After our visit to the scenic Trapp Family Brewery, DBNE trekked
up to Morrisville to visit Rock Art. If you go there, note their new address
posted on their website because
Google maps doesn't know it yet. If you type “Rock Art Brewery” into your GPS,
it will send you to their old address. Luckily their new location is on the way
to the old location so if your eyes are peeled enough (ours weren’t) you’ll see
it on your left coming from the south.
Rock Art is a comfortable
brewery to visit. It’s on a main road (as “main” as they come in this neck of
the woods), with its own parking lot and a shiny new visitor’s center that runs
as a store. Aside from bottles and growlers of their own beer, the store also
sells a few Vermont food items (cheeses, dipping sauces and spreads in
tiny-therefore-cute bottles), handmade wooden trinkets, and other
Vermont-themed randomness completely unrelated to beer. You can even outfit
your entire body with an array of Rock Art apparel like hats, shirts, jackets,
and sweat pants. I didn’t look close enough but I wouldn’t be surprised to also
find Rock Art boxer shorts there, too. I mean, what better piece of clothing is
there to promote their barleywine called “Vermonster”?
We showed up for a 4pm tour
that their website promoted. But when we arrived we were told there was no
tour. Disappointing. If you plan to visit and are hoping for a tour, call ahead
and ensure it’s really happening. Their website still advertises the 4pm tour but
who knows if it’s true.
Luckily, tastings are always
available. For $4 you get two-ounce tastes of four or five beers and a souvenir
glass to take home. Now, we need another souvenir glass like we need another
bill to pay. I’d rather just pay $1 for samples and let them keep the glass.
But if you have room in your cabinet, this is a fine deal.
The tasting area is a full-size
bar that makes the focal point of the room. We saddled up to it and tasted
their Whitetail blonde ale, a mild barleywine called RidgeRunner, a stronger
barleywine called Vermonster, their Pumpkin Stout, and American Red.
To be honest, Rock Art beers in
general don’t often excite. The blonde, Pumpkin Stout, and American Red don’t’
stand out in their own respective crowd, and RidgeRunner – while tasty enough –
has confused people. If you look at RidgeRunner as a unique Imperial Red of
sorts, you may be happy. But if you’re looking for a typical barleywine, you
may be disappointed. Rock Art claims Ridgrunner is a British barleywine, and it
may or may not be to style. We’ve can’t recall tasting another “British
barleywine” so we have little to compare it to. But ultimately, RidgeRunner is a
tasty enough brew to purchase once.
Us Americans are used to bigger
barleywines; ones with double-digit ABVs. And that’s the territory where
Vermonster sits. At 10%ABV, Vermonster is the second-best beer DBNE has ever
tasted from Rock Art. Despite a lack-luster appearance, its bold flavors conjure
a mix of pine, candied dark fruits, orange zest, and tobacco. Compared to other
barleywines, it doesn’t beat all of the competition, but it’s still one of Rock
Art’s best and worth a purchase.
So if Vermonster is
second-best, what’s #1? We say that spot belongs to the Double Smoked Porter.
It was not offered at our tasting, but was purchased not long ago and it exceeded
our expectations. It has a wonderful aroma of smoky grain, burning cedar, plus a little mocha and
charcoal. The flavor is woodsy, slightly charred, with additional faint notes
of dark chocolate and coffee beans. The more it warms up, the more smoke is
noticed. If you see it, give it a shot, as it easily stands next to some of the
best Baltic porters we’ve tried.
Rock Art may not be the crown jewel of breweries in northern VT.
But they make honest beers with a couple highlights. They’re a staple in
the local beer scene and their generosity to lend materials has been noted by
their fellow VT brewers nearby. Any beer tour in VT’s northeast kingdom is not
complete without a stop at Rock Art. Just make sure you make room for another souvenir
pint glass in your cabinet because you’re getting one whether you like it or
not.
Rock Art Brewery
632 Laporte Rd/Rt 100
Morrisville, Vermont
www.rockartbrewery.com
Open 9:00am - 6:00pm Monday - Saturday ($4 tastings until 5:30pm)
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