Going on a Vermont beer road trip, looking for tips

[b-boy]

To address your main points:
HF would not be a bad trip from Montpelier, perhaps 30-45 min drive.
I will warn you that GPS may not get you there accurately and if it does, it may be on a Class IV road which is technically a road (or at least once was).
My friends GPS took him right there with no trouble at all, so perhaps if the software is up to date you will be fine.

Your phone will not work.

Don't trust your GPS. My GPS took me onto something that used to be a road. I drove by it 5 times before I realized where the GPS wanted me to go. It was a 5 ft wide opening in a forest. It was made of dirt. It went straight up the side of a mountain at a 45 degree angle. I don't think a car had been on it in at least 50 years, maybe never. I'm pretty sure there were tracks from a horse and buggy. I'd say it was a Class IX road.

I ended up using my GPS to get to Greensboro Bend, VT. Once I was there my GPS gave me a good route to the brewery. There's a nice little general store there. They had a decent beer selection.

Even the trip to Greensboro Bend was interesting. It took me over a mountain on a dirt road through some questionable-looking peoples' back yards. There were grimy, barefoot kids just standing on the side of the road watching us go by. It was a little creepy. I think I heard Dueling Banjos in the distance.

The brewery was nice though. Worth the trip. The general consensus was to get there Thursday morning. I waited a few hours to get growler fills, but when I left the line was really long.

 

[Weezy]

May i suggest that one of you go to google maps and layout a route to HF and a post a link to that route back on here?

 

[ultra_cas]

I don't think you can get HF growler fills except at their brewery. If you're here for hiking, plan a hike out near their brewery, and end the nice day of hiking at their brewery? I think the Mule Bar in Winooski has HF on tap, as well as the Farmhouse Tap and Grill, as mentioned earlier. I've also had it a Prohibition Pig in Waterbury.

If in Burlington, I'll second zero gravity. Drove by their new brewery/tasting room just last night, they had their soft opening last night and will be open for business I think this weekend, so you've got that.

Fiddlehead - I like their beers, they've come a long way since they first opened. If you're looking for Heady, check their website for delivery days. They are building a new brewery in Stowe which will help with their delivery/availability, but won't help you in your timeframe.

14th star is available in cans locally - I'd pick up some of that instead of visiting their brewery, since you've got limited time, but Valor Ale is good stuff.

If you can find some Lawson's, their sip of sunshine is great, too.

Damn, we're spoiled up here!

 

[brewkinger]

Don't trust your GPS. My GPS took me onto something that used to be a road. I drove by it 5 times before I realized where the GPS wanted me to go. It was a 5 ft wide opening in a forest. It was made of dirt. It went straight up the side of a mountain at a 45 degree angle. I don't think a car had been on it in at least 50 years, maybe never. I'm pretty sure there were tracks from a horse and buggy. I'd say it was a Class IX road.

I've been on that road... It's called Dry Pond Road, which is funny because at one point I had to cross a small 4' creek that I got out and checked with a stick for depth and quick-sandedness...
Also got almost to the top and met 3 guys on ATV's... We all had a good laugh and even had a sip of some Edward (they had just left the brewery)

May i suggest that one of you go to google maps and layout a route to HF and a post a link to that route back on here?

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE.....

 

[hanuswalrus]

Sounds like I'm going to have to write down all these directions to HF on a piece of paper beforehand.

Lawson's sounds like they make some good stuff, but difficult to find their beer packaged?

 

[brewkinger]

Sounds like I'm going to have to write down all these directions to HF on a piece of paper beforehand.

Lawson's sounds like they make some good stuff, but difficult to find their beer packaged?

It is easier to find Lawson's packaged beer in Connecticut (where it is brewed):cross:

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Sounds like I'm going to have to write down all these directions to HF on a piece of paper beforehand.

Lawson's sounds like they make some good stuff, but difficult to find their beer packaged?

Hunger Mountain Coop might have it in Montpelier, 1 4-pack limit. M&M beverage might as well.

re finding it in CT- I wish... But then again I'm not too close to two roads..

 

[hanuswalrus]

I'm leaving for Vermont tonight! Can't wait to get my hands on some majestic Vermont beer!

 

[carvetop]

Great success?

