This first appeared in Yankee Brew News.
Greeted with plastic marigold garlands, a skeleton wearing a tutu, and plenty of other eccentric details, entering Dead Language Beer Project made for a fascinating first visit.
Dead Language’s goal, per their website, is ‘to craft exceptional lagers, Weissbiers, and bold American IPAs and serve as a gathering place for the vibrant Parkville neighborhood.’ Open since March 2024, they’re already moving into distribution into local restaurants, but as head brewer Chris DeGasero told me, he’s just ‘thrilled to pay the mortgage and live the dream’ as he poured me my first beer of the visit.
On request, Chris recommended that I start with Doki Doki (5.0% ABV), a Japanese rice lager that was beautifully light, crisp, and clean, with two inches of gorgeous white foam that jumpstarted a conversation on his passion for details (just a sample: Chris imported Czech side-pour taps just to maximize this kind of foam). This was followed by Kentucky Common (4.4% ABV), a Luppoleto Brewing collaboration that was an excellent balance of corn-sweet but drinkable. The Feistweizen Harvest Moon (6.2% ABV) was an amber-ruby beauty with wonderful malt that quickly became my favorite.
But the one that stuck with me was Peace Pipe (3.7% ABV), their Polish Grodziskie (Pale Smoked): by far, the best smoked beer I’ve ever had. Tasting this made me truly understand and appreciate the style for the first time, and I will always remember that.
I could have easily made my way down the menu here, but at some point, you need to stop and come back another day. And I absolutely will!
Dead Language Beer Project
1429 Park St #115, Hartford, CT 06106
