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Discuss beer travel and regional information, including the best bars and places to check out around in Canada and around the world, and other chat that is not specific to Ontario.
JK wrote:Got a great tip on where to eat in the area, Parker Pie in West Glover. It was only about 15-20 minutes from Hill Farmstead and it was fanstastic. All craft taps in the back of a really old general store. They had Hill Farmstead, Stone, Founders, Brooklyn and various New England taps and the food was top notch, will be back.
good to know! I usually head down a couple times per year and I usually hit the Farmstead before I drive back home. Glad to know there's some good food hiding in the area.
There's an awesome cheese place down the other side of jaffin flats - Jasper Hill Farms. not sure if they sell from their farm, but I've bought a few of their cheeses at the Co-op in Montpelier and they were all great.
Thanks for the tips in this thread. I've booked new year's to Burlington then the rest of the week skiing out of Waterbury. Yay Porter and their flight down there which is awesome.
There are people here with more experience than me in that area, but from what I know it would likely be a pretty nice drive through the mountains, although maybe a bit risky in the winter with weather??
If it were me, I'd add some time to the trip by going a bit out of the way and make a lunch/dinner stop at the Three Penny. Would make a hell of a day!
rejtable wrote:There are people here with more experience than me in that area, but from what I know it would likely be a pretty nice drive through the mountains, although maybe a bit risky in the winter with weather??
If it were me, I'd add some time to the trip by going a bit out of the way and make a lunch/dinner stop at the Three Penny. Would make a hell of a day!
I went there once. I would strongly recommend a good GPS unit, since you spend a fair amount of time on dirt/gravel roads that aren't clearly marked, and it would be very easy to get lost.
Getting to and from Burlington is a non issue unless you get really unlucky with a big storm, but that can happen anytime in the winter. Going to Hill could be dicey, but worst case you spend more time around Burlington. A trip to Vermont would not be a failure if you didn't get to Hill, I don't think.
I'm going to VT over new year's for skiing and the plan is only Burlington & Waterbury and what ever is in the immediate areas. Probably won't make it to Hill and not so worried about it. Seems like there's plenty to keep my palate happy!
OK, did a summary of recos from the thread and other research for the upcoming trip to VT. Very excited now that it actually snowed a bunch in the last couple of days (from the Alchemist via Facebook):
Burlington
- Vermont Pub & Brewery
- American Flatbread
- Farmhouse Tap & Grill
- Manhattan Pizza & Pub
- Three Needs
Waterbury
- The Alchemist (brewery only now)
- Prohibition Pig
- Reservoir
- Arvad's
- Blackback Pub
Taking a quick break from skiing as it is incredibly cold today (-27C).
So Vermont is a really great place and it is remarkable how much good beer is here considering its small population size.
Burlington is a really pretty small city, with the University of Vermont close to downtown and a nice pedestrian commercial street right in the heart of town. Made it to the three known spots here: American Flatbread, Farmhouse Tap & Grill and the Vermont Pub & Brewery.
The Vermont Pub is the oldest in the state, founded by Greg Noonan and there is a lot of history of the place and the man (who sadly passed away a couple of years ago) still evident in the pub. It's a mix of sports bar, pub & restaurant all rolled into one, with visible beer tanks in the restaurant. About 10 home beers on tap plus a couple of casks. Wide range of popular styles including Helles, Bitter, IPA & Stout, plus a couple of unique ones including a Brett sour & raspberry.
Another brewpub in town is American Flatbread (sub-name Burlington Hearth) and the Zero Gravity brewery which is at the back of the restaurant. Very cozy place, with two sides - one a fireplace bar with tables, and a classic pizza restaurant with checkered red tablecloths and a large pizza oven. A very diverse range of interesting beers, including a gruit, black IPA, schwarzbier, tripel, Belgian wheat and others. Unfortunately didn't get a chance to try the pizza but it looked great.
The third in the Burlington beer trinity is Farmhouse, a super popular restaurant and beer bar. The upstairs is a sit down restaurant with a small bar and the downstairs has a dark, cozy bar room with a fireplace. Lots of interesting craft beers on offer, including locals Hill Farmstead & Lawson's, but also beers from across the U.S and the world, including Brooklyn, Dogfish, Lagunitas, Ballast Point and Sixpoint. The bar manager of the Farmhouse also writes a beer column for the local daily paper. Excellent food but you could be waiting a while for a table on a popular night.
Other places I was able to hit was Farmhouse's sister restaurant El Cortijo, a Mexican restaurant in a diner setting. Cool spot and a few locals on tap including Hill Farmstead, Trapp and Smuttynose. Another place we dropped in on was called Ken's Pizza/The Pub which is a good holding pen as you wait for a table at the Farmhouse (reminiscent of Rhino's relationship to Grand Electric). Looked like there was a number of other popular bars along the pedestrian strip, but didn't get a chance to head in.
Everything is compact in downtown Burlington and there are a number of hotels within walking distance of the 'beer trinity' of bars. There's also a number of hotels around the interstate, but less accessible from there to the downtown zone and I didn't notice a lot of cabs, but it might have been due to it being New Year's.
Considering Burlington is a direct flight from Toronto now via Porter (the only international flight that goes to Burlington), it really is an awesome destination that us Torontonians have now. And that's just Burlington! I went from there to Waterbury and will post up again some more...and believe me there's more!
