OnTap Magazine

out on patio, lawns to run around on and the ubiquitous cornhole boards to play on, Von Trapp came highly recommended to me and now comes highly recommended by me, should you ever find yourself in the area. A FAREWELL KISS There are other breweries in and around Stowe, but I couldn’t get the memory of Alchemist’s Kiss of Dank out of my mind. So the following morning we returned to the brewery as the gates to the beer garden were opening, our plan being to buy a few four packs to bring back to South Africa. Then in a throwback to the early days of Heady Topper, I learnt that Kiss of Dank was only available to drink at the brewery. Luckily, our designated driver didn’t mind us sticking around a while, so we spent a glorious hour in the sun, sipping IPAs straight from the can, and playing yet another game of cornhole. The urge to slip into the loos to decant a can or two into our water bottles was tempting - not to sell on to desperate drinkers keen to sample The Alchemist’s latest release, but simply to save for a little evening sipping. But instead I ordered one more Kiss of Dank to enjoy in the brewery’s delightful beer garden then, with cans of Heady Topper to take home, we bid a sad farewell to Stowe. As we followed winding roads past the neighbouring ski resort I started to plot ways to make enough money to charter a jet so that I can pop back for some more cans of The Alchemist’s rightfully famous beers whenever I get the urge. SWEET TREATS If you’re travelling in Vermont with the family and need the kids to be as happy as a beer lover in a brewery, you could start at the Ben and Jerry’s Factory, 15km south of Stowe. As well as the guided tour and tasting, there’s a great playground, a graveyard honouring discontinued flavours and of course a shop selling cones, quarts and more. Close by is the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, which serves apple cinnamon donuts, non-alcoholic warm apple cider and all manner of candy as well as hard ciders produced on site. Cold Hollow has apple-themed treats for all the family The home of Ben & Jerry's Honouring fallen heroes at the Ben & Jerry's graveyard A round of cornhole at Cold Hollow Disney World size queues for an ice cream at Ben & Jerry's HQ An homage to the food and beer of the family’s homeland ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2022 | 39