Stirring Up Vermont

Stir Crazy is defined as being frantic because of confinement, and even though we had been to Boston just last week, we decided to head up to Waterbury, VT for some good food and beer.  It was cold, but dry, and a family drive after Jessica’s morning practice seemed to be just what our doctor ordered.  So we headed north, stopping for some maple syrup along the way, and travelled up Route 100 past frozen waterfalls to our first destination, Lawson’s Finest Liquids (http://www.lawsonsfinest.com/) in Warren, VT.

Lawson’s is a bit different, not offering tours or tastes at their brewery, but instead providing it some key locations.  One is the Warren General store.  A beautiful spot along the river, they often have their latest bottles to go with their deli.  Unfortunately, not today.  Lawson’s deliver their beer on Thursday and they are sold out on Friday morning.  Oh well, I picked up a bottle of Shed Nosedive Porter and a couple of whoopie pies for the kids and we headed up to Waterbury for lunch at the Prohibition Pig (http://www.prohibitionpig.com/).

Prohibition Pig has a great regional draft selection (one of the best) and a fantastic selection of BBQ.  What makes this place special is their regional offerings are impossible to find outside of the state.  It begins and ends with Beer Advocate’s #1 beer, Alchemist Heady Topper Imperial IPA on draft, but it also would include Hill Farmstead and Lawson’s.  We grabbed a table up front (perfect), while Jenn and I tried the Heady Topper, Trapp Family’s Trosten Bier, Fiddlehead’s IPA, Grassroots’ Arctic Saison, and Zero Gravity Green State Lager.  They just started brewing on their own with Sean Lawson’s old brewing rig so I was happy to sample Prohibition Pig’s Test Batch One Extra Pale Ale (well done).  I got the beef brisket sandwich with a bacon BBQ sauce that is exquisite, while Jenn got the pork sandwich with a NC vinegar-based sauce that was even better.  Jess got pasta and Jacob got chicken fingers, so it was all good.  We were going to get dessert, but with the Ben & Jerry factory in town, we decided to move on.

Waterbury has a fantastic beer scene, and offered a great selection right around corner.  It would be a great place for a beer enthusiast to spend an overnight.  The Alchemist is looking to open a retail store in town this year, and there would be a better chance to get cans of this liquid gold.  We stopped by the Craft Beer Cellar (http://craftbeercellar.com/) to check out their bottle selection.  This place is a chain (there is even one in Portsmouth, NH) and offered growler fills.  I picked up a bourbon barrel aged Rock Art Russian Imperial Stout and a set of beers from Long Trail.  Next was a stop at The Reservoir (http://www.waterburyreservoir.com/), 38 drafts and a good food menu.  Finally we stopped at the Blackback Pub (http://blackbackpub.com/), which had 3 beers from Hill Farmstead on draft, Heady Topper and Lawson’s BIG HAPI India Black Ale, brewed with 5 hop varieties and weighing in at 7.5% ABV.  I was glad to find a Lawson beer, but this was a family trip, so we headed up town to snack.

First we stopped at Ben & Jerry’s, who was celebrating their Winter Fest, and went to get some ice cream.  My family is fairly traditional, getting their favorites, while I am always trying something different.  The Pumpkin Cheesecake is good, but I loved Ron Burgundy’s Scotchy Scotch Scotch, butterscotch ice cream with butterscotch swirls. The kids and I went up to the Flavor Graveyard to pay our respects to Vermonty Python (their best name ever).  We then popped over to the Cabot Annex Outlet, and sampled WAY too many free tastes.  Jenn liked the Private Reserve, while I liked the Hot Habanero (kinda redundant) and the White Oak Cheddar (creamy, with a hint of caramel).  We had fun, but it was getting late, so we got on the road and headed back south (well first north, then south).  I had one more stop along the way, so we popped into Magic Hat to see what they had new to offer.

Magic Hat (http://www.magichat.net/) is located just south of Burlington, and offer free tastes in their retail shop where folks can wait to go on tours.  I tried their Maple Chocolate Stout, part of their artifactory series, and their Steven Sour, a collaboration with Vermont Pub and Brewery.  Both were decent (since they were free they were priced right), but my favorite were two beers from their Humdinger Series.  The first was their Belgo Sutra, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, that was well made.  Next I got their Wheatwine called Graupel to bring home with me.  That will be a splitter with my friends.

We got on our way and skipped further tempting stops (Fiddleheads, Otter Creek, Davidson Brothers, etc.).  It is lighter so much later enabling us to make it back to the Northway before dark, and allowing some spectacular views as we drove alongside the north end of Lake George.  We had a great day, talking and exploring, and sampling some of the best of what VT had to offer.  This road trip was certainly a cure for cabin fever.  I can’t wait for Spring to break through this long, cold winter. - 15331

 
“I’m an old fashioned guy…I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at a lake in Vermont or something.” – Johnny Depp