Steve Koenemann

Hill Farmstead – Brewer’s Talent, Family History

Even for Vermonters, Greensboro, VT is just a bit off of the beaten path. There are no Interstate highways, freeways or even what most people would consider major highways nearby. Get off of the larger paved roads that do exist and your GPS is quickly made useless by the network of unpaved roads that crisscross the farmland which dominates the countryside in this region. All of that has not kept this area from being noticed by some famous people though. The late Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, for example, called Greensboro his summer home for many years.

Another Greensboro resident that has gained notoriety of late is Shaun Hill, owner/brewer at the Hill Farmstead Brewery. I recently highlighted Shaun in an article about all of the medals that Vermonters won at the 2010 World Beer Cup (Vermonters Take the WBC by Storm). Shaun won 3 medals, 2 Gold and 1 Silver, at that competition for beers that he created when working at the Danish brewer Nørrebro Bryghus.

A philosophy major in college, Shaun has thought long and hard about the roots of his family, what he wants from life and what it might take to make that possible. Shaun’s young age (an early 30-something) effectively hides many years of brewing experience. Shaun has been brewing beer since he was a teenager and, in addition to his time spent at Nørrebro Bryghus, he previously worked as a brewer at The Shed (Stowe, VT), Trout River (Lyndonville, VT) as well as some time spent brewing with the late great Greg Noonan.

Shaun’s latest adventure, his new brewery, is perched atop a hill in Greensboro on family farmland that his family has claimed since the 1760s, more than eight generations ago and about 20 years before Greensboro was chartered as a town in 1781. All of that family history is not lost on Shaun, however, as he is extremely knowledgeable about many pieces of the family that stretches back nearly 250 years. If you look at the logo for the brewery, for instance, you will see what appears to be a wine goblet; not something that you would expect for a beer-producing business. Shaun will proudly tell you that the picture of the goblet was taken from the old sign that once hung in front of a local tavern, formerly owned many years ago by a distant relative. The names of the beers that Shaun has begun to produce at Hill Farmstead will all carry the names of ancestors. His first Hill Farmstead beer, Edward India Pale Ale, and the one that will be his year-round flagship product, is named after his grandfather. His second beer, a triple dry hopped (170 theoretical IBUs) Imperial India Pale Ale called Abner, is named after his great grandfather.

As deeply as Shaun’s family roots run, so too does his philosophy on beer making. Shaun has very definite ideas about what makes good beer. His time spent brewing and traveling through Europe have taught him the benefits of brewing beers with balance; a “softness”, as he describes it, without the one-sided flavors and/or characteristics of many of the beers to be found in the US market today. Shaun says that he wants to brew beers that have “harmonious elegance”; all of the parts of the beer working together to produce a high quality product. However, as evidenced by Shaun’s Abner IIPA, the objective here is to sell beer and the current American market craves these very bold characteristics in a beer. Shaun’s production of this style of beer, however, should not be misconstrued as pandering to the market. I had a chance yesterday, finally, to taste the distributed version of his Abner IIPA and, while this is definitely a very hoppy beer, it is also extremely well balanced and very drinkable. Shaun has stuck to his deep-seated brewing principles and, from my observation, has produced a beer that he can be happy with as well as one which can be successful in the marketplace. His Edward IPA, for example, is one of the best IPAs that I have ever had. Hoppy, malt balanced, an amazing citrus hop aroma and a fruity medium bitter finish are distinguishing characteristics of this beer that I truly hope to drink regularly.

The future plans for Hill Farmstead include the production of many other types of beers. Farmhouse styles, like Saisons, are already in the works. Shaun professes a love of sour-style beers, so I am certain we can see a range of those beers soon. Shaun has also acquired wooden barrels of various types (whiskey, wine, beer), so we should definitely look for him to produce some barrel-ages varieties as well. The two WBC gold medals that Shaun won this year were both for barrel-aged beers; both aged in Niepoort Port barrels. Shaun expects that about 70% of his beer will be sold in bulk (growlers, kegs and casks) with the rest, primarily the Saisons, being bottled in cork-finished 750ml bottles; some more of that “elegance” of which Shaun speaks so eloquently.

A part of the brewery already in operation includes the capability of filling 2-liter growlers, which Shaun will sell for $15 (regular beers) and $20 (limited release beers). Offering the growlers for sale at the brewery, along with t-shirts, other paraphernalia as well as some rare foreign beers is all a part of Shaun’s strategy to get people to visit the brewery on the farm in Greensboro; this in order to gain the total experience of what Shaun and his new brewery stand for.

Eventually, Shaun hopes to move his brewery to the former site of the farm’s dairy barn, which burned just before he was born. Shaun’s future plans, however, do not include unlimited growth. He says that he will be focusing on sustainability and the production of a very high quality product.  He expects that his annual production will eventually top out at about 3,000 barrels. Although he does plan to distribute his beer to select places in Boston, Philly and New York, he says that a lot of his beer will stay right here in Vermont. Given what we have seen so far of his world-class beer and from a purely selfish perspective, I am happy with that plan. Talent, passion and love of family and friends are all a part of what, I and many other people already believe will continue to push Shaun Hill and the Hill Farmstead Brewery to be one of the best in the world.

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