The Alchemist (September 2016)

Understood about the things affecting beer taste. I ate a sandwich lol, roast beef/cheddar cheese lol. It's a certain hop bit I have never experienced in it. My father isn't finding any differences but I've questioned his pallet in the past. Hopefully I'll sleep on it and find it the way I recall tomorrow.

 

Focal tasted the same. Never had crusher but it was hella good. Only questioning the heady sadly. Sad face emoji

 

Hi all! Will be making the trip here in a couple weeks, spending our nights in Stowe. I know where to get the beer and food, but looking for recommendations on any good bakeries or pastry shops to fill our sugar addiction and any place in the area making good cold brew coffee? Looking forward to this visit!!

 

Hot cider donuts at Cold Hollow Cider Mill on Rte. 100 north of Waterbury!

 

What consists of "leaf season" up in the Stowe area? Most likely planning a trip for the weekend of 10/28, and according to most websites that seems to be out of the foliage season, but pre-snow.

 

Yes, that's past leaf peeping season up here. Usually over by Mid-October.

 

Broken Spoke is pretty nice by the way... I don't think I ever got to try this one at the pub. Very light and crisp, grassy. Not just hops and hops in this one.

I saw on another forum this video...20 or so minutes of the history of the alchemist, and 40 of Q+A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4271&v=LdfySDN2mF0


Couple of cool things I didn't realize

• Alchemist may have ended up in Boston but 9/11 changed John and co's opinion of living in the city. (as if I didn't hate what happened on that day enough)

• When the original brewery was destroyed John lost all of this recipes.(as if I didn't hate what happened on that day enough)

• John has an exclusive contract with a farm to grow his hops, so according to him, even if someone had a clone of his heady topper recipe it wouldn't taste as good because of his hops.

• He actually hand bottled all those bottles the one time Heady Topper was released in that format.

• He mentions how excited he is for his new draft/growler system... I guess that excitement died. But hey, my stainless steel growler is cool looking at least.

Wonder what The Alchemist would be today if it was headquarted in Boston. Would we have a Trillium? Would we have more than one Trillium?

Seeing the new brewery for the first time this past week made me a bit nostalgic I guess. That original pub was such a cool place. Quite literally witnessing a shift in New England beer there. And Heady Topper on draft.

 

Late October - early November is locally known as "stick season." Really.

 

Very cool post. Thanks for the share!

 

I'm heading to the Alchemist tomorrow (Wednesday) - hoping to be there just after it opens. How long do you think it will take to get in and out? I am trying to time this, then Hill Farmstead and still get back to Maine as soon as possible. Sorry if this has been asked a 1000 times before!

 

"That original pub was such a cool place. Quite literally witnessing a shift in New England beer there. And Heady Topper on draft"

The pub was a nucleus for what craft beer has become. I think it can be said with ease that the Pub was one of the few really pivotal locales in America where craft beer started to become what it is today

 

Harvest market for cold brew and bakery

 

I was there this past Saturday. I arrived at 10:10 and was out the door at 11:05. They opened early at approximately 10:25 (which has been the norm recently).
Wednesday may have less crowd, which could make it quicker, or make them open closer to 11 because the parking lot is not getting jammed up.
I was at HF on Wednesday the 14th at about 3pm. I could have been in and out in 10 minutes with growlers and bottles. No line for bottles and about 7 numbers ahead of me for growlers.

 

If I arrive close to 3pm on a Saturday is it unlikely I'll be able to get all three cans? Just Focal? I know that things are calmer in Waterbury this time of year and that there are no guarantees. Thanks!

 

Thanks man!

 

Should be relatively easy in and out tomorrow morning since it's midweek. Crowds have slowed a little since the summer.

 

Thanks for the info @jhavs and @Piels25! Rolled into the Alchemist at 1105am, no line, walked right in and out with my limit. Then got to Hill Farmstead at 1205pm filled 7 growlers and bought a truck load of bottles. Amazing day! The only bad thing is I spent (way) more than planned. But when you check off both of those breweries for the first time in one day it is a special day!

 

Leaf season is going on now, I was there yesterday (9/28) and the leaves have already started changing. It will be pretty great leaf peeping over the next few weekends....

Easy in and out at the brewery yesterday at noon. Plenty of sip around in Waterbury and Waitsfield as well early yesterday afternoon.

 

Hey all, thinking about stopping by the new place in Stowe on a Wednesday or Thursday in mid October, won't be able to get there until 4 at the earliest. What are the chances I'll be able to get a four pack of everything getting there that late?

 

from what the cash register lady told me yesterday, they've only been selling out regularly on saturdays since labor day weekend. So I'd say pretty good chance with heady being the only one which might sell out that late but you can find it in other local stores. It was all over the place yesterday when I was in Waterbury.