Page 10 - April_2014

Vermont Brewing V B
ermontrewing

sceNe eXpANDs this spriNG with four New Breweries

text by evan johnson, photos by evan johnson and oliver parini

F

eaturingmore breweries per capita than any other state, the Green Mountain Mashers home- iNfiNity BrewiNG compANy
Vermont is a small state with a big appreciation for qual- brewers club. Paul Hale, Paul Held, Phil
Kaszuba, and Maarten van Ryckevorsel. When longtime friends Glenn
ity beer and this spring, the craft brewing scene expands
Together, they bring 28 years of brew- Cummings and Murray Seaman had
ing experience and a combined total of parties, Cummings would buy beer for
with four new breweries in Burlington, South Burlington, Win-
ooski and Williston. Earlier this spring, Vermont Sports visited these 200 brewing awards, including the state guests while Seaman would bring the
homebrew competition to the new brew- beer he brewed himself. When the ten-
four (out of nine new ones statewide) to talk flavor, brewing and the ing venture under the direction of Hale. ant next to Cumming’s South Burlington
Queen City Brewing opens this spring, shop moved out, they realized an oppor-
ever-expanding variety of Vermont brews.
producing German lagers in Bock, tunity to expand.
Helles and Dunkel styles as well as Eng- “Murray was always bringing some

lish-style ales.
great beer,” says Cummings. “And when
“That’s the kind of beer I like to the space next door opened up, I asked
drink,” explains Hale. “But I also like to him if he’d ever thought about opening BurliNGtoN Beer compANy
brewer, Lemnah continued to develop
be able to tell a story behind the beer. up a brewery.”
Operating out of 4,750 square feet of and perfect his own beer recipes, brew-
They have a tradition and history.”
Infinity opened its doors in late warehouse space lined with artwork ing hundreds of pilot batches until finally
While most varieties of German February with a soft opening publicized deciding on four flagship ales. They in-
picked up at Bonnaroo Music Festival,
and English beers are available at bev- only by word of mouth and is a labor of the Burlington Beer Company, based in tend to sell their beer in 64-ounce growl-
erage centers in the United States, these love for the two of them. Cummings is Williston, is the result of the imaginative ers, cans and limited edition bottles. The
export varieties have preservatives added the owner of Cummings Electric, and brewing of Joe Lemnah, and the business brewery also offers a community reserve
when they’re shipped overseas, which Seaman works fulltime as a project man- strategy of Jake Durell. The two friends society, based on the models of commu-
van Ryckevorsel says detracts from the ager at IBM in Essex. Seaman brings 25 nity supported agriculture programs,
authentic taste people deserve.
years homebrewing experience to the started the endeavor in 2012 and after with subscribers receiving monthly re-
finding a suitable space in Williston, in-
“There are a lot of beers that you’re partnership and has stepped into the role tend to bring an imaginative selection of leases of barrel-aged and/or fruit beers
never going to get on-tap,” says van of head brewer. He has 10 developed rec- beers to the Burlington area.
instead of veggies.
Ryckevorsel. “Like a Bamberger Rauch- ipes, but has started with four until they In addition to completing an in- Lemnah says as more people be-
bier you can get in bottles, but who have the equipment to allow more.
tensive course at the American Brew- come interested in buying locally pro-
knows how old those bottles are? you’re “It’s very much a similar process, duced goods, they are also looking local-
ers Guild in Middlebury, Joe Lemnah’s ly for their beer as well, an opportunity
never going to get them a week old and but with a bigger toy,” says Seaman, de- brewing resume includes the Olde Sara-
on tap. That’s what we want to provide.”
scribing moving from homebrewing to toga Brewing Company, Dogfish Head that brewers all over the state can share.
Queen City hopes their “Antwerp larger production methods.
Brewery and most recently, Evolution “We’re getting more regionalized,
Ale,” or “Landlady ale,” each modeled For now, they say the goal isn’t to Brewing in Salisbury, Md. Lemnah says generation by generation,” Lemnah says.
after Belgian and English styles not im- compete with some of the larger produc- working at both large and small op- “It’s more than just Wonder Bread and
ported in the U.S., will help to satisfy the ers. It’s about staying true to the style of baloney for everyone. It’s getting back to
erations gave him a good introduction
thirst for these harder to find varieties.
beer.
for when he wanted to start from the knowing your butcher, your baker and
“Over the years, we’ve been mak- Since opening, the two have ground-up.
your brewer. As the tide rises, so do all
ing real traditional beers and we’ll stick hit the ground running, releasing an “At Dogfish Head, I would sign-off the ships.”
to that,” says Hale. “Our philosophy is Irish Red Ale, an IPA and a Belgian and the packaging people would take Address: 25 Omega Dr. Suite 150, Wil-
to make traditional world-class beers Saison Golden Ale, all available in liston.
fresh and have people experience what their South Burlington tasting room over,” he says. “But at Evolution, it was hours: Open for tastings Thursday – Fri-
just five of us working with all hands on
they’re really supposed to be like.” in bottles and growlers, as well as on deck. It gave me more background in day, 4-7 p.m.; Saturday, 1-7.
Address: 703 Pine Street, behind Swish draught at Leunig’s in Burlington,
what it’s going to take to go from zero
Cleaners, Burlington. barrels of beer to five thousand.”
QueeN city BrewiNG compANy
hours: Expected to begin brewing in full While working as a professional
Queen City is a collaboration between
scale soon.
four longtime friends and members of
10 Vtsports.com
April 2014