(let's go bottom to top)
The Brewery: Rock Art Brewing (Morrisville, VT)
The Story? After a quick bite to eat on the two-hour drive back to Burlington from Hill Farmstead, I was starting to feel the long drive from the day before. Just then, my partner and I noticed Rock Art Brewing coming up down the road. I'd tried their Ridge Runner mild barleywine the night prior at the burlesque show the day before and was intrigued to learn more. Undeterred by their somewhat lacking artwork and motivated by my desire to stretch my legs anyways, we entered.
Even before our first taste, we were met with our first Ithaca encounter of the trip - the couple to the left was also from Ithaca, recognizing my partner's sticker from Felicia's Atomic Lounge and the group to our right included an Ithaca College grad. We all compared notes of where we'd been and where we were headed for all things beer in Vermont. Moments later, another couple joined us who, just a few months prior, attended Ommegang's "Belgium Comes to Cooperstown" event. We also discussed Farmhouse Tap & Grill, which would later fill our Sunday night with beer bliss.
Vermont Maple Wheat | 5.40% ABV | 6.5/10
Nice maple nose. Amber color with touch of head. Clean mouthfeel and very bright flavors. Mild sweet and earthy notes with a firm wheat beer backbone. Good starter. Nothing that's going to revolutionize maple or wheat though.
(Saison at home)
Saison | 5.0% ABV (?) | 9.3/10
Whoa! Now we're talking. Bready nose with a hint of must. Tangy, bright taste with a touch of tartness delivered with prickly carbonation. Notable yeast and mild funk flavors as well. Further through the tasting, a notable sourness rises with notes of lemon and lime. Great use of Dupont yeast, which had some people asking if it was brewed with Brett. Hazy, golden color with plentiful head. A solid, impressive, complex Saison. Just how I like it.
This one was draft only, so we picked up a growler of it. Five days later we cracked into the jug and it was beer heaven all over again. Damn near perfect to be honest. Even though it was filled almost a week prior, a gentle pour was needed to keep the wonderfully lively carbonation and head in check.
The flavor still yields a big mouthfull of sour notes, including peach flavors I missed the first time around. There's a very old-world feel to this beer with a bit of barnyard and must on the nose, just enough funk, earth, and tartness for great complexity but still existing as a highly drinkable, every day beer - which is how often I would drink this. To my knowledge, this is a new brew, so here's fingers crossed this makes their bottled line.
Bohemian Pilsner (Czech style Pilsner) | 7/10
Mild hop and nutty flavors with a fairly transparent nose. Classic clean pilsner flavor with a hint of hop bitterness. Solid craft take on a classic.
Vermonster (Barrel-aged Barleywine) 10.0% AVB | 50 IBU | 8.9/10
Rock Art offers three Barleywine variations, this being the heftiest. Uncompromising and astringently boozy out of the gate, as expected, having aged in Makers Mark barrels with deep rich body color and as smidgen of head. Easily definitely notes of plum skin and raisin in the nose and mouth. Surprisingly, Vermonster mellows nicely further through. Solid take on one of my favorite styles.
Overall, the visit definitely put Rock Art higher on my radar. We picked up a bottle of their Pumpkin Stout with Spruce, will prove interesting I'm sure. Their Saison really surprised me. Glad we stopped.
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