Official The Alchemist's Second Brewery Thread

Latest: The Alchemist has closed on the 4 acre lot in Stowe on which the new brewery will be built. Act 250 land use permit is clear and in effect. All lights are green!

 

So I will be up in Vermont a little later this summer. How hard is it for the locals to pick up Heady Topper? Had a few sips at Dark Lord Day and want more.

 

It's not hard, especially if you're not looking to pick up a case in one go (though even that is not hard if your timing is right).

Delivery days during the week are by far your best bet. See http://www.headyspotter.com/.

 

Excellent, thanks for the link!

 

a- ****ing-men

 

It almost always sells out in stores on the day it's delivered, but it's EVERYWHERE in bars.

 

Will the new brewery have a tasting room serving full pours or just samples?

 

Coming to VT this week. Where can I found Focal Banger?

 

Bars & resturaunts only

 

The tasting room will be serving samples - pour size to be determined by the Kimmichs.... There will be retail of all Alchemist brews however, with regular business hours, so availability should be more stabilized.

 

Is the goal still to open this fall? How is that looking?

 

The process has taken longer than initially hoped, but has been thorough and worthwhile. Given that the construction will take about a year start to finish, the completion date has been pushed back a bit as well. Jen Kimmich was quoted last month as saying she expected the new brewery and store to be open about this time next year (2016).

 

Paste Magazine has a new piece on The Alchemist, a portion of which is dedicated to their new space: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/05/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-alchemist.html?a=1

 

"When we open there, all of these hotels that are hurting from April until November will be jumping,” said Kimmich. “Our customers will still come up and get a hotel for the night. They’ll get a case, hang out and drink in Stowe. In the morning, they’ll buy another case and then they’ll hit the road. We’re not putting in a pub or food of any kind. You’ll be able to buy tasters, and look over the half-wall to see the process, see it and smell it, and then get the fuck out.”

 

Been going to Stowe for 20 years now and the second brewery is going to be a great for the community.

 

The quote above would seem to be at odds with this from the article: "They’ll also be more disciplined when it comes to selling beer, trading their old method of selling until they ran out (usually on Thursday of every week) for a daily allotment that assures visitors have the opportunity to buy every day."

Will a case per person per day be a viable limit to keep stock available throughout the entire week?

 

At 9,000 barrels a year, and taking into consideration their other retail and restaurant accounts, I would estimate they'd be able to offer 160-180 cases each day, which seems like it would be plenty to satisfy daily demand.

And who knows, maybe they'd make 120 cases available Monday-Thursday, and 300 cases each day on Friday & Saturday.

That's all just speculation, but I'm sure they'll figure out a way to accommodate as many people as they can within the limits of their production numbers.

 

On Tap: A Conversation With Alchemist Brewer John Kimmich
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/...emist-brewer-john-kimmich/Content?oid=2583108
probably the same sort of info in the paste magazine article, but figured I would share

 

They used to have zero limits at the old brewery. You could literally go in and buy 10 cases of Heady Topper and be on your way. So a 1 case limit compared to zero limits is quite a big difference, and not at odds with the previous method.