Hill Farmstead Bottle releases

lol, I can think of a few things I have to do (damn you work) other than driving back/forth from Burlington to HF everyday.

Good thing I already took care of that this week

did someone say Juicy?

 

I'll be at HF the day after Thanksgiving...wife and I are making the 15 hour drive up for my bday (she suggested it, great beer wife) and to see some friends for the holiday. I'll be staying in Burlington. What time should I shoot to be at HF on Friday? Can. Not. Freaking. Wait.

 

It opens at Noon, but it doesn't matter so much unless there is a bottle release as traffic seems pretty random. i.e. you could show up at 12:15 and have 6 people in front of you, or you could show at 12:45 and have 1. You never really know. Believe it or not most people just kind of go for the tasting and buy a bottle or two and a growler. But you can certainly get stuck behind a beer geek filling up a dozen growlers, so you can wait a bit sometimes. I usually just try to get there right before noon and immediately get them going on the growlers before they get busy since I typically get quite a bit.

Also I'm a Parker Pie for lunch by 1:00 if I get to HF at Noon...

 

It is indeed really random. I'm always amazed at the people who are there for tasters and like a growler or two. They really are the majority...and I've never spent less than $150 there. Shoot for noon, it'll take 90 minutes or so from Burlington. Juicy should still be on the shelves! Bring cash, enjoy the tasters, and I'd highly recommend the HF stemware. Perfect beer glass. Welcome to VT! (Make sure to go to Waterbury for Blackback and Prohibition Pig!)

I'm heading up today, leaving in a couple minutes. I'll be the fat guy with glasses and a navy blue Pats sweatshirt, say hi if you see me.

JUICY: I'm coming for you.

 

I'll be up there that day as well. I usually try to shoot for getting there around noon, but every time I've gone there has never been more than 4 or 5 other people. I just hope Juicy and TotI are still available!

 

Thanks for the tips, folks. I apologize if I'm that asshole getting a dozen growler fills and a case of bottles in front of you. But I look kind of tough, so you probably won't say anything. I kid, I kid...but it's amazing how quickly word spreads around tasting groups..."Oh, so you're going to HF, huh? I'd like one of everything, please..."

Any beer spots near Stowe? We've never skied New England before, but we'd probably rather do that on thanksgiving day than go through the hassle of cooking a big meal at the condo we're staying in.

 

I'll look out for you. Blue and wearing jean shorts, I presume?

 

There are dozens of us!

 

Crop is good, Piecasso is also pretty good. Trapps is good if you dig lagers.

As for the growlers, I wouldn't worry too much about it . I saw a sign up yesterday with a growler fill limit. I'm sure it's flexible (they're not gonna cut you off on a slow day) but it'll probably help keep things rolling smoothly when it's busy. I can't remember if it's 8 growlers or 8 litres. Its going to be a madhouse up there today, so I'm sure someone will post about it more precisely later

 

Thanks for the details...we won't have anything else to do that day aside from beer hunting, so I guess I could always do the nice thing and cut myself off and then wait for a lull to resume my growler muling activities (full disclosure: these will be for friends and a trading partner, not to sit on waiting for the whaleyest of whaley trade offers).

 

Limit was 8 liters yesterday. Sounds good to me on busy days. I assume you could go to the end of the line if you wanted more.

 

A dozen? Don't worry, you're not even close to "that guy" by Hill Farmstead standards. Last time I was there they were talking about a guy who came up the day before who got something ridiculous like 50 growlers.

I tend to get about 4-5 large ones for myself, and then a half dozen small ones for trading partners every time I go up. Then a couple cases of bottles, depending on what's available... I just kind of patiently wait to the side and let them fill while pouring tasters for others. Doesn't really take all that long, and like I said earlier, most people are just kind of hanging around and tasting anyway, not really waiting for growlers.

8 liter thing is new, but pretty reasonable when they're busy.

 

I cannot agree with this statement more. How the favors are brought out really is incredible with out any fruit being used in the process. I will advise anyone popping a bottle of Juicy, it flows out of the bottle, have a glass ready in hand to be poured.

 

we should all thank the nineteen hundred dollar guy from Pennsylvania and his minions for this.

 

Yep, 8 liters (~10 750 ml growlers or 4 2-liter growlers) is the limit and you're allowed to go to the back of the queue once you've reached the 8 liter limit.

Shaun and the rest of the HF crew have created a new favorite of mine with Susan. Citra, Riwaka and Simcoe...so freaking good.

On a related note, most of us interface with Phil or the lovely lass (sorry I forgot your name!) when we're filling growlers/purchasing bottles. They're on their feet all day long putting up with temperamental beer geeks, never complain and are always accommodating. With that said, the holiday season is upon us so let's give them a little extra to show our gratitude (e.g. tips).

 

could not agree more

 

Psyched to try Susan, and excellent sentiment about showing appreciation. Do you think that the staff would appreciate beer tips? Thinking about bringing up a nice southeastern bottle or two to share with the VT brewing wizards.

 

Having a Juicy now. My humble opinion: it's the best HF beer I've ever had.

It was crazy up there today. I showed up at 11:55 and there were more people there for a non "release event" day than I'd ever seen at noon. It was 1:45 before I got my growlers, and my Juicy. Totally worth it, chatted with a few cool people.

It's definitely be noticeable as time goes on...it's getting busier and busier at the Hill.

Susan is no doubt a winner, that was a great beer. It'll probably be a seasonal around the arrival of Riwaka, I hope. Much, much better than the Riwaka single hop beer. But, I'm a ***** for citra hops, so...

Another fine visit to HF! I'll probably be there Friday too. Now that I've tried it, I'm going to need more Juicy.

 

If you build it, they will come.

Beer trading plays such a unique role in small brewery operations. Beer distribution 2.0: Crowd-sourced.

 

When you say it's the best HF ever the red sea parts and those of us who have a tough journey will still pursue! If HF wasn't do amazing.. It wouldn't always be on our minds! Cheers!