It’s been a great year for Vermont beer. Since January of 2010 Vermont has welcomed three new breweries including Northshire Brewery in Bennington, VT; The Brewery at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT and Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, VT.
In this video we meet Earl McGoff from Northshire Brewery. Earl and his friend Chris opened Northshire Brewery as a passion project. The both continue to hold their full time jobs, opening the brewery in a garage building right behind their current employer. Talk about taking your home brewing hobby to a larger scale. These guys scored a used 7 barrel setup from a brewery in Florida and are just putting beers into the market this month.
Their flagship beer is the Equinox Pilsner, which is kept in the fermentation tanks for a full 8 weeks. Earl realizes that this is not the most cost effective way to produce a Pilsner, but in his opinion it is the right way to produce a Pilsner. At 4.2% ABV this is the perfect summer beer. We hope you enjoy meeting Earl as much as we did and if you would like to try this beer, stay with us at Forty Putney Road B&B where we have it on draft. Or you could just try it at one of the other few lucky pubs to have it. But why not make a weekend out of it with us at our inn :)
Speaking of making a weekend out of it – this weekend we will have the opportunity to meet Allan Van Anda the brewer at The Brewery at Trapp Family Lodge and Shawn Hill from Hill Farmstead Brewery at the first annual Brattleboro Brewers Festival and Pub Crawl. Tickets are still available, we hope that you will join us there!
I am excited to announce the first annual Brattleboro Brewers Festival and Pub Crawl on May 21st and 22nd is taking place in our hometown of Brattleboro, VT. This is no doubt going to be a killer event with 40 breweries, live music, great food, and an education tent sponsored by hereforthebeer.com
We think perhaps the North End Business association (the host) was off their rocker when they agreed to allow Tim and I to recruit the Breweries and select the beers for this event.
You will be able to sample some of your favorites like Harpoon IPA & UFO, BBC’s Steel Rail, Dogfish Head 90 Minute and Allagash White just to name a few. However, you will also be able to sample some never before released beers such as McNeill’s Amerillo Billo and Lawson’s Finest Liquids Oak-Aged Bourbon Barrel-style Fayston Maple Imperial Stout.
Are you into cask conditioned beers? Well we have those too, try Victory Hop Wallop and Portsmouth Brewery’s Le Chat Noir Black, again just to name a few. How about some of the new guys like Maine Beer Company, The Trapp Family Lodge, Hill Farmstead, Petty Things Beer & Ale Project, and Element Brewing Co… Go ahead let you self start to get a little excited, that’s okay…because I am not done yet. Are you into IPA’s? We’ll have more then 15 IPA’s including McNeill’s Warlord, Longtrail’s Brewmaster’s Series Double IPA and Stone’s Ruination. Maybe session beers are your thing. Well we have over 60 of them coming to the festival including several from High and Mighty Beer Co. and Switchback Ale. And if you are still not sold, come to this festival to sample Vermont beers from the 13 Vermont Breweries attending.
Now that I have your attention we can talk a little about all of the other great things this event has to offer. As you know we have an inn in Brattleboro and so some of our local favorites will be involved such as live music by Terrapin Island and The Peter Miles Band. You can munch on some great foods from the Vermont Country Deli, Top of the Hill Grill and North End Butchers. If your friends are not sure about craft beer or maybe would just like to learn a little more about craft beer send them over the the here for the beer education tent at 2pm. Tim will be providing an introductory session on craft beer. Sample 5 different styles and let him help you figure out what you do and don’t like when it comes to beer so you can make better choices for yourself.
All I have left to say is buy your tickets now! You can do that directly on our website or purchase them locally at the locations shown on the website.
We would love your help to spread the word and help us sell the remaining tickets available. So if it is not an imposition send this on to your beer loving family, friends and fans. If you would like to stay will us at Forty Putney Road B&B we would love to have you call us at 802-254-6268.
Welcome to another in our Women and Beer videos series. Meet Mariah Calagione, wife of Sam Calagione, from Dogfish Head Brewery. Filming took place at the Sierra Grille in Northampton, MA at their Night Before the Night Before Christmas – Dogfish Head Vintage Beer Dinner. Mariah talks to us about her role with Dogfish Head Brewery.
