Restaurants & Bars

New Brewhouse in Manchester Schedules Soft Opening

A new brewhouse in Manchester's historic district has set a "soft opening" for later this month.

MANCHESTER, CT — A new brewhouse in Manchester's historic district has set a "soft opening" for later this month.

Labyrinth Brewing Company will open its doors to the public on Aug. 25 with activities scheduled for noon to 8 p.m., its owners said this week. It is located at an old industrial building at 148 Forest St.

The owners have taken the 130-plus-year-old building and renovated it to house the Labyrinth production facility, a tap room and gallery that will feature works by local artists.

Find out what's happening in Manchesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The owners have come together through a variety of circumstances.

One’s relationship with brewing beer started when he, "joined a home brewing club and discovered a garage full of friends." Another's dates back to the 1990s and a "curve ball." Another's began with a home brew kit he received for Christmas.

Find out what's happening in Manchesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Varieties are chosen with the help of "a tasting panel of beer drinkers with diverse backgrounds" like nationally recognized beer judges, professional brewers, home brewers, beer ingredient suppliers, bloggers, gastropub owners, bar managers and “average Joe” craft beer enthusiasts. The tasting panel receives new recipes and scores them based on appearance, aroma, flavor, "mouth feel" and an "overall impression of the brews," Labyrinth owners said.

Formal public hours will be announced at a later date, the owners said.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Manchester