Would You Grab a Beer at This Brewery Inside an Abandoned Insane Asylum?

Can you imagine thinking, "let's take this eerie, old, abandoned mental hospital and turn it into a brewery."

Yes, there really is a former psychiatric hospital where the only therapy now is knocking back a few brews or other beverages and grabbing a slice. Oh, and live music is a must, too.

You have to give the owners credit for the name. It's called the NewSylum Brewing Company, and it's in the quaint hamlet of Newtown, Connecticut, in what was once the Fairfield Hills State Hospital.

Newtown is 75 miles north of New York and around 50 minutes southwest of Hartford.
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Now, this once-upon-a-time psychiatric hospital literally serves an IPA called Therapy Session because why not play off of its unique location, taking advantage of its massive outdoor and indoor space with events, activities, and festivals all year round.

According to the Graze and Co CT Instagram account, you can also enjoy warm pretzels and mini charcuterie boards.

I think this is a perfect time to take a quick tour, don't you?

According to the News Times website, the owners had been wanting to start a brewery for some time, and this 100-acre campus jumped out as a unique location to go for it.

Open only Friday through Sunday, the brewery’s 50-seat outdoor capacity fills up within 15 minutes most days. Head brewer John Watson, a longtime award-winning brewer, and assistant brewer Dave Linari’s beers are earning praise from beer geeks statewide.

According to the NewSylum Brewing Company website, the psychiatric hospital was built in 1930 on some 800 acres with 20+ buildings, finally closing in 1995.

Most of the buildings were connected by underground tunnels which were used to convey food from the central cafeteria along with doctors, nurses, patients, and even corpses. Due to safety concerns, illegal trespassing and vandalism, the tunnels have been filled in. Many of the buildings have been torn down since the Town purchase and most others are abandoned and not maintained. It’s illegal to enter those buildings.

At one time, 4,000 patients, 20 doctors, 50 nurses, and 100 support staff roamed the grounds. NewSylum Brewing's opening was delayed because of the pandemic, but it slowly began its adventure in June 2020.