The Bar Towel

Cass wrote:Interesting to hear about Vermont nowadays, although not totally surprised. I was amazed that HT & SOS maintained that level of frenzy for *so* long.

Remember SOS started contracting out (at Four Roads I think) and of course Alchemist opened that new brewery. With the extra volume, new trendy players & other factors (as Belgian pointed out, quality copying), I guess the time has come where demand no longer exceeds supply.

Rejtable, your note about Winooski reminds me of a couple of years back while I was in NYC. I was at the Whole Foods Soho and saw cases upon cases of BCBS collecting dust on the floor. I asked the guy and he said that people just weren't as interested as they were before in it.

It's pretty clear now that demand for Alchemist, HF and others in that area can't ONLY be met by locals anymore. Alchemist, HF and Fiddlehead have been showing up in upstate NY for a few months now. HF has regular taps in DC now, and is quite present in NYC. SOS seems like it's everywhere.

I doubt any of those breweries are too worried about moving all their product just yet, but seems like they are having to at least make an effort now which didn't seem to be the case a short while ago.

Couple of nights in Stowe this weekend. Similar to my comment a year ago, yeah man the amount of formerly hard to find beer that is just sitting around now is staggering. Great beer everwhere! Round up:

Hill Farmstead: Damon! Soigné! Great onsite tap list, some big names on the retail list, always a great spot.
Alchemist: the can limits are so high now you could almost fill a flatbed! One small nice change since last time I was there a few years ago... they will do full pours of the beers on their sample station. They have a little patio area where you can sit and have a drink. Wish they had an actual taproom, but this will do.
Lawson's: gorgeous spot but pretty remote. Lawson's cans are EVERYWHERE in that area, and he's been sending stuff even farther afield. I wonder if the new brewery/taproom is doing ok? Was completely dead in there on a beautiful Friday night. But the world is a better place when you can walk up and buy SOS/double/triple with no issues!
Piecasso: Awesome pizza, great tap list, beautiful patio. What's not to like?
BBCO: First time there, cool industrial taproom, my son and I played old school Tecmo Bowl on their NES for a bit. Great beer and craploads of cans to go.
Farmhouse: Another awesome meal there, and as always a tremendous tap list.
Foam: Didn't have time to stay for beer, but Sunday afternoo still had almost all the cans from their can releases. Times sure have changed!

Man, people in that area have no idea how good they have it. Stopped into a gas station, like a Gulf or whatever... Frost, Upper Pass, Lawson's, BBCO and 4 packs of KBS just sitting there.

Heading to Vermont for a few days in August, staying in Burlington at the Hotel Vermont. I’ve booked a visit to Hill Farmstead, and will also visit Alchemist, Prohibition Pig, Farmhouse and Zero Gravity. Based on the useful information in this thread I may try to get to a few of the others like Foam and Fiddlehead. Any other must visit places in that part of Vermont? Any places that have grown in prominence in the 4-5 years since this thread was active?

Thanks

dale cannon wrote: ↑Mon Jul 25, 2022 7:12 pm Heading to Vermont for a few days in August, staying in Burlington at the Hotel Vermont. I’ve booked a visit to Hill Farmstead, and will also visit Alchemist, Prohibition Pig, Farmhouse and Zero Gravity. Based on the useful information in this thread I may try to get to a few of the others like Foam and Fiddlehead. Any other must visit places in that part of Vermont? Any places that have grown in prominence in the 4-5 years since this thread was active?

Thanks

The last time I was there was the summer of 2018 for a night en route to Maine. A quick scan of BA's VT ratings still shows a domination from the 'big 3'.

When I was there last I visited Foam for the first time and I really enjoyed it. It's tucked down by the waterfront in a nice location so worth checking out for sure. Hen of the Wood is excellent for dining, and they've got spots in Burlington & Waterbury. I think Zero Gravity split out of American Flatbread's location, but the pizza there was always excellent, not sure about what the beer situation is like nowadays there.

There's a couple of places in Winooski (Mule, Four Quarters) if you wanted to explore Burlington. I remember walking once from downtown out to Winooski past the university and it was a nice walk.

Have a great time!

Cass wrote: ↑Tue Jul 26, 2022 10:26 am

dale cannon wrote: ↑Mon Jul 25, 2022 7:12 pm Heading to Vermont for a few days in August, staying in Burlington at the Hotel Vermont. I’ve booked a visit to Hill Farmstead, and will also visit Alchemist, Prohibition Pig, Farmhouse and Zero Gravity. Based on the useful information in this thread I may try to get to a few of the others like Foam and Fiddlehead. Any other must visit places in that part of Vermont? Any places that have grown in prominence in the 4-5 years since this thread was active?

Thanks

The last time I was there was the summer of 2018 for a night en route to Maine. A quick scan of BA's VT ratings still shows a domination from the 'big 3'.

When I was there last I visited Foam for the first time and I really enjoyed it. It's tucked down by the waterfront in a nice location so worth checking out for sure. Hen of the Wood is excellent for dining, and they've got spots in Burlington & Waterbury. I think Zero Gravity split out of American Flatbread's location, but the pizza there was always excellent, not sure about what the beer situation is like nowadays there.

There's a couple of places in Winooski (Mule, Four Quarters) if you wanted to explore Burlington. I remember walking once from downtown out to Winooski past the university and it was a nice walk.

Have a great time!

Thanks Cass!Appreciate the extra thoughts. Looking forward to it.