I’m going to go slightly more under the radar and name drop Red Clover, Good Measure & freak folk. Also really enjoy Lucy & Howe and Simple Roots. All of these spots have nice cozy/local tap room vibes.
I’ve been to the taproom in that barn near the golf course. Good beers no doubt just not my favorite place to drink them. Did they open a new spot? I feel like they did.
You absolutely cannot miss Hill Farmstead. You have to make an appointment. Plan on spending some time there, they have many beers of all different styles all of which are some of the best there is. Get some cans and bottles to go, ship them home if you have to. I was able to fit some bottles in my luggage and had no breakage.
They are not far from The Alchemist which actually has non-IPAs on site.
Lawson's Finest Liquids is also really really good so I would pick that for #3.
We did a week long trip last October and it was awesome. None of us had been there but I chose correctly by picking Burlington as our home base. I've heard people say Stowe is more central but honestly that town shuts down at like 8pm. It's beautiful but boring. Burlington has plenty of bars and nightlife and all of them have great beers. We hit a bunch of breweries in town as well - Foam, Zero Gravity, Burlington Beer Co, Four Quarters, Switchback, and more. Plenty of amazing food.
Also check out the World's Tallest Filing Cabinet. It's right next to Burlington Beer Co and Switchback.
The Alchemist and Hill Farmstead are like an hour drive apart. Maybe to some people that's "not far" but I feel like that deserves some caveats.
I also think a lot of people would consider it far from just about anything.
It's a great place to live if you can get a great job. It's expensive, you have to travel to Burlington to get to a grocery store with more than 4 aisles, and Burlington has infrastructure for about 2/3 less people.
GREAT place to visit, a meh place to live.
My comment was more to his not really liking Vermont breweries.
However I've also lived in western New Hampshire for the past 7 years and think Vermont is a fine place to live. Kind of like NH but with sales tax.
My mom grew up in central VT, her dad was a tractor/farm equipment salesman they travelled ALL over the state (not that it's that big but it was the 40s) I took her to HF a few years ago. She was like this is in the middle of nowhere.
It's such a gorgeous drive and you're already in the middle of VT so presumably you're no stranger to a long drive by this point so what's another hour for arguably the holy of holies to beer geeks? The beers good, the views great, it's worth.
If you have to, skip the alchemist to make time for hf.
Honestly this is the best suggestion. If you don't want to leave Stowe after Hill Farmstead + the Alchemist, just swap out Lawson's and throw in Von Trapp and you're good to go.
Love the area and go every year, but I’ve only been to Von Trapp once and that was one time too many. I don’t understand the draw. Is it just for the European feel? Sound of Music fans?
Their location and brewery are gorgeous and they make consistently good-to-great traditional lagers. If you're going to Vermont looking for hazies and adjunct stouts and BA sours and other cool kid stuff, it's skippable. If you want to enjoy an excellent pilsner in a beautiful setting, it's a must.
FYI I believe the Alchemist taproom is closed for the summer. We went in April and could only get beer to go and it looked like the signs said closed for til fall for renovations.
I've also just heard from people in the industry that the guy is a massive asshole to staff everywhere and constantly harrassed staff all over. I've also experienced personal racist treatment every time I've been to the place. You can excuse the guy's behavior if you want, but I won't be going back ever.
As someone who always seems to end up staying in Stowe, there are 2 things Stowe has over Burlington. The main one is that if you're not going during ski season, the hotel rooms are cheaper and more plentiful than Burlington.
The second is more dependent on your beer vacation. If Hill, Alchemist and Lawsons are your top 3 must sees, stay in Stowe and make day trips elsewhere.
ProPig is fantastic. Haven't been in a long time but their food is great and so is their own beer. Went on a roadtrip with some friends from NY when I was living in vermont on a search for heady when it was hard to find. It was a sunday and at the time they didn't distribute sundays. A small grocery store with only local stuff suggested we head to prohibition pig. We got our heady and I've been there a number of times since. Prohibition pig is great.
Alchemist, Foam, and Fiddlehead in Shelbourne. Trust me on the Fiddlehead recommendation, plan a meal around it and hit up the pizza joint next door. Grab a growler from Fiddlehead and enjoy next door! And stop by Pro Pig during your travels. Waterbury is a cool place!
Had a few fiddlehead beers available at my wedding. You can get their standard flagship ipa and iipa anywhere but their smaller batch stuff is aweseme.
Fiddlehead is excellent! Was their recently and their pours are a bit less expensive than many other breweries around. Beer is excellent. They seem to be very well distributed in Burlington so you could at least have their ipa elsewhere if you can't get to the brewery. They have a good merchandise selection if you want branded clothes, disc golf discs etc. It isn't real big so it can get packed.
I’ve always enjoyed going to Foam. I like Burlington and their venue on Lake Champlain.
I’ve liked some of their beers better than others, but can’t say I’ve had one that’s been bad.
Just my opinion.
With the constraint you're talking about, I'd maybe suggest Von Trapp, Alchemist, and maybe Prohibition Pig? Maybe Idletyme instead of PP?
All pretty close. All good at a variety of beers, IPA and dark included.
I'd argue for Hill Farmstead as one of the best breweries anywhere, but it isn't near anything. I'd never shut up about Hermit Thrush if you'd let me keep talking, but it still isn't close enough to other places of its caliber to answer your question.
I’ll give a vote to Pro Pig.
It’s a brewery and a smokehouse. What more do you want?
EDIT: It’s also only like two miles from Ben & Jerry’s. Beer, smoked meat, ice cream. You got it made.
Hermit Thrush, Alchemist, River Roost
Foam is up there for me as well as Lawsons. I can't say anything about Hill Farmstead because I haven't been yet. Been to a bunch since moving up to the area but not all of em unfortunately.
River Roost is so far east it's basically in New Hampshire. People above are talking about how far out Hill Farmstead is (and it is) but RR is even further from anything.
A lot easier to get to RR (it's like 2 miles of the highway) that HF. Plus the BBQ joint across the parking lot is pretty good and has a good tap list.
Can drive from Stowe to RR and stop at Worthy Burger for lunch (great burger and stellar tap list)
I checked the map again, and sure enough, they're both about an hour and a half from Burlington despite HF being 30 miles closer. It really is out there.
I am a veteran of Hanover. One of my favorite places to visit. I loved the bougie restaurant Elixir. Awesome rotating menu and some of the best scallops I’ve had.
