The Bar Towel

Heading to the Brewers Festival next Friday night. COnference gets out at 5:30 Friday so this is a good bit of luck!

http://www.vtbrewfest.com/sponsors

Did the Brewers fest last Friday night in Burlington. TONS of people, yet the entire time i only found 2 people that were wasted out of their minds and security quickly escorted them out.

All the locals were there, as well as a few from New York, New Hampshire and Quebec. The out of towners had the biggest lines, with people waiting 45 minutes to try samples from Dieu du Ciel.

I managed the following: Magic Hat Encore IPA and Odd Notion Summer 2010 (Both fairly good) Lawsons Local Potion and IPA, Otter Creek Black IPA, Rock Art Extreme IIPA and Vermonster, Le Tombe du Diable Buteuse (Im sure I got the brewery name wrong) Smuttynose Big Ass IPA and Saison, and a whole lot more. Had some fantastic Greek Wraps at the festival as well.

Next day was spent hitting the Alchemist, A store in the middle of nowhere that had 4 bottles left of Lawsons Hopzilla IPA (I bought all 4) Flatbread Hearth for a fantastic flatbread pizza and cask ale, Burlington Brew Pub, and the Winooski Beverage Warehouse on the way home. The warehouse was pretty decently priced, and had most of what I was looking for.

Looking forward to january's skiing trip!

If you make the trip to Waterbury for the Alchemist head across the street to Blackback Pub and Flyshop, it's a tiny little bar (I think the legal capacity is twelve) but great taps including 3 from Hill Farmstead.
If you have the time, drive up to Hill's brewery to pick up a couple growlers which is on his family farm about an hour from Waterbury. Pretty crazy spot. You can stop and check out Rockart on the way.
Another place worth visiting for their amazing selection is Three Penny Taproom in Montpellier. Very friendly there too in typical Vermont fashion, the bartender introduced himself and shook my hand despite the place being packed on a Saturday evening. Get the grilled cheese.

Lackey wrote:If you have the time, drive up to Hill's brewery to pick up a couple growlers which is on his family farm about an hour from Waterbury. Pretty crazy spot.

Thanks for this. It sounded intriguing, so I made a little sidetrip to Hill Farmstead as I was in the area. Picked up a few tasty treats and chatted with the good folks from Hill. Ended up with a nice drive in the country and great beer to boot.

Brews Phillips wrote:

Lackey wrote:If you have the time, drive up to Hill's brewery to pick up a couple growlers which is on his family farm about an hour from Waterbury. Pretty crazy spot.

Thanks for this. It sounded intriguing, so I made a little sidetrip to Hill Farmstead as I was in the area. Picked up a few tasty treats and chatted with the good folks from Hill. Ended up with a nice drive in the country and great beer to boot.

Will be doing this once the weather is a bit more agreeable. If you have a car and a few hours to kill, Vermont has some lovely roads.

Just got back from a few nights in Stowe. What a great experience!

Beer all around was first rate. Made two huge purchases at the Beverage Wharehouse in Winooski. Great store!

Tried the Alchemist one night, and place was insane, couldn't wait with kids in tow. Went next door to The Reservoir, and they had a huge tap selection, and the food was top notch.

Love to make it a yearly trip, great sites, great beer, great people. Can't ask for much more than that!

Heading to the Green Mountains on Friday for the weekend. Hill Farmstead, Alchemist, Lawson's, Blackback Fly Shop and Flatbread Hearth are on the agenda before the inevitable stop at the Winooski Beverage Warehouse on the way home.

In Waterbury right now - Had the following so far:

Hill Farmstead Arthur at the Blackback Pub
Holy Cow, Petit Mutant, Hellbrook and Focal Banger at the Alchemist. Now back at the hotel with a Lawsons VBA Black Ale.

Good start to the weekend

Does anybody have good recommendations for a hotel in Burlington that is close to all the good spots? I am thinking of the American Flat bread, Vermont pub and brewery or if anyone else has a good recommendation for other beer spots to hit while is Burlington, I'm all ears.

I always stay at the Holiday Inn Express on the outskirts of town and take a cab.

