Connecticut Breweries Compete to Create the Best Barrel Aged Beer

Goodwin College, in partnership with Onyx Spirits Company, a Connecticut craft liquor distillery, has announced the Secret Stash Beer Bash to be held along the Connecticut River on Saturday, August 29, 2015 to benefit student scholarships.

The outdoor event will take place on the College campus in East Hartford and will feature music, local food trucks, and a VIP boat cruise exclusively for sponsors. General admission tickets are $40 per person and include tastings of Secret Stash beer, a Secret Stash pilsner tasting glass, and Onyx samples. Designated Driver tickets are also available for $15 per person and include soft drinks. Reservations may be made at www.goodwin.edu/secretstash.

In 2013, Onyx Spirits Co. released Secret Stash, Connecticut’s first barrel aged whiskey. The product has garnered numerous international awards. It is produced using corn, malted grain, and Connecticut Spring water, then aged in five-gallon American oak barrels for more than a year. After two uses, the barrels are spent. “We couldn’t use the barrels anymore, and didn’t want them to go to waste,” said Onyx co-founder Adam von Gootkin. “We came up with this event as a way to bring Connecticut’s amazing breweries together for a day of fun, and ultimately to raise money for Goodwin’s fantastic scholarship program,” he added.

“We’re delighted to partner with Onyx Spirits on this event to support our hard-working students,” said Brooke Penders, Goodwin’s Vice President of Advancement, “and we’re looking forward to sharing our beautiful campus with people throughout the Greater Hartford region.”

Each participating Connecticut brewery has received one five-gallon barrel to produce the best barrel-aged beer. The beer from each brewery will be judged by the Secret Stash Beer Bash event guests. The winner will have access to Onyx’s spent Secret Stash barrels for one year for a commercial release of a limited edition Secret Stash beer.

Participating breweries include:

• Back East Brewery – Bloomfield
• Thomas Hooker Brewing Company – Bloomfield
• Duvig Brewing – Branford
• Thimble Island – Branford
• Firefly Hollow – Bristol
• Olde Burnside – East Hartford
• Overshores Brewing Co – East Haven
• Broad Brook Brewing – East Windsor
• The Cambridge House – Granby
• City Steam – Hartford
• Stubborn Beauty Brewing – Middletown
• Bru Rm – New Haven
• Black Hog Brewing Co – Oxford
• Cottrell Brewing Co – Pawcatuck
• Relic Brewing – Plainville
• Southport Brewing Co – Southport
• Half Full Brewery – Stamford
• Two Roads – Stratford
• Beer’d Brewing – Stonington
• Willimantic Brewing – Willimantic
• Shebeen Brewing – Wolcott
• New England Brewing – Woodbridge

All revenue generated from the event will go directly to the Goodwin College Scholarship program.