By Nicole Colson
ith more than 6,600 breweries across the state, it’s safe to say Vermont loves its craft beer. In fact, it was named the craft beer capital of the U.S., according to a recent market research report. Over the past two years, Vermont craft beer outpaced both the maple syrup and ski resort industries, bringing $376.7 million into the state. The vast majority of the 1.6 million people who set foot in Vermont breweries in 2016 were visitors, according to the Vermont Brewers Association (VBA).
Whether you are a connoisseur of craft beer or a lover of what makes Vermont unique, a brewery tour is a necessary pilgrimage. Every stop along this beer trail has been carefully selected so no matter what path you forge, you’ll enjoy brews that will please the most sophisticated of palates and food that will do the same, many in distinctive and stunning settings — and have a most unforgettable experience.
Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery
36 Bridge St., Brattleboro
Open Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
802-490-2354
http://www.whetstonestation.com
An in-house, experimental award-winning nano-brewery within Whetstone Station produces small, hand-crafted batches and has more than 60 craft beers (mostly guest varieties) on its list. Whetstone only taps a few in-house beers at a time and shakes up the variety and styles regularly. Each brew is unique – it’s never the same twice with the exception of its flagship beers (Whetstoner Session IPA and Big Stoner Vermont Double IPA). To keep up with increasing demand, there are plans to expand the brewery. Visitors can read about their process and recipes online with a virtual brewery tour and take a crowler (32-ounce can) with you. You can do your civic duty and come in any Wednesday, which is community pint night – tokens for beers go to a local charity or organization of choice. Also the brewery hosts live music throughout the year and games nights in summer. A major draw for the restaurant is its fire-lit dining room and outdoor dining area, perched over the Connecticut River.
Beer-infused grub: Pub pretzel with beer cheese dipping sauce; poutine (beer-battered cheese curds smothered in house gravy over hand-cut fries); jalapeño bottlecaps (beer-battered and fried jalapeño rings with chipotle ranch dipping sauce) and Vermont cheddar ale (soup with shredded cheddar, heavy cream and freshly-brewed beer).
Hermit Thrush Brewery
29 High St. #101c
Brattleboro
Tasting room and gallery: Monday through Thursday, 3 to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Phone: 802-257-2337
http://www.hermitthrushbrewery.com
This experimental nano-brewery specializes in New American sours, which age for an average of eight months and have a dry, tart flavor. The brewery, which also serves up seasonal and limited releases in its tasting room, is also distinct for its use of locally-sourced grains, hops, fruits and barrels from within 40 miles from the front door. Their age-old brewing process involves wood pellet boilers. If you come on Friday or Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m., you can have a full pour paired with a Vermont grilled cheese. Brewery tours are by happenstance; and you can take a four-pack of cans or a growler to go.
Flagship brew: Brattlebeer, a local cider beer blend fermented with peels from nearby Dutton Farm apples.
J’Ville Brewery
201 Vermont Route 112
Jacksonville
Tasting room: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
802-368-2226
J’ville Brewery, also the home of sister company, Honora Winery, specializes mainly in ales, with a vast number experimental brews along the way. Among the brewery’s creations are wheat beers with hibiscus and blackberries; trappist-style ales brewed with complex malts and hints of dried fruits; a dried Turkish pepper stout with chocolate, tobacco and smoky flavors; and a double IPA with six different hops varieties (this ale was the Best in Show winner at the World Beverage Competition). Some of the hops are harvested from the on-site hop yard. The brewery’s tasting room sells 16-ounce cans and 32-ounce crowlers and growlers (a growler is a glass-bottle version of an aluminum growler) of its four rotating tap varieties, some seasonal and limited. If you’re closer to West Dover, you can visit the J’ville Brewery tasting room at 131 Vermont Route 100 from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Beer Naked Brewery
Hogback Mountain,
7678 Vermont Route 9
Marlboro
Open Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.
802-464-7702
http://www.beernakedbrewery.com
Its original location was as part of Pizzapalooza restaurant in Wilmington, and now it’s the only brewery in the Mount Snow Valley Region in its new location at the home of the former Skyline Restaurant on top of Hogback Mountain with its 100 mile-view. The goal is for eight brews on-tap and the reopening of the pizza joint – in the meantime, visitors may taste such flavor profiles as Wit-ness, brewed with coriander and dried orange peels; and Hop-Sedation, a double IPA with citra and mosaic hops. Beers can be purchased by the pint, crowler or growler, or sampled in the mountaintop tasting room. Andrzej’s Polish Kitchen also is set up on the premises serving traditional fare such as pierogis and golabki.
If you’re visiting the area this spring, check out the Craft Brew Stroll and Chili Contest hosted by Southern Vermont Deerfield Valley Chamber on Friday, March 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. in downtown Wilmington. Buy tickets at visitvermont.ticketspice.com.
