hill farmstead brewery

Arrived at 11:30am, 1/2 hour before they opened. No cell phone reception, dirt roads the last few miles to get there. 2.5 hours until I finally got my beer. But... It's totally worth it. The views are breathtaking and the beer is the best you can buy anywhere in the world. Period. This is a must visit at least once in your lifetime.

While the drive may be bit out of the way, I can assure you it will be worth it! Visit the brewery prepared to wait in line... We visited twice. Once on a Saturday and we arrived 1/2 hour before opening. We waited in line for 1 1/2 hours to get our growlers filled. The next time we went it was a Friday afternoon about 3:30 and waited about 45 minutes. To make the wait go by more enjoyably, be sure to take advantage of the $5 for 4 samples. It is worth it and will help you make your growler fill decisions. You cannot go wrong with any of the brews. Just be sure to bring patience, several empty growlers and a love for good beer.

Hill Farmstead is simply the best beer in the world, full stop. The brewery itself is not a brew pub or particularly friendly, and the process of getting growlers can be somewhat confusing for a first timer. I will note that they clearly demarcated the growler line my last visit, so perhaps they have listened to some of the feedback.But seriously, this beer is better than anything else out there - Russian River PtE and PtY, Alchemist HT, Lawson's (although Sip of Sunshine gives all but the best HF brews a run for their money).Go, expect to wait in line for a bit but also expect to be blown away.

I loved Hill Farmstead back in the day when they ran their business out of a tiny little garage-like space. Don't get me wrong, I still respect "the Hill" but this particular trip was lackluster. I hadn't been in 4 years and was excited to see the new facilities. The Hill is located in the middle of nowhere which isn't a huge deal but after an hour long drive to the middle of nowhere, I had to use the bathroom. I went inside to find out the new facilities weren't going to be ready for another few months and the 2 porta johns outside were my only bathroom options. OK, fine. I should mention that it was -3 degrees out but I had had to go so I begrudgingly went out to the porta johns. I opened the door and was greeted by a frozen turd on the seat. Awesome. I informed and employee about the situation and she said "Oh man that's gross, sorry," and continued what she was doing. To be fair, I understand you are short staffed on a busy day and can't run out to clean a bathroom but a little more understanding? explanation? finesse? would have been nice. Anyway it was so cold and I was so repulsed that I decided to just hold it. The line was long which again, is to be expected but an hour plus wait when you have to pee is painful. My biggest complaint though was the beer selection. Out of 8 beers on tap, 6 of them were IPA's. By the 4th IPA I had major palate fatigue and honestly couldn't care less about the other 2. The one Stout they had on tap (Earl) was delicious but hardly worth the trek out there. Again, I love this brewery and wish I could rate it higher but between the bathroom situation, long wait, and limited selection this time around, I can't give it much more than an average rating.

While they are constructing a new tasting room, the experience of visiting is very humble. You do your tasting standing in line. The staff is incredibly friendly and the beer is excellent (I got two growlers, others were filling six or nine!). Sometimes the lines can be two hours long on a busy Saturday, out the door, so dress accordingly. We were there at 3 on a Saturday and the line was only about 15 minutes.

All the horrible things that everyone has said are absolutely true! This place is in the middle of nowhere, and we went after a snow and the roads were not maintained. We thought our GPS systems were crazy when we driving there…we were pleasantly surprised when we found it. Then we were shocked by the long line – but figured out we got there at the wrong time (3:00). There was no one in line after4:00. There were no bathrooms; just two dirty outhouses. The growler filling process was s-l-o-w. But the beer was very good! The reason we went there is because we ask other brewers what beer they like (besides their own) and they recommended this brewery. It will be a better experience once their new facilities are open. Until then, bring 3 growlers per person (no German designs, stainless steel or clear glass) and enjoy the beer!

One of a few planned brewery stops along our journey from Portland, ME to Burlington, VT for a family wedding. This one was the most anticipated. Our expectations were high. Although few on the west coast knew what we were after, we knew exactly the reputation and great tasting beers we were seeking. And although we thought we might not get there in time because we had zero cell reception or GPS service and past the turnoff a few times before finally finding the correct dirt road. It was all worthwhile in the long run and made it just before 5 pm on a Thursday. Rennovations were underway but looked promising. The wait was extremely minimal and proceeded with our tastings immediately. Wow. Sooo tasty after hours in a car. Shaun, keep up the great work man! Picked up some swag and many many beers to take home to San Diego. Shared with some appreciative SOBs. Now, we just need you to distribute it to the west coast please.

I'm sharing this review, not as a beer lover but as a local that has been to Hill Farmstead on quite a few occasions. I have relatives in Boston that love this beer. If I have the time I will pick some up when I go for a visit. I agree with other reviews that the waiting line is horrible. My last visit took 1.5 hours, this was short in comparison to other visits. The best you can hope for is the people in front of you get so annoyed that they leave and you move up in the line. Not so sure my relatives would "Love" this experience if they have to drive 3.5 hours to wait 2 more hours (If you don't get lost) for 3 bottles of beer! This review is only for the service not the beer! There is also an outhouse for use but I am sure once they complete the renovations indoor facilities should be available.

I honestly want to like Hill Farmstead. They may brew decent beer, but a 2 hour wait after a 2 hour drive to the middle of nowhere is anything but "worth while". We came earlier in the season at which point they were still cash only, and if you know anything about its location then you're aware that an ATM is the last thing you will find. There are no signs of how to get there so unless you know the way of have carefully plugged it into your gps (in advance as cell signal is non existent) than great,... If not, then prepare to be lost. I'm hoping that the addition to the brewery with boast a better experience as this was the least inviting and dare I say "personal" tasting experience in Vermont to date.** my advice is skip the brewery and go to Parker Pie instead, they have a hefty tap menu and amazing pizza sans 2 hour wait**

This was our second time here. Last October we arrived at 12:15 pm and waited in line for about 90 minutes. This year, after the brewery expansion, we arrived at 2 pm and were only on line for an hour. Standing in line can be fun when you get to talk to fellow beer fans. Everybody has a smile on his/her face----and it isn't just from the samplings. We even were able to pet a beautiful Golden Retriever who wandered in. Hope the workers are paid well because they are working their tails off. Oh yeah. The beer? Beyond excellent.

Long line but worth the wait. Did not make it past my brother's house, where we stayed that night, with all the beer we purchased......

I hear there can be long lines but we got lucky. Got to sample some amazing beers. I think their "Edwards" is the best beer ever. Wish they took credit cards (cash only) and served food.

After reading all the reviews we knew to get there plenty early. We showed up an hour before they opened on a Weds and were 10th in line. We had great conversation with 4 folks in front of us (we ended up going to lunch with them at Parker Pie Co after we left Hill Farmstead!) and that helped pass the time. Once the doors opened it took us an hour to get our order completed. Everyone gets a ton of growlers, so the process is very slow. The woman serving the tastings was very nice. You can bypass the long line if you just want to get their pre-bottled selection, but there were only three of those when we went and we wanted to bring home a lot more than that. We saw Shaun working while we were there, but he didn't interact with customers in any way. No biggie, we were prepared for that as well. The beer is great and worth the wait if you've never been. I wouldn't go on a regular basis, but we ended up having a blast.

Get there early and prepare to wait a while. But it's well worth the drive and the wait. 5 bucks for 4 samples is nice. Not accepting credit cards Which is fantastic!!

Out in the middle of no where, is a world class brewery. Wish I lived in Vermont. Two cheers.....for the brewer, two cheers for Everett the beer, and two cheers for the views of the mountains.