Brewery Breaking Records

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Created on Thursday, 03 March 2016 20:23

Written by Dylan Clark

GREENSBORO- The Northeast Kingdom, known for years for its beautiful fall scenery and harsh winter months, can now lay claim to another fame. According to Ratebeer, Hill Farmstead Brewery based out of Greensboro has been named the best place in the world to get a beer for three out of the last four years.

Owner Shaun Hill has been in control of the operation for six years now, and understands the importance of a good homemade beer in Vermont's culture.

"We're very self critical of our beer," said Hill. "If something doesn't taste right or the way its supposed to then we dump it down the drain we don't release it. We don't call it something different, and there's a lot of breweries that'll just put fruit into it and call it something else."

After opening in March of 2010, the Hill Farmstead Brewery is continued from the culmination of many years of travel and insight. The brewery itself is centered around the continuation of over 220 years of what they call, "Hill heritage and craft brew history in Greensboro."

Their passion for excellence is what has allowed Hill Farmstead Brewery to remain the top beer in the world for three out of the last four years. Employee Phil Young says the brewery won't release the beer until they feel it is ready.

"When we brew a pale hoppy beer, from the day we brew it until the day we package it, it's usually about three weeks," said Young. "For a lot of other breweries that would be considered a very long time. They would try to get these beers packaged and sold quicker because you can make more money that way."

Aside from the taste and quality of the beer, what truly makes this such a great brewery is its location. The Northeast Kingdom, which is home to over 30 years of hand-crafted beers, adds some history to each brew. Owner Shaun Hill agrees the location adds to the already great beer.

"You know we're off the beaten path, obviously. There's a reason we're here and not off an interstate exit ramp or even on a paved road somewhere you know arguably we get a lot of traffic," said Hill. "Don't get me wrong but arguably we would get a lot more if say we were in Burlington but I think choosing to have it out here is sort of a pilgrimage type thing that people come out here and make the trek as often as I hear."

Consumers of this well crafted beer have indeed traveled miles to get a hold of it. Peter Watson makes the trek all the way from Bermuda to vacation in Vermont and says the brewery is the first stop on his journey.

"We first came here about 3 years ago," said Watson. "It was about January 15th, [the] temperature was about 10 below. We had to stand in line for about 3 hours to get in; there was such a crowd. The staff that work here do a tremendous job."

Don't expect to find Hill Farmstead in just any liquor or convenience store either.

"There was never a point where we depended upon the wholesale market and sending beer out to the masses, and people have just been coming here since we started and [we've] just have never shifted," said Hill.

Avid beer lovers may soon see another brewery coming to the Northeast Kingdom, as Next Trick Brewery is attempting to finalize permits in accordance with Act 250. If things go as planned, they would be allowed to build a brewery and beer tasting room, in an already existing building in West Burke this coming summer. However, for now the top brews remain at Hill Farmstead.