Subsidiaries
9.3/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 9
Overall 9
375mL bottle shared at the brewery, May 8, 2026.
It's funny all the hype that goes in to certain beers, while others just get zero. Nonconformist was never a "hype" line, so I guess no one is really looking at them and maybe there aren't that many of these in existence. Whatever the case, this was about as good, possibly better than the Clover 2020, which was also phenomenal.
Maybe this one just needed some time to come in to itself, and boy has it! About as good a fruit treatment as you can find in a beer. The yellow raspberries are juicy, rich, round, succulent and just tart enough without being acidic. Somehow, despite all of the fruit here, it manages to be, perhaps, not tart enough. That's really my only complaint. Very Sacch-forward with round barrel (though no real oak), deep but well-attenuated malts and just the most fantastic, bright, round, deep fruit character, that still manages to integrate well with the beer. Get a bit more acidity in here and you've got a perfect beer/score, in my opinion.
It's funny all the hype that goes in to certain beers, while others just get zero. Nonconformist was never a "hype" line, so I guess no one is really looking at them and maybe there aren't that many of these in existence. Whatever the case, this was about as good, possibly better than the Clover 2020, which was also phenomenal.
Maybe this one just needed some time to come in to itself, and boy has it! About as good a fruit treatment as you can find in a beer. The yellow raspberries are juicy, rich, round, succulent and just tart enough without being acidic. Somehow, despite all of the fruit here, it manages to be, perhaps, not tart enough. That's really my only complaint. Very Sacch-forward with round barrel (though no real oak), deep but well-attenuated malts and just the most fantastic, bright, round, deep fruit character, that still manages to integrate well with the beer. Get a bit more acidity in here and you've got a perfect beer/score, in my opinion.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Hill Farmstead Brewery
on 11 May 2026
at 20:26
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Batch 2, bottled 10/10/15, drunk 11/5/16.
Lime-brass-tinted golden with good clarity and a medium-sized, white head that fizzles to a ring rather quickly.
Juicy, indeed, in the nose, though having sat in the bottle for over a year, the juiciness is now provided by the brett and lactic acids. There is still some remnant of juicy hop notes, I believe, and the sum total aroma is very full of lime, nectarine, kumquat, gooseberry and yogurt cultures. Quite sniffable with light honey and biscuit malt character behind it. No alcohol. Maybe a touch over-acidic.
In the mouth it’s both malty and very lactic. So it balances pretty nicely, but with a high amount of acidity lingering. Woody, lactic and with some hop bitterness lingering, as well. Very low carbonation but mostly tight/engaging. Quite nice, enjoyable stuff, though the lactic acid gets pretty strong over the course of the beer, unbalancing things slightly. A little bit monotonous but very good, nonetheless.
Lime-brass-tinted golden with good clarity and a medium-sized, white head that fizzles to a ring rather quickly.
Juicy, indeed, in the nose, though having sat in the bottle for over a year, the juiciness is now provided by the brett and lactic acids. There is still some remnant of juicy hop notes, I believe, and the sum total aroma is very full of lime, nectarine, kumquat, gooseberry and yogurt cultures. Quite sniffable with light honey and biscuit malt character behind it. No alcohol. Maybe a touch over-acidic.
In the mouth it’s both malty and very lactic. So it balances pretty nicely, but with a high amount of acidity lingering. Woody, lactic and with some hop bitterness lingering, as well. Very low carbonation but mostly tight/engaging. Quite nice, enjoyable stuff, though the lactic acid gets pretty strong over the course of the beer, unbalancing things slightly. A little bit monotonous but very good, nonetheless.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 May 2026
at 20:21
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8
375mL bottle at the brewery, May 8, 2026.
Hops are there, but like most of Hill's beers, not-overdone/dominant. Fruity, lightly juicy without any big chalk/earth or acid. Tropical, for sure, but the Brett is intertwined with them.