I stayed in Stowe, about 20-30 mins from Burlington. The resort/hotel I stayed at was amazing (Green Mountain Inn), but a bit of a jaunt to some of the beer spots.

Made a trip to Vermont over the weekend. It was fun, and even though we were travelling with 9 month old baby I was still able to sample a decent amount of beer. Went to Rock Art and made the long ass trek to Hill Farmstead on Saturday. Sunday we wandered around and had lunch at the Burlington American Flatbread and then Monday on our way home we drove down to Otter Creek before taking the ferry across Lake Champlain and then back home through Plattsburgh. Came home with a variety 12-pack from Rock Art and one from Otter Creek, as well as a 750 of Rock Art Vermonster, and a 750 of Hill Farmstead Galaxy Imperial IPA. The Growlers at Hill were cool, but it was hard to justify the $10 deposit on something that will just sit around my house collecting dust. I also picked up a couple of singles of Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout at the Otter Creek Brewery.

jaymack wrote: What amazed me the most was it didn't matter if you went to a hole-in-the-whole cafe or a Steak & Seafood restaurant, Vermont beer was everwhere. I only hope we in Ontario eventually follow suit and have cities and towns everywhere supporting out own greatness we are making here.

That was really cool. One night we were in a mall shopping and decided to go to Applebys for a quick dinner. Even that place had Switchback ale and Harpoon IPA on tap. I mean the equivalent here would be like a Montana's having Beau's or Great Lakes on tap, and I can't see that happening anytime soon.

JK wrote:Does anybody have good recommendations for a hotel in Burlington that is close to all the good spots? I am thinking of the American Flat bread, Vermont pub and brewery or if anyone else has a good recommendation for other beer spots to hit while is Burlington, I'm all ears.

I can tell you where not to stay. Avoid the Days Inn in Colcester just outside of Burlington at all costs. Trust me that place, while fairly cheap, is gross.

To add a bit for anyone in the Mad River Valley:

The Prohibition Pig (http://www.prohibitionpig.com/) stands in place of the former Alchemist. The food is still great, and Heady Topper is a regular on tap. Also features taps from Lawson's, Hill Farmstead and others.

About a 20 minute drive from the Pig in Warren Vermont, The Warren Store has Heady Topper and Lawson's bottles in stock (limit of 4 Lawsons Bottles per customer). Also carries Rock Art and Founders.

The Farmhouse Grill in Burlington has a tap list that may be the best in the state outside the Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier. http://www.farmhousetg.com/FARMHOUSE_BeerList_Web.pdf

To add, if you must go to Montreal afterward, cross back through cornwall and drive back into Quebec. The Quebec border guards (I have a cousin who is one at Champlain NY) have been told to crack down on people bringing any amount of alcohol or tobacco over your duty-free limit. They're also searching 1 in 4 cars coming back through the smaller border stops looking for contraban cigarettes.

So... what is there to actually do in Vermont? Like besides biking/fishing/hunting/camping/golfing. Any attractions worth seeing? Are the towns worth a visit longer than an hour?

I'd love to go on a bit of a beer tour next week, but my wife is pregnant and this will be our last hurrah before the first kid arrives, so important she enjoys it. Ben & Jerry's and the Von Trapp lodge look promising, but anything else?

Bytowner wrote:So... what is there to actually do in Vermont? Like besides biking/fishing/hunting/camping/golfing. Any attractions worth seeing? Are the towns worth a visit longer than an hour?

I'd love to go on a bit of a beer tour next week, but my wife is pregnant and this will be our last hurrah before the first kid arrives, so important she enjoys it. Ben & Jerry's and the Von Trapp lodge look promising, but anything else?

Burlington is a really cool place. Not very big, but beautiful (situated right on Lake Champlain). People there are very friendly, laid back, polite and welcoming to visitors. The beer scene is incredible. I could have spent a whole weekend in The Farmhouse. Hill Farmstead is only about 90 minutes away as well.

If you want fast-paced, Vermont is not the place for you. If you want to relax, enjoy the outdoors and enjoy some of the best craft beer in the world, it is the place for you!