The Breweries of Vermont Part Two

North on Route 100 a winding, roller-coaster of a road to the sleepy hamlet of Waterbury, where just off main street resides the Alchemist.

Whats in a name? In days of old Alchemists would scam money from unwitting patrons with tales and theories of turning lead into gold among other improbabilities. The scam was perpetrated by the Alchemist asking for increasing amounts of cash "needed" by the Alchemist to purchase the additonal "rare and secret ingedients" to complete the transformation process. For grins type the words Edward Kelley and Alechemist into Google and you will be shown a link to the Occultopedia for information on a Rougue, Alchemist and Lawyer named Edward Kelley

I was beginning to feel like an Alchemist of sorts with my own family. "We are almost there guys...just a few more minutes...be patient...another ten minutes ... I promise we'll be there shortly." Until at last, unlike the Alchemist Edward Kelley of old, I pulled a brewpub out of my hat. Or rather I pulled up to a brew pub. Outside looks fairly non-descript. An old brick storefront with the name artfully painted on the windows. You enter the door and are greeted by a high ceilinged room with a bar on the right and tables to the left. The light fixtures are eclectic chandeliers, the decor is a mix of unpainted brick, hardwoods and stainless steel. Cozy and inviting. We had a short wait during which the bartender left his post at the bar and crossed the room to see if we needed a drink. We did. I ordered an ale called Wild Child, my wife had the Hefty Weizen and the kids Artisanal Sodas Called "Pop Soda."

My beer arrived and it was hazy pale red, it had little head, little carbonation and the aromy was spicy, fruty with some biscuit aroma. The taste was delightfully sour much like a Flemish Red Ale. Very refreshing. My wife's beer was the brewer's cask-conditioned impression of a German Hefe-Weizen. It was fresh and tasty. Better than any of this style I have tried to date. The appearance was hazy yellow with a rocky white head. The aroma was classic Hefe-Weizen, bannanas and other tropical fruits, cloves and other spices, hints of bubble-gum. The taste was also the classic Hefe Weizen taste. Slightly sweet malt, a touch of floral hops, like my brew this beer was also crisp and refreshing. My eldest son's Lemon-Ginger soda was tasty and refreshing as well. So much so that we spent a fair amount of time trying to find a retail source for it.

As this is not a food column I will not dwell on the food except to say it was fresh, delicious and innovative. My burger was blackened, topped with bleu cheese and paired with Belgian style fries that were served with homemade mayonnaise.

Next week...the wacky World of Magic Hat!

Some links:

Occultopedia

The Alchemist Brewery

PopSoda