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What's your beer choice at resorts?

Cheese

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I'm not looking for favorite beer(s) or even what was transported from home. Rather the local brews worth trying that are bottled not too far from a resort and probably offered on tap either in the lodge or just down the street.

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thetrailboss

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Pretty much as you said--the local microbrew on tap. Here are some of the ones I like:

Sugarbush: Magic Hat #9, Long Trail Ale, Switchback

Burke: Trout River Rainbow Red, Trout River Bear Den, Magic Hat.

Alta/Snowbird: Wasatch Chasing Tail, Uinta Cutthroat.

I have shared PBR Tall Boys with folks at Snowbird though before.....

As for Vermont you really can't go wrong. Most places now offer Long Trail, Magic Hat, Switchback, and Harpoon. I'm not particularly a fan of Sam Adams. And I can't remember if Sugarbush offered anything from The Alchemist in Waterbury. They make great beer. I left Vermont right after Irene, so I'm not sure what the status is of The Alchemist.
 

mister moose

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I'm not sure what the status is of The Alchemist.

The brewpub is now called Prohibition Pig, same owners, but no brewing goes on there. All the brewing goes on up the hill off Rte 100, and the only thing they are currently making is Heady Topper. The demand is so great that the area of distribution is very small. If you see it, try some. It is world class.

Others I'd recommend:

Long Trail Brewmaster series. Many love their coffee stout. They just came out with a Brown Bag IPA that is very west coast full bodied imperial IPA. Harpoon 100bbl series. The RyePA and Maple Wheat were very good, there have been many others. (these were only bottled in 22oz) Otter Creek Alpine Black IPA. Switchback. Jay has Tram Ale (good but not as good as others) and Magic Hat made Single Chair Ale for MRG; light flavor but very good rendition. In NY, I've liked everything I've tried from Six Point. Brooklyn can range from average to excellent. Southern Tier has a number of good offerings. And who can resist Pork Slap Ale from Butternuts?
 

C-Rex

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Long Trail's Tram Ale at Jay Peak. When I'm Stowe we usually get a few assorted Rock Art growlers.
 

xwhaler

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Cannon/Loon: Woodstock Inn Pig's Ear or Wassail Ale
Burke: Trout River 'Hoppin Mad Trout'
 

kickstand

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In Mt. Washington Valley, I usually get Tuckerman Pale Ale after skiing. Almost all the resorts have it. We've been going to Moat Mountain Smokehouse for dinners lately, so that's a no-brainer. Only once have I not gotten a Moat beer at the restaurant, and that was because they had Sebago Local Harvest on one of their guest taps.

In VT, Lawson's, without thinking twice. If they don't have it, chances are Switchback is on tap, so I'll get that. Now that I know about Hill Farmstead, if I ever see that on tap, I will preemptively either call a cab or book a room. I would want to get my fill of that stuff.
 

Glenn

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Depends where I am. On the Mountain, usually a good micro if I'm at a certain drjeff hotspot. Close the mountain: $2PBRs on tap. Ahhhhh!
 

Huck_It_Baby

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IPA's are a must! Preferably nothing below 6.5% but always happy to have a Long Trail after a day on the mountain.
 

bvibert

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Sundown just got their own exclusive beer, brewed locally by Hooker.

2012-12-13_18-10-37_349.jpg

Good stuff! :beer:
 

drjeff

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Sundown just got their own exclusive beer, brewed locally by Hooker.

View attachment 7075

Good stuff! :beer:

Plus it's always fun to be able to order a Hooker (and not get in trouble!) :lol:

One of my personal post skiing favorites, that has some definite ski tie ins, is Rogue's Yellow Snow IPA - A tasty IPA, that's also a perfect example of that it can be okay to consume some yellow snow! :beer:
 

thetrailboss

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Mmmm....I'm getting thirsty. Hoppin' Mad, The Shed, Rock Art, Tuckerman Pale Ale, and Moat Mountain.
 

Big Game

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It's hard to separate the beer from the experience.

I recall my first time at Jay. Late March. Dump the night before. Lots of bumps. Lost of trees. Amazing smoked trout for dinner with two Tram ales. Went straight to my head. Perfect.

Everything worked together. I don't think a beer will ever taste that good again.

But I'll keep trying.
 

ski_resort_observer

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Lawson's. Heady Topper and the newer guys on the block Hill Farmstead are all in the top 15 of Beer Advocate Magazines's top 100 best beers in America. Here in the MRV Lawson is on a tap at American Flatbread, Mad Taco and at least one other place. The Warren Store carries the Lawson bombers, arrives on Thursday, out usually by Sunday. They get 15-25 cases.

Heady is fairly widley distributed but until the new expansion of their brewery/cannery opens up, maybe next month, it's out in a couple of days as well.

Switchback started rolling out bottles a couple of months ago but the demand is way outstripping production. It has a much friendler price point than the 3 mentioned above.

There is a new brewery in Brandon, Foley Brothers. They do a Ginger Wheat and a Brown Ale. The Warren Store got a case of each and it sold out quickly with rave reviews. Could be the 4th stop along the IPA Trail of Central/northern Vermont. If you come up to this area to ski using Rt 7 you could stop in and pick some up.
 
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