I just got back from my trip to Vermont and I have to say that the people in Vermont not only know how to make a great beer, but they are very welcoming. More than one dairy farmer was willing to talk to us for an extended period of time while we soiled their milking rooms and asked all sorts of dumb farming questions about their goats.
Of course the highlight was the beer. We managed to get to 6 different breweries and try beers from two others. While Magic Hat and Harpoon were nice, they were a bit bigger breweries than I was looking for. I had my best overall experience at The Alchemist, a brewpub turned production brewery with an amazing double IPA. The Alchemist's brewpub was destroyed by the flooding from hurricane Irene, but luckily for them (and all their customers) they were already building their production facility just up the road. The production facility opened two months ago and they have been brewing their flagship Heady Totter exclusively until they can get their pub back up and running.
Two other locations really surprised me: Trapp Lodge and Norwich Inn. Both brew exclusively for their in-house hotel/resort locations. In the case of Norwich Inn, which produces traditional British ales, production is only 4 barrels per batch and if I remember right they only make around 400 barrels per year.
This contrasts sharply with our next stop, Harpoon, which has a 100 Barrel series. I enjoyed their Dočesná, but Leviathan Imperial Rye stole the show. This proved to be a complex beer where the rye and fruity hops play off each other like a long volley in a tennis match.
The Long Trail was our first stop, and I was a bit underwhelmed. I enjoyed their pub with a view of the canning line, but the beer was very average. Not bad by any means, but nothing spectacular either. I had the sampler with my delicious bacon cheeseburger as well as a glass of Triple Bag, a thick strong ale. I bought a bottle of Imperial IPA, but I have not tried it yet.
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to visit McNeil's and Rock Art but I had a glass of McNeil's at dinner and brought some Rock Art home with me. Perhaps more on the beers I brought home in a later review post.
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to visit McNeil's and Rock Art but I had a glass of McNeil's at dinner and brought some Rock Art home with me. Perhaps more on the beers I brought home in a later review post.
Not a bad showing, I think. Beer, cheese, welcoming people. Well done, Vermont. I hope to be visiting again some day.
How many barrels does Harpoon produce per year?
ReplyDeleteBetween 150,000 and 200,000 barrels per year. They are slightly bigger than Goose Island or Boulevard.
ReplyDeleteVermont is an amazing state! If you visit again you MUST check out Hill Famstead and Lawson's Finest Liquids. You missed two of the best.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, Stephen. I definaty plan on going back. We had to sit in some cheese farms and Ben and Jerry's otherwise we could have seen more breweries. Lawson's was on my list but dropped due to time. So much to see in such a small state.
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