Samuel • Plum: 2021 Harvest • Convivial Suarez

Three of our more cherished bottled offerings simultaneously return to our retail shop this week: Samuel, Plum: 2021 Harvest, and Convivial Suarez. Also available this coming week in both growlers and cans will be Citra Single Hop Pale Ale and Society & Solitude #5. Our taproom is fully open (no reservations required). Still, for those who wish to plan ahead, we have opened up a limited number of seated tables for reservation through the end of the year, available via Tock. 

Finally (and again), a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to everyone who came out for our events in New York City last week. We hope you all had as exceptional a time as we did. We’re so grateful to those of you whose dedicated efforts made these occasions possible, especially the teams at Grand Delancey, Tørst, Proletariat, and (last by certainly not least) Gold Star Beer Counter! It was a delight to share those moments and beers with you all.

Samuel

From time to time, we craft a base of buckwheat, spelt, and Vermont wildflower honey, which we then move to wine barrels with the optimistic expectancy that Edward’s intrepid great-uncle’s namesake beer might emerge at some indeterminate time. After an undefined period of rest and evaluation, we assemble a collection of barrels whose nature echoes what we perceive to be Samuel’s voice and set down the curation for conditioning in bottle. Following more than a year and a half of bottle conditioning, we can finally present another instance of this beer, worthy of Samuel’s name and inspiring memory.

Samuel Hill (1820-1899) was Edward’s great-uncle and brother of Ephraim. He served in the Union army at the Battle of Gettysburg. An early agricultural innovator, he held several patents for milk cooling and cream separation. He moved a house, midwinter, with horses from North Greensboro to Greensboro Village and also helped build the first road from Greensboro to Greensboro Bend. 

A beer worthy of Samuel’s memory is inspired and informed by two of our favorite Farmstead® ales—Le Sarrasin and Vera Mae. Samuel aspires to harmonize the essential expression of each into a perpetually novel and ever-evolving representation.  Similar to previous instances, this beer can continue to bottle condition gracefully for the next 5 (or more) years while continuing to unveil new levels of aromatic and textural complexity.

Note: This release has a two (2) bottle limit for the duration of the release (not per day). Our ordering system isn’t capable of imposing limits, so please only order two bottles per person in total. Any orders with more than two (2)  bottles will have their order reduced to the limit and automatically issued a partial refund.

Some additional notes on this week’s availability of Samuel… 

Similar to our last few limited releases, we will allocate bottles each retail day for online ordering (same-day pick-up only). Beginning at 7 a.m. each morning (Weds., Thurs., Fri., and Sat.), our Toast online store will go live (toasttab.com/hillfarmstead/) through which you can place your order for Samuel and any other items available in the shop. This ensures availability each day of this week and allows folks to arrive at any time during our open retail hours to complete their purchases. 

There is a strict limit of 2 bottles per person in total, which applies for the duration of the release, not each day. Our ordering system isn’t capable of imposing limits automatically, so please only order two bottles per person in total. Any orders with more than two (2) bottles will have their order reduced to the limit, and duplicate orders will be canceled. Each 750ml waxed bottle is $50 plus tax.

If you are unable to complete your order on the same day, please contact our bottle shop as soon as possible (802-533-7450, x1, or [email protected]). We will move any unpurchased bottles into the following day’s allocation (we can not hold orders or reserve bottles for any reason). Unclaimed orders without notice will forfeit the opportunity to order any Samuel bottles on a subsequent day.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing many of you!

Plum: 2021 Harvest

Each harvest season, we choose various barrels of our Farmstead® ales that exhibit sympathetic characteristics for pairing with local fruit varieties, in this case, organic plums from the 2021 harvest season at Elmore Roots Nursery in nearby Elmore, Vt. Once again, the care and intentionality with which David and his team work with the land translates fully into the fruit’s seasonal expression each year, especially with these varieties of plums. Regardless of the base beer’s composition or blend, the ideal outcome remains the same: a thoughtful representation of the fruit in season and one of our favorite offerings within this collection.

Convivial Suarez

In November of 2012, almost to the day ten years ago, we visited Dany Prignon at his iconic Brasserie Fantôme in Belgium to brew his first-ever collaboration, the charmingly named “5 Sciences.” 

Upon our return, we brewed Convivial Suarez, our take on the beer that emerged from that singular, magical experience. This Farmstead® ale is brewed with hibiscus and lemon peel and juice—in the spirit of the original—but with our distinctive farmhouse yeast and water from Edward’s well. It continues to be a favorite, one which stands alone within our Farmstead® ales and reminds us fondly of the utterly unique experience of truly creative time spent with Dany.

Our Can Line-up:

• NEW Citra Single Hop Pale Ale – Single hop pale ale brewed exclusively with hand-selected organic Citra® hops
• NEW Society & Solitude #5 – Imperial IPA showcasing American and New Zealand hops.
• Marie – German-style Helles brewed with organic malted barley
• Mary – Unfiltered, naturally carbonated German-style lager brewed with organic malts.
• Of First & Last Things – American IPA brewed with hand-selected Simcoe®, Motueka™, and Nelson Sauvin hops. 
• Double Citra – American Imperial IPA brewed exclusively with Citra® hops from Washington state’s Yakima Valley.
• Twilight of the Idols – Holiday porter with vanilla and cinnamon

By the Glass and Growlers To Go

Selections for onsite enjoyment will include Edward; Nelson Single Hop Pale Ale; Memoria; Mary; Susan; Of First & Last Things; Earl; bottle and glass pours of vintage beers; and guest ciders from nearby Wildbranch Cider.

All donations for the month of November will benefit the Hardwick Area Food Shelf! 

An updated menu of growler options in our taproom (no reservations required!) may be found on our Retail Shop [link] page. Visit our website for more information on reservations and complete listings for can, bottle, growler, and draft offerings.