Brews and Views: Discovering the Essence of Vermont at Hill Farmstead Brewery
Over the past month, I've passionately shared my profound admiration for Vermont's awe-inspiring landscapes with anyone willing to listen. The state's serene beauty, spanning from its northern tip to its southern border, has a unique way of making time and the world's vastness fade into insignificance. It serves as a humbling reminder of our place in the grand tapestry of this world. As I've reflected on our entire journey, Vermont's stunning landscapes have set it apart from all the other places we visited. Recalling our brief three-day visit and thinking of the beer we tried there, one brewery tugs at my heartstrings above all else: Hill Farmstead Brewery, the embodiment of our entire Vermont experience.
As our trip date approached, I began to chart out the breweries I intended to visit in the Vermont area. It didn't take long for one brewery's name to consistently surface in my online research and conversations with fellow craft beer enthusiasts: Hill Farmstead. Intrigued by its reputation, I embarked on a quest to uncover what made this place so extraordinary.
The brewery, founded by Shaun Hill, boasts a remarkable heritage that stretches back an astonishing eight generations to the 1700s. Shaun's original ancestors played pivotal roles in the establishment of Greensboro and North Greensboro, VT, including the creation of its inaugural mills and the very first tavern whose logo now represents the Hill Farmstead brand. Over the generations, Shaun's forebears utilized the land for dairy and crop farming.
Shaun's journey is a testament to finding oneself and a profound love for beer. His voyage into brewing began with early homebrewing sessions and included stints at numerous local Vermont breweries, as well as an overseas adventure in Denmark. Ultimately, Shaun returned to his ancestral homeland with the ambition of founding Hill Farmstead Brewery, paying homage to his family's heritage and utilizing the land much like his predecessors but with a unique twist: cultivating exceptional craft beer in a breathtaking environment.
For more details about his remarkable journey, you can explore it here: https://hillfarmstead.com/our-story/
When I assert that Hill Farmstead encapsulates the very essence of Vermont, I begin with the journey along the roads leading to this picturesque destination. Our starting point was Stowe, where we had established temporary residency during our Vermont sojourn. According to my GPS, the drive was estimated to be approximately an hour, and we aimed to time our arrival just as they opened their doors.
One remarkable aspect of Vermont that left a lasting impression on me was its climate. I can vividly recall this day, from the tranquil morning spent sipping coffee in the comfortable low 60s to a brief stroll down to the stream near our lodge. During our ascent, the route led us up, down, and around stunning rolling hills and mountains, passing through quaint towns that seemed frozen in time, as if plucked straight from the 1950s.
The final road we turned onto took me entirely by surprise, as it was an unpaved, mountainous road that was purportedly the path to the brewery. Lilly and I exchanged puzzled glances, unsure if our GPS had led us astray. With a hint of hesitation, we continued along the remaining few miles of this rugged road until the trees parted before us, revealing a scene that resembled something straight out of a postcard.
We stepped outside, immediately immersing ourselves in the mild mid-summer Vermont morning. We took note of the few early patrons gradually making their way from the parking lot into the brewery. It felt like we spent nearly ten minutes simply absorbing the atmosphere and the ambiance of the place before we ventured inside to place our beer orders.
Upon entering, one word encapsulated the entire staff and ambiance: familial. Whether through the beers, which honored Shaun's ancestors or living relatives, or the family members who continued to work in the taproom, the staff's warmth and attentive service exuded a sense of family. We were handed a menu and encouraged to ask questions, request samples, and do anything else we needed to enhance our visit and ensure our enjoyment. Ultimately, we selected a few brews and descended the slope to a small table, allowing us to continue soaking in the breathtaking landscape while savoring some truly unique and delicious beer.
As we settled into our tranquil corner of paradise, we sat in near silence, observing the world around us as if we were mere spectators in its intricate dance. Slowly savoring our beers, we initiated a conversation, although our words seemed secondary to the majestic mountain vista before us. Our gaze followed a group of young turkeys making their way down towards a small pond in the ravine just beyond the brewery. We marveled at the serenity and hush of the morning, basking in the stillness before the brewery began to fill with more visitors.
