What is it about Vermont?

I think part of it comes from the hippy-ish attiture of the place, mix in some fairly epic ski areas (at least for the East; I know they don't compare to the Rockies) - skiing / snowboarding and beer go hand in hand - and add in fairly low cost of real estate and (I think) taxes, and you have a good environment for beer and brewers to come up.
New Hampshire is a different beast. As similar as they are, Vermont is a pretty Liberal state, NH pretty Conservative - they also have some odd laws about beer and brewing, and selling it - though there are a lot of efforts to change this, and there are some pretty interesting breweries popping up in NH.
All in all, it's a really good time to be a craft beer fan in all of New England. All 6 states are coming up with some great, creative beers and brewers.

 

One factor, though certainly not the only factor, is that Vermont has a lot of well educated residents. Attaining an educations doesn't translate into demanding better beer in the market place. However, pursuing higher education exposes you to new situations, new types of people, new ways of thinking, etc. In general, it facilitates the mechanism of challenging status quos. Additionally, you get exposed to various cultures you may not have. These experiences can, though there is no guarantee, lead to a desire to explore not only new ideas and values, but new tastes and pleasures. Beer is certainly on that list. Again, in no way do I think demand for craft beer is caused by the education level of the consumers in the area, but I do think it's a variable that should be chucked into the conversation. Of course, a desire to experience new things could simply be a moderating variable to all of this, in that it drives a desire to try new beer and pursue an education in the first place. At the end of the day, if you're in the middle of nowhere without an exposure to different ways of thinking, being, etc, then there could be less reason and, more importantly, less opportunity, to put down the Bud Light.

 

If you haven't picked a date yet try and plan it around the Vt Hop Jam. http://vthopjam.com/




Also - go to Foley Brothers if you can.

 

Maybe because of the water ? Lol idk or there's not much to do if you arent out doorsy so just make beer

 

Ain't shit else to do...?

 

i also think there is a very strong agricultural heritage in vermont
lots of farms
lots of organic food
and a very DIY culture there as there arent a lot of big companies with offices in the state
lots of small businesses and entrepreneurs
have considered moving there on an off for years......cant stomach the super high property taxes and awful weather though
enjoy the beercation

 

Portland ME is a great city. There are a number of threads about places to go etc..but the short version is...Allagash, Bissell Brothers, Novare Res, Bunker Brewery, Rising Tide, Infinity, head up to Freeport to do Maine Beer Co.

 

These two statistics go hand in hand. The per capita thing is a ratio of breweries to population, and the population is low. Wyoming may challenge for that title eventually because no one lives there.

Despite having a low population, it's a relatively small state that is close to other population centers. Lots of people vacation there from out of state. Lots of 2nd homes there as well. Many reasons.

 

Don't forget Oxbow.

 

Vermont is not the second least populated state, though. I think third is as high as it could possibly be thanks to Alaska and Wyoming.

 

A lot of the hype behind the vermont beers is purely hype. But new england in general is definitely the hottest place in the world for IPAs

 

Because Bernie Sanders demanded it

 

I think the reasons for it have somewhat been covered. It's probably also worth noting that they've been in the game for a long time, too. One of my best friends is from there, and he was bringing us growlers and bottles from VT 20+ years ago. Those beers were akin to what I drink now - and were full-on revolutionary back then. They've kept that edge and their brewmasters have done a good job of staying local or at least returning to their roots.

 

Despite the low population, Vermont is 31st in population density. According to Wikipedia its population rank is #49 but it is 10 times smaller than #50 Wyoming.

 

I'm not sure what it is but I believe the hype is well deserved. In VT along with the obvious - Alchemist, Hill Farmstead and Lawson's - you also have Fiddlehead n Shed which are both fantastic, esp Fiddlehead. Drop in also makes some tasty brews.
Thankfully for me being in Jersey the rest of New England is catching up. Mass has some great Breweries ( Treehouse being at the top ) NY has Other Half, Defiant and Grimm along with Brooklyn of course. I'm really happy to see Jersey stepping up its game with Kane and Carton leading the way but also Forgotten Boardwalk - Magnify - Brix City making some tasty brews. I'm sure I left out a few but I'm pretty hung over after a growler of BCBS last night. I gave it my best shot but the growler won. Damn 13.8 ABV. LOL

 

I think part of it may be a certain attitude of self-reliance that is prevalent in rural New England. If you are drinking beer and you don't like what you taste, you either stop drinking beer or think to yourself, hey, I can do better than this.

Because of that lots of breweries popped up.

Also worth noting to the OP but if you do Harpoon do the Boston one over the Vermont one. The Vermont one has a nice restaurant, but the Boston one does a REALLY nice tour (all you can drink samples) and its right down the street from Trillium, so you can kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

This is much more of the reason why, I think. I'm from upstate NY (like, raised on a farm in the middle of nowhere), and have spent a decent amount of time in Vermont in the last few years. There's much more interest and pride taken in doing things in old-school ways, making and baking and consuming locally, and a deep interest in supporting the local economy. Vermonters, if given a choice, will choose the Vermont-made option far more often than people in other states. There's a lot of pride in things like local beer, food, goods, and agricultural products, and it carries a sense of heritage in Vermont.

Aaaaaaaand I'm guessing you're trolling, but that is SUPER false.

 

I think a lot of it has to do with some great quality water in New England overall, especially in places where there is no public water supply. Maine has some of the purest water in the Country.

 

visited VT for the first time last weekend. The beer culture is amazing and the people are super laid back. traded some beers and finally got my hands on a Tree House. Popped my cherry with the Focal Banger and was blown away. I went on a Sat so i didnt think i would find any Heady to take home but found a lot at Beverage Baron in Barre, which also had a bunch of Sip of Sunshine.