The three previous articles in the series, in the order that they appeared, are:

• Made in Vermont – Burlington Region
• Made in Vermont – The Spine of the Green Mountains
• Made in Vermont – The Northeast Kingdom

I count myself as truly fortunate to live in a state that caters so heavily to the craft beer movement and I am exceptionally lucky that Vermont is such a small place that each of these breweries is but a short drive away. Several of Vermont’s breweries have won medals and awards in both national and international competitions. You need to understand, however, that Vermonters are not ones to rest on their laurels and the state’s beer industry is in constant flux. For example, I am aware of at least two new breweries in the development stages and there are several of the existing breweries that are in the process of expanding their operations; some of them significantly.

The Long Trail Brewery is located at the junction of Routes 4 and 100A in the tiny burgh of Bridgewater Corners. The brewery and the small store nearby represent nearly all of what this town has to offer. In spite of its relatively remote location, Long Trail is both one of the oldest and largest commercial breweries in Vermont. They recently purchased the Otter Creek/Wolvers brewery up in Middlebury to give them increased capacity and a better avenue for the distribution of all of their beer. Long Trail Ale was one of my first experiences with a non-macro beer and it was love at first drink for sure. I have a number of other favorites from this brewer. They relatively recently began producing a “Brewmaster Series” of beers and a couple of those have become some of my most sought after Vermont beers; the Centennial Red and the Coffee Stout in particular.

The other major brewery that calls southern Vermont its home would be the Harpoon Brewery. Although headquartered in Boston, where they have another brewery, the brewery in Vermont inhabits the former Catamount brewery facility in Windsor. I have talked frequently of the events that they hold at the Vermont location as well as of their significant contributions to Vermont communities, charities and social causes. For one event or another, I end up visiting this venue several times each year and I look forward to that each and every time that it happens. Harpoon’s IPA was an early favorite in my craft beer career and to this day you will find a can or two of this beer in my fridge awaiting my enjoyment. Like many brewers, Harpoon offers a“premium” line of beer, two of them in fact; the “100 Barrel Series” and the “Leviathan” series. I am a big fan of several of these Harpoon beers and like their IPA, you are apt to find at least one of these higher end brands either aging in my beer larder or being chilled in preparation for its final showing.

From there we move from beer production on a much smaller scale. Northshire Brewery is located in Bennington, at the very southwest tip of Vermont. Relatively new to the Vermont craft beer scene, I am starting to see their beer in more places, some of them farther north where I have easier access to them. Most of my experience to date with their beer has been as samples at the Vermont Brewers Festival, held every summer in Burlington. Having just visited their Web site, I can see that they have greatly expanded the number of places where their beer can be purchased. I definitely plan to catch-up with them at one of these new locations in the very near future.

Madison Brewing Company & Pub is also located in Bennington and right on Main Street in the downtown area. Madison offers a very nice location to both have some great food and to sample some of their fine beer. Like most brewpubs, they offer a regular selection of beers that are nearly always available and then seasonal or special offerings to fill in at different times of the year. I particularly enjoyed their Old 76 Strong Ale the last time that I was there, along with something called a “New England Bog Salad” for a light lunch.

Last on our list of breweries, but hardly least, we finally come to McNeill’s Brewery, which is located in Brattleboro. McNeill’s is another of Vermont’s breweries that have been around for a while and it has been producing high quality beers for as long as it has been around. One of my long-time favorites had been their Imperial Stout , which is no longer made. Some of Ray McNeill’s latest creations are coming on strong though; like his Warlord Imperial IPA, a hop head’s dream and one that I grab now and again just to satisfy my hop cravings.

Well that brings us to the end of our series on the current list of 21 Vermont breweries. Don’t you think for one moment that this is the last that you will hear of Vermont’s fine beers. Vermont can rightfully be called a craft beer-lover’s mecca and I think that it is high time that you finally planned a vacation (or beer quest) to a state that is just bursting with both scenic beauty and great beer, no matter where you are in the state. Although our winters are long here, which is a good thing for some of the best ski areas in the East, it is not cold and snowy all year long. The summers here are a perfect escape from the sweltering heat of the real deep south and the colors of our autumn can’t be matched anywhere. Come to Vermont and enjoy our people, enjoy our scenery and enjoy some of the best beer this side of anywhere!

First of all I’d like to call to your attention the appearance of one of Vermont’s own brewers, the Hill Farmstead Brewery, on these these lists. Hill Farmstead is listed twice on Ratebeer’s Best; as the top new brewery in the world and also for his truly wonderful Edward Pale Ale. If you have followed some of my previous articles here, you know that Shaun Hill’s small brewery, located in the tiny town of Greensboro in north-central Vermont is one of several shining stars among the 21 breweries that can be currently found in this small state. The appearance of Hill Farmstead on these lists is but the latest in an already impressive accumulation of accolades and awards that this young brewer has earned over the last few years. At last year’s World Beer Cup, three of Shaun’s beers, created by Shaun when he was working for Danish brewer Nørrebro Bryghus, won medals (2 golds and a silver) at this lofty international competition. If you look through the Ratebeer ratings for Shaun’s beers you will quickly see that Vermonters are not the only ones that are in love with Shaun’s creations and I truly believe that many of his beers would stand up well against a goodly portion of the other beers on Ratebeer’s Best. For many of you, however, Hill Farmstead beers might be some of the best beers that you will have never tried, as Shaun currently only runs about a 7-barrel operation and, although I know that some of his beers have appeared in Philly and NYC, most of Shaun’s beers do not make it very far out of Vermont… and that is fine with me. Come to Vermont and find out why Hill Farmstead rightly deserves their spot among the other brewers on Ratebeer’s Best.

