2015 VT Beer Trip - Part II: Rock Art
We left the Coop and headed for Rock Art Brewery in Morristown, VT. We picked it because it opened early for tasting at 9:00 am, but it also proved to be my favorite stop. Close to 9:00 am, we walked into what looked like a small road-side store. Just inside the door, that first impression stuck: a register to the left surrounded by souvenir pint glasses, stickers and a few local brochures. Spread throughout the area were six- and twelve-packs stacked in nice little towers that lead you to a back corner of t-shirts, bottle-openers and jewelry. Straight ahead of us was a nice wooden, L-shaped bar. Beyond that you could see into the brewery through a windowed door, a whole huge area I hadn't imagined existed from out front.
In typical fashion, Luke put them in order (lightest to darkest) and we started to quietly sip our way through. We had the place to ourselves, and we were in no rush, since the next brewery didn't open until 11:30. Luke encouraged us to wander around, including upstairs with a great view of the brew floor.
We finished up with some t-shirt, six-pack and pint glass purchases. I nabbed 6 of the limited edition double IPA Lost Access, which I found to be a bit more approachable than the Notch Hopper. Luke had said it was named for the state highway extension that was put in not far from the brewery, which cut off primary access to their facility, hence a loss of 'access'.
As we settled with Luke at the register, the first customer outside of our group was coming in to get some kegs.We all were pleased with the personal touch, the amazing beer, and having the place to ourselves.
Luke greeted us from behind the bar, in a casual Vermont beer morning sort of way. We all made small talk, as we looked around, but soon we all sat down for our tasting - the first pours of Luke's day. We asked him some questions about the beers on the chalkboard over his shoulder. As we decided and ordered, Luke set us each up with a Vermont-shaped wooden flight holding our 4 beer samples each. The 5 of us covered a lot of the board in our selections, but I think all of us asked to try the new hop-bomb Notch Hopper, which was Luke's current favorite. Its Rock Art's tip-of the hat to Heady Topper, which was pleasantly weighing down our trunk outside.
In typical fashion, Luke put them in order (lightest to darkest) and we started to quietly sip our way through. We had the place to ourselves, and we were in no rush, since the next brewery didn't open until 11:30. Luke encouraged us to wander around, including upstairs with a great view of the brew floor.
We finished up with some t-shirt, six-pack and pint glass purchases. I nabbed 6 of the limited edition double IPA Lost Access, which I found to be a bit more approachable than the Notch Hopper. Luke had said it was named for the state highway extension that was put in not far from the brewery, which cut off primary access to their facility, hence a loss of 'access'.
As we settled with Luke at the register, the first customer outside of our group was coming in to get some kegs.We all were pleased with the personal touch, the amazing beer, and having the place to ourselves.
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