Trout River Brewing Co
100 River St.,
Springfield
Hours vary
802-885-6613
http://www.troutriverbrewing.com
One of the original players in the early stages of the Vermont craft beer movement in the mid-’90s, Trout River Brewing Company is situated in an old gear factory next to the Great Hall on the Black River and offers a rotating selection of about four ales – including Trout of Solace, made with European malts; and a couple of seasonal varieties. In addition to sampling beers in the tasting room, you can take in some live music, stop in on trivia night and of course, take home a four-pack of cans, a growler and some merchandise.
Harpoon Brewery
336 Ruth Carney Drive
Windsor
802-674-5491
Hours: Sunday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The second location of this brewery, established in Boston, is home of The Harpoon Riverbend Taps and Beer Garden. In the same building as the brewery itself, it offers a full selection of Harpoon beers made on the premises and food to pair with your pint. You can enjoy a beer inside the brewery overlooking the bottling line or during the warmer season, the outdoor beer garden.
Maple brew: Clown Shoes Snow on the Maple Tree, an imperial stout aged in maple bourbon barrels.
Beer-infused eats: Brisket taco made with house-smoked meat and Vermont Farmstead alehouse cheddar topped with jalapeño cilantro aioli.
Long Trail Brewing Company
5520 U.S. Route 4
Bridgewater Corners
Open daily, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
802-672-5011
An icon in the Vermont craft brewing industry with a nearly 30-year history in sustainable brewing practices and community and environmental stewardship, Long Trail Brewing Company, located on the banks of the Ottauquechee River, was inspired by the 273-mile hiking trail that traverses through the Green Mountains. A self-proclaimed “caretaker of Vermont craft,” the company is motivated by the local culture and surroundings to create beers worthy of its Vermont roots. The list of more than a dozen beers on tap at Long Trail’s German-designed riverside pub and restaurant (including award-winning varieties) range from small-batch recipes developed in Long Trail’s farmhouse-turned-pilot-brewery to wider-ranging staples like the flagship Long Trail Ale and brand new Vermont IPA. In addition to year-round staples, seasonal selections and limited releases including the Farmhouse Ale series are served. The brew pub offers a seasonally-rotating menu featuring locally-sourced ingredients. Visitors are invited to grab a seat on the deck or, in warmer weather, “dip your toes in the water and go with the flow.”
Beer-centric eats: Chili with Long Trail Double Bag Ale, Cabot cheddar jack and locally-raised ground beef; pulled pork quesadilla in Double Bag barbecue sauce; and grilled North Country Smokehouse Bratwurst with bacon, marinated cabbage slaw and maple beer mustard.
Harvest Brewing
201 South St.,
Bennington
Open Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.
802-681-3417
A nanobrewery that makes between four and six of its own beers at a time. In the lineup is a porter made with cherry wood-smoked malt; a milk stout with notes of coffee and bitter chocolate and an IPA with hints of pineapple and citrus. The brewing company’s pub menu is a varied vegetarian-centric one. You can order both flights or pints to try out the goods, or you can tote it out the door in a growler.
Noteworthy menu offering: Smokey mac with Cabot habanero cheddar.
Northshire Brewery
108 County St.
Bennington
Open Thursday and Friday, 1 to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
802-681-0201
http://www.northshirebrewery.org
A small pet-friendly craft brewery, Northshire specializes stimulating taproom conversation and serving low-alcohol content session beers. On the short list are Equinox Pilsner, Battenkill Ale, Northshire Hefeweizen, Northshire Chocolate Stout and double IPA Sicilian Pale Ale. Crowlers and growlers are available to go, and tours are provided on Saturdays.
Madison Brewing Company
428 Main St.
Bennington
Open Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
802-442-7397
http://www.Madisonbrewingco.com
The brewing company’s 421 Taproom, across from its production facility, features 24 beers on tap (including five produced in-house), and 6 ciders along with a full lunch and dinner menu. One of those beers, Harvest Pumpkin Ale, which is made with squash, took home two awards (including first place) in the 23rd annual Great International Beer, Cider, Mead, & Sake Competition, beating Sam Adams’s version, which took second place in the same category.
Complimentary starter: Irish lounge fries with Vermont cheddar and pepperjack, chopped tomatoes, red onion, chopped bacon, ranch and barbecue sauce.
von Trapp Brewery and Bierhall
1333 Luce Hill Road
Stowe
von Trapp Bierhall and gift shop: Monday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; brewery tours, Tuesday, 6 to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 1 to 2 p.m.; Sunday, 1 to 2 p.m.; observation deck open Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.;
802-253-5750
http://www.vontrappbrewing.com
The world-famous Austrian brewery and bierhall is first known as the home of the Trapp Family Lodge, where the real-life family that inspired “The Sound of Music” settled when they left their Austria to escape the Nazi regime in 1938. The idea came from Johannes von Trapp, the youngest child of Maria and the Baron and member of the Trapp Family Singers, who wanted to start a brewery to make the lagers of his home country. The brewery attracted attention with its Trapp Lager, brewed as all other varieties using spring-fed water from the mountain property and powered by renewable solar energy.
