8/30/14

Having a Vermont Fantasy

My buddies and I have different kind of Fantasy Football League, 2 teams each where one team is essentially the backup squad.  It allows for everyone to have a ton of players each week, and gives us an excuse to chat during games.  What makes the league extra special is the fact that my son participates, and he loves sticking it to each of us during the year.  Last year we met at Amherst Brewing and had a great time.  This year we chose a VT destination, followed by excursion around the state as time permits.  So with Jacob as the road DJ, we picked up Christopher and headed across the Green Mountains (behind some very safe under the speed limit VT drivers) to the Harpoon Brewing (http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/breweries/windsor).

Harpoon may be Christopher’s favorite brewery, and it is located in a beautiful location along the CT River.  We got set up, ordered our food and got right to business.  I got the poutine (Christine would be so proud) to share, and Jacob got his chicken fingers w/fries.  Oh yeah, the beer came in 6oz samples, so we had the whole draft to sample.  They had the newest 100 Barrel series was Cambridge Uncommon, a pale ale brewed with Czech malts.  The seasonals were tasty; Maple Tap Imperial Porter, Imperial Pumpkin and Gingerbread Hefeweizen.  My favorite though was the Boston Irish Stout on nitro; a dry stout that was perfect for sipping.  This year in my draft I got great RBs and TEs, decent WRs and the leftovers for QB.  Oh well, we’ll have to see how that pans out.  We finished quickly (no messing around with this group), so we headed north to grab more food (and beer) at the Three Penny Taproom.

The Three Penny is the best beer bar in Montpelier, and a perfect place to hang out and catch up on events.  I got the cheese plate (awesome choice), while the guys split a smoked trout pate and a kimchi pizza (delicious).  As always, the beer selection was fantastic.  I got the Lawson’s Finest Super Session IPA, their third batch with Sorachi Ace hops.  They have a limited, but rare, bottle selection, but since the drafts are so good and you can’t buy the bottles to go, I had to pass.  We still had a stop or two to make, but Chris had to shove off, so we said goodbye and started our way back home (with a few additional stops).

I would have loved to go to Hop Jam, a Beer Focused Music Event being held near Waterbury, if I was flying solo, but that would have been too much for the day.  Instead we stopped at the best beer corner in the Northeast, Route 2 and Stowe St, to sample some more brews.  So we stopped at the Reservoir (http://www.waterburyreservoir.com/), bumped into some Eagle fans (they’re everywhere), and sat back to kibitz.  I was stoked to find Hill Farmstead’s Earl, an Oatmeal Stout brewed with coffee that was delicious (no more IPAs, I’m ready for some maltier).  Next we strolled across the street to the Blackback Pub, and got to do a bit of a taste test.  The Queen City Yorkshire Porter was perfect, while Amager’s Rye Porter was robust, but so chewy.  Finally, we stepped down the street to the Prohibition Pig, hoping to grab some of their excellent Bar-B-Que for dinner.  Alas, there was a ½ hour wait, so while we decided what to do I sampled their Back to the Grind Coffee Stout (a little upper with the downer).  Instead, we headed over to Ben & Jerry’s and enjoyed a large amount of ice cream for the ride home.

We headed back, stopping at Fiddleheads to see if they had anything new on draft.  The place was packed so we had to park across the street at the Shelburne Vineyard (not to tempt the wives too much), and the pizza smelled great (but we were now on schedule to get home), but they had nothing new on tap.  No worries, they had their Mastermind Double IPA in cans so I could take home and enjoy later. We made it home the hard way thanks to Garmin.  Jacob and I had a ball, now let’s get the season started! - 16352
 
“You are much more likely to make your man a sound drunkard by pressing drink on him as an anodyne when he is dull and weary than by encouraging him to use it as a means of merriment among his friends when he is happy and expansive. - Screwtape

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