Hello. Silas here, Field Reporter for Two Brews. This piece
is a follow up to previous Two Brews reporting on the Vermont based
Makethecutut Home Brew Competition.
When tasting and voting on the two finalist beers for Makethecut was announced for Friday May 29th at 3 pm, I was crestfallen. I was heading out of state at 2:30 pm and thought there was no way any would be left by the time I got back.
This is where the story takes a positive turn.
Today I had the good fortune of seeing a tweet from Farmhouse Tap and Grill announcing they still had some of the finalist beers left. I immediately changed my lunch plans.
I arrived at FHTG to a light lunch crowd. Luckily Jeff Baker, Director of Fluid Assets for FHTG, was available to talk to me. I explained I wanted to taste the beers as well as ask some customers about their experience with the beers. After a little research by Jeff we discovered that Robert, one of the servers, had found a customer, Mike, that was willing to talk with me. Since he was in the middle of his meal he asked if he could speak with me when he was done. Perfect. That gave me a chance to try the beers myself.
Mr. Baker poured the samples for me himself before he had to get back to work. I sat down at the end of the bar and began preparing for the tasting.
As I sipped the first beer, I asked the person seated to my left if he had tried the beers and cast his own vote. He had, just yesterday. I introduced myself to Tristan, from the Burlington area. He explained to me that he had enjoyed both beers. He found the Belgian Witbier to have multiple layers of flavor he liked while the Schwarzbier had a nice smoky character to it with a balanced flavor. He would have been happy to order either beer. I thanked him for his time and continued my own exploration of the beers.
As I was finishing up my second beer, Mike, who is in town visiting from Detroit, had finished his meal and beers so he approached me to discuss. Being from out of state, he had seen the sign announcing Makethecut and thought it was a local brewery with two beers they were testing. When he asked for them he was told by his server, Robert, the beers were part of a home brew contest. Being a home brewer himself, he was intrigued. After sampling both beers, he was torn and found it tough to choose. His personal preference is maltier, which would have led him to the Schwarzbier, but the Belgian Witbier caught his attention due to it being a good representation of the style. The Schwarzbier was malty with a little hint of smokiness. He found it very sessionable. I was starting to see a pattern. I gave Mike the website for the competition so he could follow the final results, thanked him for his time and he went on his way to enjoy Vermont.
Now, it was my turn. I was equally torn. Do I reveal what I decided? I think instead I will hold my selection until after the contest winner is announced at the Vermont Brewers Festival and see if I picked a winner. Either way, we are once again blessed here in Vermont with an abundance of brewing talent.
Good luck to both Tom Poole and Brett Seymour. Cheers!
When tasting and voting on the two finalist beers for Makethecut was announced for Friday May 29th at 3 pm, I was crestfallen. I was heading out of state at 2:30 pm and thought there was no way any would be left by the time I got back.
This is where the story takes a positive turn.
Today I had the good fortune of seeing a tweet from Farmhouse Tap and Grill announcing they still had some of the finalist beers left. I immediately changed my lunch plans.
I arrived at FHTG to a light lunch crowd. Luckily Jeff Baker, Director of Fluid Assets for FHTG, was available to talk to me. I explained I wanted to taste the beers as well as ask some customers about their experience with the beers. After a little research by Jeff we discovered that Robert, one of the servers, had found a customer, Mike, that was willing to talk with me. Since he was in the middle of his meal he asked if he could speak with me when he was done. Perfect. That gave me a chance to try the beers myself.
Mr. Baker poured the samples for me himself before he had to get back to work. I sat down at the end of the bar and began preparing for the tasting.
As I sipped the first beer, I asked the person seated to my left if he had tried the beers and cast his own vote. He had, just yesterday. I introduced myself to Tristan, from the Burlington area. He explained to me that he had enjoyed both beers. He found the Belgian Witbier to have multiple layers of flavor he liked while the Schwarzbier had a nice smoky character to it with a balanced flavor. He would have been happy to order either beer. I thanked him for his time and continued my own exploration of the beers.
As I was finishing up my second beer, Mike, who is in town visiting from Detroit, had finished his meal and beers so he approached me to discuss. Being from out of state, he had seen the sign announcing Makethecut and thought it was a local brewery with two beers they were testing. When he asked for them he was told by his server, Robert, the beers were part of a home brew contest. Being a home brewer himself, he was intrigued. After sampling both beers, he was torn and found it tough to choose. His personal preference is maltier, which would have led him to the Schwarzbier, but the Belgian Witbier caught his attention due to it being a good representation of the style. The Schwarzbier was malty with a little hint of smokiness. He found it very sessionable. I was starting to see a pattern. I gave Mike the website for the competition so he could follow the final results, thanked him for his time and he went on his way to enjoy Vermont.
Now, it was my turn. I was equally torn. Do I reveal what I decided? I think instead I will hold my selection until after the contest winner is announced at the Vermont Brewers Festival and see if I picked a winner. Either way, we are once again blessed here in Vermont with an abundance of brewing talent.
Good luck to both Tom Poole and Brett Seymour. Cheers!
Previous Coverage:
Brew Day - Brett Seymour
Brew Day - Tom Poole
Makethecut Round One Judging
Makethecut Informational
Brew Day - Brett Seymour
Brew Day - Tom Poole
Makethecut Round One Judging
Makethecut Informational