The second observation that I have and I am not the first to point this out (See the 2010 article by fellow HopPress writer K.M. Weaver), no less than 34 of the top 50 beers on the list are Stouts or Imperial Stouts. There is probably nobody that likes a good Impy better than I do, but one would think from looking at this list that there are no other great styles of beer other than stouts… and that is clearly just not the case. While the other 16 beers that make up this list are of other styles, although far too few in number (my opinion), I was gratified to see some IPAs and Sour beers appear on the list; two other styles of beer that I enjoy very much. I hope that the folks that put together this list and beer raters in general are a little more open minded in the future about what constitutes a great beer. Great beers can and do include stouts, but that designation of a beer’s greatness can and should encompass much more than that (Understand? ¿entiendes lo que quiero decir? Verstehen? Vous comprenez? Dong ma?).

I was quite surprised (amazed?) to see Lost Abbey’s Framboise de Amorosa on the list. Having grown up in a house here in Vermont that had a huge patch of raspberry bushes in the back yard, I really have a soft spot in my heart for anything that has raspberries in it and that applies to beer as well. I have not had a chance to try this beer, but you can bet that it will go on my “Want” list right after I finish this article.

The last thing that I was left thinking as I looked over these lists was just how long it was going to take me to find and sample all of these great beers on the lists. The fact is that some of these beers and even some of the brewers may not even exist by the time that I have an opportunity to get to them all. I am not too stressed about this, mind you, but it does give one pause to hear Joe Tucker talk about the more than 130,000 beers and 10,000 brewers *currently* found in the Ratebeer database; and I am certain those numbers are growing. The world of craft beer is a huge one these days and growing rapidly. That is, without any question, due to the hard-working people that make up this industry and it’s good to see more than a few of them receive the praise that they truly deserve from the likes of Ratebeer and others.

I have no realistic hope of sampling all of the different beers on this year’s Ratebeer’s Best list in the near future and I will probably only sample a tiny fraction of the total number of beers listed in the Ratebeer database in my entire lifetime (the Ratebeer top rater currently has just under 20,000 ratings, which is amazing in itself), but in spite of all of that, I know in my heart that there are still a large number of beers that I will drink in the future that will end up on the VTHopHead’s Best list and I will surely take the time to enjoy and savor all of those beers I try in between those that I think are “great”. Do yourself a favor, print out these lists (or download them to your phone) before you head out to your favorite bottle-shop the next time and see if you can locate just one beer on these lists of what many believe are Ratebeer’s Best Beers…. I doubt that you’ll be sorry if you find one!

Mad River Glen is a ski area perched high on the side of a mountain above the Mad River Valley. Their motto is “Ski It If You Can” and I chuckled as we pulled in the parking lot when I spotted a handmade sign posted on a tree near the entrance that said “SIPtemberfest, Drink it if you can”. That sign set the stage for one of the more enjoyable afternoons that I have had this year.

With one exception, the 14 breweries in attendance at this small event, only 500 “drinkers” tickets were sold (non-drinkers were free), were all from Vermont. The exception was Ommegang Brewery from Cooperstown, NY… and welcome they were, of course. The nearly “Vermont-only” nature of this event was one of the attractions for me and what I think makes this event pretty unique in the world of brewfests. Vermont has a well-deserved reputation of producing great beer and a majority of this small state’s brewers were here to strut their stuff on this beautiful fall day.

I won’t take the time to go into all of the beers that were offered, but I will just highlight some of the ones that stood out for me among all the great beers that were available at this event. Some of the brewers took this opportunity to either introduce a new beer or a “one-off” beer produced specifically for this event.

• Bobcat Cafe and Brewery – Brewer Mark Magiera offered a very interesting and delicious beer called “Unrepentant Chocolate Pepper Stout” that is made with a bit of long pepper (pippali, similar in flavor to black pepper). The spice provided a nice contrast to the chocolate and roasted maltiness of the stout.
• Trapp Family – Brewer Allen Van Anda unvieled his Oktoberfest beer at this event and I have to say that it was one of the finest that I have had of this type.
• Lawson’s Finest Liquids – Brewer Sean Lawson had an organic cider that he had made that would rival any of the finest ciders available anywhere. Crisp apple flavor with just enough tartness to keep your interest to the end. The line at Sean’s table, as it has been at every event we have been at together this year, was the longest of any of the brewers. The word is out; Sean makes great beer!

