As we were leaving New Hampshire we stopped at Bishop's Homemade in Littleton. Our rule is to not put tastes on the list of types of things we've tasted before unless they are dramatically different recipes. So it's ok to have multiple merlots on the list because each wine maker does their own thing, but the pepperoni slice in North End Boston wasn't much different than a usual pepperoni slice, except in serving size. This ice cream was outstanding and noteworthy, so it gets a place on the list!
- Bishop's Homemade - blueberry ice cream: the texture was very creamy and the taste was super berry-y. Sometimes fruit tasting ice creams can lose their flavor because they're served cold. This wasn't the case. The blueberry was a great flavor and didn't have any big chunks of actual blueberries, which Megan hates so that was good.
- Bishop's Homemade - chocolate ice cream: this was super creamy and rich without tasting like eating too much cocoa. Very very good.
That night we stayed at a nice campground with free WiFi, hot showers, and electrical at the tent sites. We were worried about Moose River Campground when we made the reservations because it was mostly an RV place and those places can be not very considerate to tent campers, but not this place. There was a separate space for tents and the campground was quiet at night. The tent spots are prime, right on the river, and the view is beautiful.
The next day we focused on tasting our way through Vermont. In the morning we went to Cabot Creamery for the tasting and tour. The drive was on these beautiful rural roads with views like this:
For $2 per person we got to knock out quite a few tastes. We only made notes about the very best tastes of cheese rather than every single one as the tour was starting shortly after we got there. (Of course after the tour was over, we came back and finished and re-sampled to see what cheeses we needed to bring home with us. We didn't include the sharp or extra sharp cheddars as we have those here and they were not new tastes.
For $2 per person we got to knock out quite a few tastes. We only made notes about the very best tastes of cheese rather than every single one as the tour was starting shortly after we got there. (Of course after the tour was over, we came back and finished and re-sampled to see what cheeses we needed to bring home with us. We didn't include the sharp or extra sharp cheddars as we have those here and they were not new tastes.
- Cabot - Muenster
- Cabot - Pepper Jack
- Cabot - Monterey Jack
- Cabot - Colby Jack
- Cabot - Tomato Basil Cheddar - this was super interesting and could be excellent as an alternative to mozzarella or just on its own
- Cabot - Chipotle Cheddar - this had a bit of heat at the start and slowly built up to a mild hotness after you swallowed; okay for a bit of spice
- Cabot - Smoky Bacon Cheddar - a bit of bacon flavor here, but not overwhelming - we imagine this would be excellent on a burger from the grill
- Cabot - Garlic and Herb Cheddar
- Cabot - Hot Buffalo Cheddar - moderately hot - about the same as the chipotle, but maybe a tad bit hotter
- Cabot - Horseradish Cheddar - Brett doesn't really like horseradish but tried it - it was okay, but it was horseradish....
- Cabot - Hot Habanero Cheddar - this was hot, not so hot you had to run for a drink but definitely some good heat
- Cabot - Premium Farmhouse Reserve Cheddar - Brett's favorite - never have we had a cheddar that had granularity to it (think some parmesan cheese or more typically, Gran Padano) - super delicious
- Cabot - Private Stock Cheddar
- Cabot - Vintage Choice Cheddar - Megan's favorite - nutty and flavorful
- Cabot - Adirondack Wicked Sharp Cheddar
- Cabot - Seriously Sharp Cheddar
- Cabot - Cheddar Powder - salty and bursting with real cheddar flavor, this would be a great addition to popcorn. Unfortunately it is only sold in very large jars and we don't eat nearly enough popcorn to make it worthwhile
- Maple cheesecake cheese dip
- Strawberry cream cheese dip
- Moosewood Hollow - Sweet Autumn Maple syrup - infused with typical fall spices
- Moosewood Hollow - Vanilla Bean Maple syrup
- Moosewood Hollow - Maple Syrup with Cinnamon Sticks
From there we headed to Hill Farmstead Brewery. Ranked the number one brewery in the world, it was worth getting off the beaten asphalt path (and onto dirt roads) to get there. It's a very small place with not nearly enough parking or room inside for everyone who had flocked there, but the beer was excellent as promised. Brett notes that this was certainly some of the absolute best beers ever - so tasty and simple in flavor at first, then the flavor becomes even more complex. Brett would say that the experience is more like a fine wine or excellent port than beer. The logo for the brewery is from a sign that was found at Shaun Hill's great great great grandfather's tavern up the hill from the current brewery site.
