For a couple of months we’ve been very excitedly telling everyone “we’re moving!” This is still true, and we have no reason to think we won’t end up at Cedar St soon. Not yet, though. A few new considerations, a lot more work…

Okay, I submit: it is frustrating. We’re excited for this. C’est la vie, we are making the best of it. We will launch with new kit lines, with new … okay, we’ll keep some surprises.

So what’s going on? We’re moving into a space so big, we fall into a slightly different building code than we were prepared for. Oops! So now we need a different level of precautions. We’re getting them done as fast as possible, and we’ll be very delighted to announce a new date soon. This is still happening, and in the near future, but we need a little more information before we can announce a new date. Expect the next month or two at worst.

Hey, we’re brewers and wine makers — we’re learning what we need to do to make this work as we go. Sorry for the change of plans (no, really, we’re sorry). We promise we’ll take advantage of this time to make it that much better when we get in there!

Cheers!

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The final countdown (hey, don’t cue that music) is upon us, and after nearly two decades Brew & Wine Hobby will leave Pitkin St. We’re off to larger (if not greener) pastures: #12 Cedar St. This is still East Hartford. In fact, it isn’t far away at all — 3 minutes away at most if you find every red light!

What you’ll get when you come into the new space: a sense of how much more we can offer. Lets be honest, we’ve needed to do this! Sometimes we can’t find everything quickly. There are still some products we don’t carry… and there will always be some we choose not to, certainly. We just don’t have room for everything we’d like right now, though.

The other projects will be ongoing, set to open at some point in April. In the meantime, the store will be even more worth the effort of finding us… oh wait, we won’t be on the back side of a building anymore! It will, indeed, be much easier to find us.

Here’s a little guide: how to get there from here

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March 1st is the official launch, but we should be open there Feb 28th.

Grand Opening will be thrown later when the OTHER PROJECTS launch.

We can’t wait either!

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We’ve received the Advintage order, and some new kits are included. Grape skin packs add to these new kits, and these are no small packs. From the French line there is a Pinot Noir with Gamay and a Grenache Syrah Mourvedre. Both come with big skin packs, sure to deeply enhance the wines. The Italian line boasts a pair of wines as well: one is a mystery to me “Gutternio Classico” is said to be a deep and tannic wine, the other is a Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.

These kits run in the $150 range, a very good value for the skin addition going into the already high-quality kits. In fact, the skin packs are available on their own for $24.50 each (available in Syrah, Cabernet, or Merlot).

I would recommend trying the skin packs with other Advintage kits, or with Kamil Juices — they could be an excellent addition to the already dense-tasting juices. They will extend the aging, certainly, so experiment with that cautionary warning!

As always, limited supply of Advintage for now. Come in soon for best selection!

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First: please check www.brew-wine.com/blog/ to see a calendar of events. This may be the best at-a-glance way to know what we’re up to here and when we’re doing it.

Next… Happy New Year!  Welcome to those new brewers who discovered they have a new hobby to play with this past holiday season. In keeping with that, we’ve got our home brew classes to offer. For the new or first-few-times brewer, our Beer Brewing Intro Class (offered Saturday mornings at 8:45 am on select dates) is perfect. It is free, and it offers tips, strategies, and logic behind the extract with grains brew process. Sure, it is just a lecture, but it is the best lecture you won’t pay for. We’ve seen much greater success early on with those who attend. Hey, that’s what we’re here for!

We will post further dates for Beer Class I, but currently Jan 14th and Jan 28th are available. Please watch the calendar, it will show new dates soon! If interested, email rich@brew-wine.com with “Beer Class I [dd/mm]” in the subject. I’d like to keep track of everyone who’d like to attend in case we run into a hint of last year’s weather! If you don’t recall, there was a fair amount of storm that necessitated our rescheduling some classes. Better I can reach you if the need should arise!

Our BEER CLASS level II is running again, thanks to Dana and his extreme dedication. This will be offered as a series of classes. It is not required to attend each class (though STRONGLY recommended for the fullest benefit). The first class is introduction to ingredients with a guided tasting of 3 beers to demonstrate malt, hop, and yeast profile extremes.  Second class will be process — introducing some beer chemistry and brewing techniques followed by the math behind recipe formulation.  Beyond that will be exploration into specific styles (four classes) making this a six class series. There is a fee for these classes of $20 per class, or $100 for all six classes (paid on first class). They will be held Wednesday evenings  starting at 6:15pm and run for about 1 1/2 hours each. Dana will be the instructor for these sessions (and is by far the most qualified to do so).

Beer Class level II starts January 25th and will run on every other Weds evenings. If you will not be able to make every week, that is no problem — pay as you go is fine! Attending all, or even the majority, will leave the brewer with the information sufficient to successfully brew their own recipes. Better still, the brewers will understand why and how their beer is successful!

For registration to either class, please email rich@brew-wine.com with the subject “Beer Class (I/II)”, and feel free to contact if you have any questions about these classes.

REMINDER: Brew & Wine Hobby is moving. March 1st we will be located at 12 Cedar St., E. Hartford.

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Just like the headline reads, we’re closing early Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.

10am to 2pm.

HAVE GREAT HOLIDAYS! …and drive safe.

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