This spring I bemoaned the lack of Connecticut beers available in Massachusetts. I wanted this blog to cover breweries throughout New England, but I had reviewed very few CT beers. The beer scene in CT was somewhat limited for a long time, but it has expanded rapidly over the last few years. I ended up making a stop at Craft Beer Cellar in West Hartford just to sample beers from a number of breweries that were not available locally. Fortunately I have started to see a few more CT beer make their way north. At least I am assuming these beers are new to local distribution, my brain has been in a bit of a fog over the last few months between new fatherhood and work, I am kind of shocked that I can write a coherent sentence let alone keep track of every new brewery that starts to distribute in the state. One brewery that I am pretty sure is new to MA is Relic Brewing out of Plainsville, CT. Relic was a brewery I missed on my CT trip, so I was excited to finally try some of their beer. One of Relic’s flagship beers is The Fletcher, an American Pale Ale brewed with a blend of popular American hops. Relic The Fletcher is available year-round on draft and in 12 oz. bottles.
Relic The Fletcher pours a clear deep yellow with a mammoth off-white head. The scent is a huge burst of New World hops, citrus and tropical fruit. The beer is very hop forward, notes of lemon, grapefruit, pine and mango along with a crisp but soft bitterness that screams APA and not IPA. The hops are balanced by a little pale male, touches of white bread and biscuits. The Fletcher is light and easy to drink, at 5.5% ABV it is on point for the style. The finish is crisp and clean with a little lingering hop bitterness and flavor. Relic Brewing The Fletcher is a very good APA, tons of hop flavor and aroma but still goes down smooth. I’ll definitely be checking out more of their beers as they start to make it to Massachusetts. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.
Hoppy Boston 
