Up and at 'em for some of Vermont's most sought after brews...
The Brewery:
Hill Farmstead (Greensboro Bend, VT)
The Story? Hill Farmstead crept up on my radar some time ago, but quickly went into the "yeah, but when I'm I ever going to have access to any" category. It wasn't until I announced my planned tripped to Vermont that I was reminded of their exquisite brews. I checked our very, very loose schedule - nothing planned on Saturday so far... done.
Hill Farmstead offers several series - Ancestral (named in honor of family now past), Philosophical Series (named after favorite Philosophical works), Single Hop, Singular (one-off), Collaborations (Mikkeller, Cigar City, etc), and their Grassroots brand, which recently brewed an Arctic Saison up at Anchorage Brewing.
I wasn't expecting any of Hill Farmstead's more sought after affairs, as the day prior to our trip to VT was their Bottle Release event... the line was down the road by early afternoon and would definitely sell out. Instead, I was looking forward to tastings from their more year-round offerings and snag a bottle of the aforementioned Arctic Saison.
The Beer?
Walden (Hoppy Session Ale) 4% | 9/10
Wonderfully clean, hoppy nose with a clean, tart, hoppy taste to match! Bitingly bitter hop flavor with prominent lemon pith while still being cool, clean, and refreshing. Quite bright, as you might expect. The most impressive note, is how there's no mineral nature to the taste. Clean quality and a great way to start off the day.
Life without Principle #3 (Hibiscus Blonde) 5.4% | 8.5/10
The only Philosophical Series available to taste (one of two on tap), Life w/o Principle, in it's third incarnation, presents itself with plentiful, fluffy head and rich, transparent copper color. First taste, it's dry to the mouth, but with a sweet flavor along with plenty of citrus from the Citra hops and the hibiscus. A very herbal brew with a very slight sweetness to compliment the spice. A pleasant, aromatic brew. Hibiscus + Blonde was a great choice.
Susan (IPA) 6.2%
Lots of fluffy, leggy head on this one atop hazy, gold colored liquid. The taste presents bright citrus and a high IBU with plenty of depth. There's something sweet in the back of this one - clover honey? A dark, sweetness that is fleeting as a dream, but just as satisfying. Fantastic body too.
Various sweet notes rise and slip away throughout this hoppy brew. Hinted whispers of bubblegum peak through along with mild grapefruit notes. A complex and unique offering in a crowded list of American IPAs.
Everett (American Porter) 7.6% | 9.5/10
On first sip, this one already takes the cake. BIG, roasted coffee nose emits from this batch of headless, unfiltered black gold. Sweet to the taste with a fantastic mouthfeel of silky, low, natural carbonation. There's a strong, rooty aspect to this concoction, supporting lovely notes of maple and coffee.
This is dark beer bliss with that strong, long finish we dream of. We brought a batch of this back home to share with our Vermont loving friends at
The Enchanted Badger here in town and even four days later it was just as wonderful.
In the end, four of the highest quality brews I tasted on the trip and apart from a mild cash-only scare, we left with smiles on our faces, a big brown jug of Everett, along with bottles of Arctic Saison and Sankt Hans. Look for posts on the two latter to come as well as on their Edward pale ale...