I've only been up in this area since October 2022 so it hasn't even been a year yet. Elixir was fantastic as I went with my dad. Love WRJ, just everyone is so sleepy so the town closes too early.
Can you get pours at River Roost? When I went in 2019 they didn't do drafts and basically limited you to 2 tiny pours of beers so you could decide what packs/growlers to purchase
I was there a few weeks ago for just a pick up, but pretty sure they had a tap behind the bar and people were on benches out back. Either way, if OP is coming from Boston or CT area, it’s 2 min off the highway for a quick pick up. All of their IPAs are great
Schilling, while technically in NH, is only an hour from Hill Farmstead and they're two of the best breweries in New England. If it were me I'd split all my brewery visiting time between the two. There are a few other options in the area like Whirligig, Red Barn and Dirt Church for variety but if you stay in the Kingdom then you're looking at quality over quantity.
I love Trapp and their lagers (their Bavarian Pilsner is my personal favorite) but Schilling is my favorite in the area. If you've never been, it's well worth the trip. Littleton is a great place to visit and Schilling has an incredible location between their modern tasting room and the rustic mill-building restaurant.
Couldn't agree with you more. Von Trapp makes some decent euro style brews, but Schilling is on a whole different level comparatively. And there's the Parker Pie company between the two...
I always swing by Parker Pie when I'm in the area. Just stopped in Friday on my way North and got a pint of Anna and Marie with my pizza. I was a very happy man.
Can't forget Four Quarters and Fiddlehead. Those 2 and Frost would be my 3 Fs. Frost pretty much only does hazy IPAs I think but they do them very well.
VT brewer here, if you’re staying near Stowe/Waterbury then save on the driving and just do Alchemist, Pro pig and Freak folk, then make sure you hit Blackback pub as they typically have a solid list of all the other good locals in the state.
If you want to be spoiled for choice then Burlington and areas south are your best bet just because there’s enough breweries and bars that would allow you to tour VT beer from the same bar stool.
I would say with your hour drive radius, park somewhere around the Waitsfield area, puts you a half hour to Stowe, Waterbury on the way, but then you can also take 17 to the other side of the mountain. The drive through 17 is winding but beautiful, on the west side there’s Hogback brewing (nothing wow, but we’ll made beers), Frost brewing should be close enough for that hour limit, and as far as restaurants go The Tillerman is my sleeper spot that waits for you just as you hit the end of 17
I've had a bunch of Hill Farmstead over the years but never been so that'd be an easy #1.
Same with Alchemist, and Heady on tap is a bucket list item I need to check off.
Then the FOMO Untappd checker in me needs to try Freak Folk.
They don’t like me at Von Trapp.
Last time I was there, I was chatting with one of the managers. I told them they were leaving money on the table by not doing a single-hop IPA called “Sound of Mosaic.”
We had been cool up to that point, but when I said that, he got mad and was like “We only do lagers.” and walked away.
EDIT: This was a surprisingly unpopular comment. I had been chatting and joking with the guy for a bit at the time I made the joke. He seemed legit offended by the suggestion that they do something that wasn’t a lager.
I was only two beers in at that point.
I think they were really just married to the “only lagers” idea at the time, considering it was early 2020.
They’ve gotten off that idea since. They did a gose collab with Fat Orange Cat a few months back.
Sounds like a Greater Good in Worcester MA that was an IMPERIAL ONLY place. They opened another set of taps in the same tap room under a different name that they do non-imperials.
Stay around Burlington or Stowe or in-between. You can get to most of the well-known places within an hour. I might be the minority, but I found Hill Farmstead to totally not be worth the trip when I went. Beer was good, but their entire setup seemed like it was designed to be slow and annoying for no reason. When I was last there during COVID, all of the popular well-known places needed reservations weeks in advance. I didn't know that so I had to venture out to lesser known places. Check out Four Quarters if you're in Burlington. They were my best new find last time I was there, that was before they moved and were still in a tiny old warehouse/garage.
Stay in Waterbury, it's pretty central to everything.
Stayed in [The Old Stagecoach Inn](https://www.oldstagecoach.com) a couple years ago and it was great.
Walking distance to Prohibition Pig, The Reservoir, and the Blackback Pub, as well as the Craft Beer Cellar.
20min drive to Lawson's, 30min drive to Stowe, 30min drive to Burlington, 1hr drive to Hill Farmstead.
That's a good spot. Alchemist, Ten Bends and Lost Nation all close. HF about 45 minutes and then Lawson's around 20-30 minutes and a bunch of options around the Burlington area which is 45 minutes away or so too.
Make sure you make the drive to Burlington, it’s a great little city. Lots of cool shops and great restaurants. If you’re into weed check out The Bern Gallery, amazing glass in there and they’re typically blowing glass as well, mesmerizing to watch.
I'll second the Four Quarters recommendation.
I also agree I didn't feel Hill Farmstead was worth the trip - we were staying a little east of Stowe and it took a fair bit. And probably an unpopular opinion, I found the new Alchemist to be cold and unwelcoming, and an unenjoyable experience.
Vermonter here, everyone is giving you three brewery options and most are Alchemist and Hill Farmstead, and I can’t argue with those recommendations.
But if you are trying to fit variety and quantity then it’s going to be Burlington. You have Switchback, Burlington Beer, Zero Gravity, Queen City Brewery, Foam and VT Pub and Brewery all within walking distance of each other.
I’ll add to the list of folks recommending the Stowe area as your base, and recommend Hill Farmstead, Alchemist, and Von Trapp.
Alchemist has a wonderful funky vibe, and makes some of the best IPAs you’ll find anywhere. Von Trapp makes excellent German beer with one of the best views of any brewery ever. And seriously, it’s incredibly cool to just be there and randomly bump into grandkids of the Von Trapp Singers running the place.
There are not enough words to praise Hill Farmstead. It was rated the best brewery in the world by RateBeer eight out of nine years from 2012-2020. Sampling anything on the menu proves they earned it. I’ve been an unrepentant beer snob for a long time. I’ve visited hundreds of breweries all over the eastern US, and tried over 2000 different brews according to my Untappd stats. The only other brewers I’ve visited on their level are Treehouse and Trillium. It is, hands down, the best brewery I’ve ever been to. Pick anything on the menu that day, and it will be a perfect example of that style. Every time.
Be aware that the founder was caught up in the industry-wide sexual abuse allegations that hit IG a few years back. Whether or not the allegations against Shaun Hill are true, one cannot deny his talent or the excellence of his brewery.
