We stopped at the Three Penny Tap Room in Montpelier, Vermont on our way to the Vermont Brewers Festival in Burlington, Vermont. There has been nothing but great buzz about the Three Penny Tap Room so we had to go see for ourselves.
Montpelier turned out to have a quaint downtown full of shops, restaurants and our state capital building, which gleaming in gold is quite the site to see. We strolled through the streets of Montpelier until we came upon our destination, the Three Penny Tap Room and were greeted by a BA friend out front. Once inside we were greeted by another friend from Stone Brewery – a good sign – clearly this was a craft beer lovers bar. I already liked this place and felt right at home with the clientele. The entire place is one big bar with a few seats in the front window. The walls are covered with black boards listing all of the wonderful beers on draft, 24 of them to be exact. We choose to sample number 25, the cask conditioned offering of the day, which in this case was a tasty Cisco IPA. They also have a growing bottle list as well, which is for some reason a rarity in Vermont.
We luckily also ran into one of the owners, Scott, who was gracious enough to show us around and tell us a little about the place. Scott explained that he and his partners Matt and Wes feel strongly not just about great craft beer, but also about supporting local food producers. While they do not have a full kitchen they are turning out some creative small entrees full of healthy and fresh local foods. For Scott and his partners it is clear that their really passion is for craft beer and a mission to “convert macro beer drinkers into craft beer lovers”. These are my kind of guys.
Check out the video and be sure to stop in for a pint, you’ll probably run into someone you know! If you do head up to the Three Penny Tap Room, they are open at 1pm Monday – Friday and at 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. They are located right downtown in Montpelier, at 108 Main Street. Be sure to say hi from us and let them know that you too are here for the beer!
We are happy to say that the first ever Brattleboro Brewers Festival was this past weekend and it was a great time. 40 breweries were represented, with many brewmasters and owners actually coming out to show their support and pour. Big breweries and small came together with great music from local favorites Peter Miles and Terrapin Island as well as great food from Vermont Country Deli (who actually created 7 dishes with beers from the festival), North End Butchers and Top of the Hill Grill. Thankfully the weather held out and it was a beautiful day for a festival.
Check out our video to see a quick overview of the event (we were pretty busy during and didn’t get to give it a real “hereforthebeer” production). There is also a great series of photos of the festival taken by Mallory Finnley over on her Flickr page.
If you were able to come out for the fest, we would love to know your thoughts – post a comment here or on facebook. If you didn’t make it this year, we hope that you will be able to make it next year. Keep an eye on the Brattleboro Brew Fest website or right here on here for the beer for the details. Cheers!
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.
In a shocking move this morning, Vermont Governor Jim Douglas announced that, in an effort to support local brewers, out of state beers would no longer be allowed in the State of Vermont.
“It’s a difficult time for small businesses and breweries in Vermont are feeling the impact.” Said local beer mogul, Moe Szyslak. “This move will help Vermont beer thrive.”
One of the biggest concerns is the border towns. Many Vermonters already cross into tax free New Hampshire to do their shopping and some are concerned that this may lead to them heading over the border for their drinking.
“Vermont has so many great beers, I don’t know why anyone would have to leave the state for a beer.” Szyslak continued, “I personally sell a lot of Duff in my Springfield pub, but I am not averse to selling some Otter Creek or McNeils up here.”
We will continue to keep you up to date on this story. A follow up press conference is scheduled for today, April 1st, at 4pm.
In this episode we talk about Beer Advocate Meet Ups. They are a great way to meet other beer enthusiast in your area. BA Meet Ups occur all over the country, to find one near you go to the events page on Beer Advocates website. Most recently we attended the BA Meet Up in Vermont, this one was at Otter Creek Brewery in Middlebury. There was an amazing selection of beers including homebrews, rare beers, production breweries test batches, and beers from all over the US and the world. Some of the big labels at our event were Westvleteren 12, New Glarus Raspberry Tart, Russian River Damnation,New England Imperial Stout Trouper and the list goes on and on. What I like most is you can try these rare beers along side of more popular beers in the same style and determine for yourself what is hype and what is truly a world class beer. That and of course all of the great friends we make.
