Memorial Day Weekend ‘11 was definitely one for the books. A weekend full of good music, food, beer, and company. The only issues were a bit of bad weather and a 1 mile stretch of “road” that our GPS led us down (a word of warning: DO NOT blindly follow your GPS down grass covered roads in the middle of the woods when you’re in a Hyundai sedan!!!).
Friday, May 27th
Adam and I kicked the weekend off with a pit stop at the Warren Store in Warren, VT where he picked up a few bottles of Lawson’s Finest Liquids a nanobrewery in the area. From there we were going to try the American Flatbread in Waitsfield, VT, but sadly it wasn’t open till 5. :( So instead we headed to our next stop in Waterbury. We ended up at Blackback Pub and were able to try some Hill Farmstead beers for the first time and a day ahead of schedule. I was a big fan of Arthur (a saison) and Adam loved the Abner IPA. The place was so small and cozy with a max capacity of about 10 people, which gave it a real laid back vibe. It is definitely a spot that we plan on returning to in the future. Also it turned out that pretty much everyone at the bar would also be at Hill Farmstead for the big anniversary party.
Our next stop was The Alchemist Brewpub (right down the street from the Blackback) for a quick beer sampler and a plate of locally made cheese. The standouts were their Wild Child Sour Red and the sharp cheddar cheese.
We ended our day in Burlington, VT. As a UVM grad, Adam was very excited to show me around all the old places that he used to go to when he was there. The highlight was American Flatbread (this branch was open!). After an hour and a half wait, our expectations were sky high and the restaurant delivered. The pizza was delicious! They also brew their own beer and we had a real interesting Lavender Ginger Pale Ale.
Saturday, May 28th
Greensboro Bend here we come! We arrived at Hill Farmstead with rain clouds threatening to ruin our day, but they didn’t dampen our spirits. Instead we quickly setup (and rainproofed) our tent on some of the beautiful farmland that surrounds the brewery and prepared for a day of drinking great beers and meeting new people. Above you can see a picture of some of the different brews on tap. Hill Farmstead Flora (another saison) was my favorite and Adam really liked the Genealogy Imperial Stout.
The party wrapped up at 6, but that wasn’t the end of our day. Back at the campsite, an impromptu tasting broke out even as the rain started to fall. A ridiculous amount of rare beers were shared including Trinity Old Growth and Russian River Consecration. We also met a ton of great people and ate some fantastic food. It was the perfect capper to a wonderful day.
Sunday, May 29th
Day 3 of our trip started off with a visit to the Cabot Creamery in Cabot, VT where we were able to taste free samples of around 20 different cheeses. The Chipotle Cheddar was out of this world and the Habanero version just about killed Adam. We didn’t have time for the tour, but the gift shop is definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area. From there we met up with Adam’s friend, Rich, at his log cabin (yes, he lives in a log cabin!) in Pomfret, VT for a beautiful hike through the Green Mountains. Then Rich became our unofficial tour guide and drove us all around the area. The highlights were lunch on the Harpoon Brewery’s lovely patio, a few pints at one of the smallest brewery’s in the country, and breakfast at a place in Barnard that is a general store, deli, restaurant, ice cream shop, and internet cafe all rolled into one! Perhaps the most laid back day in our trip (and the only one we didn’t have a plan for in advance) it was exactly what we needed to wrap up the long weekend before our drive back to Boston.
More photographs are available on Picasa.
Frommer’s
