Tap Handle #292: Thomas Hooker - Chocolate Truffle Stout
Click through to read more about Thomas Hooker Brewing and their Chocolate Truffle Stout...
Thomas Hooker Brewery was originally founded as Trout Brook Brewhouse in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1997 by Bill McCarthy and Jack Streitch. The restaurant and the brewery shared space in a former Spaghetti Warehouse site. A year later, McCarthy opened another Trout Brook Brewhouse in Wallingford. He also was a co-owner of a third Trout Brook Brewhouse in Windsor but sold his share in that restaurant, later called the Trout Brook's Bissell Tavern. McCarthy and Streitch closed the brewery in 2000, citing ``partnership problems', although McCarthy continued to run the restaurant on the property. In 2003, the brewery was restarted as a manufacturing micro brewery with a new focus on distribution. The products were re-introduced to the market as Thomas Hooker Ales & Lagers.
Thomas Hooker Brewery got its name from the great colonial leader of the 1600's (and founder of Hartford), Rev. Thomas Hooker. Hooker often traveled to Boston along the Old Connecticut Path to help settle intercolonial disputes. He is also remembered for his role in creating the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut". This document is one of the modern world's first written constitutions and an influence upon the current American Constitution, written nearly a century and a half later. The Thomas Hooker name was also a tie back to the original brewery before its closure, which at one time had brewed Hooker Ale. "Get Yourself a Hooker" and "Pick up a Hooker" were some of the inevitable catch phrases.
In 2006, Curt Cameron, an entrepreneur who had previously owned two liquor stores (flipping them for a nice profit), and had sold and designed software in Silicon Valley, put together an investment group and bought the brewery in 2006. One year later, the company increased sales almost 100%, and relocated the brewery operations from the brewpub to an 8,000 square foot facility in Bloomfield, and expanded distribution to include New York City, Eastern Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Maine. The brewery recently announced plans to move its brewing operations back to downtown Hartford. Cameron has identified a desirable location but is still working through some financial ramifications. The expansion would include plans for a 50-barrel brewhouse, a visitor center and a casual, sit-down restaurant. Thomas Hooker produced 1,050 barrels in 2007; if the brewery makes the move to Hartford, Cameron expects to make 20,000 to 25,000 barrels per year. The brewery has also achieved acclaim for hiring adults with physical and developmental disabilities to work part-time in assembly.
Thomas Hooker’s Chocolate Truffle Stout is a spring seasonal beer that is usually available between December and March, made in collaboration with Connecticut's favorite chocolatier, Munson's Chocolate (who began their operations in the 1940s). Copious amounts of oat malt produce a silky, full bodied beer laced with hints of roast and chocolate derived from dark malts. Each sip ends with a mild chocolate bitterness from Munson's proprietary cocoa powder, added generously to the brew. To round out this beer, we add several pounds of cocoa nibs at the end of fermentation to provide a fresh chocolate aroma. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.46 out of 5.
Thomas Hooker Brewery Official Website
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