 

[hanuswalrus]

Just got back today. Long drive but well worth it. Managed to get some Second Fiddle, Sip of Sunshine and Super Session #2, Lawsons/Otter Creek Double Dose IPA, Heady Topper, tons of Hill Farmstead, Crooked Stave (I was surprised to see that they had their stuff in VT), Jack's Abby... pretty much everything I was hoping to get.

We made it to Pro Pig and the 3 Penny Tap, as well as The Bench in Stowe. All had awesome beer and really food. Pro Pig had to be my favorite, their beers were much better than I expected. Had an awesome lime APA with Wakatu hops and lemon juice / zest. I was pleasantly surprised to see an Alchemist beer I didn't even know existed (Focal Banger) and I think I had a can of it at every restaurant in VT we ate at during the trip.

I was blown away by Fiddlehead and may go as far as saying that their IPA was the best I had on the trip, but I've yet to crack open any of my Hill Farmstead growlers at this point (and still haven't opened a can of Second Fiddle either). Got a growler of a brand new Brett beer from Fiddlehead in the fridge called Brett's Berry Medley w/ Raspberries, blueberries and strawberries that I'm excited to enjoy. Folino's was great pizza too..

The only negative experience I had was at Winooski Beverage when trying to get some Heady cans on Thursday.. the guys that work there come off extremely snobby and were hesitant to even tell me when they were bringing the Heady out. It was Vermont beer week so they were doing things a bit differently than usual, I guess (which I had to find out thru another customer who was kind enough to bring me into the loop). The fact that I got a 4-pack of Sip of Sunshine there eased my pain, though.

In the end, I learned that Vermont beer IS all it's cracked up to be and I'm going to be kinda sad when I finally manage to finish all of these beers that now line my fridge.. Not to mention the fact that the state itself is beautiful. Had a great time hiking a couple mountains (Pinnacle and Mansfield).. I wouldn't mind living there someday.

 

[Gentlemans_Ale]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1443928876.006064.jpg
Just got back today from my trip there. I think I was arriving as you were leaving. I had a growler of the Brett Medley too, it was good. My only complaint is Fiddlehead is out of cans of second fiddle until next week.

Thanks for all the recommendations! Pro Pig was amazing!

 

[hanuswalrus]

Kind of sucks you missed out on the Second Fiddle. It might have been my favorite beer I was able to find throughout the whole trip.. aside from maybe Focal Banger.

And yes, Prohibition Pig was awesome.. not to mention the bottle shop right next to it had an awesome selection of stuff you can't find in the Midwest.

 

[Gentlemans_Ale]

Kind of sucks you missed out on the Second Fiddle.

Nah...more the reason to plan another trip!

 

[b-boy]

View attachment 307380
Just got back today from my trip there. I think I was arriving as you were leaving. I had a growler of the Brett Medley too, it was good. My only complaint is Fiddlehead is out of cans of second fiddle until next week.

Thanks for all the recommendations! Pro Pig was amazing!

Is the new building up at Hill Farmstead? When I was there last summer, they were putting up a sampling area. Was it in operation?

 

[hanuswalrus]

The new tasting room was open and semi-operational when I visited a couple weeks back. No seating or anything like that yet. The bar itself looked almost done and was absolutely gorgeous. Check out their Facebook page to see a good picture of it.

This was posted on their website about a week ago :

"Tomorrow, Weds. 10/7, is the soft opening of our new retail building across the parking area from the original retail shop. The new space is designed for filling growlers and a limited selection of 40cl pours and on-site bottle options (including, but not limited to Civil Disobedience 13). We are eliminating limits on growler fills!

The former retail location will now be open for bottles, glassware and merchandise (we will not be selling bottles and merchandise in the new shop—growlers and glass pours only).

We look forward to welcoming you to our new space! Special thanks to Darren of Leaning Maples Woodcraft for his amazing work on the bar and the continuing projects you'll see when you visit."

I have a picture I took of the new tasting room but I don't have access from work. I'll post it when I can

 

[hanuswalrus]

Figured out how to pull it up, probably not the best picture. Doesn't really capture the whole room but what the hell :

 

[Gentlemans_Ale]

It wasn't up when I was there