Our most recent week was filled with familiar and long-missed faces from Quebec, for which we are grateful and heart-warmed. We will carry that feeling forward into the coming weeks and look forward to seeing many more of our Canadian friends on December 4!

For this coming week, we present Mélange 2019 Harvest. With each season of the fruit harvest, we work with our local growers to source various varieties. Often, a single fruit exemplifies that harvest year and stands on its own, carefully paired with barrels of our Farmstead® ales that exhibit sympathetic characteristics. On occasion, low yields, the opportunity to experiment with an unfamiliar fruit, or the excitement of uniting our favorite fruits together all might be an inspiration, or necessity, for us working with a blend of fruits—a mélange. 

Mélange 2019 Harvest features blackberries and red raspberries from Fisher Brothers Farm in Shelburne, Vt., and concentrated organic black currant juice from Lanzer’s Fruit Farm in East Hardwick, Vt. As the liquid vehicle for the transformation of this fruit into fruit beer, we chose several barrels of Farmstead® ales, including some brewed with honey, that we matured in wine barrels for over six months.

Also making an appearance in our retail shop will be freshly packaged cans of Abner, our ancestral Double IPA, and Edward, our American Pale Ale. To accompany those, we’ll continue to offer Mary and Twilight of the Idols, as well as a board bottle selection that includes Barrel-Aged Dorothy (Northern and Southern Hemisphere); Madness & Civilization Blend 14, Self-Reliance: Motueka™ (Double Dry-Hopped), and Phenomenology of Spirit.

Finally, Hill Farmstead and Grassroots Distribution are supporting Beverage Warehouse’s 7th Annual Hops-4-Hunger fundraiser, which begins soon. Check out their site for more information, and look out for cans of Hill Farmstead, and special selections from 3 Fonteinen, Brasserie Cantillon, Gueuzerie Tilquin, and Marz Community Brewing. Proceeds from the sale of these products will be directed to a variety of organizations and programs addressing hunger and food insecurity around Vermont. Monies from the sale of our products specifically will benefit the Sheffield Food Pantry, Orleans Food Pantry, and Woodbury/Calais Food Shelf.