The Alchemist (October 2016)

For most days over the last few weeks, the limits have been case of Focal, 2 4 packs Heady and 2 4 packs Crusher. I happened to be there on a day where Crusher was upped to 4 4 packs. I have not heard of them letting anyone sub anything for anything.

As to if/when they sell out on a Saturday ... no clue on that one.

 

i was there at 2pm this past Saturday and Heady had just sold out, but it was holiday weekend and has typically been lasting through the day. limits were as stated in the above post. if you want all 3 beers, get there by 1pm to be really safe.

 

Is crusher considered the limited release beer on the site? It seems to be the same daily so I'm just curious. Thanks

 

There's going to be three beers year round. Heady, Focal and a third. So far it's been Crusher or Broken Spoke. That is different from the very limited amounts of the Sterk Wit, Luscious or Harvest Ale. These have been available only for a couple days spread out over the few months they've been open and only one 4 pack per person.

So in short, Crsuher is a sort of regular beer that will be swapped out with maybe Beelzebub next.

 

Thanks for the info! Anyone have good restaurant recommendations while I'm in Stowe? Beer selection isn't the most important criterion, since I'll be with my girlfriend and she's already indulging me with this trip to the brewery. Good food, atmosphere or a nice view would all be appreciated!

 

While staying in Stowe, you have Piecasso which is right next to Alchemist. Doc Ponds which has a small out door patio to sit and eat on, the bench which has a wide variety of drafts and great eats.

Then if you venture 15 minutes into Waterbury you have the cream of the crop, Pro Pig, Black Back Pub, The reservoir, and Hen of the Wood. Scope out there menus to see what you're in the mood for.
All of those places have great draft lists as well.

If you want a view, this weekend is the last weekend to ride the gondola to the top of Mt. Mansfield and the restuarant at the top should still be in operation. Can't really top that for ambiance.

Cheers!

 

This is literally every single place I was about to recommend.

 

Von Trapp bierhall opened recently and looks impressive. Great views up there for sure!

 

What an easy trip! Got there around 3:30 today, no line at all and everything available. I heard them say they had 10 4-packs of Heady left around 4pm, they must be cranking out a huge amount of beer. Strung this together with a trip to Treehouse -- not a bad Wednesday!!

Out of curiosity, anyone have any idea what hops are in HT, Focal, and Crusher?

 

Fairly certain that focal is citra & mosaic. I get more mosaic than anything. The other beers your guess is as good as mine. People have been trying to clone Heady for years and I don't think John has ever given too much info on it

 

The Bench in Stowe has great food and taps.

These are all great options as well. To please your girlfriend, I think the new von Trapp would be a great choice (quality, view, atmosphere). Or Hen of the Wood if you want fancy (and great).

 

Thanks for all the recs, guys! We're going to try to hit the brewery at around noon, I hope they'll have some Heady left (but I certainly won't turn my nose up at a few packs of Focal). Then it'll be time for lunch and leaves - we'll probably go up Mt. Mansfield and walk around a bit. I'm surprised to hear this is the last weekend for that - there are still tons of leaves on the trees!

 

They recently answered a question about Focal on their facebook saying it is and always has been Citra/Mosaic. I checked their blog posts about it for years and confirmed, always has been.

I believe he's indicated that Heady uses at minimum several hops, possible a big number and he's not going to reveal the blend. Much as TreeHouse is not going to reveal the Julius blend.

 

Focal says right on the can what it is so that isn't hard (Citra and Mosaic). The others are not so easy (and I sure don't know).

 

I believe the one thing we know about The Crusher is that it is dry hopped with Citra.

 

I think the one thing I know about crusher is that it's my favorite beer I've had in the last six months (having my second can ever now).

 

Had a great trip to Stowe on Saturday. We arrived at the brewery at noon and we were out an hour later with as much as we could bring back across the border (18L, thanks to my girlfriend for coming with me!). The standard limitations were in place, max of 2 four-packs of HT and Crusher per person, but they had enough for everyone while I was there. Considering how much good stuff you can take home in a relatively short and painless trip, I might just be done hunting down lone 4-packs of Heady in backwoods liquor stores. I see more trips to Stowe in my future!

 

My wife and are coming to town this Thursday through Saturday. Any special releases in store for this week or will it be the usual HT, Foca, and Crusher?

 

Any idea where that cheese is available? (At the brewery?)

Those are craft cows, 2500 pounds milk/60 cows is under 5 gallons per. Almost half what a big industrial farm would make.

 

They have it at the Stowe brewery with some regularity.

I also picked some up at the Warren Store.