Steve Koenemann

The Hills Are Alive With – Lager

I can name that tune in… probably never, as I am terrible at that game. However, many of the rest of you will recognize the first part of that phase as the first line in the theme song nearly immortalized by Julie Andrews in the 1965 movie “The Sound of Music”. The movie portrayed a Hollywood-dramatized story of Baron Georg von Trapp’s singing family’s escape from Nazi-occupied Austria in 1939, just prior to the start of WWII. In truth the famous musical von Trapp family was very real as was their escape from Austria. In 1942 the Trapp family, led by Maria von Trapp, purchased an old hillside farm in Stowe, Vermont. The von Trapps chose Vermont because it reminded them of their native Austria. Their house and the additions thereafter became the first rendition of the Trapp Family Lodge, known for its quality, hospitality and its breathtaking views of the Vermont country-side. After a tragic fire in 1981, which destroyed the original lodge, new construction produced the present lodge, chalet guest houses and the Austrian Tea Room. The Tea Room was converted to a delibakery in 2009 and the rest of the property, as well as the Trapp Family business, continues to expand and prosper.

So, what does all of this have to do with beer? Well, apparently the current heads of the Trapp Family business, Johannes von Trapp (Maria’s only son) and his son Sam, have been planning to bring the flavor of old-style European lagers to Vermont for quite a while. Austria, which borders Bavarian Germany, shares in some of that region’s knack for producing fine lager-style beers. In a complex project that began in 2009 (Vermont can be the developer’s worst nightmare sometimes), the unoccupied first floor of the former Austrian Tea Room has been converted into the Trapp Family Brewery and this spring began producing its very first beers for sale.

I had the pleasure of attending the Trapp Family Brewery’s grand opening in mid-April and, in my opinion, they appear to be off to a wonderful start. The brewery is a 14 barrel operation and, while still working out the kinks of a new brewery, is in full operation. The brewmaster, Allen van Anda, while young in appearance, has years of brewing experience under his belt. A transplanted New Jersey native, who came to Vermont in pursuit of an Environmental Studies degree, has worked for several breweries before coming to Trapp Family. Most notable of these were a short stint at the now closed Kross Brewery in nearby Morrisville and four years spent at the Rock Art Brewery, also in Morrisville. There are still some Rock Art beers being produced today which are based on Allen’s original recipes.

Allen’s first beers from the new Trapp Family Brewery include their two flagship offerings; a Vienna Lager and an Helles Lager. I have already had these beers on a couple of occasions and they are both excellent beers! In addition to these two year-around beers, they expect to produce a series of seasonal and specialty beers, nearly all of them lager-style in nature. Allen did hint at the potential of a wheat beer (an ale) at some point, but indicated that lagers would be the stalwarts of the brewery for the foreseeable future. Allen is currently producing two other types of beer; an unfiltered golden lager and a Dunkel (a dark lager), both of which were very good. I also got a special sample of a beer Allen has worked up in his “spare” time… a Bourbon Barrel-aged Bock (Heaven Hill barrels)… what an amazing combination. I am hopeful that he will continue to produce that one!

As you walk around the new brewery, you can quickly see that Allen and the von Trapps faced some significant engineering challenges to construct the brewery in this location. The low ceilings of the room preclude the use of the typically taller shaped tanks and brewing equipment commonly seen in other breweries. As you can see from the pictures, the squat-shaped equipment nearly fills the room. It is also readily apparent that the Trapp’s spent the money necessary to ensure that the brewer has what is necessary to perform his brewing magic and I am certain that Allen appreciates that every day.

I know that a burning question for many of you is, what (pray tell) is that “thing” on their logo? That, my beer drinking friends, is an alpine ibex, which is native to the Alpian region of Germany, Austria and Italy… there are about 4,000 living there today. Think of it as a European-style big horn sheep… you can, of course, “Google it” for a better description than that. The Trapp Family has chosen to use the shape of one of the ibex horns for their tap handles (nearly 2 feet long)… one of the more distinctive and interesting tap handles that I have seen lately.

As with any new brewery, I look forward to watching them as they grow and change over time. Trapp Family is off to a very good start and I fully expect that to continue. There is little doubt in my mind that, with the Trapp’s keen sense of producing a quality experience for their customers (as evidenced by their Trapp Family Lodge) as well as Allen Van Anda’s obvious talent as a brewer, there is a very happy (and tasty) future for all of us Trapp Family Brewery customers.

Allen Van Anda - Trapp Family Brewmaster

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