Winding down the inaugural year of Stowe Beer and looking back over breweries visited and beers tasted … here is a short list of some of my favorites!
Favorite Breweries … based on coolness vibe, views, eats, etc.
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Stone Corral Brewery Stone Corral Brewery (Richmond, Vermont). Original beers, great food, inside/outside seating and situated in scenic Richmond. Love the beer garden on a sunny Fall afternoon!
- Lost Nation Brewing (Morrisville, Vermont). Combine great beer with some of the best BBQ around, and this is a place you’ll come back to often. It’s also situated next to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, so you can pull over for a quick refresher during your bike or snowmobile trip!
- Whetstone Station (Brattleboro, Vermont). For those of you traveling to Vermont from the south, stop by this restaurant/brewery located abreast of the Connecticut River. Beautiful views, interesting pub food, and some fine beer make it a worthwhile visit.
Favorite Beers
- Frost Beer Works’ (Hinesburg, Vermont) “Plush” double IPA (8.0% ABV) which glows hazy-orange in the glass and combines hoppy bitterness with slight fruity aftertastes.
- Upper Pass Beer Company’s (Tunbridge/Stowe, Vermont) “Cloud Drop” double IPA (8% ABV). “Cloud Drop” is brewed with six varieties of hops and is a tasty, yet smooth-drinking beverage. This is currently a hard beer to find, and supplies are being rationed.
- Lost Nation’s (Morrisville, Vermont) “Petit Ardennes” (4.2% ABV). This beer is rarely available outside the brewery … you may find the occasional Stowe restaurant with Petit on draft. This is a Belgian-style pale ale and is exceedingly crisp and not too bitter. I especially like the elevated carbonation level which gives it a biting finish on the tongue.
Favorite Brewery in the Field Research Series (clearly need to do more field research in 2018)
NOLA Brewing Company (New Orleans, Louisiana). With a huge selection of great beers and a scenic perch by the Mississippi River, I recommend a visit should you be in New Orleans with a thirst to quench. Plus they have a really cool web site!
Favorite Logo/Beer Glasses (most Vermont logos are great, but it is the way they look on a glass that is most appealing). Here are three of my favorites.
- Lost Nation’s pint glass
- Stone Corral’s snifter (hard to see the logo in the photo)
- Goodwater Brewery’s taster
The Cicerone says: I just scratched the surface of what Vermont has to offer … did you know that the Vermont Brewers Association now lists 56 breweries in the state, up from 51? I hope you get a chance to visit these and try some great beers. Much more to explore in 2018!