Men tend to dominate the beer world. Through this series of videos we hope to show the world that although women are not always on the front lines, they are an integral part of the craft beer industry. Certainly more integral than bouncing around in bikinis on beer commercials.
The craft beer industry with its many flavorful offerings, has made beer more appealing to a female audience. Through this series we hope to dispel the myths and perhaps help some of the guys out their understand the female palette so they can share their love of beer with their wife or girlfriend. If you missed it check out our interview with the Beer Babe, a fellow advocate for women and craft beer. Stay tuned for more videos in this series, until then cheers from here for the beer.
VIDEO – In this episode Tim and I attempt to decipher the difference between a Hefeweizen and a Witbier. In our “Is Blue Moon Beer?” episode Tim dropped the ball and called Blue Moon a Hefeweizen. (Thanks to Scott Jones on facebook and Chad9976 on YouTube for the catch). This prompted us to do some research to redeem ourselves in this video. So I turned to one of my favorite sources The Complete World of Beer Styles presented by All About Beer Magazine and in this video we share the major differences between these two types of beer.
For the readers out there, the basics boil down to the fact that a Hefeweizen is technically a weizenbock (strong) one of the four Royal Baverian Wheat Beer styles. For reference, the other three are weissbier (white beer), weizenbier (wheat beer), and dunkelweizen (dark).
All About Beer Magazine describes them as “cloudy, quirky, spritzy and top-fermented. Ripe with odd flavors and aromas not usually acceptable in beers, never mind German Brews.” Which brings us to a key points a hefeweizen gains its clovey and banana flavor from the natural ingredients in the beer they are not adding clove and bananas to the mash.
A Witbier is often called a Belgian Witbier. This style was developed in Belgian just east of Brussels including the village of Hoegaarden, that’s a familiar one. All About Beer Magazine describes them as “light, fluffy body and a tart lemony finish. Textured with wheat, rambunctiously yeasty, with herbal hints and scented with pungent spices.” Today some witbiers substitute the lemon finish with an orange finish, like Blue Moon.
The major similarity between the two styles is that they are both brewed with wheat. The major difference is that they are from two completely different regions. Hefeweizen is a German style of beer while Witbier is a Belgian style of beer.
In upcoming episodes we will dive into the history of these two styles of beer, we will also be doing more with beer styles. So stay tuned and thank you for watching here for the beer.
VIDEO – Victory Brewing Company has recently been doing some expanding at the brewery. One of the reasons for the expansion is that as of today, Victory Brewing Company is now distributing in our great state of Vermont. We were lucky enough to get the first keg of Victory beer in Vermont at our Inn, and even more lucky to have Victory Co-Founder Bill Covaleski come up to share the first pint poured in Vermont with us!
In this episode we chat with Bill about the expansion of their distribution area and plans for New England. While Victory makes 30 different beers all of which are available at their pub in Downingtown, PA, Vermonters can look forward to trying the Hop Devil, Prima Pils, Golden Monkey, Storm King and Wild Devil starting this week. Your interest and demand will determine what other of their brews may make it our way.
Victory is one of my personal favorite breweries. It was Victory’s Hop Devil that turned me onto those glorious bitter sweet hops nearly 10 years ago. It was also the Victory Golden Monkey that taught me a hard lesson about ABV. Bill’s motto is “Respect the Monkey”, I know first hand why … hehe.
According to Bill Victory is now available in 39 states across the US. So grab yourself a Victory beer and tell us which one is your favorite, and which you are hoping to see near you. We will see you next time on here for the beer, Cheers!
All About Beer Magazine and Beer Advocate hosted The Inaugural Denver Rare Beer Tasting at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO as a fundraiser for Pints for Prostates. This amazing event required a special ticket and was held at the Wynkoop Brewing Company. This fundraiser had and “A list” of Breweries large and small. Not only was there access to rare beers from some our favorite breweries, but many of the big name brewers and owners of these breweries were there to pour their brews. Overall it was a great event for an even better cause.
