At first, the entrance is greets you with with a stunning house-like entrance, welcoming you into a friendly world of local craft beer. Once inside, a number of areas are available to sit and socialize with friends. We decided to belly up to the bar.
If this was just about the beer, this review would say that Stoney Creek offers a great variety of craft beer brewed at Foxwoods as well at its first brewery in Branford, CT. But, this new pub at Foxwoods is much, much more.
The Full Pint – Craft Beer News reported, “The brewery is Stony Creek’s second brewing operation following their flagship Branford, Connecticut location. With two floors, 7,100 square feet and seating for over three hundred guests……Both floors of Stony Creek Brewery offer distinct experiences. The ground floor is designed as an ode to Stony Creek’s New England heritage which also includes a spacious beer garden and a brew deck with a view into the brewhouse, giving guests a first-hand look at the beer production process.”
The Beer
To quote the Stony Creek website, “THE FUSION OF CLEAN, BOLD, AND AGGRESSIVE WEST COAST FLAVORS AND EAST COAST BALANCE AND DRINKABILITY. WE CALL THIS AGGRESSIVELY LAID-BACK BEER.”
Yes, those are stouts! Amazing taste.
Bert ordered Sun Juice, a smooth wheat beer with orange peel, grapefruit peel, coriander & chamomile. This is a great alternative to an IPA craze. They have a number of excellent IPA’s like Cranky, a West Coast IPA with citrus and tropical notes. I went with a flight of four beers. The star of the show is Stoney Joe, a golden mocha stout – that’s right golden. But even more outstanding is Nitro Stoney Joe, only available at Foxwoods or Branford. (Cans of many other brews can be bought as well.) 15 Stoney Creek brews are on tap.
The Staff
Katie & Kristy , our fantastic bartenders
Probably one of the most enjoyable parts of our visit was meeting its staff members. Our two bartenders were an incredible help with knowledge and description all of the beers. Want to taste before ordering? No problem – they want you to taste and be sure to order something you like. Brewmaster Andy Schwartz leads the team. We were able to speak to Johnny Haines, in charge on this day, who was very complimentary to Foxwoods in the way the two businesses have worked together. As an example of the great hospitality, he stopped his very busy work load to speak to us, ready to answer questions we had. John informed us a top Foxwoods chef designed the menu. Foxwoods prepares all of the food served.
The Set-Up
There are two floors, each with a different perspective – East Coast (the laid back area) / West Coast (aggressive area) and different variations of the same food. Wings, flatbreads, and sandwiches are offered on both floors, but each floor offers them with a different cuisine.
The second-floor design has a Southern California-themed beer and cocktail bar, a stage, and an overlook area. On the lower floor, there is a raised platform with Adirondack chairs to people watch in the casino.
NETG recommends this for a break from the casino, or just a break from life . It’s a great place to meet friends and enjoy quality beer. See you at Stoney Creek at Foxwoods – look for guy with the NETimeGambling tee – that’l be me.
Binbin
The Arena at Mohegan Sun was ranked #1 on Pollstar Magazine’s “Top Stops” survey. For venues seating 5001 – 10,000, the Arena was voted ahead of Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, Radio City Music Hall in NYC, and The Greek Theater in California.