This was billed as a family-friendly event that was free for the public to join in on the festivities. The air throughout the afternoon was filled with the excellent music provided along with the sounds of happy dogs and small children. There was also plenty of great food available for purchase at a reasonable price.

I think that I would be hard pressed to find an outdoor event in my recent past that I enjoyed more than this one. The opportunity to spend time with family and friends drinking great beer while enjoying the beautiful fall colors being displayed on the surrounding mountains would be hard to match. I have already heard that they intend to hold this event next year. We’ll all hope for the weather that this year’s event was graced with. Better plan to get your tickets early or you’ll miss out on a really fun time!

For the last several years this day-long event has been held at the Branch Brook Campground. The event has grown in each of its 14 years and this year was attended by approximately 400 homebrewers and/or enthusiasts, all of whom showed up on a beautiful early fall day to taste some of the best fermentables that no money could buy. These are not commercial entities, but individuals that simply produce this stuff for their own as well as their friends enjoyment. While the competition of the day was important to some, most that I spoke with were simply there to sample the craft brews of their friends and to share the camaraderie of others that are also excited about brewing their own.

The event only cost $10 at the “door”, which entitled you to unlimited samples, free entertainment and an opportunity share in the excitement of the day. This is a “bring your own glass” event, although many of the clubs had modestly priced glasses of various sizes for sale at their tents; all proudly emblazoned with their club logos, of course.

As it turns out, while the beer, wine, mead and cider were the main attraction for most of the attendees, this event is actually a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire. Each year the “profits” from this event, money collected from the sale of event tickets, food, t-shirts, raffle tickets and other paraphernalia is donated to this worthy cause. Last year this event raised nearly $4,000 and this year, Steve Ainsworth, the event’s organizer for all of their 14 years, estimated that they would be closer to $5,000 for the day.

I had a chance to visit with the volunteers manning the Make-A-Wish tent as well as with 12-year old “Emily”, a Make-A-Wish ambassador and former benefactor of the foundation (5 years ago she went to Disney World for her “Wish”). It was obvious to me, from the way that these volunteers interacted with the homebrew clubs and event organizers, that this was a long term, co-dependent relationship between these groups that has built up over the many years that the event has existed.

Event Organizer Steve Ainsworth and Make-A-Wish's Emily

As you could probably expect, I did not spend my entire time talking at this event and did take some time to sample some of the excellent handcrafted beverages that folks brought to share. I did not get to the event soon enough to participate as one of the 17 volunteer judges for the “Peoples Choice” competition of the day, but that might be something to look forward to next year. With well over 100 of these beverages being shared at the event, I was (unfortunately) only able to sample a tiny fraction of those being offered. Below are just a few of my favorites for the day:

Rob North, 2010 Winner Sam Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest

• Rob North’s Rauchbier – Rob was this year’s winner of the Sam Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest and this rauchbier was his winning brew. For those of you not familiar with this annual contest, as winner, Rob’s chosen brew will be served alongside the traditional Samuel Adams beers at the Samuel Adams Brewhouse® in Gillette Stadium during the entire New England Patriots 2010-2011 football season. This beer was slightly sweet, mildly smoky and extremely well balanced. It was easy for me to see why Rob’s beer was selected by Sam Adams at this year’s contest. While Rob has only been brewing three years, he was also selected “Homebrewer of the Year” at last year’s Jamboree. Rob is a member of the homebrew club “Brew Free or Die”, based in New Hampshire.
• Francois Espourteille’s Sweet Mead – Described as a “mead master” by his colleagues, Francois poured me a sample of a special stock of his sweet mead. While I do not have an extensive background in drinking meads, the extremely high quality of this mead was apparent immediately. I sampled other meads at this event during the day, but this one stood out as really the only one I sampled that had retained the subtle flavors of the unprocessed wildflower honey he used to make it. Francois told me that very slow fermentation was his “secret” to ensuring that the honey flavor was retained during the lengthy fermentation process. Francois is a member of the “South Shore Brew Club”, which is based out of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
• The event’s organizer, Steve Ainsworth, brought me over to the tent of his homebrew club, “Winnipesaukee Area Brew Crew”, to sample an English-style barleywine made by Eric Sprague, one of the club members. Malty, smooth and slightly sweet Eric explained that the Maris Otter malt he had used was responsible for the smoothness and drinkability of this relatively young barleywine.

The “People’s Choice” competition results were announced at the end of the day:

1. First Place, Best of Show – Ed Ramshaw – Apple Pie Cider. I sampled some of Ed’s cider and it was truly “apple pie in a glass”… a good choice from my perspective. This was the only one of the winners in this list that I got to sample… just too many choices!
2. Second Place – Kevin Abelli – Black Pearl
3. Third Place – Laramie Bobar – Ginger Brown Ale
4. Honorable Mention – Harriet Santtie – Green Apple Wine

Ed Ramshaw's Apple Pie Cider

This event was decidedly different than most other beer events that I have attended recently; not only because of the fact that these were amateur brewers, but because of the tremendous variety of very high quality beverages that were being offered. I can honestly say that there was not one of those that I sampled that could not stand up, very well, to their commercial cousins. Next year’s event will be held on September 10^th (always the first Saturday after Labor Day) at the Branch Brook Campground and it is already on my event calendar. You can find out more about the 2011 New England Homebrewer’s Jamboree at their Web site. I’ll see you there…

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.