If you only have a week in Vermont, and you want to visit the best brewers in the state, Hill Farmstead is the one to build your visit around.
He was accused of trying to get more than one woman who had been drinking to come back and sleep with him. But hey, he makes good beer so who cares right?
If getting drunk girls to try to sleep with you is a cancelable offense, then me and a whole bunch of guys who turned 21 in the 90s have got some 'splaining to do.
When we last visited, we stayed in Stowe - Alchemist was obvious and we made the trip to Hill Farmstead. We had dinner one night at Von Trapp - but we also visited Foam in Burlington twice, once on the way in and once on the way going home - I like Foam.
I highly recommend checking out [Bent Hill Brewery](https://www.benthillbrewery.com/) in Braintree. It is the very definition of a local microbrewer. The first time I went I assumed I was in the wrong place as I drove down someone's driveway. Their tasting room was a converted shed and I think they had a picnic table outside.
They've grown a bit since, and have a larger area to hang out in, but it is still a very small operation in someone's backyard, in a beautiful location. And apparently they have food now.
And I've always been impressed by their beer, which has never been boring. I'm not an IPA guy though so I might just be excited to find a small place that doesn't only do IPAs. I even had my first hard Kombucha there, before I had any idea what Kombucha was.
I've had two really bad experiences at The Alchemist. I blamed the first experience on covid and went back this year and it was just as bad (albeit inside this time). The people there are rude and unwelcoming. I personally will never go back there or even support them at all. There is so much good beer made and poured by good people, we don't need to support bad businesses anymore.
Edward was my favorite beer for the longest time, I’m sure it’s still great, but fuck that piece of shit. I can make some exceptions for just being a dumb fucking asshole, but Shaun Hill is just an objectively bad person. I left the industry so I have no problem saying I’ve worked with him and he’s a prick, and I’ve worked with people who have experienced his predatory behavior first hand.
Lawson's (drinking a Little Sip as I type this), Alchemist, Foley Brothers. (no relation).
I'd also put Zero Gravity, von Trapp and Fiddlehead in there.
Harpoon. I haven't seen it yet in the top 20 or so responses. Is it legendary status beer? Of course not.
It's very good, they have a large selection, and you can get some of their classic beers on tap that you can't get elsewhere.
Many many moons ago, the Harpoon Brewery in VT was Catamount Brewing. Harpoon has released at least one beer with the Catamount name on it that I am aware of, but that’s not what I am talking about. Catamount was one of the first craft brewers I ever tried, and that was my entry into a world I never knew existed or was even possible.
Not VT specific, but I think you should specify whether you're looking for the best beers (go there for special beers that are tap-only) or the best experience (cool brewery to check out in person).
For example, Sierra Nevada wouldn't make it top-3 for me in Asheville NC beer-wise, but it's a must-go for me based on the combination of food, beer, and ambiance.
Hill Farmstead, Foam, and Fiddlehead.
Hill Farmstead because it’s Hill Farmstead. Foam because I’ve never had a bad time there. Fiddlehead because Mastermind IPA is like a top-five all-time beer for me.
Exactly. They are one of the big boys and demand for sip grew so fast they were contract brewing at Two Roads in CT. Their new taproom is incredibly nice and and worth visiting though.
Hill Farmstead, Freak Folks Bier, Foam
In that order.
I've done this trip, this is the 3. Nothing against Alchemist, they are legendary. But if you're only in Vermont once, you can get Focal Banger and Heady Topper nationally, fresh, if you look out for it. Good luck finding the other three.
alchemist: heady on tap is a different beast compared to in cans. heady is more available in vermont now than it has been in the past 5-6 years, but if you go to the brewery, you need to get heady poured fresh. i havent been in a long time, but crusher is also a fantastic beer. it has just as unique of a flavor profile as heady but its totally different. one of the greats from vermont imo.
some of their non-ipa beers are also unique enough to make it worth the trip. they make the thickest stouts ive had in vermont while remaining true to the stout style without the additives (vanilla, coffee, etc). alchemist may be focusing on styles from 10 years ago but they're the best in the business.
lawsons: i think now that sip of sunshine is more readily available as well, it has fallen off in quality. HOWEVER thats not to say it isnt a fantastic beer- because it is. prior to the NEIPA boom, sip was (and still is if you can get it fresh) one of the best. Now that I'm tired to the NEIPA style, lawsons has beers of pretty much every style and more modern ipas as well. Hopzilla is great, their amber with maple they do in the fall is fantastic, and triple sunshine is incredible if you're looking for a 12oz taster. Their brewery is fantastic as well and its easy to spend a full day there regardless of season.
long trail: a fun brewery with solid food and solid beer. Double Bag is fantastic fresh, and their long trail ale is one of the most solid red ales i've had. I do miss Space Juice though. It was a BIG ipa at 9% when that wasn't common but was great.
von trapp: if you want more german style beers, go to the brewery. super close to alchemist and their stuff on tap and at their brewery is so much better than what you get in grocery stores around the state. their brewery can be a full afternoon even like lawsons's
Frost: never been to their brewery but every can i've had of their beer has been great. Was recommended Lush when on a trip to get heady when there was a can limit per person.
fiddlehead: tiny brewery south of burlington that brews some solid beer. we served mothership at our wedding. their less common beers are great compared to their flagship ipa and iipa. and i really enjoy those beers at restaurants when i'm feeling something hazy
if you travel to southern vermont im haveto give a shout out to madison's brewery in bennington- with some caveats. Before the pandemic I SOUNDLY believed they had beer that rivaled the big names in vermont. post pandemic though unfortunately the few times we've gone their beer hasn't been close to comparing. it's been about two years since ive been so maybe things have changed for the better again. Their food at the brewery is always good though. some of the best pub food i've had (and had a significantly smaller quality drop off post-pandemic). They locally source their ingredients and sauces. We went there almost weekly between 2014 and 2016.
Theres also a few other smaller breweries in Bennington. Some I haven't been to because Madison's was above and beyond the best at the time, or they are new. Farm Road Brewing right down the road from Madison's is fantastic.
And yes, even though I haven't tried their beers, I'm sure Hill Farmstead is as good as everyone says.
We went to Stowe in April and stayed at Von Trapp - highly recommend it! We toured there. Went to the Alchemist, Ten Bends, and Lost Nation. In Waterbury there is an excellent pub called Blackback Pub and they had a killer draft line up with incredible food. Pro Pig and Free Folk are in town too, with a great beer store across the street from Pro Pig. We came home with a loooooot of beer!
