Vermont

[DeMarco]

Cass posted a link in this thread about the best beers in vermont and burlington beer co had a beer named "barista" (coffee porter) on that list. I was able to find it while I was there and it was pretty good. Nothing crazy but it was nice.

[rejtable]

Not all border gaurds are as nice. I got the full charge for a buffalo trip on 170 CAD worth of beer they dinged me for 90 CAD while my friend had a case of beer and a growler for a mere 10 bucks. Both of us walked into the office at the same time, he got a lady and I got a guy.

just as an FYI, I was through the border in Thousand Islands a week or so ago, and the first quote I got from the border guard, on roughly $90 of beer was over $60. I know the exact formula, and figured at best I'd be paying between $18-$20 (depending on their exchange rate mostly), so I argued that it was wrong.

After about 15 minutes of reasonably tense arguing, I found out that the idiot guard saw some chicken scratches I had made on my receipts (I had noted the ounces of each bottle) and thought that was the number of bottles I had. So, he saw my "22" and thought that meant 22 bottles, when it was me noting that the bomber I bought was 22oz. So, he had me written up as well over 60L of beer!!!! And he proceeded to blame me "DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT OUNCES, I DON'T CARE ABOUT OUNCES!!!". Nevermind that I never talked to him about ounces in the first place... Anyway, the lesson I learned is that some of them have NO idea how the collection system works. My guy only wanted to know how many Labatt Blue bottles I had, as in his mind he knew exactly how many HL are in 24. Anything outside of that calculation was going to blow his mind. Even when I tried to give him the exact HL to put into his system, it was like trying to explain to a hungry toddler in the midst of a tantrum that he really should eat. Dude was just an arse and wasn't going to allow any unfamiliar input to enter his brain. I politely invited him out to my car so he could see that 60L of beer wasn't going to fit in my trunk (I actually had about 7L), and he reluctantly agreed to take my input finally.

Anyway, you'd need your border receipt, but I bet a lot of money they messed up your quantity. On $170 worth of beer, it is unlikely you should have paid much more than $30 depending on the volume you had.
Unless you are buying huge volumes, most of your cost is going to be tax.

[jeremyg]

alright so apparently we'll be in Burlington, mid september.

does anyone know of any cheapish hotels in the area within walking distance of say, farmhouse and whatnot?

also, bottleshops. will definitely be hitting up waterbury for a day, are there any specific bottle shops you'd recommend in the two towns?

thanks!

[rejtable]

Tons of references in this thread. For bottles your best bets are Beverage Wharehouse in Winooski and Craft Beer Cellar in Waterbury.

I've stayed at a motel along hwy 7 on the way out of Burlington, it was maybe a 25-30 mins walk to downtown. I forget the name... bel-aire? Wasn't a place I'd take my wife to, but a few guys on a weekend in the city it was ok.

Very close to downtown, there isn't anything "cheap". The new Hilton Garden Inn can sometimes be a bit less pricey. I stayed there not long ago with the kids for under $200/night. Hotel Vermont looks really cool, never stayed.

I've often stayed at the Green Mountain Suites in South Burlington. Easy cab ride into and out of the city.

[DeMarco]

Not all border gaurds are as nice. I got the full charge for a buffalo trip on 170 CAD worth of beer they dinged me for 90 CAD while my friend had a case of beer and a growler for a mere 10 bucks. Both of us walked into the office at the same time, he got a lady and I got a guy.

just as an FYI, I was through the border in Thousand Islands a week or so ago, and the first quote I got from the border guard, on roughly $90 of beer was over $60. I know the exact formula, and figured at best I'd be paying between $18-$20 (depending on their exchange rate mostly), so I argued that it was wrong.

After about 15 minutes of reasonably tense arguing, I found out that the idiot guard saw some chicken scratches I had made on my receipts (I had noted the ounces of each bottle) and thought that was the number of bottles I had. So, he saw my "22" and thought that meant 22 bottles, when it was me noting that the bomber I bought was 22oz. So, he had me written up as well over 60L of beer!!!! And he proceeded to blame me "DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT OUNCES, I DON'T CARE ABOUT OUNCES!!!". Nevermind that I never talked to him about ounces in the first place... Anyway, the lesson I learned is that some of them have NO idea how the collection system works. My guy only wanted to know how many Labatt Blue bottles I had, as in his mind he knew exactly how many HL are in 24. Anything outside of that calculation was going to blow his mind. Even when I tried to give him the exact HL to put into his system, it was like trying to explain to a hungry toddler in the midst of a tantrum that he really should eat. Dude was just an arse and wasn't going to allow any unfamiliar input to enter his brain. I politely invited him out to my car so he could see that 60L of beer wasn't going to fit in my trunk (I actually had about 7L), and he reluctantly agreed to take my input finally.

Anyway, you'd need your border receipt, but I bet a lot of money they messed up your quantity. On $170 worth of beer, it is unlikely you should have paid much more than $30 depending on the volume you had.
Unless you are buying huge volumes, most of your cost is going to be tax.

Yeah I realized after posting that I was screwed on the HL charge. I've written down the formula for future day of crossings. It's almost mandatory for me now to try and calc the total volume of what I am crossing back with.

[jeremyg]

Tons of references in this thread. For bottles your best bets are Beverage Wharehouse in Winooski and Craft Beer Cellar in Waterbury.

I've stayed at a motel along hwy 7 on the way out of Burlington, it was maybe a 25-30 mins walk to downtown. I forget the name... bel-aire? Wasn't a place I'd take my wife to, but a few guys on a weekend in the city it was ok.