Similar flavors with excellent juiciness and bright Brett creating big tropical fruit notes without too much acidity. The only qualm I have with Juicy is the slight caramel/toasted character that seems to lighten the body and keep it very dry and be slightly at odds with the hops. I'd like to see more rich and soft honey-like character from the malt; though I guess that would be a different beer. As is, still wonderful.
Hops are there, but like most of Hill's beers, not-overdone/dominant. Fruity, lightly juicy without any big chalk/earth or acid. Tropical, for sure, but the Brett is intertwined with them.
Similar flavors with excellent juiciness and bright Brett creating big tropical fruit notes without too much acidity. The only qualm I have with Juicy is the slight caramel/toasted character that seems to lighten the body and keep it very dry and be slightly at odds with the hops. I'd like to see more rich and soft honey-like character from the malt; though I guess that would be a different beer. As is, still wonderful.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Hill Farmstead Brewery
on 11 May 2026
at 20:20
9.3/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 9.5
Flavor 9.5
Texture 9
Overall 9
750mL bottle at the brewery, May 8, 2026.
Powerful, rich, malty nose with wine barrel helping to balance and creating a prominent Semillon-like character in the nose. Clear, bright, powerful. Wonderful.
Rich and malty again, though never too malty. Mildly tart, but properly balanced with no acid buildup. Barrel gives plentiful white wine character and the elegance and grace are here, despite its powerful richness. Lovely stuff, of course, and still has many, many more great years to come.
Powerful, rich, malty nose with wine barrel helping to balance and creating a prominent Semillon-like character in the nose. Clear, bright, powerful. Wonderful.
Rich and malty again, though never too malty. Mildly tart, but properly balanced with no acid buildup. Barrel gives plentiful white wine character and the elegance and grace are here, despite its powerful richness. Lovely stuff, of course, and still has many, many more great years to come.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Hill Farmstead Brewery
on 11 May 2026
at 19:39
9/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 8
Flavor 9.5
Texture 9
Overall 9.5
Bottle at the brewery, 5/8/26.
Silky vanilla bean with a good malt presence tending decadent. Bourbon is reserved, but elegant, not overly spicy. Good amount of vanilla, maybe a touch more than I'd prefer, but it will fade nicely. Strength is felt but it's not alcoholic, of course. Elegant as always, from Hill.
Oh yeah, bourbon much more prominent in the flavor. Lots of delicious oak, too. Chocolate, prune, cigar and very slight char on the end. Vanilla nicely restrained in the flavor. No syrup, per Hill, but a medium-full body. Yeah, I mean, this is elegant, balanced and refined, as usual. Excellent complexity. Gonna be lovely for years to come.
Silky vanilla bean with a good malt presence tending decadent. Bourbon is reserved, but elegant, not overly spicy. Good amount of vanilla, maybe a touch more than I'd prefer, but it will fade nicely. Strength is felt but it's not alcoholic, of course. Elegant as always, from Hill.
Oh yeah, bourbon much more prominent in the flavor. Lots of delicious oak, too. Chocolate, prune, cigar and very slight char on the end. Vanilla nicely restrained in the flavor. No syrup, per Hill, but a medium-full body. Yeah, I mean, this is elegant, balanced and refined, as usual. Excellent complexity. Gonna be lovely for years to come.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Hill Farmstead Brewery
on 08 May 2026
at 19:17
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at Mule Bar, Winooski, VT.
Poured into a tulip.
Appearance: burnt orange haziness with a finger's worth of white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: sweet peachy to melon to sticky pine and slightly mango-ish hop tone; super light clean malts - kinda biscuity
Flavor: combines the prior noted aromas to a fine sweet to bittersweet sort of quality; finishes peachy to mango-ish with a clean malty vibe
Texture: medium bodied; slightly sessionable; great smoothness with a superb low carb and low hop bitterness assertiveness
Overall: a very nicely done NEDIPA I would very much love to return to!
Poured into a tulip.
