Nolita’s Matthew Pierce and Paul “Zok” Zocco of Zok’s Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies with JW Lees Harvest Ale 2010 (Calvados Aged), Back East Porter. The competition winners were Rob Brown – Light Ale (APA); Alex Dee – Amber Ale (IPA); Brad Buck – Dark Ale (Belgium Strong Ale); Alex Dee – Best of Show (IPA); and Kevin Sullivan – Novice (Imperial Stout).

East Hartford’s Nolita Ristorante hosted its first annual “Discover Your Craft” homebrew competition in collaboration with Zok’s Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies of Willimantic on February 8, 2015. Nolita Ristorante, which features Italian-American fare with an emphasis on craft beer and cocktails, has 24 rotating tap lines. For the month of “Fe-BREW-ary,” Connecticut beers were poured and the home brewing event continued on the theme, involving many from the local beer community. The event received 80 entries from 36 home brewers, representing seven distinct style categories. Both Rich Loomis of Firefly Hollow and Tony Karlowicz of Back East Brewing volunteered as judges for the event