Hill Farmstead Brewery – Founded 2010

If you follow my blog, Facebook page or Twitter account you know I am a huge fan of Shaun Hill and Hill Farmstead. I make regular trips to Greensboro and it is truly one of my favorite places to visit. Growing up in a small town in Maine and currently living and raising my   family in an even smaller town in Maine I enjoy the woods far more than the city. This is only one of the reasons I love going to Hill Farmstead.

In addition to being in the middle of no where Vermont Shaun has hired some great people to work at the brewery. During my many visits to Hill Farmstead I have gotten to know Shaun and the rest of the crew at Hill Farmstead quite well and they are some of the nicest people you will meet. Hanging out with all of them at the various events, having growlers filled and chatting at a picnic table while enjoying samples, great times all around.

Getting there – 403 Hill Rd – Greensboro, VT

The drive from my home in Western Maine to Hill Farmstead is three house almost exactly. For me the drive is an enjoyable one with most of it on Routes 2 from Bethel, Maine all the way to Vermont. Views of the White Mountains including Mount Washington and almost no traffic make for a very relaxing three hours. If you need directions on how to get there click the link above or use your GPS. The directions are spot on and will deliver you directly to the brewery, please don’t call the brewery and ask, plan ahead and know where you are going.

The last portion of the trip includes well maintained dirt roads but be prepared if you are going in the winter or spring for some snow or mud covered roads. There is ample parking at the brewery and expect a line. The doors open at 12:00 but I have been there at 10:00 with people already waiting. I have also been there at 3:00 and found no lines at all, you never know so plan on a 60-90 minute wait during the week and 2 hours on the weekend.

The Brewery

Hill Farmstead’s expansion is basically complete and the brewery is entirely different now than it was when I started going. Phase one was complete in the fall of 2013 and phase two was just completed with the new tasting room opening in October 2015. The expansion included a new BrauKon brewhouse which is just beautiful. Hill posted several pictures of the brewery are on their Facebook Page. The expansion increased the overall square footage of the building by about 5 times. The first phase included a new retail area moving it out of the same room that houses the brew house but still in the same structure. The second phase of the expansion will moved the retail area again. There is much more room inside now and less of a chance you will be stuck outside while waiting.

The Retail Area

I often visit the brewery during the week so most of the time I am traveling by myself. While waiting in line I chat with the others that made the trip. People come from all parts of the US to visit Hill Farmstead and because they are less than an hour from Canada you often find people from Quebec waiting in line with you. With the new retail space you most likely will be waiting inside once the doors open at noon. Take some time to look around and appreciate the woodwork that Shaun’s brother Darren did during the construction, amazing work by a talented woodworker.

Prior to the expansion growler fills were limited to 3 or 5 depending on how busy they were but the days of unlimited growler fills have returned. This is good news for those that like to share.

It appears they have stopped offering samples of the beer in flights and now allow you to purchase a single full pour of one of the beers they have on tap. In addition to increasing the number of growler fills they have significantly increased the variety of bottles and the bottle limits with most of their “normal” saisons being a 2 case limit. Barrel aged or special beers now have a much smaller limit to help make the bottles last beyond the first couple of days. Their website is always up to date and you can find all of the details here.

Hill Farmstead Retail Website

Hill Farmstead now accepts; Visa, Mastercard and Discover. Vermont allows breweries to fill growlers from other breweries which Hill Farmstead does. They did recently update their growler policy; only amber growlers (no clear or stainless steel) and only the standard 64 ounce, 2L or 750 ml growlers. No German style growlers or funky shaped bottles as they simply do not fit under their taps. You can read the entire growler policy here.

Events

When I started going to Hill Farmstead in 2012 they had 3 events per year at the brewery. Their Anniversary Party on Memorial Day Weekend, Festival of Farmhouse Ales during the summer and their Harvest Festival in the fall. I was fortunate to get tickets to several of these events as they sell out fast. The events were some of the best times I have ever had drinking beer; a couple hundred beer people standing outside under tents drinking world class beer from Hill Farmstead and a slew of other breweries.

Shaun also brings in local food vendors giving you many great options to help soak up the beer. The events also included a bottle release (or several) so you always left with some great beer. In 2013 they decided not to have the Harvest Festival and in 2014 the Anniversary Event was moved to three bars in Waterbury due to construction. If there is another event at Hill Farmstead after the construction is complete do yourself a favor and try to get tickets.