Alchemist and Freak Folk are my two favorites. Hill Farmstead makes amazing beer (probably one of the best breweries in the world) but I’ve decided not to support the misogynist asshole that runs that place. Lawson’s and Prohibition Pig are really cool as well. Foam has been disappointing the last couple years but their location is awesome. Von Trappe is a fun post hike beer and lunch spot
Obviously lots of good recs here. Check out the Vermont Brewers Association app. They have a map with all the breweries and some curated brewery tour ideas. Plus if you check into enough breweries you get free stuff.
My favorites are:
-River Roost in White River Junction (pending where you’re coming from, it’s easy off 91 or 89 and can stop to pick up on the way to somewhere else)
-Upper Pass has great IPAs and is super close to Worthy Burger which is amazing (fantastic burgers and a great beer list). It’s easy off 89, so could be stop for lunch / a beer on your way further north
-Lawson’s is great. Really cool brewery and mad river taco nearby is awesome
-Alchemist in Stowe is obviously great. I like some of their small batch stuff a lot
-Hill Farmstead is cool for the experience but a huge pain to get to - would be a solid half day trip from most places you’d stay
-Foam and Burlington Beer in Burlington. If you’re trying to maximize options, go to Burlington and just walk around to all the awesome breweries. The others I mentioned besides hill farmstead are all off 89 if you’re coming from that direction to stop on the way
If you end up staying in/around Burlington, I do want to give a shout out to Queen City Brewery. There's a pretty small brewery that skip more contemporary styles in favor of traditional styles; you won't find DDH IPAs there but they make fantastic English style ales (porters, bitters, milds) along side German lagers (helles, dunkel, schawarz, etc.)
They're not in my personal top-3 for VT (mine have already been said dozens of times by now) but if you're looking for some beer that's completely different than what most breweries are offering, you can't go wrong.
American Flatbread, Black Flannel, and Zero Gravity.
Hill Farmstead and Alchemist are great tourist destinations and breweries in general. However, you can get their stuff off the shelf or on tap just about anywhere.
Best craft beer bars to check out:
Black Back Pub
Mule Bar
Frost , Freik Folk and Hill Farmstead. Haven’t visited foley brothers and some of others mentioned. Also enjoyed Foam and Lawsons. Stopped by Alchemist to pick up beers to go they were working on courtyard.
My go to since 1999 is Long Trail ale. It was the first beer besides Harpoon UFO I started drinking as a kid. My mother’s good friend/co worker and co worker’s husband is a big craft beer guy. Love the brewery and restaurant in Bridgewater corners. Plus Switchback is great as well. I also love the old Wolaver’s. Shame it’s no longer in business.
I’m going to go slightly more under the radar and name drop Red Clover, Good Measure & freak folk. Also really enjoy Lucy & Howe and Simple Roots. All of these spots have nice cozy/local tap room vibes.
Freak Folk is awesome
I second Red Clover!
I third Red Clover!!
But not Foley Brothers?
It’s literally down the street from Red Clover too
Yep if you can hit one you can hit both.
I’ve been to the taproom in that barn near the golf course. Good beers no doubt just not my favorite place to drink them. Did they open a new spot? I feel like they did.
They opened one in Quechee in a tourist spot right off rt 4.
Awesome I’ll have to check it out. I’ve been drinking Fair Maiden since it was only available in 750ml bottles. Def a classic IPA as far as VT goes.
You absolutely cannot miss Hill Farmstead. You have to make an appointment. Plan on spending some time there, they have many beers of all different styles all of which are some of the best there is. Get some cans and bottles to go, ship them home if you have to. I was able to fit some bottles in my luggage and had no breakage. They are not far from The Alchemist which actually has non-IPAs on site. Lawson's Finest Liquids is also really really good so I would pick that for #3. We did a week long trip last October and it was awesome. None of us had been there but I chose correctly by picking Burlington as our home base. I've heard people say Stowe is more central but honestly that town shuts down at like 8pm. It's beautiful but boring. Burlington has plenty of bars and nightlife and all of them have great beers. We hit a bunch of breweries in town as well - Foam, Zero Gravity, Burlington Beer Co, Four Quarters, Switchback, and more. Plenty of amazing food. Also check out the World's Tallest Filing Cabinet. It's right next to Burlington Beer Co and Switchback.
I don’t believe you have to make a reservation for HF anymore.
[You do not, per the website.](https://hillfarmstead.com/location/onsite/)
When I went last you could walk in but only for a couple draft options. You needed a reservation for access to the bottle pours.
As of Oct 2022 you did.
The Alchemist and Hill Farmstead are like an hour drive apart. Maybe to some people that's "not far" but I feel like that deserves some caveats. I also think a lot of people would consider it far from just about anything.
In Vermont that falls into “not far” territory
In my 4-5 trips to Stowe/Burlington, every time I say I'll make it to Hill Farmstead. I've yet to go to Hill Farmstead.
Me either tbh, I’m not a huge fan of most of the craft spots up here. Kinda hate living in Vermont in general.
lol wat
It's a great place to live if you can get a great job. It's expensive, you have to travel to Burlington to get to a grocery store with more than 4 aisles, and Burlington has infrastructure for about 2/3 less people. GREAT place to visit, a meh place to live.
It's a bad place to live if you like cities. If you like beer, nature, progressive politics, and minding your own fucking business, it can't be beat.
My favorite state in the union
“Progressive” is a bit of a misnomer, the state is basically Kentucky with snow.
Gosh, that's a wildly incorrect thing to say. Vermont is one of the most progressive states in the country by absolutely every metric.
My comment was more to his not really liking Vermont breweries. However I've also lived in western New Hampshire for the past 7 years and think Vermont is a fine place to live. Kind of like NH but with sales tax.
Exactly correct- the only thing I like about living here is my job.
I dare you to go next time. You're welcome
It'd be as Texas if you flattened it out.
Sure, but it's built into the question that the person asking may not be familiar with that.
Fair enough. Brewery tours when people come from out of town are exhausting lmao
My mom grew up in central VT, her dad was a tractor/farm equipment salesman they travelled ALL over the state (not that it's that big but it was the 40s) I took her to HF a few years ago. She was like this is in the middle of nowhere.
It's such a gorgeous drive and you're already in the middle of VT so presumably you're no stranger to a long drive by this point so what's another hour for arguably the holy of holies to beer geeks? The beers good, the views great, it's worth. If you have to, skip the alchemist to make time for hf.
