by KERRY R. CALLAHAN
Hartford Courant
April 20, 2006
Every brew pub I've visited makes two mistakes. First, the beer is served way too cold, dulling the malt flavor. Second, the flagship offering is a pale ale variant lightened up and dumbed down for the masses. The Cambridge House Brew Pub, located in Granby, avoids both pitfalls. Although chilled, the beer is not offered at tongue-numbing temperatures. Further, its signature, award-winning beer is not a watered down version of anything. It's a fine rendition of the ale from Cologne, Germany.
Copper Hill Kolsch, named for the Copper Hill section of East Granby, adjacent to Old Newgate Prison, is light, shiny and straw gold and, unusually and satisfyingly, hazy and unfiltered. Its aroma, although understated, is a pleasant combination of grainy malt and faint whiffs of herbal hops. It's a perfect warm-weather beer, lively in feel, reasonably light of body and blessed with excellent balance and an exceptional, very crisp and moderately bitter finish. Copper Hill Kolsch is an excellent beer, crowd pleasing and thirst quenching, yet distinctive and flavorful. Those willing to venture into Cambridge's stronger wares will find hop lover's bliss in Abjah Rowe IPA, aggressively bittered with both English and American hops and Old Mill Pond ESB, a velvety smooth, rich and tasty interpretation of a British classic.
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