Steve Koenemann

The Session #43: The New Brew Kids

I am taking a step away from the type of article that you normally read from me to participate in something that has become somewhat of a beer writer’s tradition; The Session. The Session is a group writing project that was conceived by Stan Hieronymus of Appellation Beer. This is an opportunity for beer writers/bloggers all over the world to “gather” and write about a single beer-related topic on the first Friday of every month. Each month the Session is hosted by an esteemed beer writer/blogger on their own site. Writers post their articles to their own blog and leave a link to their article in a comment on the host writer’s beer blog. The host writer then posts a summary article at the end of the Session highlighting some of the other articles that were written. As you can see by the session number this project has been going on for a while.

I have never participated in this fun event (no, I don’t know why), but I am participating in this month’s “Session” in support of my friend and fellow HopPress writer Carla Companion, a.k.a., “The Beer Babe”. The charge to the group from Carla for this Session was to write about “The New Kids”; new brewers and the potential difficulties that they might have in getting started as well as breaking into the established brewing community (many of the same trials and tribulations of a child starting in a new school). You can watch this month’s event unfold on Carla’s “The Beer Babe” site by viewing the comments left on her Session #43 announcement page.

There are two new Vermont breweries that have opened within the last year. The von Trapp family, originally from Austria and made famous by the movie “The Sound of Music”, have opened a brewery that will focus on the production of the excellent “Old World” style lagers of their native country. I wrote about this new brewery back in May (The Hills Are Alive With – Lager). The new brewery, located in the basement of the former Austrian Tea Room at their Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, is a 14-barrel operation… not your typical startup brewery to be sure. They have also hired a very experienced brewer, Allen van Anda, who previously brewed for the Kross Brewery and Rock Art Brewery. The financial backing of the von Trapp family business along with Allen’s proven talent have produced a situational advantage that most other new brewers would potentially not see for years.

The other new Vermont brewery, Hill Farmstead Brewery, which I also wrote about in May (Hill Farmstead – Brewer’s Talent, Family History). Shaun Hill, the brewery’s owner and head brewer has opened a 7-barrel brewing operation on his family’s farmland in tiny Greensboro, VT. Shaun’s family has owned and worked this land since the 1760′s, more than eight generations ago. Shaun has a distinguished brewing CV, having brewed since he was in his teens and has worked at other Vermont breweries, like The Shed and Trout River. Most recently he spent nearly two years working for Nørrebro Bryghus in Denmark. At this year’s World Beer Cup three of the beers that Shaun created when working in Denmark won medals; two Golds and a Silver. That level of talent and Shaun’s serious interest in and commitment to his family have come together in his new brewery; one that is positioned for a great future within Vermont and, perhaps, far beyond.

I do not believe that either of these new breweries will truly face all the trials and tribulations of an actual startup operation; although there are sure to be some challenges, of course. Both have brewers that come with considerable and tested talent gathered from their work at other breweries. The financial support of the von Trapp’s has allowed Trapp Lagers to start with all the equipment that they need; much of it “the best that money can buy”. Shaun and Hill Farmstead have not started with quite the financial security of the Trapp’s, but his incredible accolades as a brewer have opened many doors for him that would probably be closed to “newbies”.

The acceptance of these new breweries and brewers into the Vermont brewing community should not be a problem. I have written before about the small community feeling that exists here in Vermont. Our small population makes it possible for people, brewers or not, to maintain close friends and business contacts all across the entire state. The Vermont brewing community is a tightly knitted group; all the brewers are keenly aware of each other as well as each other’s talents and capabilities. While this camaraderie has created long lasting friendships among them, there are business implications to these relationships as well.

Tonight (Friday) I got an “insiders” look at just how tight these relationships really are. My wife and I had stopped by the Bobcat Cafe and Brewery, a brewpub and restaurant in Bristol, Vermont, for a couple of their excellent beers and a casual dinner (the food here is awesome). We have stopped by here a number of times previously over the last couple of years. The dining room was not quite open yet, so we sat down at the bar. Much to my shock and surprise the line-up of tap handles at the bar included Hill Farmstead’s Florence, Shaun’s excellent Belgian Witbier. Never before when we had come here had there been any beer available but the ones produced by Bobcat. When I asked “why” the Shaun Hill beer, I was told (by Dana, the very knowledgeable bartender) that Bobcat had been caught a bit short on their beer supply due to a high volume of sales and the “drain” on the brewery by all of the brew festivals during the summer. Bobcat brewmaster Mark Magiera and Shaun Hill had previously collaborated on some beers and Shaun agreed to help fill the gap at Bobcat. I think that this all provides an excellent example of how easily new brewers entering the Vermont market might be “assimilated” into the fold.

Well, that ends my contribution to The Session #43. Thank you Carla for enticing me to accept the challenge of participating in this interesting writing project. As with many things in my life, I am caught wondering why I waited so long. I can hardly wait for #44 next month.

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