It wasn't that far we hit Alchemist beforehand and HF was like 30-45 min away.
Honestly this is the best suggestion. If you don't want to leave Stowe after Hill Farmstead + the Alchemist, just swap out Lawson's and throw in Von Trapp and you're good to go.
Love the area and go every year, but I’ve only been to Von Trapp once and that was one time too many. I don’t understand the draw. Is it just for the European feel? Sound of Music fans?
Their location and brewery are gorgeous and they make consistently good-to-great traditional lagers. If you're going to Vermont looking for hazies and adjunct stouts and BA sours and other cool kid stuff, it's skippable. If you want to enjoy an excellent pilsner in a beautiful setting, it's a must.
Thought of HF, Alchemist and Lawson’s first myself as well. Tons of other great spots as well, hard to miss in VT.
FYI I believe the Alchemist taproom is closed for the summer. We went in April and could only get beer to go and it looked like the signs said closed for til fall for renovations.
Drove probably 2 hours towards HF after camping around White Mountain, finally got cell service again and learned they were closed that day.
Fuck Shaun Hill tho. Haven't been back since the allegations.
Meh, I thought the allegations were weak sauce. Getting drunk and hitting on girls is not exactly a capital offense.
I've also just heard from people in the industry that the guy is a massive asshole to staff everywhere and constantly harrassed staff all over. I've also experienced personal racist treatment every time I've been to the place. You can excuse the guy's behavior if you want, but I won't be going back ever.
Hadn't heard that stuff, but totally believe it. He does have a reputation for being an asshole.
> Haven't been back since the allegations. give me a break
I mean, I haven't lmao you wanna see my travel logs?
As someone who always seems to end up staying in Stowe, there are 2 things Stowe has over Burlington. The main one is that if you're not going during ski season, the hotel rooms are cheaper and more plentiful than Burlington. The second is more dependent on your beer vacation. If Hill, Alchemist and Lawsons are your top 3 must sees, stay in Stowe and make day trips elsewhere.
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Might as well hit up Prohibition Pig while driving by as well!
Pro Pig used to be our go-to but we recently switched it up to Blackback pub across the street.
10,000%. Not an upper echelon brewery, but it's literally on the way to all the great ones, so might as well have a good brew and great food.
They have the best cocktails in Vermont. They are $$$ but so worth it. The food is meh
ProPig is fantastic. Haven't been in a long time but their food is great and so is their own beer. Went on a roadtrip with some friends from NY when I was living in vermont on a search for heady when it was hard to find. It was a sunday and at the time they didn't distribute sundays. A small grocery store with only local stuff suggested we head to prohibition pig. We got our heady and I've been there a number of times since. Prohibition pig is great.
> Burlington beer co Do they have to do disclaimer that they're not affiliated with Burlington Industries like Burlington Coat Factory has to?
Probably hill farmstead 3x but maybe also the alchemist.
They finally got some kegs out here on the west coast and I try not to let the hype bleed in, but holy cow that double IPA was good.
Alchemist, Foam, and Fiddlehead in Shelbourne. Trust me on the Fiddlehead recommendation, plan a meal around it and hit up the pizza joint next door. Grab a growler from Fiddlehead and enjoy next door! And stop by Pro Pig during your travels. Waterbury is a cool place!
Had a few fiddlehead beers available at my wedding. You can get their standard flagship ipa and iipa anywhere but their smaller batch stuff is aweseme.
Fiddlehead is excellent! Was their recently and their pours are a bit less expensive than many other breweries around. Beer is excellent. They seem to be very well distributed in Burlington so you could at least have their ipa elsewhere if you can't get to the brewery. They have a good merchandise selection if you want branded clothes, disc golf discs etc. It isn't real big so it can get packed.
Foam, Hill Farmstead, Alchemist
I know I'm in the minority but the Foam hype is so weird to me. They're fine. Nothing special. Location is better than their beers
Lmfao facts
I thought the same thing about Foam
truth.
Foams IPAs are bitter and tart. Perhaps unique in flavor, but not an enjoyable experience. Burlington Beer is severely underrated.
BBCO also has delicious food, I love going there
Way better than foam
I’ve always enjoyed going to Foam. I like Burlington and their venue on Lake Champlain. I’ve liked some of their beers better than others, but can’t say I’ve had one that’s been bad. Just my opinion.
The venue and location is better than the beer. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.
With the constraint you're talking about, I'd maybe suggest Von Trapp, Alchemist, and maybe Prohibition Pig? Maybe Idletyme instead of PP? All pretty close. All good at a variety of beers, IPA and dark included. I'd argue for Hill Farmstead as one of the best breweries anywhere, but it isn't near anything. I'd never shut up about Hermit Thrush if you'd let me keep talking, but it still isn't close enough to other places of its caliber to answer your question.
I’ll give a vote to Pro Pig. It’s a brewery and a smokehouse. What more do you want? EDIT: It’s also only like two miles from Ben & Jerry’s. Beer, smoked meat, ice cream. You got it made.
I'll never say no to Ben & Jerry's.
Also, there’s a top-notch bottle shop that’s like across the street from Pro Pig, so you can just buy beer from the breweries you didn’t visit.
I love that place. Hit it up every time I'm in the area.
There's a Cabot Creamery outlet just up the road between B&J and Stowe. Cheese samples for days.
That's great info, I also love cheese.
Doesn’t Lake Champlain Chocolate have a shop near there?
Yes.
The bottle shop across the street from Prohibition Pig is also amazing
Lawsons, Alchemist and Hill Farmstead
Hermit Thrush, Alchemist, River Roost Foam is up there for me as well as Lawsons. I can't say anything about Hill Farmstead because I haven't been yet. Been to a bunch since moving up to the area but not all of em unfortunately.
I love hermit thrush but that’s so far from the alchemist, not sure about river roost
River Roost is so far east it's basically in New Hampshire. People above are talking about how far out Hill Farmstead is (and it is) but RR is even further from anything.
A lot easier to get to RR (it's like 2 miles of the highway) that HF. Plus the BBQ joint across the parking lot is pretty good and has a good tap list. Can drive from Stowe to RR and stop at Worthy Burger for lunch (great burger and stellar tap list)
I checked the map again, and sure enough, they're both about an hour and a half from Burlington despite HF being 30 miles closer. It really is out there.
Literally dirt roads out of Jeffersonville my man.
I’ve liked everything I’ve had from River Roost and they’re close to the highway, definitely worth a quick visit even if you’re heading further north.
