The Shed Brewery

Client Brewer in Middlebury, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
Owned by Harpoon Brewery
Associated Venue: Shed Restaurant and Brewery - Out of business

Established in 1995

Contact
793 Exchange St, Middlebury, VT, 05753, United States
Description
The Shed Brewery has been a Vermont staple for nearly 50 years. The original building on Mountain Road in Stowe was built in 1830 as a blacksmith shop. It later served as a cider mill and local gathering spot for Stowe farmers. During harvest, the local farmers would drop off their harvested apples and stay for a drink of hard cider and spirited conversation.

After a short stint as a variety store and youth hostel, the old cider mill became The Shed Restaurant in 1965. Spirited conversation returned in the form of tall tales of downhill glory as skiers filled the Shed and set the roots for the après ski culture in Stowe. Steeped in history and rooted in Vermont skiing lore, the Shed became THE spot for locals and tourists alike.

On a frigid evening in 1994, a fire destroyed the restaurant. Rising from the ashes, the restaurant reopened the following year with the addition of a seven-barrel brewery that focused on English-style, handcrafted ales. The Shed Mountain Ale soon became as steeped in Stowe folklore as the ski area up the road.

One of the first brewpubs in Vermont, the Shed's tradition of brewing fine ales remained part of Stowe's culture until 2011 when production shifted to Middlebury. Now, for the first time in our storied history, people outside of Vermont are able to enjoy Shed at their neighborhood bars and restaurants or pick up a six-pack from their local store. The legacy of the original Shed lives on in every batch of Mountain Ale, IPA and the spirited conversation that erupts over a shared pint.

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5.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5

On tap at Otter Creek, pours a hazy golden with a small white head. Aroma brings out light honey, with some earthiness from the rye and toasted malt. Flavour is along the same lines, with toasted malt and a trace of honey. Pretty noncommittal in its overall flavour profile. Okay.

Tried from Draft on 08 Aug 2018 at 01:33


7.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

On tap at Otter Creek, pours a hazy dark amber with a small off-white head. Aroma brings out rich caramel, with toffee and English bready malt. Flavour is more dry than the nose suggests, with English bready malt, light toasted and toasted dry caramel. Bready and malty without being very sweet. Nice stuff.

Tried from Draft on 08 Aug 2018 at 01:32


6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6

Pours dark with a thick head. Lots of carbonation. Aroma had notes of chocolate, malt and dark fruit. Taste has elements of cherry, coffee, and chocolate. Palate is complex, bitterness complements the various elements of dark fruits and coffee/chocolate that are contained within this beer. Interesting take on an ale, I imagine it would be difficult to have more than one of these at a time.

Tried on 25 Jun 2018 at 02:52


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle from Village Beer Merchant. Mahogany. Bread, toffee, caramel, a bit nutty. Creamy, soft.

Tried from Bottle on 17 May 2018 at 14:38


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle in Vermont for Easter weekend (thanks Nikki). Dark brown colour, almost black with a mocha-coloured head, with a little layer on top that stays and mild lacing. Aromas of coffee and nuts over the roasted malts. The taste has the roasted malts again with a little more hops in the finish all nicely balanced. Some coffee lingers on the tongue. Hints of chocolate and dark fruits, but none compared to most Baltic Porter. Easy, but nothing special.

Tried from Bottle on 01 Apr 2018 at 21:58


7.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle pour into nonic pint glass from Port Wine & Spirits. Appearance is opaque black with decent sparkle at the sides of the glass, 3-finger width fizzy light brown head with huge bubbles after vigorous poor, with poor retention and no lacing. Aroma is strong roasted malts, bordering on ash. Taste is roasted malts as aroma, with less ash quality, notes of chocolate, coffee, fig, earth. Palate is light-to-medium bodied with thin texture, soft carbonation and bittersweet finish. Overall, head was a little off, palate a little thin, and straightforward aroma but the taste had some nice complexity.

Tried from Bottle on 18 Feb 2018 at 00:12


5.9
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Draft at Tuckerman's Tavern in Intervale, NH. Mislabeled on the menu as a brown ale. Clear mahogany color with an off-white head and fair retention. Looks and tastes like a strong amber ale. Okay.

Tried from Draft on 11 Oct 2017 at 22:01


6.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

12 fl oz bottle. Pours clear and golden amber to brown. Small tan head. Aroma is roasted, breadish and dark malty. Sweet, caramelish and toasted malty. Sweet and ,lingering caramelish finish.

Tried from Bottle on 30 Jun 2017 at 18:44


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Thanks Henry!
Poured into a snifter, the appearance was a dark amber/brown color with a little white cap of a head. Light lace.
The aroma had some dark fruits, brown sugar, cocoa powder, clean driftwood sweetness, light vanilla, and a little bit of smoke/ash.
The flavor consistently blended the damp sweet to the dry sweet - the brown sugar and dark fruits to the cocoa powder and smoke/ash. Driftwood wasn’t so much here, but this did have a nice smooth aftertaste rolling into the finish pretty good too.
The palate was medium bodied with a good sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt fine and the ABV felt fine.
Overall, good for what it was, almost more of an English styled strong ale in my opinion.

Tried on 17 May 2017 at 20:57


7.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Poured into a becher pint glass, the appearance was a golden yellow color with a thin white foamy head that dissipated at a mild pace. Light stringy lace.
The aroma had some toast, white bread, swift grassy sweetness, light citrus, crisp sweet wheat at the very end.
The flavor was mainly sweet through the prior mentioned aromas. Damp wheat aftertaste ran into the finish, clean and crisp.
The palate was almost medium bodied but sat just a touch under. Good carbonation and the ABV felt fine.
Overall, good as an easy drinking beer for the warmer weather, but I will say that the wheat is fairly low in this.

Tried on 17 May 2017 at 20:45