Hermit Thrush Brewery
Microbrewery
in
Brattleboro,
Vermont,
United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: Hermit Thrush Brewery
- Out of business
Established in 2014
Closed in 2024
Contact
29 High St, #101C, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Description
Ancient Beer, Modern Method.
Fermenting since 2014 with only wild brattleboro mixed culture yeast. continually pushing boundaries of new sour beer. brewhouse fueled by wood, not fossils.
To truly understand terroir and wild yeast, a brewer must come to terms with the type of beer that “wants to be made” in their region. We are proud of Brattleboro’s wild yeast for its balance, its stone fruit and pecan character, and how dry and effervescent it leaves the beer. We are grateful to our region’s farms for the availability of world class hops and fruits, as well as to our area distilleries for unique and beautiful oak barrel flavor histories.
We delight in making beer that could only be made in our place, with our team, supported by our community and environment.
Fermenting since 2014 with only wild brattleboro mixed culture yeast. continually pushing boundaries of new sour beer. brewhouse fueled by wood, not fossils.
To truly understand terroir and wild yeast, a brewer must come to terms with the type of beer that “wants to be made” in their region. We are proud of Brattleboro’s wild yeast for its balance, its stone fruit and pecan character, and how dry and effervescent it leaves the beer. We are grateful to our region’s farms for the availability of world class hops and fruits, as well as to our area distilleries for unique and beautiful oak barrel flavor histories.
We delight in making beer that could only be made in our place, with our team, supported by our community and environment.
8.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Draft at the source. There are multiple styles with similar names, including an amber, a golden sour, and this one. There's also a dry hopped sour. But this is the pale ale. Sadly there's no sour pale ale style on RB, so I entered it as a pale ale, but maybe you could make a case for making it a sour IPA. Anyway: clearish deep golden color, white head. Aroma of tannins vanilla white wine. Taste is sour and bitter and vinous and tannic and complex. Tasty.
Tried
from Draft
on 27 Aug 2022
at 00:59
8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 8
Draft at the source. Clearish amber orange color, more or less still. Aroma of orange peel and stonefruit. Taste is softly sour, floral and fruity. Very nice.
Tried
from Draft
on 27 Aug 2022
at 00:50
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Canned 5/16/22, drunk 8/21/22. Mostly clear, peachy-plummy-bronze-copper. Small, pinkish-plum-tinted head shows low retention. Juicy, not too acidic nose with moderate lactic acidity and sparse, somewhat rustic/grainy malts. Blackberry is well-represented but not overdone nor is the kettle souring punchy/twangy/sharp. Soft and juicy in the mouth with plentiful tartness and a light brace of both malt and fruit sweetness that balances the moderate lactic and berry-like acidity. Clean, tart, lightly juicy.
Tried
from Can
on 24 Aug 2022
at 15:16
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Canned 3/9/22, drunk 8/21/22. Heavily hazy, orange juice-copper. Medium, off-white head. Juicy lactic acid and earthy blood orange with cracker-like malts and good cleanliness. Nothing too crazy but a fine kettle sour. Juicy and lactic notes, lightly fruity and peppery with soft, well-attenuated malts. Good fruit, not too punchy lactic acid. Not super exciting, but well-done for a kettle sour.
Tried
from Can
on 21 Aug 2022
at 18:06
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 5.5
Canned 10/6/21, drunk 8/21/22. Lightly cloudy, orange-raspberry-canteloupe. Small, off-white head. Light oxidation and vanilla with tart fruit juice and moderate lactic acidity. Soft, juicy, but probably still a bit too punchy from the kettle souring. Caramel, vanilla, oxidation and light passion fruit juice. Not my favorite kettle souring job; just a bit too punchy still.
Tried
from Can
on 21 Aug 2022
at 16:27
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Three Penny draught, 8/12/22. Clear brass with maize tones. Medium, white head shows moderate retention. Can smell this thing across the room. Big cherry-like sourness from the bacteria with some earth, cellar, mustiness, oxidation, vanilla and light acetic notes. Sticky honey, dried cherries, vanilla and big Brett notes with lingering but not overbearing acidity. Barrel tannin/oakiness, less oxidation in flavor and lingering Brett, honey and vanilla. Tons of flavor for its size. Soft texture, great malt depth and attenuation. Very Fine, indeed.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Aug 2022
at 15:27
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
16oz can pours a murky brown with some clumpy, off white head. Nose has malt, crab apples, some balsamic vinegar, a bit of nettle. Flavors all follow. High acid finish. 7 4 7 4 14
Tried
from Can
on 04 Aug 2022
at 14:53
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Can, courtesy of Matt. Pours dark orange. Funk, acid, passionfruit, dry white wine, tangerine. Medium body. Good.
Tried
from Can
on 31 Jul 2022
at 01:46
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Can from Fort Point Market shelf, undated, drunk 6/18/22. Dark copper-golden, good clarity, with a small, white head showing light retention. Soft tannin, golden raisin and juicy citrus with light stone fruit, vanilla and mild oxidation. Moderate acidity with a touch of acetic character. Honey and biscuit from the ample malts helps balance. Juicy apricot, tart lactic and sour acetic notes with big, honey-like malts helping to add a solid texture and good balance. Juicy citrus, apricot, peach and light vanilla and tannin lingering alongside apricot and light acetic acid. Juicy, malty, intensely flavorful and pretty well-balanced, though there is a bit more acetic acid than I'd prefer.
Tried
from Can
on 19 Jun 2022
at 01:11
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Undated can from Fort Point Market shelf, drunk 6/18/22. Clear ruddy-mahogany with deep cherry hues and a dark beige head that slowly fades to cover/ring. Strong, complex nose showing black pepper, molasses, prune, raisin, maybe even some smokey scotch. Light alcohol, not hot, with a solid base of dry caramel and plentiful, tart red fruits. Souring bacteria lingering, but not dominating. Vanilla, chalk/mineral-laden wine and more molasses as it continues to breath. Cherry, molasses, raisin, caramel, black pepper, strong mineral and strong lactic acidity with a bit of acetic acidity lingering. Vanilla and caramel lingering alongside moderate-to-strong sourness. Fantastically complex barrel notes without being overdone/dominant. Scotch and red wine in the background with lip-smacking caramel and raisin sweetness mostly balancing the strong acidity. Still a heavy brace of cringing acidity at first. Pretty incredible stuff, especially for its size. Doesn't drink like that at all - more in the range of 8-9%. Though there is some inevitable alcohol, it's not hot/sharp. Malts are excellent and barrel tannin helps contribute texture, as well.
Tried
from Can
on 18 Jun 2022
at 23:37