Feeling the love with craft beers

NORTH CANAAN — It was a cool sunny autumn day, and Dylan Baker was surrounded by trees turning the rich, tasty hues of the season — the golds, reds, oranges and even mellow yellows. But Baker was less interested in the leaves than he was in the tasty attractions of craft beers, which are smaller production brews, often made locally. As beer manager for Stateline Wine and Spirits (13 E. Main St.), he isn’t content to just stock the coolers with mass-production brands such as Busch, Heineken, Miller and more (although those sell well, too). Stateline, he said, has a 16-door cooler; of those, nine are dedicated to craft beers. Some come from as close by as Hartford (City Steam), Massachusetts and Vermont; others are imported from as far away as Europe and California. “Craft beer is the new wine, there are so many choices available now,” he said on Sunday, at the annual Brew Ski Beer Fest at Satre Hill in Salisbury. The event is a fundraiser for the Salisbury Winter Sports Association, which brings the popular annual ski jumps each February to the Northwest Corner. Baker is the organizer of the beer vendors for the festival, which features craft beers from local breweries and grilled bratwursts and burgers (sold as a fundraiser for the Sunday in the Country Food Drive).This year, he said, there were 25 breweries, about five more than in the past couple years that the event has been held.That increase is partly due to the rise of small-scale breweries in the area; and partly due to the popularity of the festival. Thirty dollars buys beer fans (about 200 were expected) a chance to sample 60 different offerings from producers such as Berkshire Brewing, Cisco, Harpoon, Lagunitas, McSorleys, Otter Creek and Olde Burnside.Stateline is a sponsor of the event; the store’s owner (Chris Battista, who also owns Ledgebrook Spirit Shop in Winsted) is “pro beer,” Baker said happily. Beer sales account for more than 50 percent of all sales at Stateline, Baker said. Interest in the craft beers definitely peaks after each year’s Brew Ski Beer Fest, he said, which is one reason why he and Battista are so glad to participate. It’s not just that sales increase; it’s also “so people can experience the different tastes and styles of beers.”“We’re trying to steer people away from corporate, large-production beer to smaller production,” Baker said. “With smaller production, you get more love in the beer.”