Local Breweries: Hill Farmstead of Vermont

Last weekend my wife and I made a trip to one of our favorite places in America, Vermont.  My primary desire was to replenish my stores of Hill Farmstead Brewery.  This brewery is widely considered the best in America, and some would say the best in the world.  Sean Hill, the brewer, is not a specialist, he makes world class hoppy ales in addition to sour, dark, farmhouse and everything in between.  He is committed to a sustainable business that can support itself and although he has grown rapidly, there is a target size for the company that he does not want to exceed.  This goal allows him to focus on doing the best possible work he can, which results in amazing beer.  He utilizes growlers so that he can ensure that his beers remain fresh. I much prefer to support a "local" brewery than one of the large conglomerates.  Also, Sean goes to great lengths to respect his community and helps support other local businesses.  He takes great pride in working in a remote area, and although you have to actually go to the brewery to buy his beer, he avoids wasting resources on things like distribution to stores.

The brewery

My haul

Edward - Flagship Pale Ale

Single Hop Pale Ale - Mosaic

Society & Solitude #5 Double IPA

Frugal Travel: Airbnb & Local Cuisine

Travel is one of my favorite luxuries.  There are so many astounding places in the world, and yet the vast majority of us spend our time within our homes and workplaces.  Even those of us who travel for work, often are only visiting conference rooms and generic hotel rooms.  Travel is a great alternative to consumption of goods.  The opportunity to visit a new location, take in the history, culture, and cuisine of a location, and add an experience to your life is worth more than purchasing another new sweater or jacket!  Cuisine to me is one of the most important aspects of my life.  I love eating!  I love trying new and tasty foods.  Local specialties are my favorite.  Whenever you travel, avoid the big chains and try something new!

One of my favorite frugal travel tips is Airbnb.  For those of you who aren't familiar, Airbnb is a hotel alternative.  Individuals who have extra space, post it online for travelers to utilize when they come to visit.  The spaces vary from an extra bedroom within someones home for very little money, to a studio apartment/guest house, all the way up to an entire house.  The prices vary accordingly.  This is such a fundamentally amazing idea, as it allows people to monetize their personal real estate, and gives travelers an option other than staying at a boring corporate hotel.  Many hosts will offer tips on the locales they know best which can be invaluable.

There are many ways to find the specialties that are only available at the place you are traveling.  First of all, word of mouth is extremely powerful, so I always tap my network for suggestions when I travel.  Second, we are living in the days of the internet, information has never been easier to acquire.  I tend to utilize websites like Yelp which offer reviews, which I of course take with a grain of salt.  Also, once you are in the neighborhood and find a coffee shop or boutique you like, it helps to ask the owner what restaurants/foods they like.  The shrimp po boy above is a perfect example from New Orleans. You will often get a great answer that you might not find elsewhere!  Personally, I always like to try local beers when I travel, and with the proliferation of the craft beer movement throughout the USA, there has never been a better time.  If you are ever planning to come to Western Massachusetts, these are the beer stops I recommend.  Worcester's Armsby Abbey is pictured below.

Here are some Airbnb highlights (including a castle!)
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13783
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/530250
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8357
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13253

Go Green: Beer Growlers

As anyone who reads my other blog, A Terrific Life, knows that I love beer.  Specifically, good, local craft beer.  The beer brewing process uses an unfortunately large amount of resources, specifically water, grains, and electricity.  The beer must then be stored while it ferments, and then packaged and shipped to the consumer.  Then the cans or bottles are often discarded or thrown in the trash, rather than recycled.

Growlers present a great alternative that will hopefully limit the environmental impact of the packaging and distributing activities involved in beer.  Growlers are large jugs, often 32 or 64 ounces, that can be filled directly from the tanks or kegs and sold directly to customers.  This cuts out the distributor, since consumers can buy the beer directly from the brewery.  Also, there will not be electricity wasted on packaging, storing, and shipping the cans or bottles that are traditionally used in the beer market.  In addition, the nature of a growler means that you will be getting fresher beer, often from a local brewery.  This is important, because beer tastes better the fresher it is, and there is not as much energy wasted in storage between the time produced and ultimately consumed.  Finally, supporting local businesses is something we always encourage.

Another point that I like about growlers is the higher bottle deposit. This is something that I have advocated in the past and stand by firmly.  Many people who do not recycle, would, if it was in their own selfish best interest to do so.  This can be accomplished by raising recycling deposit limits.  People will have to shell out extra money for the container when purchasing, and then be refunded upon return.  Growlers are large containers, and I am sure expensive to buy, so they charge $1.50-$5 bottle deposits.  Of course, once you pay it once, you can re-use the growler or bring it back and exchange it at the brewery for a new one. 

Selling growlers makes good business and environmental sense, as the middle-man distributors are cut out, and there is less waste as a result of packaging beer into 6-36 packs of bottles and cans, and the recquisite packaging for individual retail and wholesale cases.  Of course growlers can not serve every single consumers needs, but using them more, as well as increasing bottle deposits on smaller vessels will help to lower the environmental impact of one of my favorite beverages.

Drink Craft Beer!