Hill Farmstead (2021)

I’ve only had 12, really enjoyed it

Drive to grab it strained some friendships with non-beer people (I may not have been 100% forthcoming about the length of the trip) but think a sunny NEK afternoon sipping on a bottle of Juicy converted them

 

I had #11 a few days ago in my renewed commitment to keep the overflowing cellar collection manageable. As viscous a HF stout as I can remember having, solid bourbon, finished w/some booze heat.

 

Coming up on three years since I had it. I recall it being awesome, 2-yr. Damon with honey. Glad to hear it’s holding up well.

 

I’m hoping for Aaron as well. Damon 2020 was initially released to VT residents as part of the home delivery sets and I believe part of the sets they shipped to certain states. Would imagine Damon 2020 will be a Spring release once things open up.

 

For anyone who has had both batches of Samuel, how do they compare?

I really loved batch 1 and find myself dreaming about those tropical flavors. I recently had Ann 2019 and thought it was a good beer, but just not something I dream of. It was a bit too delicate for me - I need flavor's that bash me in the face.

I want to know if Samuel b2 is closer to OG Samuel or more delicate like Ann before I trade for a bottle. Thanks guys!

 

One person's opinion, be gentle.....

Granted, I went a long time between having them and have never been lucky enough to track down Ann, but I preferred batch 1 to 2, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. 2, while incredible, felt a little lighter than 1, which I I thought was overwhelmingly, uhhhhh, buckwheaty? Reminded me a lot of Le Sarrasin in that way. And having had Clover 1 and 2 side by side, I thought 1 hit a little harder than 2, but others preferred the lighter 2.

 

This is awesome. Thanks @dropkick1977. This is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. My experience with Hill has been overwhelmingly positive. However, I know I like the more flavorful beers to the delicate ones so I appreciate the input. Cheers!

 

Thinking about booking a room in Stowe for a VT weekend trip when they reopen retail.

 

Just a heads up, that opening week, April 7-9 (W-F), plan is to be open for curbside pickup, not full retail/taproom.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I had expected it would be the same.

The past few times I stopped by, were 7-8 hour day trips to Alchemist and HF. Its a long day to say the least. I think this time around the wife and I might stay at the resort, as they allow dogs.

I can’t remember, do they usually open up / release online orders for curbside the Monday of (in theory, 4/5)?

 

You're welcome. For sure. You said weekend so didn't want to roll up on a Saturday when the only weekend day that week is Friday.

I feel like it usually goes live on the weekend before, Friday/Saturday. I could be wrong and or it's inconsistent, but that's what I recall versus Monday.

 

Yeah, it’ll have to be a Friday - Sat/Sun trip.

 

My wife and I will both be fully vaccinated by our anniversary in May. I was thinking if we could get a sitter that Stowe would also be a nice option for an overnight stay. My issue is that I think I'd be happier in Burlington on the water (or, to be fair, Portland on the water). Of course HF is like 90 minutes and wifey would not be stoked on driving three hours to Burlington only to drive another 90 hours round trip to Hill.

 

Not the same trip, but you could get an AirBnb on Caspian Lake. Water plus it's close to Hill. And assuming you're coming up 93, you could stop in Littleton for Schilling and a bunch of good food options.

 

When the wife and I stay in Burlington (I'd recommend Hotel Vermont) we usually do something like this. I'm coming from the South Shore and I'd only do this if we were staying for 2-3 nights otherwise it's too much driving.

Leave in the morning and hit Schilling for lunch/beer
Schilling to Hill Farmstead
Hill Farmstead to Burlington

That way all your driving is out of the way and you've hit the two best places imo. Then we'll usually just stay in Burlington for the duration. You can always hit Stowe/Waterbury on the way home, between HF and Burlington, or on a day trip from Burlington. If you're heading up on a day that HF is closed you can just do this in reverse (straight to Burlington and then do HF/Schilling on the way home).

If you're coming from western MA this might not make sense and like I said if you're only doing one night I'd say just go straight to Burlington so you don't spend half of the one day in the car. Only downside of that is you won't have those bottles of Arthur in your fridge when you get home.

 

Mmmmm bottles of Arthur

 

Do we know for sure they are reopening for curbside April 7-9? Maybe I’m missing something but I have not seen anything official

 

Mike works at Hill.

This is post #53 in this thread from 2/23/21.

 

Thanks saw the post but did not know Mike works at hill.

 

Interesting read in this weeks seven days.

https://m.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/s...reconsiders-his-business/Content?oid=32610351