The next several months will also bring the last gasp of beer festivals before the snow flies here in northern New England. Everyone is, of course, familiar with Oktoberfest, which is traditionally held in the late September to early October time frame. Over the years I have attended many of these celebrations held locally and, while they have been fun, my “bucket list” definitely includes a trip to Munich someday for the granddaddy of this type of festival. Called “Volksfest” in Germany, the statistics of this event are nothing short of staggering, a term which might also apply to some of the attendees. In 2009 (the 176^th anniversary) there were about 5.7 million people that attended the Munich event. These people consumed 6.5 million Liters of strong (6-8% ABV) Märzen beer, approximately 600,000 chickens and the foodstuff equivalent of 84 head of cattle during the 16-day event. The festival grounds include 14 large tents with a seating capacity of about 100,000 revelers. The financial impact of this event is also huge; pushing about 800 Million Euros into the German economy. It truly sounds like the “holy grail” of beer festivals to me!

Next weekend I am planning on attending the 16^th annual Mount Snow Brewer’s Festival in southern Vermont. It is not one that I have attended before, so I am looking forward to it. A bit smaller than the many beer festivals some of you are used to attending (about 25 brewers) the event is held in a breathtakingly beautiful spot. I also plan to attend the 14^th annual New England Homebrewer’s Jamboree, which is being held in Campton, New Hampshire in a couple of weeks. This is also an event that I have not attended before and am very much looking forward to. This event, which supports the Make-A-Wish Foundation with its proceeds, is an opportunity for home brewers from across New England to come and show off the fruits of their brewing skills to their colleagues.

I missed out on Ommegang Brewery’s “Belgium Comes to Cooperstown” festival that was held recently. So popular is this event that tickets sold out on-line in just a few hours. I will have to be more diligent about getting tickets for this event next year. Ommegang beer truly holds a special place in my heart when it comes to craft beer. I consider my first taste of their Belgian Abbey brew (my first taste of any Belgian styled beer) many years ago to be my “craft beer epiphany”; that eye popping event that really impressed upon me how limited I had been about the variety of beers I had tried.

Another sure sign of the approaching seasonal change is the appearance of traditional autumn beer styles… Oktoberfest/Märzen (of course), fresh or “wet” hop brews, autumn Saisons and pumpkin beers. A quick survey of some local bottle shops showed that all of these beer types are slowly working there way onto the shelves of the beer purveyors. In celebration of the approaching fall beer season, I pulled out a bottle of what is perhaps my favorite fall beer last night; Shipyard Brewing’s Smashed Pumpkin. It was from last year’s bottling and I was very pleased with the “mellowing” that had taken place over the last year or so. While most pumpkin brews use larger amounts of spices, which is a distinct negative for me in this type of beer, the spicing of this hefty brew (9% ABV) is much more subtle and the beer is much more reliant on the actual pumpkin flavor. I really enjoyed this beer and I think that it created for me an excellent start into the fall beer season.

Like most summers, this one has gone by far too quickly. Soon we will start the much longer cold weather period that we have here in Vermont. I am not really looking forward to shoveling that first blast of snow, which I know will appear soon enough. Fortunately, I will have the next week of great weather to enjoy and that should make for a perfect segue into the transitional season of fall… autumn colors, harvest foods, beer festivals and lots of great beer to enjoy. All of that will not only give me plenty to think about for the next couple of months, but it will likely provide a welcome distraction from the rapidly approaching winter months. I am sure, however, that by the time those cold months begin to arrive, I will have found new reasons and opportunities to celebrate that coming change in seasons as well.

While I have been a financial supporter in years past, this was my first opportunity to actually work at this fun charitable event. My participation and support of this event was multifaceted and interwoven into a fairly large portion of my adult life. I have written before of my long term love of Harpoon’s beers; those being some of the very first craft beers I learned to enjoy on a regular basis many years ago. For those of you that have not read my CV/”About” on this site, I also spent about 2 years working for the Vermont Foodbank as its Director of Operations, overseeing many of the day-to-day workings of this complex organization. That time of my life was one of the most rewarding that I have spent to date and someday I intend to return to the Foodbank (or an organization like it) to continue my work in support of this worthy effort. The Foodbank, at the time, was experiencing its largest growth spurt to date; growing from an annual statewide distribution of about 2.7 million pounds of food to nearly 6.5 million pounds of food to hungry Vermonters. Since then, the Foodbank has continued to both grow and change in pursuit of its mission to eradicate hunger in Vermont. They now have 3 facilities and a farm within the state to support their efforts. The Vermont Foodbank has grown to be one of the most successful of its kind, nationally, since my employment there 8 years ago. The final facet of my involvement in this day comes from the event sponsorship by my current employer, VSECU. VSECU is, by far, Vermont’s largest state-chartered credit union (47,000 members and $535M in assets) and is where I am currently its Vice President of Information Systems and Chief Information Officer.