The Beer

While there are a lot of breweries that do one thing well Hill Farmstead seems to do everything well. They are best known for their hoppy beers (growlers only) but they also make amazing saisons and have an extensive barrel aging program producing some excellent beers and occasional releases of brett fermented beers.

All of their hoppy beer; pale ales, IPAs and DIPAs are only available in growlers to ensure freshness. You may also see some beers under the Grassroots Brewing name. This is the name used for collaboration beers brewed with Shaun. The label art is usually very similar to Hill Farmstead bottles and you will still get the same quality beer.

At this point I have reviewed 50 different beers from Hill Farmstead/Grassroots Brewing and that does not include the 50+ beers I have in my cellar and the many one offs I have enjoyed at their events.

Reviews of beer can be found here;

	Abner Double IPA
	Amarillo Single Hop Pale Ale Pale Ale
	Anna Honey Saison
	Art Wine Barrel Aged Saison
	Arthur Saison
	Arthur Dry Hopped Segal Ranch Cascade Saison
	Biere De Norma Bier de Garde
	Brother Soigne (Grassroots Brewing) Saison
	Cascade Pale Ale Pale Ale
	Citra Pale Ale Pale Ale
	Civil Disobedience #15
	Conduct of Life #1 Pale Ale
	Dorothy Farmhouse Pale Ale
	Dorothy (Barrel Aged) Wine Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale
	Double Citra Double IPA
	Double Galaxy Double IPA
	E. Saison
	Earl Oatmeal Coffee Stout
	Edith Black Saison
	Edward Pale Ale
	Elaborative One Wild Ale
	Elaborative Four Saison
	Ephraim Double IPA
	Everett Porter
	Excursions #1 IPA
	Excursions #3 IPA
	Excursions #5 IPA
	Flora Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison
	Flora Blue / Black Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison Aged on Blueberries & Black Currants
	Flora Blue / Black / Raspberry Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison Aged on Blueberries, Black Currants & Raspberries
	Flora Blueberry Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison Aged on Blueberries
	Flora Cherry Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison Aged on Cherries
	Flora Cuvee Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison
	Flora Peach / Pear Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison Aged on Peaches & Pears
	Flora Plum Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison Aged on Plums
	Flora Satsuma Wine Barrel Aged Wheat Saison Aged on Satsuma Mandarins
	Florence Wheat Saison
	Foster Black Wheat IPA
	Galaxy Pale Ale Pale Ale
	George Brown Ale
	Harlan IPA
	Holger Danske Smoked Beer
	Hygge Hoppy Red Ale
	James Black Ale
	Juicy Saison
	Karma Emulsion Pale Ale
	Legitimacy IPA (Grassroots Brewing) IPA
	Life without Principle #3 Blonde Ale
	Madness & Solitude Barrel Aged Imperial IPA
	Mary German Style Pilsener
	Mosaic Pale Ale Pale Ale
	Motueka Pale Ale Pale Ale
	Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale Pale Ale
	Of First and Last Things IPA
	Riwaka Pale Ale Pale Ale
	Self Reliance #1 Pale Ale
	Shadow Pictures of a Journey (Grassroots Brewing) Double IPA
	Shirley Mae American Porter
	Simcoe Single Hop Pale Ale
	Society & Solitude #1 Double IPA
	Society & Solitude #2 Imperial Black IPA
	Society & Solitude #3 Double IPA
	Society & Solitude #4 Double IPA
	Society & Solitude #5 Double IPA
	Society & Solitude #6 Double IPA
	Society & Solitude #7 Double IPA
	Society & Solitude #8 Double IPA
	Song of Joy IPL
	Sumner Pale Ale
	Susan IPA
	Vera Mae Honey/Dandelion Saison
	Walden Blonde Ale
	What is Enlightenment Pale Ale
	Wheat is the New Hops (Grassroots Brewing) Brett IPA
	Works of Love Anchorage Wild Ale
	Works of Love Brasserie Thiriez Saison
	Works of Love (Earl Grey Tea) Blonde Ale

The Bottom Line

There is no question Hill Farmstead is one of the best breweries in the world and if you have not made the trip to Greensboro Vermont than what are you waiting for. Find some friends and schedule a trip. Trust me you will enjoy your time in Vermont.

The Pics

Below are a bunch of pics, mostly crappy cell phone pics, of the brewery over the years I have been visiting. You can see the significant change to the brewery during the construction and some photos from the events held over the years.

[Show slideshow]

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