Appearance: burnt orange haziness with a finger's worth of white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: sweet peachy to melon to sticky pine and slightly mango-ish hop tone; super light clean malts - kinda biscuity
Flavor: combines the prior noted aromas to a fine sweet to bittersweet sort of quality; finishes peachy to mango-ish with a clean malty vibe
Texture: medium bodied; slightly sessionable; great smoothness with a superb low carb and low hop bitterness assertiveness
Overall: a very nicely done NEDIPA I would very much love to return to!
Tried
from Draft
on 04 May 2026
at 20:23
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at Mule Bar, Winooski, VT.
Poured into a becher glass.
Appearance: burnt orange haziness with a quarter finger's worth of white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some spotty lace
Aroma: sweet pine to orangey hops up front with an eloquent floral hop sweetness rolling in for a spectacular balance; slight white grapey notes with a sly vinous note to them; then a sly peachy hop note; super light clean bready malt tone underneath
Flavor: meshes the prior noted aromas to a fine sweet to sly bittersweet sort of quality to it and a pop of lemony hop sweetness in there; finishes with a sort of a dry soothingly crisp peachy/white grapey to piney sweetness
Texture: light to medium bodied; sessionable; some smoothness with a good low carb about it and low hop bitterness assertiveness
Overall: pretty nicely done NEIPA I would return to.
Poured into a becher glass.
Appearance: burnt orange haziness with a quarter finger's worth of white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some spotty lace
Aroma: sweet pine to orangey hops up front with an eloquent floral hop sweetness rolling in for a spectacular balance; slight white grapey notes with a sly vinous note to them; then a sly peachy hop note; super light clean bready malt tone underneath
Flavor: meshes the prior noted aromas to a fine sweet to sly bittersweet sort of quality to it and a pop of lemony hop sweetness in there; finishes with a sort of a dry soothingly crisp peachy/white grapey to piney sweetness
Texture: light to medium bodied; sessionable; some smoothness with a good low carb about it and low hop bitterness assertiveness
Overall: pretty nicely done NEIPA I would return to.
Tried
from Draft
on 04 May 2026
at 20:11
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at Armsby Abbey on Zwanze Day
Hazy electric yellow color with a tightly bubbled frothy white head that persists. Juicy floral light pine nose countered with soft bready maltiness, nice.
Hazy electric yellow color with a tightly bubbled frothy white head that persists. Juicy floral light pine nose countered with soft bready maltiness, nice.
Tried
from Draft
at
Armsby Abbey
on 03 May 2026
at 20:00
7.8/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
CBJ Sit-In. Dark glossy brown. Thin foamy beige head. Aroma has pungent booze ans a barrel edge. Flavourwise it has booze but the cacao is more restrained. Gloopy oily body. Long slightly astringent finish. Yeah
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 May 2026
at 21:29
8.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at Blackback Pub in Waterbury, VT.
Poured into a tulip.
Appearance: dark brown close to black color with a half a finger of cream colored white frothy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: sweet biscuity to subtle earthy tones and black coffee with some molasses and a touch of mineral-ish sort of quality in there
Flavor: meshes the prior noted aromas to a fine roasty to sweet quality initially then a slight bitter note underneath rising for balance; finishes with a touch of dryness and a light coffee sweetness
Texture: medium bodied; slightly sessionable; very smooth along the tongue with nothing distracting; good carb level
Overall: a wonderful oatmeal stout I am so happy to have finally have and would very much welcome again!
Poured into a tulip.
Appearance: dark brown close to black color with a half a finger of cream colored white frothy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: sweet biscuity to subtle earthy tones and black coffee with some molasses and a touch of mineral-ish sort of quality in there
Flavor: meshes the prior noted aromas to a fine roasty to sweet quality initially then a slight bitter note underneath rising for balance; finishes with a touch of dryness and a light coffee sweetness
Texture: medium bodied; slightly sessionable; very smooth along the tongue with nothing distracting; good carb level
Overall: a wonderful oatmeal stout I am so happy to have finally have and would very much welcome again!
Tried
from Draft
on 01 May 2026
at 20:13