We were up a little early for the Ben & Jerry's tour so we did some of our own touring of the area. We stopped at Cabot and tried way too many cheeses for any time of the day, but even worse because it was morning. So many good ones. We went to the chocolatier next door and had some small samples. They aren't stupid; they don't give away so many. Then we went to the little general store market where they have mustards and jams. We got a sample of freshly pressed apple cider as we watched the press at work.
Not a bad morning already, but then we went over to the Ben & Jerry's factory tour. It's always interesting even if I know what they do. We got our tasty sample at the end of the tour and then went out to the Scoop Shop to get some more samples before heading out.
Since The Alchemist doesn't exist as a brew pub anymore we went to their brewery/cannery where they brew one beer: Heady Topper. This is constantly trading places with Pliny the Elder as the number one IPA in the world. It's pretty good. I'm not sure why I didn't get a six pack.
Our next stop was Magic Hat's silly, circus brewery. We did the self-tour and then went down to the bar for a few samples of things we hadn't had. For lunch, it was to the Vermont Pub for a beer and a sandwich before heading to Zero Gravity brewing. There are so many on the passport that it gets hard to follow them all.
One of my favorite little places we stopped was Fiddlehead Brewery. It was off the beaten path-ish, and they were really friendly. While we sampled, the bartender offered to let me try a pickled fiddlehead. I accepted, of course, and it was really good. Most pickled things are, but it was nice little quirky thing.
We took a break from beer and hit a couple of wineries since there were a few in the area. We got plenty of small samples, being sure to keep our BAL up while we were off the beer trail, I guess.
Our last Vermont brew stop was Otter Creek. This place has a huge selection of amazing beers. It's probably good we finished here. We got a bunch of samples and some more food to soak it up. We hung out here for a while before heading out.
On our way home we stopped at Willow Park DGC before we left the state. It was mostly open with a few wooded holes. Only 9 holes and none of them too extraordinary, but it was nice getting out of the car and enjoying the weather for a while before sitting in the car for several more hours.
We drove through Albany on the way back, and we couldn't pass up the Albany Pump Station Brewery for dinner and another flight. We were almost burnt out on beer, but they had a good flight and some good food as well.
The rest of the drive home was long and a little sleepy, but we made it back.
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