- Hill Farmstead Brewery - Edward - Megan's favorite, an American pale ale, very very good
- Hill Farmstead - What is Enlightenment? - a different American pale ale - this was a bit more lemony citrus rather than grapefruity -
- Hill Farmstead - Susan - Brett's favorite, but just barely, over Everett; this is an IPA but it's not all too hoppy and is very very complex with an incredibly long finish that leaves you licking your lips
- Hill Farmstead - Everett - a robust American porter - this was very very good and almost Brett's favorite; if he had to compare this and Fuller's London Porter, it would be absolutely impossible to choose which was better even though they're a bit different in style; <sarcasm> life is just so so hard <end sarcasm>
After that stop we headed over to Morse Farm Sugarworks, a 200+ year old working farm, where we continued our culinary education and sampled syrups and had a maple-flavored soft serve (which in Vermont is called a "creemee").
- Morse Farm's Fancy (Grade A) Syrup - This is light in color and in taste. It's delicate, but we couldn't decide when it would be best to use it.
- Morse Farm's Grade A Medium Amber Syrup - This was Brett's favorite and Megan's second favorite flavor. It was much more bold than the Fancy but still not overwhelming.
- Morse Farm's Grade A Dark Amber Syrup - This was Megan's favorite in the for-pancakes category. It's sweet, mapley, and had more complexity than the others before.
- Morse Farm's Grade B Syrup - It's a heavy taste with more complexity than the Grade A's. It's a very dark color and tastes of maple and carmel mixed together. While not necessarily the best choice for pancakes, it would be a great idea to bake with it.
- Morse Farm's Maple Creemee - At first we thought they had given us a vanilla bowl instead by mistake, but then realized it was because we had done our tasting of syrup right before digging in. After letting our palate's rest a few minutes, the creemee was definitely maple flavored and quite fun. They had a chocolate-maple version that we wished we had tried in a swirl.
After that disappointing stop we went one block up the street to a sure fire win, Ben and Jerry's! We took the tour, which ended with a free sample, and then bought cones for each of us because that's a reasonable lunch. Those people sure are generous with their scoops!
- Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Therapy - an ewwy gooey chocolately mess. The rich flavor was delicious, but a whole cone of it was overwhelming...unless "Castle" gets cancelled. Then it would probably be a great choice. The only problem is that the fudge pudding makes it a melty mess.
- Ben and Jerry's Late Night Snack - ice cream with chocolate covered potato chips is the win. It was crunchy and sweet and salty. Perfect! Brett would have preferred a bit more of the chunkies, but it was still very good.
- Ben and Jerry's Triple Caramel Chunk - We like caramel (Megan more than Brett) and even she thought this was totally too much caramel. The ice cream and the chunks and the swirls are too much caramel. It would have been so much better in vanilla. Sadly, that was a bit of a bust. Strangely, Brett thought it was pretty darn good, even though he likes caramel less.
We wanted to hit the Green Mountain Coffee place for tasting but it was getting late and we needed to set up camp in Burlington, another 2 hours away. What we decided is that the north central part of Vermont is fantastic. There's so much to do - we didn't even get to do any of the tons of outdoor activities to enjoy it more. We'd love to go back and rent a place for a week and just have a great time outside.
After setting up camp we walked down the bike path to downtown Burlington and had dinner at American Flatbread. They specialize in wood fired gourmet pizzas and have partnered with Zero Gravity Brewing to have a full beer selection. Since they do half pulls we were able to try more tastes. This place was FANTASTIC and we'd recommend it to anyone in the area!
- American Flatbread's Pepperoni and Peppers Pizza - It was outstanding. The pepperoni was crispy, the crust was chewy, and the cheese was salty but not overwhelming. The sauce was a little underwhelming (we expected more herb and less sweet given the other high end complex flavors). All in all, it was great though.
- American Flatbread's New Vermont Sausage Pizza - This is a sauce-less pizza with local no-nitrate pork sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, carmelized onions, and mushrooms. It was incredibly savory and matched well with the beers for the evening.
- Zero Gravity Brewing - T.L.A. I.P.A - this was on cask for the evening
- Zero Gravity Brewing - London Calling
- Zero Gravity Brewing - Villiers Extra Special Bitter
- Zero Gravity Brewing - The Bard's Brown
- Zero Gravity Brewing - Grateful - This was the real winner for the night. A very complex Belgian-style ale made with barley, wheat, tea, maple syrup, and raspberries. The taste was so complex that Megan described it as "shimmery."
On the walk back to camp, we watched the sun set on Lake Champlain, another bucket list item checked off!
Below is a slide show of our pictures from the days and as always you can just go to the full album.
No comments:
Post a Comment