I'll be going up to Stowe VT from CT this Sunday-Tuesday. Looking for any recommendations for a good bottle shop in the VT area, preferably close to Stowe. I'll be heading up 91 to 89 to VT-100. Also, can I find any hill farmstead stuff anywhere (in bottles) other than at the brewery (they're closed Sunday-tuesday). And looking for some focal to bring home. Thanks in advance.
Focal to bring home and Hill Farmstead bottles away from the brewery will be next to impossible... But make the quick drive to Waterbury and go to the craft beer cellar for a great craft selection. While there, The Reservoir, Prohibition Pig, And Blackback pub are all great restaurants where you will get your fix of Heady, Lawsons, and Hill Farmstead. Maybe someone can help more with bottles... Hope this helps. Enjoy.
You can find Focal, Hill Bottles, kegs of Backacre and Triple Sunshine at the new package store in Stowe called, "Shit Out of Luck". If you're going up 100 pop into Warren Store and Waitsfield Grocery and see what hey have in stock. It'll be a crap shot - might not find our "whalez bro" but you'll find some other great stuff a Rock Art, Frost, 14th Star ...
There should probably be one thread for all these questions with respect to getting Hill Farmstead, their brewery/growler fill format, Alchemist beers, timetables, driving hints, etc. You know these threads are going to multiply the warmer it gets. I don't particularly mind them, but it'll save people time and will also avoid snarky responses when you can just refer people to an existing resource.
I was toying with the idea of making a database that had a list of all the popular vt beers and where/when to get them. It would be broken down by day of the week with what to get and where you can find it. Winooski beverage has a good list on their site that tells whats availibe and what's not(like how focal is not available unless its onsite at a bar). This way if you are coming to vt you can look at the days you will be here and then plan accordingly. Any thoughts?
I think it'd be a perfect idea. A lot of people take road trips up there and if we're not from the state, we have no idea about availability or little hints like focal is only available at bars.
The reason you have threads like this is because people don't want to get off their lazy ass and do their own research .....
Things do change at the breweries and retail locations from time to time. One of the advantages of BA is to take advantage of the wealth of local knowledge IMHO.
And by getting off my lazy ass, you mean not sitting in front of a computer or phone going through threads and commenting on stuff that I don't care about? No need for your smart ass comments. If you don't have any knowledgeable input, don't comment; save yourself from looking like a dick. Just like sosbombs said, "One of the advantages of BA is to take advantage of the wealth of local knowledge IMHO." Thanks everyone for the knowledgeable feedback.
So other than Heady, which beers should I be looking for to take home from a store (other than a brewery)? I'm hearing Foley Brothers are making some pretty good beers right now. I'm mostly an IPA fan and basically anything other than stouts and porters. I usually stick to the CT locals and haven't been able to get up to VT for their beers. Any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.
Hunger Mountain Coop in Montpelier usually has a good assortment of the distributed VT beers. Foley Bros Prospect is great if they have but all there IPA's are good. Any of the cans from Lost Nation are good. And some of the new cans from Rock Art are good and also look for 14th Star Tribute
crowlers from Po Pig brewery. Take drive up to fiddlehead and burlington beer company, 14th star:Tribute, foley Brosrospect, Fair Maiden, pieces of 8 Zero gravity conehead Rock Art twin tip and limited access, ridge runner cans just came out this week Idletime ipa and doubletyme
My two favorite IPA producing breweries right now are Burlington Beer Company (try It's Complicated Being a Wizard, Light in the Window and Chasing Rabbits) and Frost Beer Works (pretty much any of their IPAs, they're all confusing vague names but taste amazing). BBCO sells cans and special 750ml releases, Frost uses 22 oz bombers.
Alpine market in stowe usually has tribute. You might gave to ask at the counter. Your area Lawson's drop would be Tuesday. CBC and Crossroads in waterbury get theirs around 12. If you drive south to moretown, the general store there has higher limits and gets a drop around 10. On Monday morning, drive up to Burlington to healthy living and get your case of heady at 11.
