About Us
About Boondoggle:
Boondoggle has a few meanings, so let’s get on the same page here:
ˈbo͞onˌdäɡəl/ boon·dog·gle
noun
work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value.
verb
waste money or time on unnecessary or questionable projects.
I am not sure if ‘boondoggle’ better describes my past corporate jobs or my efforts to create a brewery. Either way we hope that we get to experience more the other definition of boondoggle which is:
a business trip, often to an exotic destination, in which you do more relaxing/fun stuff than work.
Do we have a tasting room?
Yes!
Boondoggle Beers joined the New Cambridge project brewery collective!
The collective tasting room is located at 139 Center Street Bristol CT where we brew all of our beers. We work alongside Firefly Hollow, WEHA brewing, New Cambridge and others to bring you one of the best collections of beers in one place. There are often Events and food trucks live music and trivia.
The New Cambridge Project – Google Maps
Brewery | Taphouse | The New Cambridge Project
History:
“I first considered the idea of opening a brewery in 2007 while my department was being outsourced. This change in job stability gave me the chance to re-think my career plans. I didn’t act quickly enough at this juncture and instead, a new corporate opportunity presented itself. Over the years the brewery discussions and ideas continued to pop up again and again at various levels of seriousness. Most commonly, it would be the topic of the evening while enjoying my homebrew with friends. In my free time I would work on business plans and do market research through the Brewers Association and other available resources; all the while commuting to my cubicle.
In the summer of 2012, I turned a business trip in Europe into a proper boondoggle. Starting in Copenhagen (hello Mikkeller!) I managed a romp from Copenhagen to Bremen (Becks), then Brussels (hello Delirium, Cantillion, St. Sixtus, etc.!) and then Amsterdam. This was a beer trip to remember. While cruising on a canal boat in Amsterdam I came to one of the last two standing windmills within the city. As luck would have it, this windmill happened to house a new brewery. BROUWERIJ’T IJ. I abandoned the canal tour to check it out. The ‘windmill’ brewery has one of the most picturesque beer gardens that I had ever seen. The shared tables under a beautiful canopy of trees on the bank of a canal created a magical atmosphere. The beer was fantastic as well. I was inspired! …and then I went home. I went back to work at my corporate cubicle and the magic slowly faded away.
Two summers later in 2014 the stars aligned and work required another trip overseas. Boondoggle 2.0! I managed to include a 23 hour layover in Amsterdam during my travels home. Once I got into town, my first stop was my favorite brewery at the windmill. This visit was quite different from my first. The place was spiffy, the baby hop plants were established, now crawling up the outside of the building. There was a new, bigger bar, cleaner space and a whole lot more people. It was this moment when It became clear. I had to open my own place. (Picture of that actual moment)
This time upon returning home, I got to work! Cheers to that magical layover!”
– Micah