Beer and history at fundraiser for Merwinsville Hotel

GAYLORDSVILLE — Merwinsville Hotel Restoration, a nonprofit organization devoted to the restoration of the historic Merwinsville Hotel in Gaylordsville, is celebrating the hotel’s 170-year aniversary on Aug. 10 with a beer tasing.A wide array of beers will be featured, from local and national distributors, including Connecticut’s Thomas Hooker, the Brooklyn Brewery and Sam Adams.For a $25 admission fee, tasters will get access to a full spectrum of refreshing ales, IPAs, brown ales and more.The tasting is a fundraiser for the continuing restoration of the Merwinsville Hotel, built in the 1800s as a stop along the Bridgeport rail line. The hotel was built by Sylvanus Merwin, whose success was two parts shrewd business sense and one part luck.In the mid-19th century, the Housatonic Railroad was slowly snaking across Connecticut, with miles of track being added every year. As surveyors searched for a route through Gaylordsville, they spent a few nights at a hotel Merwin owned in the area. After Merwin discovered what land would be used for the new track, he purchased the property and built a new hotel on the property. When the railroad company came to ask for the land (as he knew they would), he damanded his own stop on the route, named in his honor. He got it. In 1843, the Merwinsville Hotel served its first rail customers.The inn closed many years ago, but rather than let the historic building deteriorate, a nonprofit organization was formed to restore and maintain it. Currently, work is centered around renovating the ballroom.The work has been funded over the years by a series of grants. Funding from the public is also important and this fundraising beer tasting is not only a chance to raise money but also to raise awareness.For more information, or to purchase advance tickets, go to www.merwinsvillehotelrestoration.com.