Fiddlehead brewing?

Okay IPA, found it on draft at Three Needs over the weekend. Didn't get a chance to stop in to their brewery, though.

 

I also like their IPA, they do $10 growlers at the brewery as well as samples - and there's a BYOB pizza place attached so you can get a growler and drink it with some tasty 'zah.

I was there on Sunday and I grabbed a growler of their Krystalweizen and it was really tasty for a hot afternoon.

 

Fiddlehead was a nice stop when I was on my way home from Burlington last month. Small place less than a year old with a nice tasting/merch area inside. Brewery was behind the bar/tasting area and was eye catching with all of the seemingly brand new shiny equipment. Staff was friendly and informative. The IPA was the only beer they were pouring that day. The server stated that the IPA would be their year round offering and all the other beers they brew would be rotating in a "never brew the same beer twice" kind of style. Not sure if that would just be an experimental thing until they found something else to make year round or what. There is a pizza shop next door that does not serve beer, but encourages you to bring in your Fiddlehead growler and will provide you with glassware. Can't comment on the food, since we only had time for a short visit to the tasting room. Seems like another VT brewer starting small and doing it right. I wish them the best of luck growing in to a market with some of the toughest competition around.

 

Never been to the brewery, but have passed by it. I lucked upon a fresh keg of the IPA at the Inn at Essex and it was fantastic, great fresh intense hop flavor and aroma, with good balance. I popped in for a few while staying there.

 

Just tried some Fiddlehead IPA this weekend at The Resevoir in Waterbury, VT. Nice easy drinking IPA, but tasted like water after some HF Abner, Lawson's Double Sunshine and Heady Topper. Man, VT knows how to make some serious IPA's!

 

The brewer is Matt Cohen, former head brewer at Magic Hat, a very cool guy. Fiddlehead is concentrating on low-moderate ABV session beers. Making a sub-5% IPA with real hop character is quite a challenge but he has pulled it off.

 

I had it on tap a couple places this past weekend, and stopped into the brewery Sunday afternoon. The brewer was extremely friendly and very welcoming. Not surprisingly, the IPA was freshest at the brewery. I was really excited, though, about the Kristalweizen he was pouring. I haven't had a Kristalweizen since spending a semester in Berlin in 2007, and with the heat and all the other hoppy beers in the state, the Kristal was extremely refreshing. I'd definitely check the place out.

 

Could be mistaken, but I saw the IPA listed as 6.2% in multiple locations. Still a great nose and tasty beer.

 

I love their IPA but the Kristal is new to me. Gotta try that.

 

You're right. I thought 4.9, but don't know where I got that from.

 

Yeah, you really do! It was such a treat to find that on a hot day. I wish I'd got a growler of it, but wasn't exactly sure how I'd be getting back home and whether it would survive the journey.