Event participants choose one of three routes to ride during this day-long event; 25, 50 or 115 miles. The selection of their route dictates both their entry fee and fund raising commitment. Those that choose the 25-mile route, a circular route beginning at and returning to the brewery, have an entry fee of $40 and no further commitment to raise additional funds. Those that ride the 50-mile route, from Bethel (VT) to the brewery, have a $60 entry fee and an additional commitment of $150 in funds to raise. Those that ride the 115-mile route, from Williston (VT) to the brewery, have an $80 entry fee and also a $150 fund raising commitment.

This year there were about 480 riders that participated in one of the three rides. Those of you that either live here in Vermont or have visited our beautiful state at some time know that none of these rides would be “easy” because of Vermont’s mountainous terrain. The VSECU “team” manned one of several “watering” stations along the routes. We happened to be placed at the last station before the finish at the brewery and at the only station that would see riders from all three routes. I can no longer ride a bike due to serious knee problems, so I was already impressed with all of the riders, but I have to tell you that I was very surprised by the very first riders that came to our station that day. The riders were two brothers, who were clearly “racing” each other instead of just “riding” the route. These two very fit gentlemen, who were participating in the 115 mile ride, rolled into our station a mere 5 ½ hours after starting in Williston, about 103 miles away (we were stationed 12 miles from the finish line). Some quick math should tell you that they were averaging nearly 20 miles/hour (!) on their trek, in spite of the arduous “hill and dale” nature of their route. It was nearly 40 minutes before we saw the next riders from the same route enter our station.

He rode the 50-mile route

The culmination of the event, which is held at the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT, is a chance for all the riders, event volunteers and their supporters to gather to celebrate the day and all of their hard work. This final celebration included a BBQ, put on by the local fire department, some live music and some great Harpoon beer. There were also hot showers available for the riders, should they wish to partake. We got to this celebration a little late, due to our commitments at the relief station, but we arrived to a crowd of a couple of thousand people all enjoying the end of both a very satisfying and very beautiful day.

Events like this one tend to collect money for several weeks after the actual day of the event, so there is not (yet) a final fund raising tally. According to the Vermont Foodbank Web site though, they have collected more than $95,000 to date… over $46,000 more than they had at this time last year… so it appears that they are well on their way to their $150,000 event goal. To give you some perspective of how important that $95,000 is for the Foodbank, just the money raised so far will support the efforts to provide more than 200,000 meals to hungry Vermonters. In a state with a population of only 625,000 people, the impact of this effort can only be described as HUGE!

I am reasonably certain that Harpoon, The Point and the Foodbank will put this event on again next year. The money that this event generates for the “cause” is just too large to be ignored. I am hopeful that my employer will again give me an opportunity to participate in this worthy effort. It’s just one of those fun, feel good events that comes along that you just can’t help wishing to do again. My hat is off to Harpoon for their primary sponsorship of this event and their commitment to provide their considerable assistance to the Vermont community. I already like their beer, but for me there will be a little bit of extra enjoyment the next time that I drink one, as I remember the wonderful day that I spent recently, helping them to support the vital cause of ending hunger in Vermont.

The potential change in spending patterns that all of this economic turmoil might bring could, potentially, have a devastating effect (gasp) on both the purchase and consumption of beer. Fearing the worst and hoping for the best I dove into the depths of my favorite Internet search engine for a look around. In spite of my gloomy outlook as I began this survey, what I actually discovered during this examination was quite an interesting mix of good and bad as well as some ups and downs… not nearly as bad as I feared… for some.

My first look was at the “macro” level. What are the broad indicators that might point to both the current state of the industry as well as foretell its near future? As many have already reported, a recent Gallup Poll shows that the US Drinking Rate is at a 25-year high of 67% (versus non-drinkers). As you can see from the chart below, the all-time high percentage was back in the 1970s. Without being too scientific about it (please), you might also notice that in many instances the period of time following some of the recent economic recessions (’60, ’70, ’75, ’91, ’01, ’09) are also times that the drinking rate either began to increase or was already increasing. Is it possible that the feeling of economic recovery feeds the need to drink or is it that we drink to forget the latest brush with economic disaster?

Whatever the reason for the recent rise in the US drinking rate, shouldn’t this be good news for the beer industry? A closer examination of this trend in drinking levels, however, only produces a sparkle for some, but not all, of the beer industry. During the height of the recession, in 2009, total beer sales revenue worldwide was down 2.7% (2.2% in the US) and world beer shipment volumes were down nearly 2.1% for the year… that trend continued into early 2010. The major beer producing conglomerates took this downturn the hardest. The shares of British-owned SABMiller hit their lowest level in more than 5 years in March of 2009… shares of Belgium’s Anheuser-Busch InBev hit their 5-year low in July of the same year. Definitely one of the darkest financial times recently for these mega-brewers.

