5 Of The Best Breweries Across Vermont

Perhaps the best evidence of the outsized impact the state of Vermont has had on the craft brewing world can be found more than 4,000 miles away, in Wieprz, Poland. Among the draught list of Browar PINTA, the country's first craft brewery, is "Vermont IPA." PINTA is not alone, either. Other Polish breweries pour Vermont IPAs, as has Brighton Bier in England, Berhet Brewery in Slovakia, Craft & Co in Australia — not to mention Roc Brewing, Boojum Brewing Company, and Oak Park Brewing Company in the United States. 

This international fame is largely due to the 2004 release of Heady Topper by The Alchemist, a brewery based in Waterbury, Vermont. Over the next several years, this hoppy, hazy IPA grew to legendary status, ranking among the top beers in the world. It spawned lines out the door of The Alchemist cannery and Vermont liquor stores. The beer was in such demand, a black market popped up, with five cases demanding a $825 price tag. It also launched this new type of IPA into the stratosphere, especially as breweries everywhere began following suit, calling them New England IPAs or hazy IPAs. It also turned Vermont into one of the world's great beer meccas, with the most breweries per capita of any state. Here are five that stand out for both the beer and brewery.

Having any conversation about Vermont beer without The Alchemist Brewery is like talking about Paris but never mentioning the Eiffel Tower. With its tremendous success and global impact, The Alchemist is now imprinted in the genetic code of the Vermont beer world and an essential stop on any tour. Fortunately, it's able to meet this demand — and the traffic it brings — at its brewery in Stowe, Vermont, the town nicknamed "Fall's Color Capital." The 16,000-square-foot facility offers far more than just Heady Topper, too, having expanded its beer menu to include imperial stout, porter, saison, kriek, and more. Just be sure to save one pint for the only hand-pulled version of Heady Topper you can find anywhere.

All of these are poured in the on-site beer cafe along with rotating, seasonal food trucks dispensing savory complements, from jerk chicken tacos to veggie samosas. Visitors are also welcome to see the heady magic happen on 40-minute brewery tours, capped at 12 people per tour. The $25 fee includes a can of beer and commemorative tasting glass and goes to support scholarships for local graduating high school students. In warmer weather, the expansive lawn outside sees cornhole competitions, while the patio hosts regular live music and DJs.

In terms of pure story, no one can beat the von Trapp family, who landed in Stowe, Vermont, after famously escaping the Nazis — as depicted in the 1965 film, "The Sound of Music." In Vermont, the family founded a new home in a snowy, mountainous landscape not unlike Austria. For decades, the von Trapps and their descendants have served Vermonters and visitors at the mountaintop, Swiss-chalet-style, Trapp Family Lodge. In fact, a small cemetery on the property contains the remains of Maria, Captain von Trapp and six of the children. Their descendants still own and operate the lodge — not far from one of the most photographed destinations in Vermont.

It was the youngest son, Johannes von Trapp, that began brewing beer in the basement in the styles of his Austrian homeland. This grew quickly, and within five years, transformed into a 30,000-square-foot brewery turning out Germanic-style lagers, pilsners, dunkels, kölshes, and helles. These are paired with wursts, schnitzel, spätzle, and other beer-friendly bites in the brewery's sun-splashed restaurant. Tours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays offer behind-the-scenes access to the brewing operations. In warmer weather, visitors can also take advantage of the 18-hole disc golf course that wraps around the property.

In terms of awards, it's Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, Vermont, that goes toe-to-toe with The Alchemist, if not surpassing it. Between 2015 and 2020, it was named the best brewery in the world by RateBeer. This is largely due to the beer-making skills of owner, Shaun Hill, who drew much of his inspiration from Denmark, where he worked at Nørrebro Bryghus in Copenhagen. This influence can be tasted in each sip, specifically in the calcium chloride and oats that give it what he calls a "fluffy roundness". In 2009, Hill returned to Vermont and established the brewery on his family's farm, making him the seventh generation to work the land in this remote corner of Vermont — a fact paid tribute to in the family names that grace his beers.

While Hill Farmstead beer is available at dozens of bars and restaurants in Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts, the brewery does not distribute bottles and cans to shops or liquor stores. This entices eager enthusiasts to visit the brewery, in one of the most rural parts of a rural state — about 1.5 hours by car from Burlington — if they want to take any home. They'll be rewarded with a taproom and retail store selling bottles and cans. No tours are available, but visitors can still witness the action from the retail area, which shares the space. The broad, green lawns and picnic areas surrounding also host occasional events in the summer, including the Festival of Farmhouse Ales.

Another face carved into the Mount Rushmore of Vermont brewers is Sean Lawson, who brewed his first beer as a student at the University of Vermont in 1990. But it was the beer he began turning out at his tiny one-barrel, nano-brewery in a shed outside his home in Warren, Vermont in the late 2000s that got local tongues wagging and licking their lips, especially for the tropically tinted IPA, Sip of Sunshine. This only grew — along with distribution and recognition — into the 30-barrel, 7,500-square-foot brewery and taproom in Waitsfield, Vermont. Lawson's Finest Liquids opened in 2018 along Route 100. The state's premier scenic byway adds significant allure to the flavors of the pale ales, pilsners, gose, and stout on tap.

In tiny Waitsfield — in the heart of the Mad River Valley — the large timber-structured, grand-hall-style taproom stands out. In colder weather, it turns particularly cozy, as the 200-capacity crowds warm up to the fireplaces. There is a conscious lack of TVs, which encourages social connections. A games area caters to children and makes the taproom family-friendly. The space is large enough to host regular music performances and other events, and pop-ups, such as Fresh Catch Thursdays, round out the grilled cheese, charcuterie, chili, and comfort food on the menu. In warmer weather, the fun spills out to the expanding outdoor patio.

Over the past decade, activity in Burlington, Vermont, has arguably shifted from the Church Street Marketplace to the Pine Street corridor, along Lake Champlain. The former industrial zone has been repopulated with art galleries and studios, restaurants, cocktail bars, a cidery, and four breweries within 10 minutes walking distance from each other. Zero Gravity Brewery wins by a nose in any theoretical race, thanks as much to its vibrant and quirky atmosphere as excellent range of IPAs and lagers. Its Green State Lager, in particular, is one of the best in the state. The clientele is young and local, embracing many of 17,000 college students that fill the classrooms of several universities.

They spread out among the three major areas — a subway-tiled bar area with high-top tables, a chillaxed and cozy lounge with leather sofas and a fireplace, and an outdoor patio with heat lamps. All areas have access to a food menu more inventive than most, including Detroit-style Coney dogs, mushroom Koji burgers, and chickpea fritters, as well as a daily coffee and waffle menu available until 2 p.m. Altogether, it makes the brewery one of Burlington's best hangouts. Success is growing the brewery quickly, too, with the beer now appearing in shops and bars in 10 states.

In addition to growing up in Vermont, Mike Dunphy has covered the beer scene there for more than a decade, publishing articles and guides for Beer Advocate, Fodor's, and InsideHook. As editor-in-chief of a local Vermont newspaper for two years, he also regularly interviewed brewers, covered openings, and more. Furthermore, he's worked at one Vermont brewery and visited many others in the state, including all that appear in this article.

The criteria for selection here go beyond the beer itself to include the location, size, facilities, food at the breweries, as well as their importance to the Vermont craft brewing scene. He acknowledges the challenge of making the selection, as many other Vermont breweries are just as worthy. As such, he encourages all to add more breweries to their Fall getaway itinerary in Vermont.