Vanity Fair interview with Shaun Hill, Hill Farmstead

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by BT_Bobandy, Apr 25, 2013.

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  1. BT_Bobandy

    BT_Bobandy Initiate (0) Feb 20, 2011 Ohio

    Everything is a 99 or 68. Seems accurate to me :slight_smile:
     
  2. luisfrancisco

    luisfrancisco Zealot (606) Dec 1, 2009 Mexico

    I'm sure his beer is very good, but is it me, or does that guy come across as a douche?
     
  3. HevvyMetalHippie

    HevvyMetalHippie Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2010 Massachusetts

    Wow what great insight into Hill's work! This article really shows a side of him that you don't see (for better or worse) on BeerAdvocate or the rumor mill that circulates around Hill Farmstead. I get a great sense of personality through this interview, its great. I can only imagine how stressful it must be to have the masses banging down your door.

    It would be great to just sit with the guy and chew the fat, I bet he has a lot of great things to say and share, rather than hearing what he may or may not have heard through a friend or an article, or the impersonal nerd rage of a message board community.

    Especially after the fervor you see from his fans in the parking lot and in local bars, it's a welcome respite to hear some thoughts straight from the source!
     
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  4. HevvyMetalHippie

    HevvyMetalHippie Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2010 Massachusetts

    It's you. I dont think he sounds like a douche at all, quite the opposite in fact. I think the man knows that he makes great beer, and is trying to deal with the crushing pressure of a cult community bearing down him.
     
    GuitarIPA, Rob315, DrEntropy and 21 others like this.
  5. ForkAndSpoonOp

    ForkAndSpoonOp Initiate (0) May 4, 2011 Pennsylvania

    Shawn Hill is what my friend Vince would refer to as "a horse of a different feather."
     
  6. leedorham

    leedorham Initiate (0) Apr 27, 2006 Washington

    Although I grow weary of the internet man-crush half the beer geeks have on this guy. I have to say more people should appreciate the core of his business philosophy - His business is there to meet his agenda first, his agenda doesn't include supplying the entire world with Ephraim, and it doesn't need to.
     
  7. pmarlowe

    pmarlowe Pooh-Bah (1,899) Nov 27, 2010 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah

    Stressed by the high demand, but doesn't want to expand. Ooooookay.
     
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  8. Jeremy6566

    Jeremy6566 Initiate (0) Jan 10, 2013 Arizona

    Even though I wish I could have access to his beers...
    Dude wants to run his business how he wants to run it, I don't see anything wrong with that!
     
  9. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    I don't really believe he could ever produce enough beer to satisfy the demand. The stress is from the daily need to be "on" for the masses who flock to his door.
     
    Bluecane likes this.
  10. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    If you have ever been to Hill Farmstead, you will understand what Shaun Hill is all about. It's about as far away from civilization as can be, about 30 mi. or so from the Canadian border. Hell, he could probably raise as much money as it takes to increase his production ten fold but this is his niche, what he feels comfortable with and I don't understand people who criticize his lack of desire to expand so they can get his beer. It's his personal choice not theirs.
     
  11. lhteacher

    lhteacher Initiate (0) Jan 20, 2013 Massachusetts

    Uh, he sounds like just about any artist I've ever met. I'm not necessarily saying he is/isn't an artist--but he expresses himself the way many artists do, in my experience.
     
  12. pmarlowe

    pmarlowe Pooh-Bah (1,899) Nov 27, 2010 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah

    So? He chose his own poison. I bet brewers at lots of popular breweries would be in a similar situation if they were brewing as few barrels as him.
     
  13. Onizilla

    Onizilla Initiate (0) Apr 25, 2009 New York

    I think the real thing to make mention of is the fact they seemingly brushed his hair in the picture
    !

    I make the joke as a fellow usually out of control hair guy, Damn our curse.
     
    brewsader likes this.
  14. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    The thing is that brewing lots of beer has its own challenges. He apparently prefers the challenge of way too much demand to the challenges of rapid expansion and larger-scale brewing. I can't say I wouldn't do the same.
     
  15. sliverX

    sliverX Initiate (0) Oct 5, 2007 S. Georgia & S. Sandwich Isls.

    So much vanity but no fair :slight_frown: I wanted kettle corn.
     
  16. EnronCFO

    EnronCFO Pooh-Bah (1,957) Mar 29, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Big fan of his beers, but I actually lost some respect for the guy when he penned that awful April Fool's Day press release.
     
  17. mikeburd1128

    mikeburd1128 Maven (1,409) Oct 28, 2011 New Jersey

    Shaun didn't sign up for this. He just wanted to brew beer on the street in Greensboro Bend, VT that is named after his family. He wants to live a simple life doing this. However, in the age of the internet, and with how good his beer is, that's impossible.

    I'm sure many of you, like myself, have visited Hill Farmstead. I drove the 6 hours to VT alone the day after my birthday last year. The last hour or so it started snowing. By morning there was probably 4-6" of snow on the ground. I traveled the freshly plowed roads of VT adoring the scenery the entire way. I pulled in around noon and was waved in by the girl working the counter. I was the only one there for the hour or so that I spent there. During that time Shaun thanked someone who was presumably his neighbor with a bottle of Twilight of the Idols for what I assumed was help clearing his driveway. It was really a beautiful day that highlighted the wonderful simplicity of VT and Hill Farmstead, and I hope that these days continue to happen for others.

    Haters are gonna hate, and I very seriously hope that Shaun continues to do whatever it is that he wants to do regardless of what people want from him because this is what makes Hill Farmstead so special.
     
  18. nrs207

    nrs207 Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2011 Pennsylvania

    Talking shit on the way he wants to run his business is pretty ridiculous imo. Last I checked, he never asked you to do something or tell you how to run your life.
     
  19. nrs207

    nrs207 Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2011 Pennsylvania

    Since I didn't want to write a lot, I wrote what I did, but this is my view exactly.
     
    DevilsCups and mikeburd1128 like this.
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