As the recession has begun its slow retreat, however, the stocks of both these mega-corporations have slowly recovered to nearly their pre-recession levels; although sales of some of their products still mostly lag behind their pre-recession (2008) levels. Anheuser-Busch, the world’s largest brewer, recently reported a Q2/10 rise in profits of 7.5%… a combination of a 2% rise in beer sales and 5.5% rise in soft drink sales. This translated into a 4.1% rise in profits to US$9.1MM. This most recent growth spurt was fueled by their sponsorship of the football (soccer) World Cup and heavy marketing of their flagship Budweiser beer.

In a twist of fate becoming all too common in today’s world of brewer evolution, consolidation and change, MillerCoors has announced a new name for their craft beer and import division… called the “Tenth and Blake Beer Company”. The name apparently comes from their Milwaukee brewery where Leinenkugel is brewed and the Denver brewery where Blue Moon is made. It is becoming increasingly common for these large corporations to attempt to tap into the raging success of the much smaller craft brewing industry through copycat practices (brewing styles and marketing) and outright purchase of established micro-breweries.

As I mentioned earlier, the worst of this recession was not bad (was very good, actually) for some portions of the beer industry. The craft brewing industry, for example, continued to show strong “legs” throughout this time period. As a matter of fact the Brewer’s Association reports that the craft portion of the industry grew 7.2% by volume and 10.3% by dollars during 2009. This compares to growth rates of 5.9% and 10.1% in 2008. This steady growth rate has apparently continued into 2010 with the projected volume growth at about 9% and the dollar growth at about 10%. That kind of year over year growth in both categories wouldn’t be considered too shabby by anyone at any time; recession or not.

The Asian beer market has also showed surprising strength recently. It has even surpassed the European beer market, formally the world’s largest, both in production and in total annual consumption. Buoyed by a quicker than average economic rebound from the latest recession, the Asian beer market increased by 5.5% in 2009 to 5.6MM kiloliters (15.48MM US Gallons or about 491,000 US Barrels). The European beer market dropped by 5.1% in 2009 to 55.1MM kiloliters (14.56MM US Gallons or 462,000 US Barrels). Asian beer production was lead by increases in Vietnam, India and China. This relatively large Asian increase is made even more significant by the fact that the Asian per capita annual beer consumption is far less than the per capita European beer consumption… leaving us with the assumption that there is greater room for growth in the Asian regions than in the European econosphere.

Recessions can also be a time of transition… of both businesses and people… for better and for worse. The recent past is full of such things… here are but a few:

• International Brewers United (IBU) Sold to North American Breweries (NAB) – This recent transition has had the most effect on me personally. Having spent all of my adult life in Vermont, where IBU’s principle entity (Magic Hat Brewery) is both a social and economic icon. I had earlier written an overview of a visit (The Magic Hat Experience) that I had made to Magic Hat and they had also been included in an article called Socially Responsible Brewing for their significant contribution to the Vermont community over the years. I have to admit that the last several years Magic Hat seems to have lost both some of its uniqueness in the beer marketplace and their “craft beer way”, in favor of the larger market of mediocrity. Magic Hat has produced some really great beers over the years (HiPA, Blind Faith, Ravelle, Thumbsucker) and many of them have been “retired” in favor of the production of beer more suited to “Mr Average Beer Drinker”, rather than the true beer aficionado that gave them their early meteoric rise in popularity. I sincerely hope that NAB chooses to reinforce the brand of the “former” Magic Hat and not the one that it has been recently.

• Anchor Brewing Sold – Earlier this year it was reported that the “original” micro-brewery was being sold. Anchor Brewing, the mother-lode of all current micro-breweries was sold to a group of investors from San Francisco. The new investors plan to expand both the brewing and distilled spirit (Skyy Vodka) businesses. It is my belief that Fritz Maytag, the father of the modern microbrew movement, reached a time in his life (retirement?) where is was time for him to move on (I had similar feelings about Alan Newman, the founder of Magic Hat). In a rather unique convergence of my varying tastes, I recently learned that there is weak association between Fritz and the makers of Maytag Blue Cheese. Hmmm… Maytag Blue and Anchor Old Foghorn… Yum! Thanks Fritz!

• Victory Brewing Co. Increases Capacity, Again – Victory Brewing recently added eight 440-barrel fermentation tanks to its expanded production floor. This effectively increases their capacity by 33%. These new fermentation tanks join four other tanks added to the brewery only about 10 months ago. This most recent expansion will push Victory’s beer production to over 100,000 US Barrels (3.15MM US Gallons) per year. Can you say GROWTH!

In addition to the strong economic signals from many parts of the brewing industry, I also believe that there are strong signs of a healthy microbrewer “farm system”… the homebrewers of the world. I was recently invited to attend the The New Hampshire Homebrewer’s Jamboree held annually in early September. While I have never attended this particular event, now in its 14th year, the consistent number of participating homebrewers… at least 6 clubs and 120+ contest entries this year… in this event from year to year gives me great hope for the future of New England’s brewing marketplace. I am truly looking forward to sampling all of the creations of these beer artisans in September.

