Our Story

HISTORY

Established in 2010, Thimble Island Brewing Company was founded by Justin Gargano and Mike Fawcett; two friends and home brewers who shared a desire to make great beer for their local community.

The brewery is located in Branford CT.  It is named after the largest group of islands in Connecticut, the Thimble Islands, located off the coast of Branford.  Tour boat captains have claimed that there are “three hundred and sixty five of them-one for every day of the year.” The first settlers bought land from the area’s Native peoples and established Branford, where Lobstermen and commercial fishermen found a profitable harvest in their waters. Today, there are several different ferry and tour boats that leave the town dock to take you from island to island, but they all tell the same stories of people and events that were told nearly 50 years ago. Wherever you have the pleasure of enjoying a Thimble beer let it transport you to a place where the sun meets the crisp sea air.

TODAY

Just like the many generations of risk-takers before us, Thimble Island Brewery started with a lot of inspiration and was built all by hand. Classic, but never boring, we have set a standard for our products without letting go of our creativity.  Under the leadership of founder and CEO Justin Gargano, we will continue to thrive by putting hard work, passion and dedication into every beer that we make. We pride ourselves on supporting fellow local businesses and have worked with local Branford coffee roaster Willoughby’s as well as donating our spent grain to Salt Marsh Farm in Guilford to feed their livestock. After outgrowing our self-distribution, we partnered with Northeast Beverage for distribution during fall of 2019 and now have over 1,800 different accounts reaching every part of the state. We currently offer 7 core products as well as numerous seasonal and specialty products in draft, bottles and cans.

VISIT

Always striving for more, in the summer of 2020 amongst a pandemic we began a year-long expansion of our taproom, transforming it into a full-service restaurant.  Today visitors enjoy many menu options, including pretzel bites, chicken wings, salads and our famous Smash Burger. There are plenty of options to quench your thirst as well! We have 30 draft lines with a little something for everyone.  We always offer our core beers on tap plus a variety of seasonal and specialty beers. We also carry local hard cider, hard seltzer, wine and non-alcoholic options those who want to venture beyond beer. Sample some while you visit and take away fresh off the line cans and bottles to go. We have both indoor and outdoor options at one of our spacious picnic tables on our lawn, on our gorgeous stone patio or if you prefer stay in, sit at one of our indoor tables to admire our hand painted mural wall. Come on a nice day and enjoy the outdoor breeze inside through our retractable glass garage door. Our back room boasts three large screen TVs so you won’t miss a single play of the game.

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” ― Vincent Van Gogh