What is it about Vermont?

Haha sibling rivalry. Don't worry, many of us consider North Carolina the same way as Vermont, a concentration of great breweries and wonderful beers.

But there is no hype in Vermont that isn't deserved, it is definitely home to the finest beers in the Northeast. Why? Have no idea.

 

Wow, this post seems so far out of touch. If people made that 8 hour car drive one time, had the beer and realized they wasted an entire day and never did it again you'd be right. But people make that trip time and time again because of how good the beer is.

Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Zero Gravity, Lost Nation, Lawson's, Rock Art (I think it's correct), Burlington Brewing, Citizen Cider, Foley Brothers and Prohibition Pig. All done without looking any up!

 

Beer culture and food culture is top notch. Service has never disappointed either. I find they are very friendly to tourists too.

 

48 is Alaska
Washington DC fits in here
49 is Vermont
50 is Wyoming

 

Agreed. We are heading back up there this week from Florida (again) and will likely continue with our bi-annual hopping trip (see what I did there?). The beer, the food, oh yea the beer just keep us coming back. Hey and don't forget about Fiddlehead (Second Fiddle on draft and their GREAT pizza are a fantastic experience) and Farmhouse Tap and Grill is a great place to hang.

 

Really?! Color me surprised. I guess it is deceiving because all of the people are crammed so tightly into Vermont. Plus growing up in Wyoming they pound it into how few people there are. It is like a point of pride. As evidenced by me trying to defend how few there were, I suppose. You learn something every day.

 

He's easily in that group, I haven't had a lot but what I've had has been stellar.

 

He did mention there being a few things non beer related that might attract visitors to Vermont.. So the fact that there is good decent beer, but a beautiful place to visit might have something to do with it. I just did a trip a couple of weeks ago to visit family and of course visited HF and drank some heady, but I'd easily admit that neither produce close to my favorite beer anymore.

 

Hype? Maybe, but the majority of the Vermont "hyped" beers deliver. Find me a better all-around brewery than Hill Farmstead.

 

You can't.

 

How many VT brewers where born elsewhere, like in NJ?

 

I tend to agree with as there is definitely a correlation, that more craft beer is consumed in areas of either prosperity or higher educated people (or combination). But more of a demographic question, what job opportunities are in Vermont that would attract high educated people to make up the population base? Certainly not organic farmers and ski instructors. I'd be curious to know some of the stereotypical backgrounds of typical Vermont residents and why they are more highly educated overall than other rural areas of our country.

 

Doing a little on-line research:

Sean Lawson (Lawson's Finest Liquids) came from a very wealthy NJ family. Went to college in VT and his family had a lakehouse in Vermont.

John Kimmich was from Pittsburgh and moved to Vermont.

Can't find back-history info. on Lost Nation's 2 owners.

Shaun Hill is of course from Vermont. Went to college in Philly.

So definitely not all are Vermont home grown gurus.

 

Skip Harpoon and hit Trillium and Treehouse.

 

Some of my all time favorite beers are from VT. Wish FedEX wasn't so tight ass about shipping to certain areas of VT. Just had a package picked off to be returned to shipper this past Friday. Won't keep me from seeking alternative means to an end.

 

I've made the drive 3 times from NC, and I don't have blinders on. I don't care about the bottom of the rung Brewers, we have them here too, but Vt top end is as good as anyone's confined in a very tight distribution area. I've been to Vt more than Asheville, I think Asheville is a great bar town but not a really great beer town. There's some good beers to be sure, but I'm not into funk or sour, which Weed does best. If Vt was an easy day's drive I'd do it 3-4 times a year.

 

i haven't done asheville yet but i have done VT 7-8 times in the past 16 months. I go up to NY for work and drive there a few times a visit

 

Honest question, do people living in VT tend to want to seek other beers out? Do locals think as highly of the beer as those that don't have everyday access to it? I don't know If I would want anything else. But a lot of people like MORE what they can't have, than what's easily accessible. Do they get mad when non locals infiltrate the area and take away any of a certain rare releases bottles? It just seems too ideal on the surface. Like a dream bear locale.

I was in the area back in 2008. Seemed rather mundane and muted. Times have really changed apparently. I then had some family do a VT brewery tour type thing in 2012, still relatively before any hype. They found the local beers here where I live to provide just as good or a better beer experience. And now I have family who bought a house in southern VT. So next year, thanks in large part to being here on BA, I want to do this type of beercation thing too, There does appear to be some romanticizing. But it may all be worth it.