Rock Art Brewery Opinions?

I've never been there but I find their beers solid. Best one for me was their Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. Can't go wrong with their Vermonster either.

Their Vermont Maple Wheat Ale was pretty good too.

 

Stopped by the brewery during my last trip to Vermont. Very solid overall. They certainly have some standouts.

 

I have been there a few times. They have the good fortune to be located about half way between HF and the Alchemist. Just a tasting room, they pour samples, but cannot sell full glasses of their beer. Their beers are mostly fairly solid.

 

Bought some of their bottled beers while in vermont and I found them to be pretty good. I thought the vermontster was outstanding, belvedere big IPA solid.

 

Visited once. Overall a solid brewery. I think I may somewhat prefer their beers on tap, rather than bottled.

 

Used to live up there for school so I've had their stuff several times, and I hit up the taproom both times I visited VT this year. Great beers to taste, and pretty reasonable prices for bombers and sixers.

The taproom's a little out of the way if Burlington is your target, but they're on the VT-100; with several other good places for food, beer, wine, cider, and such. Makes for a good day trip if you're on a beer trek through the state.

 

They have some great beers there, and Renee is awesome! I never pass up a chance to drink them on draft, but they just don't bring much of their line here to Tuson in kegs. Love the barleywines.

 

I have only had their English Barleywine, and it was very thin and underwhelming to me. I would drink it if handed to me, but I would not purchase it again.

OP, do you have any affiliation with Rockart?

 

Thought their Citra Pale Ale was pretty good.

 

Been there once. Vermonster is decent - others I had were pretty meh. Tasting room is nice and big though.

 

Good Question. I am headed up to Vermont next weekend... which is my que to find the best beers to check out which aren't Heady Topper or from Hills Farmstead. Even though I will probably buy both if I come across them.

 

I like Rock Art's brews a lot. In particular, I'm a fan of the Big Belvidere IPA and Vermonster, and their other stuff is all pretty solid. Make sure to buy at least two bottles of Vermonster, one to drink right away and one to age ~1 year. I don't usually bother much with aging beers, but this is one that I think is definitely worth it.

If you visit the Rock Art brewery, I recommend also checking out Lost Nation Brewing, which is also in Morrisville. They make some good beers, have nice outdoor patio/beirgarten and serve food. Coincidentally, Lost Nation is in Rock Art's old brewery location.

 

Why would you do that?

 

I had quite a few of their beers on my trip to VT in late June this year. Their barleywines were pretty damn good, and I also enjoyed their red ale and a few others. A friend of mine who took the trip with me had a friend who worked at the brewery and he met us at the campsite with a bunch of bottles from the brewery. It was a nice treat. I also had a bomber of their Simcoe Farmer's IPA and was pretty unimpressed. Too sweet for my taste. Still some solid offerings. Would love to have tried on tap, but there were so many other damn beers that I had to try.

 

They are decent, but understandably lag behind the big 3

 

I didn't mean it literally. I just meant that I would love to find some stuff from other local breweries that is really good in addition to drinking the deliciousness of Heady and Hills Farmstead. Any recommendations?

 

As someone else mentioned, it's very close to Lost Nation, so its nice to visit both locations if you have the opportunity. I find that the breweries dovetail nicely, since Rock Art seems to do heavier, higher alcohol brews and Lost Nation is great for lighter, lower ABV choices. My tastes personally favor the Lost Nation spectrum, but I appreciate both.

 

Try to hit up the Trapp Family Lodge's brewery. Very scenic, and truly awesome lagers. Also check out Four Quarters Brewing in Winooski. It's a tiny operation but the Fleur de Lis was one of the biggest surprises during my trip. They do Full pours and food on Fridays and may have bottles. Lost Nation is worth seeking out. Fiddlehead IPA and Second Fiddle are quite good as well. I had a DIPA by drop in Brewing called Dude, are you okay? that I thought was decent as well. (A little bit on the sweet side for me but still solid) Rock Art is certainly worth a stop too. There is no lack of good beer in VT even outside of the "Big 3".

Edit: Pick up a copy of the VT brewery passport. It has a pretty comprehensive list of breweries including ones that aren't really well known yet. That's how I found Four Quarters.