Vermont’s newest brewery now pouring in Brattleboro

Beer-making is underway at Vermont’s newest craft brewery, Whetstone Station in Brattleboro. The restaurant and nano-brewery released its first batch of beer on May 18, a single-malt and single-hop, or SMaSH, pale ale.

“We were shocked and flattered to sell out all three and half barrels in only nine days,” said chief beer maker and owner Tim Brady, adding that selling out of the beer so quickly moves up the production date of the next batch.

That next brew is a summer ale with a touch of wheat, dubbed the Heifer-wisen, a playful tip-of-the-hat to Brattleboro’s annual Strolling of the Heifers event on June 8. Brady plans to release this brew about a week before thirsty Strolling of the Heifers spectators descend on Brattleboro. “I just hope it lasts until the end of the weekend,” he said.

Brady describes Whetstone Station’s 108-gal system as a nano-brewery. It is just enough to provide Whetstone Station with one house-brewed beer at a time while satiating Brady’s own taste for variety. It also allows the brewers to try some unique methods such as the SMaSH beer, which was served directly out of the jacketed fermenter, “delivering the freshest possible brew.”

What’s next on tap at Whetstone Station? One of Brady’s goals is “never to brew the same beer twice.” Brady hopes to use the flexible setup to brew more unusual styles of beer, like sours and gose. Brady says a good IPA, however, is never a miss, and customers can expect to see one of Whetstone’s own on tap soon.