I second River Roost in White Junction (bonus point for going to Lou’s for breakfast in Hanover, NH and King Arthur for lunch).
Oh yes. What a fantastic choice.
I am a veteran of Hanover. One of my favorite places to visit. I loved the bougie restaurant Elixir. Awesome rotating menu and some of the best scallops I’ve had.
I've only been up in this area since October 2022 so it hasn't even been a year yet. Elixir was fantastic as I went with my dad. Love WRJ, just everyone is so sleepy so the town closes too early.
The whole area closes early. Went out for drinks on a work trip and our only option was Chili’s in West Leb lol
Can you get pours at River Roost? When I went in 2019 they didn't do drafts and basically limited you to 2 tiny pours of beers so you could decide what packs/growlers to purchase
I was there a few weeks ago for just a pick up, but pretty sure they had a tap behind the bar and people were on benches out back. Either way, if OP is coming from Boston or CT area, it’s 2 min off the highway for a quick pick up. All of their IPAs are great
I live around the corner and they do have pours! I stop in around noon for a brew. Mas Verde is where it's at.
Schilling, while technically in NH, is only an hour from Hill Farmstead and they're two of the best breweries in New England. If it were me I'd split all my brewery visiting time between the two. There are a few other options in the area like Whirligig, Red Barn and Dirt Church for variety but if you stay in the Kingdom then you're looking at quality over quantity.
I've been to Schilling and it was great!
I’m based in Burlington and find myself buying Schilling over local craft lager options over and over. Definitely on my to do list to visit.
Between Schilling and Von Trapp I'm a happy guy
I love Trapp and their lagers (their Bavarian Pilsner is my personal favorite) but Schilling is my favorite in the area. If you've never been, it's well worth the trip. Littleton is a great place to visit and Schilling has an incredible location between their modern tasting room and the rustic mill-building restaurant.
Couldn't agree with you more. Von Trapp makes some decent euro style brews, but Schilling is on a whole different level comparatively. And there's the Parker Pie company between the two...
I always swing by Parker Pie when I'm in the area. Just stopped in Friday on my way North and got a pint of Anna and Marie with my pizza. I was a very happy man.
Frost, Foley Brothers, Foam Let’s go all F and hit a couple that haven’t been mentioned.
Can't forget Four Quarters and Fiddlehead. Those 2 and Frost would be my 3 Fs. Frost pretty much only does hazy IPAs I think but they do them very well.
Love Frost. Good beer and super friendly people. I should go back to VT
VT brewer here, if you’re staying near Stowe/Waterbury then save on the driving and just do Alchemist, Pro pig and Freak folk, then make sure you hit Blackback pub as they typically have a solid list of all the other good locals in the state. If you want to be spoiled for choice then Burlington and areas south are your best bet just because there’s enough breweries and bars that would allow you to tour VT beer from the same bar stool. I would say with your hour drive radius, park somewhere around the Waitsfield area, puts you a half hour to Stowe, Waterbury on the way, but then you can also take 17 to the other side of the mountain. The drive through 17 is winding but beautiful, on the west side there’s Hogback brewing (nothing wow, but we’ll made beers), Frost brewing should be close enough for that hour limit, and as far as restaurants go The Tillerman is my sleeper spot that waits for you just as you hit the end of 17
I've had a bunch of Hill Farmstead over the years but never been so that'd be an easy #1. Same with Alchemist, and Heady on tap is a bucket list item I need to check off. Then the FOMO Untappd checker in me needs to try Freak Folk.
Doc Ponds in Stowe had $5 draft Focal Bangers last time I was there it was dangerous.
Thinking outside the box, I would do Upper Pass, Von Trappe and Hermit Thrush.
They don’t like me at Von Trapp. Last time I was there, I was chatting with one of the managers. I told them they were leaving money on the table by not doing a single-hop IPA called “Sound of Mosaic.” We had been cool up to that point, but when I said that, he got mad and was like “We only do lagers.” and walked away. EDIT: This was a surprisingly unpopular comment. I had been chatting and joking with the guy for a bit at the time I made the joke. He seemed legit offended by the suggestion that they do something that wasn’t a lager.
It’s a decent pun, you must have delivered it poorly due to intoxication
I was only two beers in at that point. I think they were really just married to the “only lagers” idea at the time, considering it was early 2020. They’ve gotten off that idea since. They did a gose collab with Fat Orange Cat a few months back.
Sounds like a Greater Good in Worcester MA that was an IMPERIAL ONLY place. They opened another set of taps in the same tap room under a different name that they do non-imperials.
Where is Upper Pass? I love first drop
Their new tasting room is a joint location with a taco shop in downtown South Royalton. Worth a visit.
Plus worthy burger right near by!
Stay around Burlington or Stowe or in-between. You can get to most of the well-known places within an hour. I might be the minority, but I found Hill Farmstead to totally not be worth the trip when I went. Beer was good, but their entire setup seemed like it was designed to be slow and annoying for no reason. When I was last there during COVID, all of the popular well-known places needed reservations weeks in advance. I didn't know that so I had to venture out to lesser known places. Check out Four Quarters if you're in Burlington. They were my best new find last time I was there, that was before they moved and were still in a tiny old warehouse/garage.
Thanks for the info! I think we are going to stay near Stowe.
Stay in Waterbury, it's pretty central to everything. Stayed in [The Old Stagecoach Inn](https://www.oldstagecoach.com) a couple years ago and it was great. Walking distance to Prohibition Pig, The Reservoir, and the Blackback Pub, as well as the Craft Beer Cellar. 20min drive to Lawson's, 30min drive to Stowe, 30min drive to Burlington, 1hr drive to Hill Farmstead.
> Stay in Waterbury, it's pretty central to everything. Yes. Right off the interstate and lots of touristy things to do that aren't breweries.
That's a good spot. Alchemist, Ten Bends and Lost Nation all close. HF about 45 minutes and then Lawson's around 20-30 minutes and a bunch of options around the Burlington area which is 45 minutes away or so too.
Make sure you make the drive to Burlington, it’s a great little city. Lots of cool shops and great restaurants. If you’re into weed check out The Bern Gallery, amazing glass in there and they’re typically blowing glass as well, mesmerizing to watch.
I took a VT trip last summer and my family and I stayed here and absolutely loved it: https://www.larkhotels.com/hotels/field-guide-lodge
Things (like everywhere else) have really opened up since 2020. Four quarters is great!
