Top 10 Breweries in Vermont
Vermont is a state of about 650,000 people that somehow hosts three of the most highly rated breweries in the world. That concentration of brewing excellence in so small a population has no real parallel in American craft beer, and it raises genuine questions about what Vermont has done differently. The answer is probably a combination of: a small-scale agricultural economy that values craft and locality; a strong culture of independent small business; proximity to Boston's beer-literate drinkers; and, crucially, individual brewers — John Kimmich at The Alchemist, Shaun Hill at Hill Farmstead, Sean Lawson at Lawson's — whose talents happened to align with a market moment.
1. The Alchemist, Stowe and Waterbury
John and Jen Kimmich founded The Alchemist in 2003 as a brewpub in Waterbury, where Heady Topper started life as a draft-only house beer. The double IPA went into cans in 2011 and became the most discussed American craft beer of its era; it remains one of the world's most highly rated beers. Its hop blend is a closely guarded secret, but the result, an unfiltered beer of extraordinary tropical-fruit intensity, became a template for what would be called the New England IPA. Days after the Waterbury cannery opened in 2011, Tropical Storm Irene flooded and destroyed the brewpub, and The Alchemist became a production brewery. A purpose-built brewery and visitor center in Stowe opened in 2016. Heady Topper and Focal Banger (an American IPA) are the core beers, sold mainly through the Stowe retail shop and Vermont distribution.
2. Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro Bend
Hill Farmstead spent years at or near the top of "best brewery in the world" rankings on RateBeer, with remarkable consistency. Shaun Hill founded the brewery in 2010 on his family's land in Greensboro Bend, in the remote Northeast Kingdom, a location so far from population centers that the drive from Burlington takes well over an hour on rural roads. The pilgrimage is worth it: the farmstead setting, the views over the surrounding hills, and the quality of what is in the glass make for an experience that cannot be replicated. Edward (an unfiltered American pale ale), Anna (a saison) and the Society & Solitude series of imperial IPAs are among the most acclaimed beers, while Civil Disobedience is a numbered series of blended, barrel-aged farmstead ales. Porters and other farmhouse ales round out a range that shows the full breadth of Hill's abilities.
3. Lawson's Finest Liquids, Warren and Waitsfield
Sean and Karen Lawson started Lawson's in 2008 as a one-barrel nanobrewery next to their home in Warren, and it grew steadily on the demand generated by Sip of Sunshine, an intensely tropical-fruited IPA. The Sip of Sunshine cult was real: people drove for hours and queued to buy a six-pack when it was released in small quantities. A taproom and retail store in Waitsfield, opened in October 2018, and wider distribution have made Lawson's far more accessible without any obvious loss of quality. The rest of the "Sunshine" family, including Triple Sunshine, and the rotating Super Session IPAs fill out the core.
4. Foam Brewers, Burlington
Foam Brewers opened in 2016 on Lake Street, across from Burlington's Waterfront Park, with Lake Champlain views and a constantly changing line-up of small-batch hop-forward ales and experimental beers. There is no single flagship to chase; the rotating hazy releases are what most visitors come for, and the taproom is one of Vermont's most visited craft beer destinations.
5. Zero Gravity Craft Brewery, Burlington
Zero Gravity began as a brewpub at Burlington's American Flatbread restaurant and now runs a busy beer hall on Pine Street. Conehead, an all-Citra wheat IPA, and Green State Lager are the beers most Vermonters know, and growth has been steady: the brewery joined the Brewers Association's Top 50 list of US craft brewers by volume in 2024. It is the rare Vermont brewery that does a clean, crisp lager as confidently as it does a hazy IPA.
6. Burlington Beer Company, Burlington
Burlington Beer Company started out in Williston and moved into a converted brick warehouse on Flynn Avenue in Burlington's South End in 2021. It brews a rotating range of hop-forward, experimental and seasonal beers with an emphasis on creative small-batch releases, and it has built a loyal local following for prioritising variety over flagship consistency.
7. Frost Beer Works, Hinesburg
Garin Frost founded Frost Beer Works in Hinesburg in 2014, and the brewery has built its reputation on modern, juicy IPAs, led by Lush, a tropical double IPA first brewed in 2015, and its lighter sibling Little Lush. It has a smaller profile than The Alchemist or Hill Farmstead, and the relaxed tasting room serves locals as much as beer tourists.
8. Long Trail Brewing, Bridgewater Corners
Founded in 1989, Long Trail predates the current craft boom; Long Trail Ale and the Double Bag strong ale have been staples across New England for decades. Ownership has changed: in 2022 Harpoon's parent company, Mass. Bay Brewing, bought Long Trail along with its Otter Creek and Shed brands, and moved much of the brewing to Harpoon's Windsor brewery. WhistlePig Whiskey took over the former Otter Creek brewery in Middlebury. The Bridgewater Corners site on the Ottauquechee River, near Killington, still runs its pub, one of Vermont's best brewery restaurant settings.
9. Fiddlehead Brewing, Shelburne
Just south of Burlington on Shelburne Road, Fiddlehead is best known for Second Fiddle, a heavily dry-hopped double IPA that draws crowds on can-release days, and for its easy-drinking flagship Fiddlehead IPA. It is a straightforward, unpretentious stop that slots neatly into a day of Burlington-area brewery visits.
10. Bent Hill Brewery, Braintree
Bent Hill is a small farm brewery in the hills of Braintree, in central Vermont, founded by brewer Mike Czok. Its flagship Maple Red uses syrup from the Czok family's sugarhouse, and the brewery pairs its beers with a meat-free food menu and live music. The limited production and local focus make Bent Hill more of a discovery for dedicated Vermont beer travellers than a destination in itself.
Explore on the map
Vermont's brewery cluster is unusually spread out: Hill Farmstead is in the remote Northeast Kingdom, The Alchemist in Stowe, Lawson's in Waitsfield, and the Burlington group by the lake. Our US map shows Foam, Zero Gravity, Frost and Fiddlehead around Burlington, but not yet The Alchemist, Hill Farmstead or Lawson's, so plan those stops separately. For more New England brewing, see our guide to Massachusetts breweries, and for the bigger story behind it, the American craft revival.