Brew Tour
Staying Warm with New Switchback Porter
Being very typical for Vermont weather, Wednesday was quite the cold and snowy winter evening at 10°F.
Switchback Porter & Mussels at RiRa's on Church St.
These conditions, however, did not stop my weekly ritual of microbrews and half-price burgers at RiRa’s, located along Church Street market place.
If you haven’t been in Burlington for Christmas, colorful lights shine throughout the streets, families bustle around to get their last minute shopping in, and to top it off, a thin layer of snow covers everything. A true winter wonderland!
Due to temperature drops, I knew tonight’s microbrew of choice had to be the new Switchback Porter. Unlike ice-cold light beer, porters warm you from the inside out. After checking out the wide range of menu options, I decided to skew from my usual Guinness barbecue burger and go with mussels in whiskey garlic butter sauce.
The porter’s rich creamy flavor paired splendidly with the mussels. It was so tasty that I had to snap the picture after the 2nd round. Switchback released this new brew December 6th, so I was very excited to see more pubs and restaurants carrying it. Next time, I‘ll probably have to go back to my usual burger, but this dish and drink combo were exactly what the doctor prescribed on this frosty winter night.
The moral of this post; bundle up and whether it be RiRa’s or the local liquor store you frequent, go out and try the new Switchback Porter!
BEER BEER BEER – VERMONT
This past week was quite entertaining! Last Friday night was the fourth Annual Oktoberfest at American Flatbread. For those of you who missed it, the alley/patio was transformed into a full-on German-style bier garden. There was live music, sausages, kraut, pretzels, lederhosen, dancing and general merriment.
Drum Roll… The beer of the week is Spuyten Duyvil at Vermont Pub and Brewery. Supyten Duyvil is a Flander’s Sour Red. Now let us discuss this styles origin. This style, indigenous to West Flanders, was made popular by the Rodenbach brewery in 1820. The beer is aged for up to two years, often in huge oaken barrels, which contain the resident yeast necessary to sour the beer. This yeast strain is lactobacillus. VPB’s Spuyten Duyvil uses both lactobacillus and Brettanomyces. Brettanomyces is mostly found in French Bordeaux wines. These wines, like their beer brethren, have horseblanket and earthy flavors. Vermont Pub and Brewery has aged this beer to near perfection!
Head into Vermont Pub and Brewery and try the aged and conditioned Spuyten Duyvil OR join us on a Burlington Brew Tour, where you will sample Spuyten Duyvil and many more Vermont beers!
Vermont Autumn Foliage and Beer = Oktoberfest
It has has been quite a hectic past couple of months for Burlington Brew Tours. From now on, expect blog updates at least once a week. As the weather gets colder, Vermont beer gets darker; personally, I have been craving Marzens and Vienna Lagers, which are very malty typical Oktoberfest beers. I regret to inform everyone that Beansies’s Bus, one our lunch destinations, has initiated its colder months hibernation, but will return once Spring-Summer arrives.
In addition to our weekly blog posts, we are going to feature a beer a week from one of the four breweries we visit on the Burlington Brew Tour…
This weeks beer is the Vienna lager from American Flatbread/Zero-Gravity Brewing Co. American Flatbread has a great new Vienna Lager on tap. This beer has an elegant malt complexity; with a firm enough hop bitterness, which provides a balanced finish. One might notice some toasted character from the use of Vienna malt.
If your living in the state of Vermont, pick up a copy of the 9/11 Burlington Free Press. A special autumn article is written about Beer and Wine all over the state of Vermont. There is even mention of Burlington Brew Tours.
Thanks for visiting the new and improved Burlington Brew Tours Blog, Bringing the best beer Burlington has to offer to the masses since 2008.
Cheers until next week!
T-shirts Are Finally In!!
About a week ago, we received our first shipment of awesome Burlington Brew Tour T-shirts! They look great. My good friend Brennan Keeler design the awesome Tees. The new tees are green and white and come in sizes, Small through Extra Large. The back of the tee asks a very important question; What Kind of Brew are you??? With the influx of new Tees, shirts are $12 dollars with the purchase of a BBT ticket.
Don’t forget graduation for all you Burlington VT Seniors is coming up, so don’t forget to invite your friends and family on a Burlington Brew Tour! The economy may be in a recession, but there is always room for BEER!
Magic Hat Brewing Company
Today was the first tour that went to the Magic Hat Brewing Company; this has been a great addition to the tour itinerary. Thanks to the help of Magic Hat’s founder, Alan Newman, Burlington Brew Tours is now offering Magic Hat Brewing Company as a new tour destination. For all of you who are not familiar with Magic Hat, they are the 6th largest craft brewery in the country. After many months of new construction, Magic Hat’s new sampling bar and brewery is operational. This bar is one of the longest bars in the state of Vermont. Not only do you get more beer for the same price but it also gives been enthusiasts the opportunity to see the different scales which breweries can operate at. BBT is pretty excited about this new addition.
Welcome to Burlington Brew Tours!
We have had constant growth and recognition throughout the Burlington area. Tours are now only on Friday-Sunday from 1-4PM. BBT is no longer taking tours to Beansie’s Bus for lunch anymore. Beansie’s is only open for the warmer months. In response to Beansie’s Bus’s hibernation, BBT has been forced to find alternative means of that one of kind delicious Burlington taste. As a result, Burlington Brew Tours now has begun lunches at Al’s French Fries. Al’s food is fantastic and is a local favorite to BBT’s staff as well as residents of the Burlington area.
In other developments, BBT is in the process of launching its brand new website. This website will be more informative and allow a potential beer enthusiast to book a tour right online. The website is a direct contribution from our friends at Burlington Boatyards. Keep your eyes out for upcoming article in both the Seven Day’s food section and Champlain Business Journal.