While you’re visiting the bierhall and modern rustic lodge for a signature craft lager and authentic meal, you can also check out its 500 acres that provide world-class cross-country skiing, mountain biking and hiking.
Award-winner: Bohemian Pilsner, gold medal, 2018 New York International Beer Competition, Pilsner Brewery of the Year.
Classic Austrian plate: chicken schnitzel with apple kraut, braised red cabbage, and von Trapp farm-fried egg.
Idletyme Brewing Company
1859 Mountain Road
Stowe
Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
802-253-4765
http://www.idletymebrewing.com
A small, artisanal brewery and bistro, Idletyme is the place to visit if you want an in-depth look into the beer making process. You can come in for lunch any day of the week and interact with the brewmaster who will give you a close-up look at their copper, state-of-the-art three-vessel brewhouse, and see the art and science that goes into every batch. On tap, you’ll find lagers from golden to malty; ales; double IPAs; Belgian-influenced ales, classic Bavarian weizens and limited seasonal brews. Visitors also might find it interesting the brewery maintains three different yeast strains in-house and harvests from an on-site hops garden. You can purchase cans, growlers and kegs to take home after sampling. Extra bonus: the brewery, situated along a recreational walk/bike path, is now dog-friendly and even sells leashes with bottle openers.
Perfect beer menu pairing: Cabot cheddar fritters with fire-roasted jalapeno aioli
The Alchemist
100 Cottage Club Road
Stowe
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Phone: 802-882-8165
A family-run brewery specializing in fresh, unfiltered IPA, The Alchemist was initially a 60-seat brew pub in the village of Waterbury in 2003. After eight years of success and growing popularity, they decided to open a small production brewery. Today The Alchemist currently operates two breweries in Vermont and handles all local distribution. The Alchemist Cannery, a 15-barrel brewery and canning line, was opened in 2011 for the production of The Alchemist’s flagship IPA called Heady Topper, distributed within a 25-mile radius. One of those locations is the Stowe brewery and visitor’s center. The brewery’s Focal Banger is brewed in Stowe as well as seasonal beers throughout the year. Here you can sample, purchase beer and beer-related merchandise and enjoy a fun, educational experience.
Rock Art Brewing Company
632 Laporte Road
Morrisville
Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
802-888-9400
One of the oldest breweries in Vermont (21 years in business), Rock Art Brewing Company counts IPAs, ales and pilsners on its tasting room draft list, which has windows overlooking the production area and serves beer by the pint on Thursdays. The two-floor brewing company is as known for its art as its beer – the upstairs and downstairs gallery space showcases the work of a minimum of 40 artists all year long.
Tours: By reservation
Try it: Limited Access Double IPA, with hints of citrus, passionfruit and tropical fruits available in 16-ounce cans and kegs; or Vermont Maple Wheat Ale, in a 22-ounce bottle
Lost Nation Brewing
87B Old Creamery Road
Morrisville
Taproom: Wednesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
802-851-8041
http://www.lostnationbrewing.com
Capable of brewing any style of ale or lager, Lost Nation Brewing takes inspiration from lesser-known European beer styles along with local Vermont life to guide flavors. The taproom features classic and eclectic fare and the outdoor biergarten and wood smoker-driven kitchen opens in the warmer months. Kegs are available for pickup.
Brew to try: The Gose, a traditional German style wheat beer brewed with sea salt and coriander.
Try it with the Confit Cuban, a formidable sandwich stacked with North Country Smokehouse ham, pork confit, cheddar and jalapeño dijon on a sourdough roll.
Prohibition Pig
23 South Main St.
Waterbury
Open Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11;30 a.m. to 11 p.m. (kitchen closes daily at 10 p.m.)
802-244-4120
A Southern-style barbecue joint, Prohibition Pig does everything in-house, including smoking locally-raised, all-natural meats and making beer. The restaurant and brewery proudly recycles everything possible and is a member of the Vermont Fresh Network. There are roughly a dozen in-house varieties on tap here and just as many guest libations.
Brews to sample: Prohibition Pig Juice Broker made with citra, mosaic and galaxy hops and passionfruit puree; Prohibition Pig Vanilla Porter aged with beans from Madagascar.
Menu item: Pork carnitas topped with lime slaw, salsa verde and crema.
