I spent the weekend up in Burlington and Plattsburgh visiting extended family and a bit of beer touring. It was great to get a glimpse of the local brewing scene. The trip started with flight up there with a small layover at JFK. We had the surreal experience of being in New York City (at the airport), eating sushi, drinking a Belgian style ale brewed in California while listening to European Techno, a truly global experience. Deep Blue was a great airport experience with good sushi and Bruery's Orchard White ale available in the 750ml bottle. The coriander and spices were pleasant and paired well with the sushi. It was great to get something other than the typical lager or pale/amber/brown ale at an airport restaurant, kudos to those responsible for raising the bar on craft beer at an airport.

Once we arrived and settled in Burlington we hit Burlington's brewpubs. Currently there is a core in the downtown that are all just a short walk from one another which made for an easy sampling experience. Our first stop was Vermont Pub and Brewery despite the recent sad passing of Greg Noonan, one of the founders, the Pub was a lively environment. The pub has one of those newspaper menu styles that always strikes me with a certain kitsch charm. I started with a cask ale which to my pleasant surprise they offered two selections. Throughout my time in Vermont it seemed cask ales were constantly available, which I took as a promising sign for craft beer in the region. The choices were between a Dogbite Bitter and Handsome Micks Stout. I went with the bitter that had a pleasant herbal hop character. The Foodgeek had the stout, it was a smoked stout with just enough smoke to be noticeable but not so overpowering that it was distracting. I could see it pairing well with food or just the thing on a cold Autumn night. After that I tried the Vermont Hop a pale ale brewed with hops grown locally in Westminster Vermont. It came across to me as a light in hop character beer but with a sessionable character to it. The O-fest was a deep red lager with a fair amount of Vienna character it seemed to me and a bit of carmel sweetness.

On the odd side were a few interesting selections. Blue Night was a compelling beer with a cloudy haze. The beer had an earthy herbal floral notes that reminded me of heather ales or a bit like La Fluerette without the pepper character. The foodgeek ordered me to write "orange flower water" as what it reminded her of it had a murky spice note. Then there was Spuyten Duyvil. It had a belgian gueze nose with a mild horseblanket character and a bit of funk but not overpowering. Last was Forbidden Fruit, my first thought it reminded me of 3 Rivers Cider with a mild tart character but with some sweetness. They made it with 500 lb of raspberries and sour mashed. The oak aged character was a pleasant not in the background but not overpowering.

In regards to the experience at the Pub. It offered pours in pint, 12 ounce and 3 ounce servings which was nice to be able to sample but not overwhelmed by their large selection. I really appreciate when pubs and breweries offer smaller than pint options so you can sample more of the beerlist. The atmosphere of the pub was a bit cavelike and loud, but people were enjoying themselves. The staff was very knowledgable about their beers which is always a plus. The food was decent, but didn't impress. I enjoyed the cheese plate and they had a local saltine like cracker for it which seemed to be a bit light to pairing with the strength of the cheeses. Overall it was a great start to our Vermont brewery experience.

Next up 3 Needs and American Flatbread.