Thank you Mike Garhart for hosting this event and Ruth Miller for organizing and executing it. We had a blast and look forward to seeing everyone again soon, Cheers from here for the beer.
Episode 2 – Tonight we hosted a Victory beer sampling at our inn (Forty Putney Road) in Brattleboro Vermont. We sample the Wild Devil, Helios and Tim’s new favorite – V12.
Thanks for the questions and keep them coming. We intend to do this “show” on Tuesday and / or Thursdays – still working out the details. Any suggestions? When do you have time to watch?
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!
From the New York Times article - B & Bs Seek to Be a Guy Thing
We are honored to have been mentioned in the New York Times! The best part is that they called us “beer geeks”, which is why I thought now was a perfect time to remind our readers that we have a great little Inn in Vermont with it’s own private pub for our guests.
Our small pub has about 35 beers (3 drafts) and focus on both local and interesting brews. We also have a beer tasting every Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. where our guests can sample 7 Vermont beers from a variety of Vermont breweries – each poured along with some lite fare and of course local cheeses.
Earlier we shared the story with you about Rock Art brewery and their fight with the Hansen Corporation over the use of the name “Vermonster”. Here is a video with Matt Nadeau of Rock Art Brewery explaining the situation.
Vermont Pub and Brewery owner and brewer Greg Noonan died in his sleep at home early Sunday morning. According to this Beer Advocate forum post visitors to the Vermont Pub and Brewery on Sunday found the pub closed, with a sign posted: “Greg Noonan March — 1951 – Oct. 11th 2009. ”
We always enjoyed chatting with Greg, who had some of the best craft beer stories to share in Vermont. Always approachable and generous, he had a strong impact on many brewers in our region. His reach though, was in fact much further than just our small state. Debbie Cerda, the Austin TX craft beer examiner had this to say:
He was a well-known speaker at brewers’ conferences and author of numerous trade journal articles and books.
Greg was instrumental in getting “brewpubs” legalized in Vermont, lobbying the State for years to legalize small pub brewing and distribution. In New England he is often spoken of as the “Godfather” of brewing in Vermont and we have not met a brewery owner in the state that hasn’t referenced Greg in at least one aspect of their own brewery. Many sources cite that his lobbying work and research in Vermont was used as a basis to legalize pub brewing in other states as well.
In 2005, Greg received an award for innovation in brewing from the American Brewers Guild. Business People-Vermont reported on Greg in this article:
Noonan was brewing beer as a hobby while working as a manufacturing manager for paper and wood products companies in Massachusetts. Microbreweries were just becoming trendy on the West Coast, and he decided to pursue the commercial possibilities for his craft.
He had managed restaurants in New Hampshire and Boston and wanted his own restaurant to feature his brew. He used the results of his research for Brewing Lager Beer to launch his brewpub in Burlington.
“I specifically sited my brewery in Burlington because it’s where I wanted to live. I admired the politics in Vermont,” says Noonan. “I had $175,000, which is a shoestring budget in the brewing industry; brewing equipment is very expensive.”
He applied to several banks for additional funds, but lenders were skeptical. “The banks all said, ‘What is a brewpub?’ But I plunged on anyway with the money I had.”
Greg Noonan was an inspirational brewer, not only in the larger context of his influence on the industry as a whole, but also on a personal level. At any visit to the Vermont Pub and Brewery Greg was happy to talk “shop” and share a pint. Our last meeting with Greg was at the Craft Brewers Conference, where always a good sport in the interest of beer, he “volunteered” to be in this video at cask night. His generosity and dedication to the craft brewing world will be missed throughout Vermont and undoubtedly throughout the entire brewing community.
The background on Greg in this post was shared by Debbie Cerda, be sure to subscribe to her blog.