Check out the list below of all the great breweries and beers we had a chance to sample:
Alaskan Brewing Co – ’99 & ’08 Alaskan Smoked Porter
Allagash Brewing Co – Allagash Fluxus 2009
Avery Brewing Co – Voltron Barrel Aged Sour Ale
Boston Beer Co – Samuel Adams Utopias 2009
Bison Brewing Co – Bison Reunion ’09 Double White Ale
Brooklyn Brewery – Brooklyn Wild 1
Deschutes Brewing Co – Double Black Butte Porter XXI
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery – Raison D’Extra 2006
Foothills Brewing Co – Barrel Aged Total Eclipse Stout
Great Divide Brewing Co – Old Ruffian Barley Wine 2008
Harpoon Brewery – Glacier Harvest ’09 Wet Hop Ale
Highland Brewing Co – Big Butte Smoked Porter
Jolly Pumpkin – Bier de Mars Grand Reserve ’06/’07
Lost Abbey – The Angel’s Share ’09 Brandy Barrel Finish
Michelob Brewing Co – Mich Brett
New Belgium Brewing/Elysian Brewing – Trip II
New Glarus Brewing Co – New Glarus Golden Ale
Odell Brewing Co – Odell Crimson Shenanigans
Oksar Blues Wet-hopped Whiskey Barrel-aged Gordon
Rogue Ales – Rogue John John Hazelnut
Saranac Brewing Co – Saranac Imperial IPA
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co – Barrel Aged Scotch Ale
Stoudts Brewing Co – Stoudts Old Abominable Barleywine ’07
Stone Brewing Co – Stone ’08 Old Guardian Barley Wine
Wynkoop Brewing Co – Wynkoop Barrel Aged Berserker Mead
So after a crazy first night and an adventure filled second day, we trekked out for day 3 in Denver. Friday started out with another killer food and beer pairing luncheon, where we sampled dishes like Buffalo Carpaccio with Avacado Tile and Cajun BBQ Shrimp with Fresh Corn Grits, paired with great beers like Del Norte’s Manana Amber Lager (from Denver) and Oregon’s Bend Brewing Co.’s collaboration “Rocksy Stein Lager”. 6 courses and 7 beers, now that’s what I call a great lunch.
Next we hopped on a bus for a quick tour of Denver, stopping back at Falling Rock (ahh the memories) for a taste of some Oskar Blue’s and Breckenridge beers while packed in amongst the huge beer loving crowds (at 2 in the afternoon on a Friday mind you – got to love Denver!).
Then off to the Great Divide brewery for a quick tour with the owner and a taste of their beers, including the 15th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA, which may very well have been my favorite beer of the day.
We left Great Divide and headed to the Pints for Prostates Rare Beer Tasting, which will get it’s own post and video soon – a great event for an even better cause.
The Friday evening session at the GABF was more crowded than Thursday, but still far from uncomfortable. Cheers to the Brewers Association to spreading the event out in more space, leaving plenty of breathing room. The highlights of this session were our tour of the floor with Brewers Association Director Paul Gatza, trying some of his favorite brews (this will be in an upcoming video as well) and our “you be the judge” session, which was an informative and casual look at the challenge of being a beer judge at the Great American Beer Festival.
We wrapped up the night with some much needed pizza and yes, a beer, before crashing and “rebooting” for the tomorrow.
Keep an eye here or follow us on Twitter for all of the latest from the 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado!
In December of 2008 the Brick Store Pub was named the #2 Best Beer Bar on the Planet Earth, by Beer Advocate Magazine. It is pretty easy to see why this Beer Bar is a favorite of many. From the casual and conversation centered atmosphere (no TV’s or blaring music) to the incredible selection of unique and interesting beers to a competent staff which is well educated about the beers – Brick Store Pub truly stands out in the crowd. Add all of that to a solid menu of tasty food and you have a winner.
In this first episode from Brick Store (we seperated out our tour of their cellar – it is worthy of its own episode) we talk with co-owner Dave Blanchard about the restaurant and pub and how they played an integral part in converting Georgia into a haven for beer lovers and take a look around the pub and restaurant.
Be sure to keep an eye on our site (or subscribe, or follow us on Twitter) for part 2 of this episode where we head downstairs with Lee Dickson (beer manager) on an exclusive tour of their beer cellar.
If you are in the Atlanta area be sure to check out The Brick Store Pub. It’s just an easy train ride to Decatur, the train leaves you just about a block away from the Pub.
Brick Store Pub
125 E. Court Square
Decatur, Georgia 30030
phone: (404) 687-0990 WebsiteMap
In this video, we are flying out of The Philadelphia International Airport on our way to Atlanta, GA.