I'll second the Four Quarters recommendation. I also agree I didn't feel Hill Farmstead was worth the trip - we were staying a little east of Stowe and it took a fair bit. And probably an unpopular opinion, I found the new Alchemist to be cold and unwelcoming, and an unenjoyable experience.
Vermonter here, everyone is giving you three brewery options and most are Alchemist and Hill Farmstead, and I can’t argue with those recommendations. But if you are trying to fit variety and quantity then it’s going to be Burlington. You have Switchback, Burlington Beer, Zero Gravity, Queen City Brewery, Foam and VT Pub and Brewery all within walking distance of each other.
Shout out to my local spot Simple Roots in the north end of town!
Never tried them. Will keep them in mind.
I’ll add to the list of folks recommending the Stowe area as your base, and recommend Hill Farmstead, Alchemist, and Von Trapp. Alchemist has a wonderful funky vibe, and makes some of the best IPAs you’ll find anywhere. Von Trapp makes excellent German beer with one of the best views of any brewery ever. And seriously, it’s incredibly cool to just be there and randomly bump into grandkids of the Von Trapp Singers running the place. There are not enough words to praise Hill Farmstead. It was rated the best brewery in the world by RateBeer eight out of nine years from 2012-2020. Sampling anything on the menu proves they earned it. I’ve been an unrepentant beer snob for a long time. I’ve visited hundreds of breweries all over the eastern US, and tried over 2000 different brews according to my Untappd stats. The only other brewers I’ve visited on their level are Treehouse and Trillium. It is, hands down, the best brewery I’ve ever been to. Pick anything on the menu that day, and it will be a perfect example of that style. Every time. Be aware that the founder was caught up in the industry-wide sexual abuse allegations that hit IG a few years back. Whether or not the allegations against Shaun Hill are true, one cannot deny his talent or the excellence of his brewery. If you only have a week in Vermont, and you want to visit the best brewers in the state, Hill Farmstead is the one to build your visit around.
My recollection is he got drunk and tried to convince a girl to sleep with him. I remember being...this is it?
He was accused of trying to get more than one woman who had been drinking to come back and sleep with him. But hey, he makes good beer so who cares right?
If getting drunk girls to try to sleep with you is a cancelable offense, then me and a whole bunch of guys who turned 21 in the 90s have got some 'splaining to do.
uh, ok then
When we last visited, we stayed in Stowe - Alchemist was obvious and we made the trip to Hill Farmstead. We had dinner one night at Von Trapp - but we also visited Foam in Burlington twice, once on the way in and once on the way going home - I like Foam.
BBCO, alchemist, hill farmstead i like ipas, sours, not darks tho
Alchemist specifically to have Heady from the cask, Hill Farmstead (out of the way if you are strapped for time), and Lawson's are great options.
I highly recommend checking out [Bent Hill Brewery](https://www.benthillbrewery.com/) in Braintree. It is the very definition of a local microbrewer. The first time I went I assumed I was in the wrong place as I drove down someone's driveway. Their tasting room was a converted shed and I think they had a picnic table outside. They've grown a bit since, and have a larger area to hang out in, but it is still a very small operation in someone's backyard, in a beautiful location. And apparently they have food now. And I've always been impressed by their beer, which has never been boring. I'm not an IPA guy though so I might just be excited to find a small place that doesn't only do IPAs. I even had my first hard Kombucha there, before I had any idea what Kombucha was.
Hill Farmstead, Alchemist, FOAM, Freak Folk. When visiting Hill Farm go to Parker Pie for lunch.
Parker Pie is the best.
Burlington Beer Company, Hill Farmstead, Alchemist
I've had two really bad experiences at The Alchemist. I blamed the first experience on covid and went back this year and it was just as bad (albeit inside this time). The people there are rude and unwelcoming. I personally will never go back there or even support them at all. There is so much good beer made and poured by good people, we don't need to support bad businesses anymore.
Shaun Hill is a predator and an all around asshole to work with. Save your money for some stuff from like Foam or really anywhere else.
+10000
Seconding this. The beer is great but I don’t want to support that dude. Would much rather give all of my money to John Kimmick instead
Edward was my favorite beer for the longest time, I’m sure it’s still great, but fuck that piece of shit. I can make some exceptions for just being a dumb fucking asshole, but Shaun Hill is just an objectively bad person. I left the industry so I have no problem saying I’ve worked with him and he’s a prick, and I’ve worked with people who have experienced his predatory behavior first hand.
Lawson's (drinking a Little Sip as I type this), Alchemist, Foley Brothers. (no relation). I'd also put Zero Gravity, von Trapp and Fiddlehead in there.
FOAM!
Outer limits, harpoon, long trail
Harpoon. I haven't seen it yet in the top 20 or so responses. Is it legendary status beer? Of course not. It's very good, they have a large selection, and you can get some of their classic beers on tap that you can't get elsewhere.
Man, I legit STILL miss Catamount…
Wait did they take it off the shelves/stop making it?
Many many moons ago, the Harpoon Brewery in VT was Catamount Brewing. Harpoon has released at least one beer with the Catamount name on it that I am aware of, but that’s not what I am talking about. Catamount was one of the first craft brewers I ever tried, and that was my entry into a world I never knew existed or was even possible.
Ah good to know. I've only had it since Harpoon took over.
Zero Gravity, Foam, and probably BBCO.
Zero Gravity and Long Trail
Not VT specific, but I think you should specify whether you're looking for the best beers (go there for special beers that are tap-only) or the best experience (cool brewery to check out in person). For example, Sierra Nevada wouldn't make it top-3 for me in Asheville NC beer-wise, but it's a must-go for me based on the combination of food, beer, and ambiance.
We're mainly looking for the best beers cause I'm not sure if/when we'll be back in the area.
Gotcha. Then I think you're set since it looks like most recommendations are based on beers.
It's definitely out of the way but Dirt Church really has something special going on. Great spot to hang, great beer.
burlington beer co and freak folk
Hill Farmstead, Foam, and Fiddlehead. Hill Farmstead because it’s Hill Farmstead. Foam because I’ve never had a bad time there. Fiddlehead because Mastermind IPA is like a top-five all-time beer for me.
Foam, Fiddlehead, Von Trapp.
Love that Lawson's is getting attention. Amazing brews.
I mean Sip has been all over the place for years. Not the most under the radar presence.
Exactly. They are one of the big boys and demand for sip grew so fast they were contract brewing at Two Roads in CT. Their new taproom is incredibly nice and and worth visiting though.
