Andrew: I’m home sick today. It sucks because I want to drink the beer that I bought last weekend on the epic VT trip. Luckily, there are only a few I have yet to try. First I’ll start this post by finishing off the day and night we spent in Waterbury, VT:

After visiting The Alchemist, the BrewBoyz needed to fill their sexy bodies with something other than beer . . . well, we had more beer, but we also had some BBQ at Prohibition Pig.

Prohibition Pig, Waterbury, VT

Along with that pesky food that humans (even BrewBoyz on beercations) need to survive, we had more beer. We started with a Hill Farmstead Edward (see review here). Then we had a Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union. I’ve wanted to try this beer for a long time and it did not disappoint. I love citrus-y IPAs and this had a nice mild citrus flavor and aroma—very refreshing.

Next we had a new local VT beer from Zero Gravity called The Great Snipe. It’s so new that there’s hardly anything online about it (I linked to the BeerAdvocate review but there was nothing about it last week). It’s a saison brewed with peppercorns. It was a nice change of pace after the Edward and Jack’s Abby, which both have very similar flavor profiles. The peppercorns are not overpowering as far as any sort of heat. It had a nice spice flavor and was a great palate cleanser for  . . .  MORE Heady Topper on draft. Yeah, we couldn’t turn down having another taste of Heady Topper on tap, which is somehow even better than from the can (as mentioned in part III).

Heady Topper on tap!

Draft Menu at Prohibition Pig

After Prohibition Pig, we went to Blackback Pub. We got there and I knew what I wanted immediately after looking at their chalkboard: Lawson’s Toast black IPA. ALAS, the keg was kicked! However, the super friendly bartender was able to squeeze a tiny taste from the keg. We each got to try a little—the first Lawson’s I’ve ever had—and it was really good. Nice hoppiness and toasty malt. Very smooth—not too bitter. I just wish I got to have more, but it was nice to at least have a taste. Then we each had another Society & Solitude #5 (see review in part II). The bartender said that we came in on a particularly low-stock day because of the preceding holiday week. We already had just about everything else on their menu during our trip or otherwise and decided to go back to Prohibition Pig, where they have an insanely comprehensive beer menu.

BlackBack Pub, Waterbury, VT

Amazing (but limited) selection at BlackBack Pub

I noticed on the first visit that they had Logsdon Seizoen Bretta and convinced Eric (who is slowly beginning to “get” sour beers) that we should go and get that bottle, because I’ve heard amazing things about this beer. So, we did! What a great, balanced saison. Not super sour, but had a nice funky, bready, and mild fruit flavor. It would be the last beer of the evening and we decided to head on back to the motel.

Logsdon Seizoen Bretta

Logsdon Seizoen Bretta (back label)

If you think this is where our epic beer tale ends, you’d be wrong, faithful BrewBoyz readers (all 15.5 of you!).

After a pretty crappy night of sleep in the motel, the BrewBoyz awoke, packed up the car with epic VT brews and hit the road. But first, we needed to make one more beer stop: Hunger Mountain Co-op.  We heard that they might have some Lawson’s and some other beers that we would not wantt to miss out on taking home to NYC. Lo and behold, they did have Lawson’s! We each bought bottles of their Chinooker’d IPA and a Jack’s Abby Smoked Maple Lager collaboration. I was also super excited to find more Logsdon and bought a bottle of the Seizon Bretta to take home. They had so many beers that I would have loved to buy, but I literally have no more room for beer in my apartment. I actually had more beer in my cart, which I (painfully) decided to put back on the shelves. Oh, the horror!

I wish I wasn’t sick, otherwise these would be empty!

Well, that concludes the epic BrewBoyz VT beercation. We hope to go visit sometime soon. VT is truly one of the best, if not the best beer states in the U.S. It’s a shame that it’s not easier to get these beers outside of the state. It’s hard to get them outside of the immediate area where they are brewed! While it may be annoying to get, the limited production is also what makes these beers so good. Mass production reduces quality of anything. we’re very fortunate to have tried what we did and to have had such a good time in the great state of VT.

Cheers!

Related articles

• A Very BrewBoyz Road Trip – Part II: Hill Farmstead (wheresthebeerny.wordpress.com)
• A Very BrewBoyz Road Trip – Part I: The Itinerary (wheresthebeerny.wordpress.com)
• A Very BrewBoyz Road Trip – Part III: The Alchemist (wheresthebeerny.wordpress.com)