The Philadelphia International Airport, much like every other airport in America, is a place of pure frustration.
By the time you park your car and take a shuttle to your terminal or perhaps a family member or friend is dropping you off, you attempt to unpack your car while security is yelling “move your car”… you are already ready to burst…I know I am! Then you have to figure out what line to get into, hope that the silly computer works and can find your reservation so you do not have to wait in the really long line for an “agent” who is inevitably bothered by your presence. Next you head off to security where you are stripped of most of your clothes and belongings… Not to mention the ridiculous 4oz containers and plastic zip lock bags.
Once you manage to repack your bags and put your clothes back on, it’s certainly time for a beer. And while there is a time and a place for every beer – I hate to drop $7 for a Miller Lite. Luckily, recently there has been a subtle movement in the airport bars to introduce some micros.
Prior to our trip we got an email from Martin Clinton at Cheapflights.com. Martin lives in New England and was an early fan of our site. Turns out they not only list cheap flights, but also offer traveler tips, including a list of decent beer bars (pdf) in the airports. He sent us an press release from Jet Rock Bar and Grill which indicated they were devoting a third of their taps to locally produced mirobrewed beer. When we arrived there we found Victory, Troegs, Flying Fish, Yards, and more. I asked the manager, why add microbrewed beer now? His answer was simple…”because that is what the customers want.” Score one for craft beer!
We hope you enjoy our video of the Philadelphia International Airport along with the other videos during our trip to Atlanta, GA. Check out the Georgia beer scene at the Classic City Brew Fest, Terrapin Beer Company, plus coming up shortly – the Brick Store Pub, Leon’s Full Service, Trappeze, and the Atlanta International Airport. Be sure to connect with us on Twitter to find out when all of our videos are released! We will see you next time on Here For The Beer!
In this video we take a trip out to the amazing Sunset Grill and Tap in Allston, MA for the official US launch of Duvel Green. This is the first time duvel has ever been available outside of the bottle and it is available in pubs right now. Duvel is a great bottled beer that has been around for a long time, with the unfortunate effect being that it has almost been forgotten by some (been there done that). So the Duvel Green brings a welcome reintroduction to this brand.
In this episode we get to chat with Simon Thorpe, President & CEO of Duvel. We also chat with Jake Feltenberger, Marketing Manager for Duvel USA/Ommegang Brewery and Marc Kadish President, Chef and Cellar Master of the Sunset Grill. What a great group of guys. It was certainly a fun night and one delicious beer. You can see Tim’s Duvel Green review here.
Be sure to try the Duvel Green and keep watching here for the beer. Cheers!
This episode features Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown, PA. I talk with co-founder and brewer Ron Barchet about there newly renovated pub and brewery. Ron shares some of the history of the growing Victory Brewing Company and introduces their attempt at using Bret in their new variation of the Hop Devil.
Being from the Philadelphia area we have been fans of Victory Brewing Company for many years now. I was impressed from the first moment we walked through the doors. Our last visit to Victory was about 3 years ago. Back then the pub had an industrial charm and was plopped in the center of the brewery, separated by big glass walls. While Tim really liked the industrial “realness” of the old pub, the new place is far more cozy and efficient.
Because of all the great footage we got with Ron, we have split this episode into 2 parts. This is a general interview and look around the pub and restaurant. The next episode will be the full brewery tour – with a great look at some of the things that separate Victory from the crowd. If you haven’t already seen it, we also have a cool segment on their 20 flavor growler filler.
A final note – these episodes were taped in April of 2009, but the death of our editing computer held off their release until now.
In this episode I get the chance to sit down with Dick Yuengling, CEO of Yuengling Brewing Company, America’s Oldest Brewery. The Yuengling family has owned and operated Yuengling Brewing Company for 180 years. In that time they have gone through some dramatic changes, including a fairly recent major expansion.
Dick shares some of the company history, as well as how they pushed through the era of prohibition with near beer and even some “pharmaceutical” brew for pregnant women! Dick shares the point that they have been successful by listening to what their local audience wants and creating brands that fill the needs of their region. As a continuation of that theme, we hear about the new beers being brewed by Yuengling for their 180th, including the re-issue of their Bock beer.