When I began this examination, I was truly afraid that I would find that the beer industry had matched the economic devastation of so many other industries over the last several years. What I found, instead, was an industry with few real lasting economic scars. There are, without question, many breweries, brewpubs and bars struggling to make ends meet in the shadow of the emerging “new normal”. Some of this fallout of the weak and poorly run or ill conceived is a perfectly normal part of the natural selection process that all industries are constantly undergoing… recessions just make those changes happen faster and perhaps be more dramatic and visible to us. I still have a very positive outlook for our industry… particularly the craft beer movement. You can be absolutely certain, even as I take stock of the necessary changes in my life to produce my own “new normal”, that craft beer will continue its very strong influence in my future. Cheers to all of you! Now go have a beer!

We have attended this event the last several years and have always seemed to luck out with the weather on the day that we chose to attend. This year was no different and the weather was perfect… sunny and VERY hot… with the temperature hovering near 90F and the dewpoint well over 70F by mid-afternoon. Based on my observations from years past, I would have to say that the event was far better attended than in previous years. By late afternoon, in spite of the oppressive heat, the area in front of the beer tent as well as all of the aisles/roads around the venue had turned into a hot seething mass of humanity.

This year’s event saw 42 teams compete for the title of “The Harpoon New England Grand Champion”. Because this is a KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) sanctioned event judged by KCBS-certified judges, this event’s Grand Champion qualifies for the nation’s ultimate barbecue competition, the American Royal Barbecue held at the end of September in Kansas City. The American Royal Barbecue is the season finale for the grueling competitive BBQ circuit. Spreading over 20 acres in Kansas City’s historic Stockyards District, with nearly 500 teams competing in four culinary contests, The Royal is the largest barbecue contest in the world and can truly be called the “World Series of Barbecue.”

The Harpoon BBQ event is actually two competitions in one weekend… one for BBQ (Saturday) and the other for Grilling (Sunday). The combined scores from both of these contests is used to determine the event Grand Champion. We attended only on Saturday and were able to sample BBQ’d products from several of the event’s competitors. To be very honest, I am both extremely envious and incredibly in awe of the people that try to (and apparently can) distinguish the subtle differences between each competitor’s offerings. We sampled BBQ from several competitors and all of the BBQ that I tasted was outstanding. I would find it very difficult to name a “winner” from those few competitors and can’t imagine trying to select the best from all 42. As we have learned in previous years, it is always a bit of a crap shoot in trying to select your samples carefully in hopes of correctly choosing to taste BBQ from the eventual winner. We were not that fortunate this year, but the all competitors that we did eat from finished in the top 10 overall. The team named the event Grand Champion must have had one of those incredibly rare weekends where everything seemed to come together for them. The team “Feeding Friendz” was named the top team on both days (BBQ and Grilling) and will be headed to Kansas City in September to compete against the BBQ world’s best.

There are other things going on at this event besides just BBQ eating and beer drinking; though I am sure those would be enough for many people. The New England Barbecue Society in cooperation with the Harpoon folks have a tent set up for something called the “Beer and Barbecue University”. Here they conduct informational seminars throughout the day on many topics surrounding, not surprisingly, beer and barbecue. I did not attend any of these session this year, which I have found very interesting in past years, but the tent was packed full of people all afternoon.

The event is also host to the Vermont “Strongman” competition every year. Men and women compete to see who can lift, carry or drag the heaviest objects in several different categories. Though not quite on par with similar, world-class competitions seen on television, it is fairly impressive to watch these folks compete against each other and themselves; feats particularly challenging on such a warm day.

As a final note, I would like to digress a bit from the Barbecue and Beer theme of this article to talk about another of my passions… hot peppers! I have been a chili-head for many years and truly love the “endorphin rush” that comes from obsessively scorching your insides with peppery foods. As you might expect at events like these, there are always a few vendors offering hot pepper products (rubs, powders, sauces, relishes, etc.) for sale. These vendors usually always provide small samples of their products. While I have a very high tolerance for capsiacin (the “active” ingredient in chili peppers) compared to most people, I had a bit of a life altering experience at the hands of one of these vendors. I was “treated” to a very small sample of a hot sauce with the catchy name of “East Armageddon Post Apocalyptic”. This sauce contains elements of the Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia), which according to Guinness is the world’s hottest pepper, and just a touch of pure capsiacin oleoresin. As a result, the sauce is rated at over 1,000,000 Scoville Units. Honestly… this pepper sauce significantly and forever changed my definition of *HOT*. There is not any real flavor to a product such as this, despite what others might say; it is all about the heat, the burn and the “rush” that they produce. Without experiencing that level of heat for yourself, you cannot really imagine how hot that sauce really is. There are many products on the market that are rated even hotter than this one and I can’t imagine what they would be used for, but I am sure that “ego” might play a part in their selection and consumption. While my experience was not worthy of a video on YouTube (fortunately), I did feel the effects of that tiny sample for quite a while afterwards.

I am fairly certain that Harpoon will host this excellent event again next year and I would hope to attend it again. It is a great opportunity for Harpoon to not only showcase their beer, which included their WBC medal winning UFO Hefe, but it also shows their support of the greater New England community. This is a family and pet friendly event that will continue to draw large crowds because of the great food as well as the fun and novelty of watching teams of people compete to claim title as the “best” at producing some of America’s favorite summertime foods.

