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My featured article for Ratebeer’s The Hop Press… this article was posted on Saturday, May 29th. Matt and Renee Nadeau started the Rock Art Brewery out of the basement of their house near Johnson, VT in 1997. Then a one-man operation, Rock Art has seen significant growth since then. In 2002, the Rock Art operation moved from Matt’s house to their current location in a very industrial looking warehouse in Morrisville, VT and they have been expanding ever since.
My latest featured article for RateBeer’s The Hop Press… posted on Saturday, May 8th. Even for Vermonters, Greensboro, VT is just a bit off of the beaten path. There are no Interstate highways, freeways or even what most people would consider major highways nearby. Get off of the larger paved roads that do exist and your GPS is quickly made useless by the network of unpaved roads that crisscross the farmland which dominates the countryside in this region.
My latest featured article for RateBeer’s The Hop Press… posted on Saturday, April 17th. A while back I had the very great pleasure of again visiting the Magic Hat Brewery in South Burlington, Vermont. I say again, but you should understand that my visits to their facility were about 15 years apart. Though not first on the Vermont beer scene, Magic Hat embodies the essence of what is “right” about many of the brewers in Vermont.
Project WorkSAFE, Vermont’s Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program, is pleased to announce that Long Trail Brewing of Bridgewater Corners has successfully completed and met the requirements of the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). The company and the Vermont Department of Labor’s, Project WorkSAFE Program began working on the certification process over 12 months ago. “We applaud the employees and management of Long Trail Brewing in this accomplishment, especially in these tough economic times” said Scott Meyer, Manager of Project WorkSAFE. “We are excited about Long Trail’s continued leadership as a Vermont based brewer”, said Brian Walsh, President of Long Trail Brewing. Walsh went on to emphasize, “The SHARP recognition is an extension of the company’s passion to make award winning beer, but with emphasis on a safe and healthy environment for our brewing team.”
I have been wanting to visit the Bobcat Cafe & Brewery for a long time and I was not disappointed. The brewpub is located right on the main “drag” in downtown Bristol, Vermont. We arrived a bit before the dining room opened and were immediately “assigned” a table for when we were ready to eat and we sat at the bar while waiting. The decor is old, warm and homey… lots of real wood everywhere. The bartender was very social and quite knowledgeable about the beer that they were serving. They had 12 taps with their own beer that night along with a small selection of “foreign” taps. I also noticed that they have a “mug club” here and the tender told us it was fully subscribed… a good sign. Since 4 oz. beer “samplers” were only $1 and I had a designated driver with me, I was able to sample all 12 of their in-house selections. While I definitely felt that some of them were better than others… several were very good, one was not good at all… the brewer clearly knows what he is doing. When we did get to dinner, I was pleasantly surprised to find much more than just the standard pub fare… in fact some of their offerings were down right unusual… Vermont venison/chorizo meatloaf, for example. I had a nice salad and an order of something they called a “pecora” (batter fried slivered vegetables), which were both very tasty. The traffic through their door while we were there was busy (a Saturday night), but the staff efficiently moved them through. As with the bartender, the wait-staff was knowledgeable and very friendly. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and will hope to get back there sometime soon.
It is not uncommon for me to search the Web for artifacts concerning the particular beer I am drinking at the time. I am sitting here drinking a Pennichuck Brewing “The Big O” Oktoberfest Lager and have just run across some very sad references to the Pennichuck Brewing Company. Apparently it has escaped my attention, until now, that Pennichuck has been on the brink of closure for the last month or so; a fact that now seems virtually inevitable. On October 18th, Pennichuck announced that they would be closing up shop after about four years of operation. No reason was given for the closing. On October 19th the company announced that it had secured “angel” funding and would not need to close after all. However, on October 31st the following listing appeared on the NH Craigslist: Pennichuck Brewing Co is realigning all company assets. We have While this listing indicates that they hope to begin production again at some point, it seems fairly unlikely; given that they are selling some of the very equipment and supplies necessary for that process. I mourn the demise of this and any fine brewer, for whatever reason (I’m sure that the bad economy didn’t help)… its a fact that 80% of all business startups fail within their first 3 years and Pennichuck beat those odds. As I sit here enjoying one of their excellent beers… IBF winner of the Bronze Medal in 2006 and the Silver Medal in 2007… I can’t help but think of what I will be missing while I wait to see if they are able to resurrect themselves or if, unfortunately, they will simply fade into brewing history. There is no question that I will be on the lookout for any remaining Pennichuck beers at my favorite suppliers; hoping to gather that last taste of their little bit of beer heaven… or perhaps just stash away enough to see me through for a while and hope that they get back on their feet. Either way, I am sure to enjoy whatever I can find. |
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