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City Steam Brewery Café is a spectacular 7 level restaurant in the historic Richardson Building within the Marriott Residence Inn. The 15 barrel brew house allows brewmaster Ron Page to handcraft up to 12 styles of ales and lagers. The casually priced classic brew house menu with new world touches provides a menu for everyone's tastes. The award winning Brew Ha Ha Comedy Club Thursday at 8, Friday and Saturday at 7 and 10 p.m. Live entertainment or DJ most evenings - no cover! Also: Large upscale pool room, outdoor beer garden and many function rooms for 10 to 300 people. Dining 11:30 a.m until 10:30 p.m Mon-Thursday, midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 4 -10 p.m on Sunday. All major credit cards accepted.
Brown Thomson and Company was the major tenant in the Cheney Building shortly after it opened in 1877. It soon became the largest department store in Connecticut. The building was designed by H. H. Richardson and many architects regard this building as the finest example of Romanesque architecture in the country.
Originally the building was set up with retail on the first level only and apartments above. There was a spectacular oval atrium that spanned the middle of the building and was topped off by huge skylights.
City Steam Brewery Café brings the feel of the old building to life. Many of the cast iron railings and millwork in our space were salvaged from the department store when it was renovated in 1979, and the open balconies bring back the feel of the atriums.
When steam was introduced in the brewing process in the mid 1800's, it was the epitome of modernization. No more stoking fires or shoveling coals to keep the kettles boiling! All a brew master had to do was turn a few massive valves and the vapor would start rolling.
Along with the introduction of ammonia refrigeration, modern brewing had turned a corner and was never to look back. Fire and ice gave way to industrial technology. Brewers could now produce large amounts of beer in the steam heated kettles, age it for long periods of time in cavernous refrigerated cellars, and bottle a pasteurized product with steam driven machinery for national distribution.
The Hartford Steam Company, a subsidiary of CNG, supplies economical steam heat to many buildings in Hartford. Hartford Steam has gone to great lengths to run the massive steam pipes to City Steam from the streets of Hartford, enabling us to power our 15 barrel brewery with "City Steam".
Our brew master Ron Page, will tell you brewing with steam is a dream come true!
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Sadly enough, no one is around who can tell us how these beers from Hartford's four Pre-Prohibition breweries tasted. Can't complain about those prices though...
Light dinner ale -- .65 per doz. pints.
Family Porter --.65 per doz. pints.
Bitter ale -- $1.50 per doz. pints.
Stock porter - $1.00 per doz. pints.
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