Special Talk: The Life & Death of a Bridgeport Brewery

Drawing from the original, hand-written notebooks of the Assistant Brewmaster at the Hartmann (later Home) Brewing Company, follow the trials and tribulations of one of Bridgeport’s most fascinating breweries. Join authors Terry Foster and Jeff Browning, Sr. from Brewport to discover how early 20th-century brewers learned and practiced their craft until the arrival of Prohibition, when illicit brewing survived in the shadows. Now’s your chance to taste history in conjunction with our special exhibition Eat, Drink & Start a Revolution! Fairfield’s Taverns.

Free.

About the Speakers

Terry was born and educated in London and holds a Ph.D. in Organic chemistry from London University; he moved to the US in 1977. He worked in several areas of research in the chemical industry, finishing up as Global Technical Director for Mining Chemicals at Cytec Industries, in Stamford, Ct, which meant he travelled all over the world, from Australia to Zambia. and points in between. He started brewing some sixty years ago and began writing about home and commercial brewing in various magazines in England and published his first book there. In the USA he gave many presentations on technical and practical aspects of brewing, wrote for several magazines and initiated the Association of Brewers Classic Beer Styles Series with “Pale Ale” in 1990. Other books followed, including several pieces for Oxford Companion to Beer. Recently he published Brewing Porters and Stouts, and last year came two, Brewing Barley Wines and along with Jeff Browning Sr. The Life and Death of a Bridgeport Brewery. Terry brewed for many years  with Jeff  at Bru Rm@Bar and at Brewport where he used his research skills to re-create old beer styles.

Jeff is a lifetime native of Connecticut and at 12 years old he developed a love of collecting breweriana and of brewing both of which pursuits he still follows enthusiastically. He has an extensive and unparalleled collection of breweriana and brewing materials both verbal and written. As a result he has deep knowledge of Connecticut brewing history and made invaluable contributions to our book The Life and Death of a Bridgeport Brewery. Jeff was responsible for obtaining the original material on Home Brewing Co. on which the book is based. He is, of course a long-time professional brewery at now-defunct Elm City and Long Shore, then turned around the brewing at BrüRm@BAR, where he instituted and ran the ground-breaking Connecticut Real Ale Festival for many years. He has tutored many apprentices, most notably the current brewer at BAR. As both a brewer and a partner he set up Brewport in Bridgeport and is still there as both General Manager and Brewmaster. He styles himself as an English Ale brewer but at Brewport he has brewed both lager and Cream Ale, both revived from historical recipes.