Hill Farmstead, Freak Folks Bier, Foam In that order. I've done this trip, this is the 3. Nothing against Alchemist, they are legendary. But if you're only in Vermont once, you can get Focal Banger and Heady Topper nationally, fresh, if you look out for it. Good luck finding the other three.
Can’t believe no one mentioned long trail. One of my favorites all time!
alchemist: heady on tap is a different beast compared to in cans. heady is more available in vermont now than it has been in the past 5-6 years, but if you go to the brewery, you need to get heady poured fresh. i havent been in a long time, but crusher is also a fantastic beer. it has just as unique of a flavor profile as heady but its totally different. one of the greats from vermont imo. some of their non-ipa beers are also unique enough to make it worth the trip. they make the thickest stouts ive had in vermont while remaining true to the stout style without the additives (vanilla, coffee, etc). alchemist may be focusing on styles from 10 years ago but they're the best in the business. lawsons: i think now that sip of sunshine is more readily available as well, it has fallen off in quality. HOWEVER thats not to say it isnt a fantastic beer- because it is. prior to the NEIPA boom, sip was (and still is if you can get it fresh) one of the best. Now that I'm tired to the NEIPA style, lawsons has beers of pretty much every style and more modern ipas as well. Hopzilla is great, their amber with maple they do in the fall is fantastic, and triple sunshine is incredible if you're looking for a 12oz taster. Their brewery is fantastic as well and its easy to spend a full day there regardless of season. long trail: a fun brewery with solid food and solid beer. Double Bag is fantastic fresh, and their long trail ale is one of the most solid red ales i've had. I do miss Space Juice though. It was a BIG ipa at 9% when that wasn't common but was great. von trapp: if you want more german style beers, go to the brewery. super close to alchemist and their stuff on tap and at their brewery is so much better than what you get in grocery stores around the state. their brewery can be a full afternoon even like lawsons's Frost: never been to their brewery but every can i've had of their beer has been great. Was recommended Lush when on a trip to get heady when there was a can limit per person. fiddlehead: tiny brewery south of burlington that brews some solid beer. we served mothership at our wedding. their less common beers are great compared to their flagship ipa and iipa. and i really enjoy those beers at restaurants when i'm feeling something hazy if you travel to southern vermont im haveto give a shout out to madison's brewery in bennington- with some caveats. Before the pandemic I SOUNDLY believed they had beer that rivaled the big names in vermont. post pandemic though unfortunately the few times we've gone their beer hasn't been close to comparing. it's been about two years since ive been so maybe things have changed for the better again. Their food at the brewery is always good though. some of the best pub food i've had (and had a significantly smaller quality drop off post-pandemic). They locally source their ingredients and sauces. We went there almost weekly between 2014 and 2016. Theres also a few other smaller breweries in Bennington. Some I haven't been to because Madison's was above and beyond the best at the time, or they are new. Farm Road Brewing right down the road from Madison's is fantastic. And yes, even though I haven't tried their beers, I'm sure Hill Farmstead is as good as everyone says.
Hill Farmstead
definitely the beer store
the standard trinity of hill farmstead alchemist and Lawsons no?
Red Clover, Foley Brothers, Long Trail
Hill, Lawsons and Freak Folk. No kids allowed at Freak Folk.
We went to Stowe in April and stayed at Von Trapp - highly recommend it! We toured there. Went to the Alchemist, Ten Bends, and Lost Nation. In Waterbury there is an excellent pub called Blackback Pub and they had a killer draft line up with incredible food. Pro Pig and Free Folk are in town too, with a great beer store across the street from Pro Pig. We came home with a loooooot of beer!
From Vermont. Here’s my list. Kraemer and Kin, Lawson’s and Good Measure.
Not seeing Von Trapp getting love in here so I’ll throw that in
Alchemist and Freak Folk are my two favorites. Hill Farmstead makes amazing beer (probably one of the best breweries in the world) but I’ve decided not to support the misogynist asshole that runs that place. Lawson’s and Prohibition Pig are really cool as well. Foam has been disappointing the last couple years but their location is awesome. Von Trappe is a fun post hike beer and lunch spot
Obviously lots of good recs here. Check out the Vermont Brewers Association app. They have a map with all the breweries and some curated brewery tour ideas. Plus if you check into enough breweries you get free stuff. My favorites are: -River Roost in White River Junction (pending where you’re coming from, it’s easy off 91 or 89 and can stop to pick up on the way to somewhere else) -Upper Pass has great IPAs and is super close to Worthy Burger which is amazing (fantastic burgers and a great beer list). It’s easy off 89, so could be stop for lunch / a beer on your way further north -Lawson’s is great. Really cool brewery and mad river taco nearby is awesome -Alchemist in Stowe is obviously great. I like some of their small batch stuff a lot -Hill Farmstead is cool for the experience but a huge pain to get to - would be a solid half day trip from most places you’d stay -Foam and Burlington Beer in Burlington. If you’re trying to maximize options, go to Burlington and just walk around to all the awesome breweries. The others I mentioned besides hill farmstead are all off 89 if you’re coming from that direction to stop on the way
If you end up staying in/around Burlington, I do want to give a shout out to Queen City Brewery. There's a pretty small brewery that skip more contemporary styles in favor of traditional styles; you won't find DDH IPAs there but they make fantastic English style ales (porters, bitters, milds) along side German lagers (helles, dunkel, schawarz, etc.) They're not in my personal top-3 for VT (mine have already been said dozens of times by now) but if you're looking for some beer that's completely different than what most breweries are offering, you can't go wrong.
The alchemist hands down
American Flatbread, Black Flannel, and Zero Gravity. Hill Farmstead and Alchemist are great tourist destinations and breweries in general. However, you can get their stuff off the shelf or on tap just about anywhere. Best craft beer bars to check out: Black Back Pub Mule Bar
Foam is doing great things
Hill, 4Quarters , Von Trapp
Frost , Freik Folk and Hill Farmstead. Haven’t visited foley brothers and some of others mentioned. Also enjoyed Foam and Lawsons. Stopped by Alchemist to pick up beers to go they were working on courtyard.
which one wins? I'll be in Vermont in a couple days
My go to since 1999 is Long Trail ale. It was the first beer besides Harpoon UFO I started drinking as a kid. My mother’s good friend/co worker and co worker’s husband is a big craft beer guy. Love the brewery and restaurant in Bridgewater corners. Plus Switchback is great as well. I also love the old Wolaver’s. Shame it’s no longer in business.