Very close to downtown, there isn't anything "cheap". The new Hilton Garden Inn can sometimes be a bit less pricey. I stayed there not long ago with the kids for under $200/night. Hotel Vermont looks really cool, never stayed.

I've often stayed at the Green Mountain Suites in South Burlington. Easy cab ride into and out of the city.

thanks man!

[TheSevenDuffs]

Hotel Vermont looks really cool, never stayed.

Hotel Vermont is amazing! But to use your own words, it's the place to stay if you are going to Burlington with your wife. Not worth the money for a guys trip as it is the most expensive hotel in Burlington.

[jeremyg]

looks like we'll be staying airbnb. hotel prices are kinda crazy.

[sprague11]

I always aim for spring - cheapest time of the year by far. Winter's pretty decent in Burlington but pricey anywhere near a ski hill. If you get in between leaf season and snow season you could end up with some bargains (relatively) as well.

If you have enough people and don't mind something a bit more basic (re: bunk beds and communal space), Hostel Tevere in Warren might be pretty fun.

*Should add that Rock Art's limited access is quite good - probably up there in the Fair Maiden tier of Vermont IPA*

[sprague11]

A few quick notes after 4 hours in the state recently:

A ton of new Breweries have opened in the last couple years. 4 Quarters in Winooski is probably my favourite and could (should?) be a top-tier Vermont brewery after a couple more years. Frost's and Burlington Beer Company stuff is getting better as well. Rock Art's last 2 IPA have been at least Foley Brothers-worthy.

Hill has had some amazing samples available on opening at the brewery, so get in line early! Bring a couple cheeses to the new taproom.

A Vermont Place in Hardwick is fairly new but has a pretty decent menu and some very good taps. If you're heading back toward Burlington from Hill I'd consider stopping there at least for lunch.

Hen of the Wood has a bar in Stowe called Doc Ponds. Backacre Bottles. You're welcome.

Do not skip the discount section at Winooski - a buddy of mine scooped bottles of Caractere Rouge for 11 bucks a pop in October.

Scout in Winooski is probably the best place in the Burlington area for coffee.

Look for my Vermont Traveller's book coming to an inbox near you!

[jeremyg]

never really did a write-up of my trip

it was amazing

only there for 2 nights but had a fantastic time. got into town around noon and went to El Cortijo which is a mexican joint right in the middle of downtown burlington. they had cans of focal banger that we jumped at (like, literally jumped at) and glorious nachos. believe the hype regarding focal btw. it's sensational. we then walked across the street to a co-op grocery place (kind of like whole foods i guess) and perused their beer section, which while small, was still great. grabbed a bunch of stuff. hit up farmhouse that night, amazing beer selection and the food was incredible. walked over to some food truck thing they do every friday and ate some tacos and drank a bunch of fiddlehead ipa, which is absolutely delicious. after that we went to wisnooski beverage and grabbed some bottles to share at home.

woke up earlyish saturday and hit up this bagel place who's name i can't remember nor can i even give you a general idea of where it was BUT the bagels were incredible. coffee was good too. headed out to HF and i'm not really sure what to say about HF outside of it was smaller than i thought it'd be? the lines were pretty long but not nearly as long as i had heard and the samples were many. bought a box of various HF beers. they're all amazing btw, that brewery deserves every ounce of hype it gets. after that we headed back but stopped at lost nation brewing for lunch. terrific food! their beers are on point too. got a flight of 5 or 6 beers and it was like $6 or something stupid. not measly little samplers either. their gose is glorious. maybe my favorite gose? brought a couple 4 packs of it home. wish i had grabbed more tbh. can't say enough about lost nation. basically a must-visit in my humblest opinion. after that we headed back because we had tickets to a beer sampling event thing (kind of like cask days) called brew-ha-ha. it was pretty sweet. tried a ton of vermont brews. it's really an embarrassment of riches over there. i don't want to compare it to ontario because that's not fair... but yeah. embarrassment of riches. it was nice to go to because we simply didn't have the time to hit up all the breweries down there we wanted to but at least we got to try them there. after that we walked around a bit downtown. nice little town. went home, drank the rest of the beers we had bought the day before.

sunday we hit up the bagel place again and grabbed a couple dozen to take home. the entire way home bemoaning how much we missed vermont already and the stuff we simply didn't have the time to do.

10/10 would do again in a heartbeat. can't wait to go back. anyone who says heady is overrated is only lying to themselves.

[DeMarco]

Anyone gone to VT recently? Any updated stuff I should seek out? Heading down friday-monday soon. Any tips on heady drops on a saturday or monday AM besides winooski?

[sprague11]

www.headyspotter.com - Had very good luck at Simon's in Shelburne on a Monday afternoon.

4 Quarters in Winooski is worth stopping at.
Really liked the last couple big IPAs I had from Frost - should be fairly easy to find at the Bevy or wherever and probably priced better than Foley Brothers
HMC bottle selection has gotten better if you're stopping in Montpelier

[DeMarco]

Thanks Sprague11!

I think 4 Quarters was just opening when I went last time but didn't have a chance to go. Thanks for the tip on Simon's as well!

[jeremyg]

co-sign on 4 quarters and frost. both doing great things.

definitely recommend hitting up fiddlehead. all i tried was the ipa but it was amazing. heard a lot of their other stuff is even better.

whereabouts in VT are you going?