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Great article. IMO, Vermont has the best beer of all the New England states. Sure, the likes of Long Trail, Magic Hat, and Otter Creek may not be amazing, but they're solid and consistent, and the brewers there have a lot of talent, even if their standard offerings are just average.
Great article. IMO, Vermont has the best beer of all the New England states. Sure, the likes of Long Trail, Magic Hat, and Otter Creek may not be amazing, but they're solid and consistent, and the brewers there have a lot of talent, even if their standard offerings are just average.
I might have to give Smuttynose the New England crown.
I might have to give Smuttynose the New England crown.
As a single brewery with wide availability, yes, I agree. If we're talking about the beer alone and ignoring the fact that they're hard to find, both Lawson's and Hill Farmstead are better.
Pretty Things in MA is also excellent, but has a more limited distribution than Smutty.
out of the bottle today is the Rock Art Magnumus ete Tomahawkus ESB^2.
Not sure what I think about it yet
Pretty high on the ABV and Bitterness.. 8% and 80 IBUs
It seems almost a bit sweet, I guess that is typical of an ESB yeast.
BTW - random on the topic of Smuttynose and Stone-I thought Smuttynose's IPA to be remarkably similar to Stone's IPA.. or vice versa. not the most complex beer, but nice crisp easy to drink IPA. i prefer Smuttynose's.
And way way more random... I saw Sierra Nevada's "Hoptimum" at the co-op and that is a beer i wouldn't mind sitting on for a year and trying.
out of the bottle today is the Rock Art Magnumus ete Tomahawkus ESB^2.
Not sure what I think about it yet
Pretty high on the ABV and Bitterness.. 8% and 80 IBUs
It seems almost a bit sweet, I guess that is typical of an ESB yeast.
BTW - random on the topic of Smuttynose and Stone-I thought Smuttynose's IPA to be remarkably similar to Stone's IPA.. or vice versa. not the most complex beer, but nice crisp easy to drink IPA. i prefer Smuttynose's.
And way way more random... I saw Sierra Nevada's "Hoptimum" at the co-op and that is a beer i wouldn't mind sitting on for a year and trying.
The ESB^2 was ok. I had it a couple years ago. I think from their bigger bottles, I liked the ones that were a bit more different than everything everyone does (like the jasmine beer).
Stone IPA and Smutty IPA are definitely different. Stone is a big west coast IPA, while Smutty, though still hoppy, is very much a New England IPA, meaning less in your face hops.
I need to get the Hoptimum. I wonder if my local liquor store has it yet.
Perhaps this is old news, but the Achemist is in the process of building a brewery near Ben and Jerry's in Waterbury. They will be bottling. Info on their website.
I made it to the Three Penny Tap Room in Montpelier today for the purpose of trying Hill Farmstead ales. It is a very unassuming little place, like an old fashioned plain bar built for locals. My first impression was not good as there was an extremely strong sweet incense smell -like the kind used in dorms to cover up pot smoking back in my college days - not me - possibly. I didn't notice it after a while. There was a small eclectic list of soups and sandwiches, we had a good soup. The tap ales run from $5-$10 per glass, most $5 to $7. Pretty expensive, but the selection was very strong with many I've not seen on tap before. You could get a Trapp or Smuttynose for $5. I think the Hill Farmsteads were $7 for a (around) pint size glass. They had several belgian ales on tap.
My impression of the Hill Farmstead, VERY well made and worth the extra buck or two. Unfortunately they only had IPA and Porter, neither really my style. I'm on the lookout for their Saison.
I don't think that's old news about the Alchemist, looks like it was just posted today....very interesting how they went from 'definitely no bottles' to a full cannery! Skipped growlers altogether, lol.
Thanks for the review of Three Penny...we wanted to head out to Hill Farmstead last week, but between their schedule and the snow, we didn't have a chance. Hopefully we'll get to it next time.
Perhaps this is old news, but the Achemist is in the process of building a brewery near Ben and Jerry's in Waterbury. They will be bottling. Info on their website.
I made it to the Three Penny Tap Room in Montpelier today for the purpose of trying Hill Farmstead ales. It is a very unassuming little place, like an old fashioned plain bar built for locals. My first impression was not good as there was an extremely strong sweet incense smell -like the kind used in dorms to cover up pot smoking back in my college days - not me - possibly. I didn't notice it after a while. There was a small eclectic list of soups and sandwiches, we had a good soup. The tap ales run from $5-$10 per glass, most $5 to $7. Pretty expensive, but the selection was very strong with many I've not seen on tap before. You could get a Trapp or Smuttynose for $5. I think the Hill Farmsteads were $7 for a (around) pint size glass. They had several belgian ales on tap.
My impression of the Hill Farmstead, VERY well made and worth the extra buck or two. Unfortunately they only had IPA and Porter, neither really my style. I'm on the lookout for their Saison.
Awesome news about the Alchemist and the beer scene in VT in general! I had no idea. I know they bottled their Heady Topper (a double IPA that is one of the best in the country, if not the world). I didn't know they were going to build a full on brewery.
I need to try the Three Penny Tap Room. It's on my list. That and the Farmhouse restaurant in Burlington are the 2 places I need to get to (along with Three Needs who I wish had food).
Which Hill porter was it? Something of the Idols? That was awesome. Tried it at the brewery last month. His Saisons are fantastic. It's worth the wait.
Which Hill porter was it? Something of the Idols? That was awesome. Tried it at the brewery last month. His Saisons are fantastic. It's worth the wait.
I don't recall the name, they just got the porter in and just ran out of the saison.
Farmhouse now has a dowstairs casual pub area, although I don't think it's open til 4 or 5. My one complaint about the Alchemist is they don't open for lunch and I always seem to be in Waterbury before they open.
The fly fishing bar across from the Alchemist is now number one on my hit list.
The ESB^2 was ok. I had it a couple years ago. I think from their bigger bottles, I liked the ones that were a bit more different than everything everyone does (like the jasmine beer).
Stone IPA and Smutty IPA are definitely different. Stone is a big west coast IPA, while Smutty, though still hoppy, is very much a New England IPA, meaning less in your face hops.
I need to get the Hoptimum. I wonder if my local liquor store has it yet.
i decided i do not like the esb^2 much. not sure how to describe it but it sat very heavily for me.
we were up in stowe today and i tried the von trapp dunkel lager which i really liked. i don't usually buy lagers. i should have tried all 4 while i was there you can try all 4 for like $7, it's probably only 8 or 12 ounces total... so even at 10am and me driving it would have been ok
also tried the paradise ale from lawson's last night which i also liked. i wasn't able to find a description of this beer. we had a friend up from nj so went to flatbread and had an amazing pizza with artichoke, spinach, and red onions .
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you can try all 4 for like $7, it's probably only 8 or 12 ounces total... so even at 10am and me driving it would have been ok 