For a brief moment, I had to divert my attention from the world outside to fully appreciate the beers in front of me. As mentioned earlier, Shaun dedicates many of his beers to family members, both past and present. Let me begin by highlighting one of my personal favorites among their IPAs: Susan.
Susan, named after Shaun's grandfather's sister, stands as a fitting tribute in the form of an IPA. It serves as a brilliant showcase for the Riwaka hop, boasting an assertive flavor and aroma profile dominated by notes of orange and grapefruit. What sets Susan apart, as is typical of many Hill Farmstead IPAs, is its remarkable crispness. Compared to several other Northeast IPAs we had sampled, Susan offered a medium level of bitterness and a lighter mouthfeel, achieving an exquisite balance between flavor and bitterness. However, Susan was just one of the outstanding IPAs we had the pleasure of experiencing; we also savored their Edward and Double Citra.
Edward, the brewery's Pale Ale, pays homage to Shaun's grandfather and left a lasting impression. I've provided a detailed review of this exceptional beer in this article:
Flight Friday: Edward
In the past few weeks, if you engaged me in conversation about anything, I would undoubtedly find a way to mention how beautiful our recent journey through Vermont was. One of our favorite experiences during our time up there was visiting Hill Farmstead Brewery, where we were completely captivated by the sheer beauty and the calming ambiance of the plac…
This easy-drinking pale ale boasts a light and crisp character, with its bitterness adding an enticing quality that beckoned for sip after sip. It undoubtedly ranks as one of the finest pale ales I've ever encountered, and I regret not bringing more home with me, as it's not available in our area.
In my previous article regarding NYC breweries, I discussed a Brettanomyces fermented IPA I enjoyed at Grimm Artisanal Ales. At Hill Farmstead, we had the pleasure of trying their Honey Farmstead Ale, a brew featuring their meticulously cultivated farmhouse yeast. Aged in a large wooden foudre, the specific one we sampled had been fermenting since 2016, nearly seven years prior. The complexities within this beer defy simple description. Much like the sprawling, vibrant landscape surrounding us, this beer ignited the imagination. A harmonious blend of tanginess and sweetness, with hints of that classic barnyard-like characteristic associated with Brett fermentations, this beer showcased the creative genius of the Hill Farmstead brewing team. I eagerly brought home another bottle of their farmhouse-style fermented beer for a future tasting.
While discussing aged beers, I've come to appreciate the significance of how they evolve and transform over time through extended fermentation and conditioning. Hill Farmstead excels in this aspect, whether with their farmhouse-style fermentations or their barrel-aged creations, including, surprisingly, certain IPA varieties alongside delectable stouts. During our visit, I had the privilege of savoring the 2020 vintage pour of Madness & Civilization #15, an imperial stout. While its description is quite extensive, in essence, they selected barrels from their 1000th batch and conditioned it with Ecuadorian Costa Esmeraldas cocoa nibs and organic vanilla beans from Agroflorestra de Mesoamerica in Teapa, Tabasco, Mexico. This imperial sweet stout proved exceptionally rich and decadent, providing the perfect conclusion to our day at Hill Farmstead.
As Lilly and I savored the last sips of their German Helles "Memoria" and the aforementioned sweet stout, it struck me how incredibly fortunate we were to experience this remarkable brewery amid its lush and vibrant summer landscape. The names and narratives behind their beers, paying homage to ancestors who trod these grounds for centuries before Hill Farmstead's inception, left me feeling both humbled and awestruck. You could sense the stories and witness the land's transformation into what it is today, a living testament to the Hill family's enduring legacy. This brewery undeniably touched both our hearts and enriched our lives in the most profound way. As we concluded our drinks, it dawned on us that three hours had slipped by since we first sat down, though, to us, it was just the perfect moment in time. To all the craft beer aficionados and nature enthusiasts of the world who may be making excuses why you can't, I urge you to seek reasons why you can embark on such journeys. Our visit to Hill Farmstead will forever remain one of my most cherished travel memories.
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