Hill Farmstead (2020)

They need to put the mugs up on their online shop. Maybe they will, they put the other ones up for online shop so I wonder why mugs only available at brewery.

 

Thanks for that post @trsC.

 

"Worse?" Not sure I agree -- perhaps "riskier." As i said, I understand the safety of the process of no-contact beer pick-up, but it's what you do before the beer hits your trunk that can be risky. Are you driving into the center of your own town? Fine, not much spread potential there I suppose. Driving across state? Different.

Also I am going to buy food, not designer beer. You should see how the grocery stores and markets work here, though. Might surprise you how safe they are doing it.

Maybe. We'll see I suppose in the coming weeks.

 

Mailorder beer should be legal and easy, especially now. Each state has it's own regs and the ones that do allow it make it difficult as they want the tax and paperwork. Somehow wineries figured it out but beer lovers all have to drive to get the good stuff.

 

Is it?
There are basically two arguments that keep cropping up here and I don't think people are going to agree on either one.
1) is beer essential?
2) is it high risk to drive far in your car?
In my opinion, the answers are yes and no. It sounds like you would answer no and yes.

 

A lot of the Virginia brewers are shipping beer right now (even to DC). I think the big difference is that Virginia and DC (with its grey laws) has enough demand for that beer. I don't know if Vermont is big enough nor does it have the appetite or wealth to pay a fee for shipping. Shipping across states has always been a tricky issue for wine and beer, even if wine is more advanced on this (y'all remember Drew Bledsoe lobbying MA to allow him to ship his wine?). I think in state shipping is a solution for Vermont brewers, but not the silver bullet.

I don't know if can sales near or in population centers (i.e. Hill shipping to particular places near larger populations) is great either since it could create some of the same problems (lines) unless retailers (or restaurants) take measures to create time slots which might be burdensome in a time where they aren't prepared to take on further burden.

Right now, it seems like there are no "winners," just survivors.

 

1. Is beer/alcohol essential? Objectively it’s not unless you are an alcoholic (serious statement, not being facetious). Is it an easy argument to make that it is still something that it’s very important that people still have access to? Yes. Does it need to specifically be from a farmstead brewery rated no.1 in the world that is a multi-hour drive for many of its customers? No. People can make do with - shudder - a shelf IPA, or perhaps a minor-step-down-in-quality A.N.Other More Local Brewery IPA.

2. Does one person driving several hours to a brewery for a (presumably well oiled being HF) curbside pick up, represent a major risk for regional virus spread and/or sucking resources that would otherwise be deployed to combat Coronavirus? No. But I think this is where the crux of the debate / difference of opinion lies - anecdotally/taken by itself, it is not a major issue. But - and I said same thing in the Treehouse thread - it is heavily reliant on the vast majority of people doing the right thing and staying put. Because in which of the following two (highly unrealistic, and just for the purpose of debate) scenarios do you think Coronavirus is most easily stamped out, and in which do you think it becomes a long running problem that overwhelms all parts of the country.

1. the entire population stays inside their home without leaving once, for an entire month

2. the entire population of the country gets in their cars to drive multiple hours to different states to buy really nice, but not remotely essential stuff that they want to eat/drink

 

How is beer essential?

Seriously?

As the above poster mentioned, alcohol may be necessary for someone who is dependent and it may be an effort by certain governments leaving liquor stores open to keep them from going through withdrawals (which, I'm really not sure is as heroic of a measure at it sounds lulz), but beer is not a required vehicle for alcohol, especially luxury beer.

 

They heard you...

https://hill-farmsteadbrewery.myshopify.com/collections/all

 

Whoa, that is awesome, thanks HF and thanks for letting me know @MattOC

Cheers!

 

[Update] Saw Mike G. today at HF, and he tells me Iron Heart has 4 crews, but only 2 presently working in NE. Yesterday, they canned up all the beer that folks have pre-ordered this week for curbside pickup and distro. Next task is bottling up all the beers in wine barrels so they can keep that part going and make room for...new brews!

 

So does Hill Farmstead not have their own canning line?

 

If a global pandemic can't get Edward into cans than nothing will....

 

$4$ Anna is the best beer in the game. Tell me I'm wrong...

 

No.

 

best is certainly subjective, but I would be happy with that all day long! I'd put the 2020 Bees by Trillium at 6 bucks a bottle over Anna. I am really digging that beer.

 

Arthur for me!

 

same, but I think nobody loses in this debate

 

I’ve had it in an unlabeled 16 oz. can at HF but it was for on-site consumption only. I assume they were doing that on and off (?)

 

It's a 330 mL bottle for $6 vs. a 750 mL for $10.

I have had not had this year's Bees, but math is not in its favor.