BYO’s Vermont Brewery, Bike & Hike Tour
Brew Your Own Publisher Brad Ring had the chance to show a group of readers some of his favorite spots to play and drink in BYO’s home state of Vermont during the height of fall foliage colors. With stops at 15 breweries, the group was lucky to experience the incredible craft beer scene in the Green Mountain State firsthand during BYO’s Vermont Brewery, Bike & Hike Adventure in mid-October 2023. We visited an amazingly broad spectrum of breweries from one of Vermont’s largest, Von Trapp Brewing (yes, that same family from The Sound of Music) to one of the smallest, nanobrewery Simple Roots Brewing. All along the way we had the chance to experience the fall colors Vermont is famous for while sipping on local beers often only available in the state.
Plus, each day we also took to scenic hiking trails or country roads and paths for great bike rides to earn that next flight of Vermont craft beer.
Vermont brewers rolled out the red carpet for some truly special experiences. We spent almost two hours walking the brewery floor with John Kimmich at The Alchemist and sampling their famous Heady Topper served on a hand-pulled beer engine. Steve Parkes of the American Brewers Guild gave us a beer evaluation seminar in his classroom usually filled with aspiring pro brewers. We visited fan favorites like Lawson’s Finest Liquids for a maple stout pulled from the brite tank just before bottling and wrapped up a ride on the Lake Champlain bike path with a fresh pint of beer from Foam Brewers in Burlington.
We also explored other fermentations including tours of Aqua ViTea kombucha and Appalachian Gap Distilling both located in Middlebury.
And it was a week made all the more special by sharing it with fellow homebrewers passionate about brewing and exploring the beauty and craft beer in BYO’s backyard of Vermont.
Our 2024 schedule of BYO trips to the Czech Republic, Oregon, and Ireland are sold out, but we’re working on our 2025 locations. Details on future trips can be found at byo.com/trip. We hope you can join us on a future beer adventure. Cheers!
