Author: Photographs by David Ottenstien

While the microbrewery scene has been going strong for decades elsewhere, Connecticut only got into the game in earnest in July 2012, when a new state law permitted breweries to sell direct to consumers. Now there’s a Connecticut Beer Trail and 26 active microbreweries—with 11 more coming this year. Most of these craft brewhouses were founded by bold young men who changed careers to follow their beer-making dreams.