Hill Farmstead Brewery, based in Vermont, US, is well known worldwide, and in Belgium, for its farmhouse ales, its saisons in particular.
So it was no surprise that Hill Farmstead was invited to Brasserie de la Sambre’s first Saison & Farmhouse beers festival in 18 to 19 June.
The Beer Idiots talked to Bob Montgomery at the festival. Montgomery discussed Hill Farmstead as getting back to its roots during the Covid-19 years as the brewery began concentrating less on catering for the enormous crowds that used to visit the brewery and more on caring for its workers and community while making great beer.
Shaun Hill founded Farmstead Brewery in 2010 on his family’s ancestral land, after years of learning to brew, starting during his high school days through studies in philosophy at university and then on to stints at a few smaller, early Vermont breweries.
He went on to take up a position at Nørrebro Bryghus in Copenhagen, Denmark, under the mentorship of Anders Kissmeyer before returning to Vermont to Hill Farmstead.
His stated mission is to “Change the beer industry by creating ripples of influence and introspection”. This means using beer to promote “Conscious Consumption, Conscious Belonging, Conscience+Commerce, and Education & Dialogue”.
As Montgomery says Hill Farmstead caught the wave of interest in craft beer that had been welling up for years.
The brewery expanded fast over the first two years adding a new brewery, packaging room, bottling and barrel room, tasting room and taproom.
When the pandemic took hold in 2020 Hill Farmstead underwent a re-organisation of sort and introspection to reform the team.
“As we enter our 12th year, reflecting back on our past decade-plus of operations, we have an opportunity to think about the changes we would like to be part of over the next 10 years,” Hill states on the site. “We envision a future where all of our decisions are based on the social and planetary impact, and where our beer helps to cultivate connections, compassion, and purpose.”
Video (below): A live posting of Brasserie de la Sambre’s Saison and Farmhouse ales festival on 18-19 June 2022 (the live session was on 18 June)
Photos: Brasserie de la Sambre’s Saison and Farmhouse ales festival on 18-19 June 2022 (photos from 18 June)
