Is This Brewery Inside an Abandoned Connecticut Insane Asylum on Your Summer List?

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

If you're not familiar with it yet, or new to Fairfield County,  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 in what was once the Fairfield Hills State Hospital.
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Now, this once-upon-a-time psychiatric hospital also serves as an IPA called Therapy Session, as well as many others. It's definitely taking advantage of its unique location while taking advantage of the 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 jumped on this 100-acre campus as a unique location to go for it and open their dream brewery.

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 800 acres with at least 20 buildings. It closed 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 is celebrating its 5th anniversary this June 2025.