Finally, we take a look at some closed to the public spaces – one being the original caves under the brewery where beer was stored to be fermented and kept cool. Prohibition era brick walls, built by the government to seal off this area, still exist in some sections. A crazy reminder of an even crazier time period in brewing history.
Being from the Philadelphia area, Yuengling has a special place in our hearts. It’s the clear local favorite and has a very loyal following – even “owning” the term lager in the Philadelphia market. Walk into any bar in the Philly area and order a “lager” and you will get a Yuengling. As a family owned business for 180 years, they clearly continue to provide the beer that their area wants – which is a testament to their connection to the community. We hope that Dick and family keep the Yuengling brewery in the family for many more years to come… now if we could only get them to go back to the brown bottles…
Please note – we filmed this episode in April 2009, but due to a computer disaster haven’t been able to get it posted until now. Stay tuned for more of our late spring and early summer videos – HereForTheBeer is back baby…
I was the driver on our most recent trip south to the Moan and Dove. I allowed myself only one beer. Considering I was only having one beer I reviewed my choices very carefully. I wanted to try something I had not had before and I was hoping to be knocked off my bar stool by hops. All signs pointed to the Hop Head Red, brewed by Green Flash Brewing in San Diego, CA. I love hops, I would easily consider myself to be a hop head (have you noticed?). My favorite hops are Fuggles and currently my favorite IPA is the Otter Creek Imperial IPA (which is at 135 IBU). I am not however as well versed in types of hops and the characteristic they each display in beer as I would like to be. There are in fact some hops that I just do not care for, but have not been diligent enough to identify which ones they are. My goal is to become more familiar, so if you have any advice for me I would love for you to share it. I must admit that the hops used in the Hop Head Red did not agree with my palette. That said, I was certain to drink the whole beer as some hoppy beers require some time to get the taste buds numbed up just right to fully enjoy it. Still – not “knock me off the stool” good.
So here we go according to Tim’s rating system. The Hop Head Red for me was like a busty confident red head that just walked into the bar. From a distance she was the sexiest beer on the draft menu, but up close she was a butter face. Only because this beer did not agree with my palette would I not have another, it is only 6% ABV so it does posses some level of poundablity. I found it to be quite affordable considering it had to travel across the country to reach me, but hell Tim does the bills. What I learned from this beer is that I need to review more closely what hops are being used in some of my favorite hoppy beers and at the same time, which are being used in the hoppy beers I do not care for. Hopefully that will help me make a more educated pick next time I only get to have 1 beer. All in all, this beer turned out to be a dud in my book.
I didn’t want Tim to have all of the fun with the new reviews. So here is one from me. Check it out that is me at the Riverview Cafe with a glass of Stone’s Smoked Porter. To get the full effect of how much I enjoyed this beer today let me tell you the whole story from the beginning.
Living in Vermont there are not many days that we even think about turning on the AC. However this day in late July was one of those exceptions. Rather than sit inside on this unusually hot and humid day, Tim and I grabbed our giant tubes, drove out to the West Dummerston Covered Bridge and floated down the West River for about 4 hours. (Taking advantage of having left our corporate lives behind and moved to Vermont to become Innkeepers.) Long story short, we needed to walk downtown to pick up our car, but could not resist having a pint on the rooftop deck at the Riverview Cafe first.
Well enough about the day and the great tan I got :P and on to more important things, like the beer. I am quickly drawn to the Stone tap handle, the black stone with bold white letters is very easy to identify and I am certain that what pours from the tap will be good. Actually, Stone is my favorite all around brewery. If I was stuck on a deserted island and could choose only one brewery to be there with me it would probably be Stone.
Now rating with Tim’s choice of categories should be interesting. So here goes. This beer is sexy hot, like an exotic Argentinian woman with her long wavy black hair and legs that go on forever. I am mostly turned on by the fact that it is not over the top smoky, I don’t dig a beer that is too crazy smoky. Despite the dark roasted malts, it is pleasantly smooth and a bit lighter than a stout. There is no long lingering after taste like you get from a lot of dark beers. With the relatively low alcohol level, even on this hot summer day I could easily drink more than one of these beers, but I didn’t get to as we still had to walk to the car…
I am excited to announce the first annual 
