Brewpubs of Vermont

This article is a special contribution from Kurt Staudter, Vermont Brewers Association

The idea of pairing beer with food is perhaps the oldest preoccupation of mankind, but only in Vermont has the art reached its zenith. Greg Noonan of the Vermont Pub & Brewery in Burlington is credited with being a brewpub pioneer, and for almost twenty years is still on the cutting edge of blending great food and interesting brews. Just down the block is the Zero Gravity Brewery at American Flatbread where in addition to their own beers, they have a fantastic selection of other offerings in their Burlington Taproom. If you’re looking for a game of pool, another great brewpub in the Queen City is Three Needs.
Outside of Burlington along the spine of the Green Mountains, we have The Alchemist in Waterbury, The Shed Restaurant and Brewery in Stowe, The Bobcat Café in Bristol, and Stonecutters Brewhouse in Barre. All have many exciting menu items to pair with creative craft beers.
On either end of the state you can get a craft brew with award winning food: In the Northeast Kingdom in Lyndonville, The Trout River Brewery serve up flatbreads on Friday and Saturday night, and in Bennington Madison Brewing declares that they are a great restaurant that happened to brew beer. Windsor County boasts three great places to have a meal and a fresh brew: The Long Trail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners, a little more upscale is the Jasper Murdock’s Alehouse at the Norwich Inn, and lighter fare can be found at the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor.
Another Vermont original is McNeill’s Brewery in Brattleboro, where locals and visitors gather at long shared tables, and can snack on light finger food over a pint of one of their award winning ales. Hours of operation for all the pubs can be found at www.vermontbrewers.com.
So if you’re hungry and want some of the best craft beers in the country, visit one of the many extraordinary Vermont brewpubs. You’ll quickly understand why Vermont is the place where the good things to eat and drink come from, and as they say “Vermont brews Best!”
Related post: Harpoon Brewery - BBQ Competition

Historical Vermont Towns & Commons

Photo: Norwich common

Vermont has so many of these historical towns, with their traditional greens (also called commons). Most often, time has left these village centers just like they were in the 19th century, and the white church with its steeple or town meeting hall dominating the green, the forested mountain backdrops and the overall sense of both openness and cozyness make many of these small villages very picturesque, without a doubt.
Village commons come from an old English tradition which was brought to Vermont at the end of the 18th century where most of the original villages were chartered. In England, villages had common land and land owners had the rights to fish, cut wood, take sand and stone, dig peats and graze their livestock on such lands. In New England, all settlers could graze their livestock on the common land. Located at the center of the village along with its first town meeting hall, it was a gathering place for farmers who lived on dispersed farms accross the countryside. There are now 251 Vermont cities and towns, and among those, here is a list of the 30 towns considered the most picturesque ones… so if you’re driving around, make sure to take a detour, enjoy the scenery, and snap this “perfect picture”!

Brandon	Hyde Park	Peru
Brookfield	Manchester	Plymouth
Chelsea	Middletown Springs	Randolph Center
Chester	Montgomery	South Royalton
Craftsbury Common	Newbury	South Woodstock
Danville	Newfane	Stowe
Dorset	Norwich	Strafford
East Poultney	Old Bennington	Thetford Hill
Grafton	Orwell	Weston
Guildhall	Peacham	Woodstock

Note: The list is from the 1984 Book “Vermont Townscape” from Norman Williams Jr. et al.