I received an email last night from Matt Nadeau, the owner of Rock Art Brewery in Vermont. Rock Art is a small brewery that makes some notable beers. One of my personal favorites is their “Vermonster“, which is a big delicious 10% ABV 100 IBU barley wine. Well it seems that Hansen Beverage, the owners of Monster Energy Drink, have contacted Nadeau and threatened to file suit against Rock Art for the trademark infringement of using the word “Monster” in the name of this beer.
Rock Art has been brewing the “Vermonster” which has been trademarked in Vermont since 2006, and sells 95% of it within 50 miles of their Morrisville Vermont brewery. Recently, Nadeau has considered expanding the distribution of his “Vermonster”, which apparently has triggered the response of the Monster Energy Drink Legal team.
Not only is this ridiculous, but also a bit ironic considering that one of the most absurd series of trademark lawsuits of all time comes from “Monster Cable” who has a history of suing almost everyone who uses Monster in their name, including yes – Monster Energy Drink.
One of the “tests” of trademark infringement is often referred to (at least on my beloved Techdirt) as the “moron in a hurry” test. Could a moron in a hurry tell the difference between the two products in question?
Interestingly, when Nadeau offered to sign an agreement that Rock Art would never enter the “energy drink” market, he was told by Monster’s lawyers that they were not concerned with energy drinks, but that they intend to enter the beer market. Sadly that leads me to believe they are going to pump out another ridiculous “energy beer”.
Nadeau stated in his email that trademark infringement suits like this can cost upwards of $50,000 to defend, which doesn’t surprise me at all. Perhaps he should take to e-Bay like the owners of Monster Mini-Golf who were sued by the Monster Cable folks for trademark infringement earlier this year.
I wish Matt and the folks at Rock Art the best in this battle. I am sure that it’s not going to be an easy one. I will keep you updated as I get more information, but in the interim I suggest you go out and pick up a bottle or two (or 12) of the Rock Art Vermonster while you can.
Let’s face it, if the folks at Hansen Beverage were sipping on Rock Art’s beer instead of their “energy drink”, they probably wouldn’t be so on edge and we may not be telling this story at all.
From the elusive Lawson’s Finest Liquids of Vermont, the Chinooker’d IPA is an atomic hop bomb – and that bomb’s name is Chinook. This is Lawson’s award winning single hop IPA – with that single hop being Chinook for the slower readers out there. Chinook hops are not for everyone, especially me – but Amy got all hot over this brew. Call me a cascade pussy.
Bitter as hell, with a load of citrus and grapefruit in the taste. Far from poundable, at nearly 7% ABV and with a taste bud destroying hoppiness; Lawson’s Chinooker’d leaves a dry and almost perfumy aftertaste on the back of the tongue.
If you are looking for an East Coast hop monster, this beer certainly fits the bill and has an incredibly high flavor to dollar ratio. I won’t be going back for another, but hell – this is the perfect brew to get Amy all chinooker’d.
In this episode we venture north to Harpoon Brewery to check out the Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ competition. We enjoyed some great barbecue, great beer and live music all outside on a beautiful Vermont summer day. This family friendly event offered all of Harpoons standard beers and all of their craft brew soda’s (unfortunately they hid the Leviathan brews for the day). We were hoping to taste some of the BBQ delights from the infamous “I Smell Smoke” team, however it seems they were completely sold out in the first hour of the event. Perhaps next year!
Overall this was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, my only wish was that I could have had a sample of two of the Leviathan Series. I was looking forward to taking home a growler of the newly released Big Bohemian Pilsner, but they were not offering it on draft. I guess we will have to give a call to Scott Shirley, head brewer at Harpoon Windsor, and give him a piece of our mind! Just kidding Scott…
I guess we will just have to order ourselves a case for our Putney Road Pub. So if you are in the Brattleboro area we hope that you will come join us for a pint!
I am excited to announce the first annual 
In a shocking move this morning, Vermont Governor Jim Douglas announced that, in an effort to support local brewers, out of state beers would no longer be allowed in the State of Vermont.
