves in using only the highest quality ingredients, and strive on using ingredients from local vendors, which is something we can all get behind. 30 Mile is also pet friendly–someone had an adorable pup in the house when we visitied–and they allow you to bring your own food. Pretty cool.

We got to Old Saybrook at 3PM, about an hour before 30 Mile was set to open up its taps for the day. Luckily for us, the Connecticut Shoreline is known for some kickass seafood, so we stopped over at Lenny and Joe’s Fish Tale in Madison, which wasn’t too far away. If you’re looking for some good sea creatures to munch on, this is definitely a good spot to hit up.

With our bellies full of delicious lobster rolls and fried zucchini, we headed over to 30 Mile, arriving about 10 minutes after opening. I pulled around back of the small industrial-style building that housed the brewery and, oddly enough, a cross fit gym. I parked, and Jeannie and I walked around to the front. There, we saw a small outdoor seating area–four sets of patio furniture–and a couple of outdoor games. I love breweries that provide their patrons with stuff to do, and a nice place to sip beers outside of a potentially dark or dank taproom, so this place was off to a great start for me.

30 Mile Brewing Co.
No fooling around here. Walk in and you see exactly what beer you can get. Solid! (Credit: Martin Stezano / Beers on Window Sills)

Inside, the taproom was a lot smaller than many I have been in. That being said, the décor and cleanliness gave it an intimate feeling, with a bit of an industrial kick. Although there weren’t any tables in the middle of the room, the sides of the taproom were lined with high shelves / bar tops where you could comfortably stand and chill. This works out well because the main bar is basically the first thing  you see when you walk in. One quick glance upward, and you can see the giant chalkboard with the day’s on tap offerings. The entire taproom is designed to basically draw you to the bar for delicious beers, and with no obstacles to get in your way. I enjoyed that as well.

As we always do when visiting a new brewery (and, really, when visiting a brewery we’ve gone to before), Jeannie and I started with a flight. There were six available beers, and a flight of all six cost only $12, so we got the whole catalogue. There was–from left to right in the photo below–the Breaking Belma DIPA, the Blackberry Sour, the Dry Hopped Sour, The Moteukarillicoe IPA, the Totes Blonde (a Belgian Blond) and the Sour Boy, which was a half sour ale half golden ale combo. I know, I was also a bit surprised by the number of sours available, but it seems that’s not necessarily always the case at 30 Mile. It’s just what happened to be available on the day I went, and I was cool with it.

30 Mile Brewing Co.
Like any good beer connoisseurs, we started with a flight made up of everything the brewery had on tap. (Credit: Martin Stezano / Beers on Window Sills)

As I’m sure you guys know by now, I’m a big IPA guy, so my two favorites were the Breaking Belma and the Moteukarillicoe. The Moteukarillicoe is named after a combination of the three hops that are used in brewing it: Motueka, Amarillo and Simcoe. It was super hoppy and delicious. I liked it so much that I ordered a full glass after, and I’m pretty sure I got the last full pour (someone got the dregs after my glass was filled). Bonus!

Jeannie, meanwhile, really enjoyed the Blackberry Sour and the Sour Boy, both of which I also liked, and she liked the Moteukarillicoe as well, although she typically isn’t a big IPA lady. The ones we didn’t really take to were the Dry Hopped Sour and the Totes Blond. I really am not a Belgian Blond guy, because I don’t like the yeast used in making them, and the Totes wasn’t good enough to overcome that for me. Can’t win them all.

After our beers, we sat outside for a while and planned the rest of our adventure day, which ended up including a visit to another CT brewery. I’ll save that story for another post. Was 30 Mile my favorite brewery of all-time? No, but it’s another solid local brewhouse where you can get some pretty good quality beers, and have a good time with someone special to boot. I would go again, because I’m curious to see what other beers they put out.

In fact, I might drive up there on Labor Day Weekend to their special Baby Fight Club can release. Why not?

Check out some extra photos from the trip!

30-mile-brewing-doorway
The building was small, but the logo definitely stands out. (Credit: Martin Stezano / Beers on Window Sills)
« of 12 »


And check out our 30 Mile post on Instagram, too!

30 Mile Brewing Company: Moteukarillicoe We kept the window sill very local today, with Old Saybrook’s newest brewery. 30 Mile was founded in 2016 by Old Saybrook native Luke Maynard and his business partner David Prather. When Luke and Dave started brewing beer together, Luke drove 30 miles to get to Dave’s house. Now, Dave drives 30 miles to get to the brewery. That’s how it got its name! I was actually pretty lucky to get my hands on the Moteukarillico, which is named after the three hops that are used in brewing it: Motueka, Amarillo and Simcoe. The resulting American IPA is hoppy and fruity, but not overly bitter. A nice, tropical blend of flavors that made me wish I hadn’t gotten the last full pour before the keg kicked. Sorry, everyone else. Here’s hoping 30 Mile brews up some more soon. ABV: 7.0%, IBU: N/A. Rotating availability. @beeradvocate says: No scores yet #beersonwindowsills #hopmendous #beer #beerme #beerstagram #beersofinstagram #beeroftheday #brewstagram #beergeek #craftbeer #craftbeerporn #craftbeerjunkie #craftbeerlife #craftbeerlover #mybeerisbetterthanyours #whatsinyourglass #30milebrewing #30milebrew #30milebrewcrew #moteukarillicoe #ipa #ipaguy #ipalover #ipanation #ctbeertrail #ctbeer

A post shared by Beers On Window Sills (@beersonwindowsills) on