Organized by the 21-member breweries of the Vermont Brewers Association, the VBF is held every year on the shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington’s Waterfront Park. It is a truly beautiful setting to hold such an event and last Saturday’s hot and sunny weather made it seem that much better. The proximity of the lake and a steady,cooling breeze coming off of the water made the day seem pleasant, in spite of the fact that the temperature reached 90F that afternoon.

As has become the “norm” for the past several years, all three tasting sessions for the event were sold out prior to the start of the festival; on-line ticket sales coupled with “print-at-home” capability make it very easy to get signed up for one or more of the sessions. Unlike some festivals that I have been to recently, the admission ticket is a relatively inexpensive $25, but that price only gets you 15 tickets for regular 3oz beer samples and the higher ABV samples require two tickets. This is in contrast to the increasingly common practice at bigger beer festivals of boosting the admission price while limiting the sample size to 2oz for an unlimited number of samples. I am still on the fence as to which format works better, but I am definitely leaning toward the slightly more expensive smaller/unlimited format. I found that I needed to be quite judicious in selecting which beers I sampled because of the limited tickets and there were many more beers that I would have liked to have tried given the opportunity. More tickets could have been purchased, but I did not feel like taking that route. For me, the opportunity to sample a larger variety of beers far outweighs the quantity of the beer I would get during the event.

The number of tickets sold for each session had been an issue for me at past VBF events, as the number of attendees was far too many and access to the brewers’ tents and other facilities was limited by the sheer number people present. I am very happy to report that they have learned from past events and not only did they expand the venue slightly, but organized the layout of the tents and facilities in a much more sensible way. It is possible that the same number of tickets were sold as for the VBF event I attended two years ago, but it seemed far less crowded and the lines at the brewers’ tents seemed much less long to me. Cheers to that!

The VBF event has taken on a much more “regional” feel to it and nearly all of the brewers present were from greater New England or Eastern Canada. The Abita and Brooklyn breweries were there too, but they stuck out amongst the other, more local brewers. I had heard that other breweries, like Stone Brewing, would have liked to have attended this year’s VBF, but were denied access by the organizers of the event. By my estimation, the larger and better organized venue would have provided plenty of room for perhaps another ten or more brewers, so it should not have been a problem (in my opinion) to allow more brewers access. Personally, I missed not having some of the brewers, like Stone, that have been at past VBF events. I am not privy to the logic used in determining which brewers could attend, but if the goal is a “regional” event, then Abita from Louisiana and Brooklyn from NYC stood out even more as “exceptions” to the other brewers present.

While I did not attend the VBF event with a fixed plan or a theme in mind for my explorations, one definitely emerged for me during the afternoon. One of the good things to happen with this event over the years is the increasing number of Canadian breweries that attend this event. As I moved around the venue visiting these foreign brewers, what struck me was that all of them were offering at least one type of Saison-style beer for sampling. This was in stark contrast the the more common types of beer being offered by most of the domestic brewers. Many/most of my 15 sample tickets ended up being used to sample these Saisons from the north and I have to tell you that I was very impressed with the very high quality beer that these brewers are producing. I was fortunate enough to be able to talk with most of the owner/brewers of these breweries and I am pretty sure that I will be arranging a trip north to visit some of them in the near future. Montreal is only about a 2-hour drive from my house… plus the time I will sit in the line at Customs waiting to cross the border. The four Canadian breweries that attended this year’s VBF are geographically close enough together to be taken in during a 2 or 3 day trip. Sounds like a plan might be coming together…

Some of the other beers/breweries that stood out for me included:

• The Zero Gravity Brewery from Burlington was serving a “Solstice Gruit Ale”. You can read more about what a “Gruit” is in a great article by my fellow HopPress writer Brian Cendrowski called “Gruit: Beer Gone Hopless”. Though I am, without any doubt, an unrepentant hop head, I did not miss the hops one bit in this very interesting and fruity beer.
• The Benelux brewery from Montreal was serving a triple rye Saison, called Ergot, that was probably the “best of show” for me. Unusual because of the rye component and the higher ABV of 9%, it was definitely one of the best Saisons that I have ever had in spite of the fact that it was not true to the exact Saison style of beer.
• The Flying Goose Brew Pub from New London, NH was serving a type of beer not commonly found these days, called Armenian Steam Beer. It was both tasty and true to its style.
• Dieu du Ciel from St-Jerome, Quebec was serving a triple, called L’Herbe à Détourne, made with Citra hops that provided for a truly excellent example of the use of one of my favorite hops.

I could go on about all of the beers that I sampled, but I won’t. Since I had to be selective and because I am a beer collector, the beers that I chose were all some that I had not had before. Beer festivals are an excellent means of building your collection and, in spite of the limitations because of the sample tickets, I still added plenty to my beer list during the event.

The combination of the better organization and the, apparently, smaller crowd at this year’s VBF event will definitely bring me back next year. The VBF is a perfect opportunity to sample beers from the many great brewers of our region. Those of us that live in Vermont are fortunate to have clean air, clean water, beautiful scenery and great beer. I don’t see how it could get much better than that.