Vermont's Vibrant Craft Beer Scene

After finishing up our delightful meal, it was time to head back to the inn for a meet and greet with other people who would be attending Ciderstock, the Woodchuck Cider music festival that was to be one of our stops during this trip. From our hotel we headed to the Big Moose Pub, a 5-minute walk, and then began imbibing and mingling. Numerous Vermont favorites were on tap, including Long Trail Brewing Company’s Double Bag and Magic Hat Brewing Company’s #9, and the eponymous, taxidermied Big Moose overlooked the frothy fray with unseeing detachment.

The next day, we awoke and headed straight to one of the major reasons for our Vermont trip: Hop Jam, the beer festival located in the cozy climes of the Bolton Valley ski lodge. Of course, in the middle of the summer, skiing conditions weren’t ideal, but that meant that the lodge had been transformed into a craft beer paradise.

Some of the most whale-filled breweries in New England were present at Hop Jam. Many of Vermont’s finest were present, such as The Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Lawson’s Finest Liquids and the aforementioned Fiddlehead, all pouring some small-batch delights – many of which were brewed only for this event.

Highly acclaimed New England breweries Peace Tree, Trillium, Lord Hobo and Bissel Bros. were also on hand to pour some rare brews. 

Picturesque vistas abounded in pastoral Middlebury, VT.

The Bolton Valley resort was picturesque and blanketed with craft beer enthusiasts. A stage had been erected right in front of the ski lodge and numerous local bands rocked out for the entirety of the event. Food trucks, retail kiosks, a brewery swag center, cell phone charging station, and even an oversized Jenga game made this an expertly planned and flawlessly executed event. A large, airy tent was a perfect meeting place for fellow beer drinkers. Sipping New England's finest amongst the raucous crowd while taking in sun dappled slopes amongst the clouds was an indelible, quintessentially Vermont-ian experience.

Invigorated, we headed down the winding mountain road towards our next event, Woodchuck’s Ciderstock. As the name would suggest, Woodchuck Cider created a huge outdoor music festival soaked in its delectable ciders. Cage the Elephant were the headlining band and performed their biggest hits with gusto, including “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” “Come a Little Closer,” and “Cigarette Daydreams.”