Tag: Burlington

Burlington, Vermon

We drove to Vermont to drop Kiran off for a 10-day summer wilderness retreat at the Sky Meadow Retreat in Greensboro this summer. Bhavna thought it would be an excellent way to learn relaxation and stress-reduction techniques while taking a break from technology. No bacon, no Wi-Fi, and no reading. Those three things would be a challenge for her.

Sky Meadow is located near the Canadian border on the northern end of Vermont. The iPhone mapping app indicated that driving from New Jersey would take about seven hours. Kiran had to be at the retreat by 2 PM on Saturday, and we wanted to start our journey at a different time than 7 AM. We decided it was best to drive up the day before and stay overnight in a hotel, leaving on our return trip soon after dropping her off.

Church Street Marketplace

Kiran's drop-off time was the next day in the afternoon. We spent the evening of the first day and the morning of the next day sightseeing in the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington. I had my Nikon D5100 and AF-S Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8 with me on the trip, so the 52.5mm full-frame field of view was just the right lens for some safe street photography.

Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, Vermont
Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, Vermont · Saturday 16 July 2016 · Nikon D5100 · AF-S DX Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8G

That night, we drove into Burlington and parked near the Church Street Marketplace. On the way into Burlington, we stopped at a beer retailer in Winooski and bought some six-packs to take back in the cooler we brought. We bought Sip of Sunshine by Lawson's Finest Liquids, Heady Topper, and Switchback Ale by Switchback Brewing Company.

Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, Vermont
Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, Vermont · Saturday 16 July 2016 · Nikon D5100 · AF-S DX Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8G

Some time ago, a long section of Church Street was closed to vehicular traffic and converted to an outdoor shopping mall. Restaurants, bookstores, and shops lined both sides of the street. We arrived too early for our reservation time, so we walked along the centre of Church Street, observing people walking around or dining outdoors.

Church Street Marketplace
Church Street Marketplace · Saturday 16 July 2016 · Nikon D5100 · AF-S DX Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8G

We had dinner at Pascolo Ristorante. Bhavana and I sampled some of the Vermont ales from the menu, including Fiddlehead IPA and The Alchemist ‘Heady Topper’. I finally got to try Heady Topper! Heady was good, but I think the hype over this ale affected my enjoyment. Many of my craft ale-drinking friends had put Heady Topper on a pedestal, and I may have expected an earth-moving experience, but instead, my taste buds felt the experience was “meh”.

Pascolo Ristorante, Church Street Marketplace
Pascolo Ristorante, Church Street Marketplace · Saturday 16 July 2016 · Nikon D5100 · AF-S DX Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8G

Zero Gravity Brewing Cone Head American IPA

My wife and I were in Vermont last weekend dropping our daughter off to a summer retreat. The drive to Greensboro was almost 7 hours. We decided that doing the trip in one day would be too tiring so booked a room in Winooski and drove up the day before. Since check-in was at 3PM we took the opportunity to visit downtown, Burlington. But not before I dropped in at a Winooski beer retailer and picked up beer from local brewers including the famous Heady Topper. We were only allowed to purchase one four-pack.

We had dinner at Pascolo Ristorante in Burlington and then dropped in at Zero Gravity to try a flight. Why Zero Gravity? I wanted to try the Summer Gruit Ale which I found by looking at the nearby tab in Untappd. A long time ago before the discovery of hops and German beer purity laws, beer was made with an herbal mixture as a flavouring.

After sampling Cone Head, Little Wolf, C.S.A. IPA, Bernie Weisse and Choice Make Good -- we met a wonderful couple from New Hampshire who were originally from New Jersey --- I have to say I don't get the enthusiasm for Heady Topper.

Yes, Heady Topper is great. We enjoyed the can we had at Pascolo Ristorante. But from my perspective, Zero Gravity Cone Head is better. And it also more available. No need to line up outside some package store waiting in the heat for the “hope” of buying a single case.

We bought a six pack of Cone Head to bring back with us to New Jersey. We would have bought more but we did not have any more space in the cooler.

Vermont has excellent breweries and excellent beer. Try them all.

So there I said it. I think Heady Topper is all hype.