Stonecutters Brewhouse

Called in for a couple of beers with my spouse while staying in the area. Was just after lunch midweek and place was mostly empty, much to my preference although it's not what owners would obviously prefer. The smoke damage from their fire is no longer noticeable and the atmosphere was cool and pleasant. Barman was one of the brewers as far as I could tell and very knowledgeable, friendly and chatty. Spouse is a fussy beer drinker not liking anything too dry, dark or hoppy (basically any good decent beer in my book) but enjoys wheat beers. Their wheat was not available that day so she ended up with Long Trails Blackbeary Wheat. I had their IPA which I found delicious and comparable to Dogfish Head 60 minute in its flavour although not quite as dry. I then tried the porter which reminded me of Otter Creek Stovepipe, one of my many favourites. I was impressed with the beers and comparing my review with the others, it seems the brewers have brought their standards up to a higher level and I would certainly recommend trying this establishment again.

I was very unimpressed with the new brewpub in Barre. First, they spraypainted a tacky sign on the front window, with brewpub scrawled out (like it was tagged by a bad graffiti artist). Inside, they had some great things going for them (a nice abstract artist was displaying their work all over the restaurant... very nice.) and the lighting was ok... but everything else seemed pretty unfinished. The granite bar top was, ok... but Barre has some great stone, and i wasn't super impressed (I am a stone mason, so maybe i expect a little more out of the stone/work) also, the arm rest was slapped on, small, and uncomfortable... driving you away from the bar.

I did not have any food.

It is a new brewpub, and they were advertising as such... so I thought it would be acceptable to ask the waitress a few questions about the beer, because the menu really had nothing to speak of about beer (at least when i was there). Her response was, "I don't know anything, I just serve the stuff." Mind you, it was dead, on a Friday afternoon... so it wasn't like I was inquiring at peak hours.

My father had the stout, which I tasted... and must agree with skivtjerry when they said, "electrical fire". I couldn't put my finger on this off taste.. and calling it just an off taste is being generous. The IPA offering was the most resembling a decent beer. Nothing spectacular. There were some very odd off flavors in the pale ale offering (again, off flavors I have not come in contact with before, nothing common - my first guess would be dirty or ill constructed tap lines).

They were doing some brewing that Friday... and were peeling Krausen off of their fermenters with a big aluminum bowl... also, leaving the fermenter open for quite some time, during this... interesting... process. The brew room was not at all sealed off from the rest of the restaurant... the ceiling was open air over the whole place. I can only imagine the issues they will have with sanitation, having the whole facility (the public bar/restaurant area, kitchen, and brewery) sharing the same air.

Personally, I expect a lot more from a brewpub... and I expect a lot more respect for beer, from a new establishment. Mind you, I am not difficult to please, if their is good effort that I can see... but this effort was nowhere to be seen. I understand that financially speaking, starting a brewpub is a tough and tall order... but too many corners cut, do not = good time, good beer.

But hey, they did have Switchback on tap. (their saving grace, perhaps?)

I'm not sure what to say about this place. I'm envious of what these guys are doing and want them to do well, but our visit, about a month ago, was less than stellar. It had only been open for 6 days. Remodeling of the space wasn't quite complete, but it looked good - nice granite counter tops and a good looking bar. I believe the owners did most of it themselves. We tried the 3 brews on tap: an IPA, which was clean and pretty good, but on the weak side all around, a pale ale which was ok but yeasty and uninspiring, and a stout reportedly fermented with weizen yeast, which was not good (think electrical fire).

The food was average at best. It appears that most of the menu is premade and frozen elsewhere rather than being created in the kitchen.

Personally, I believe that this place simply opened up too soon. A little patience and another few weeks before opening would have made the total experience - beer, food and service much better. I hope to revisit this review in a few months and revise some numbers upward.

***Update, April 2008***

Ok, I finally got back in here - snuck in for a sampler tray while my car was being worked on. They have certainly recovered from the fire. It's a nice looking place. I liked the stacks of homebrewing books and magazines in the waiting area... The brewhouse still looks like an oversized homebrew setup, put together with old stainless, like 55 gallon drums and maple syrup tanks. It sits in what looks like a large janitor's closet, with no door or other barrier to shield it from the rest of the pub. Hard to believe it was inspectable but all appearances are that it works. Service was very attentive (of course, there were only 4 people in the place) and my sampler tray was cheap and generous, holding about twice as much beer as I expected to see. The blonde ale was cloudy and astringent. Not a winner, but with some nice maltiness in the background (maybe water treatment needs adjusting?). The red ale was green and cloudy, but tasted pretty good, just needed some time to mature. The porter was a decent example of a brown porter, perhaps a little thin bodied. The IPA was definitely the best beer here - crystal clear, with plenty of malt in the aroma as well as hops. Very well balanced with a great mouthfeel and no real defects. Certainly worthy of a pint or three. As I left, I noticed that the bathrooms were very clean (in a pub in Barre!). I had no food, so no comments there. Stonecutter's has certainly improved much since they opened their doors. Maybe not a destination, but worth stopping in if you're in Barre.