“I’m trying to think outside the box,” said Allen Van Anda, of Lost Nation Brewing who is co-hosting this year’s SIPDinner, and pairing a pilsner to pair with chocolate cake. For anyone familiar with Lost Nation Brewing, that kind of thinking is pretty standard for the Morrisville based brewery. Their portfolio of beers generally bucks the hop-bomb trend and focuses on beers with 6% ABV or lower, as will the line up they bringing for the SIPDinner.

Conversely, our other SIPDinner co-host, River Roost Brewery out of White River Junction, is all about the IPAs, and three of the four beers they will be serving are definitively hop-centric and all over 6%. Which pretty much means this years’ SIPDinner – The Last Dinner – will be a roller coaster ride for your tastebuds!

To that end, another fun element we will have at this year’s event will be 33 Books! Last year we brought on Mark Drutman, certified Cicerone and co-owner of Craft Beer Cellar, Waterbury, to lend his expertise to the educational aspect of the pairing. This year, in addition, each attendee will get a copy of 33 Bottles of Beer (a tasting journal,) and a SIPtemberfest pencil to broaden the tasting experience in a more interactive fashion. Plus these tasting journals are small enough to fit in your pocket, but large enough to tackle a weekend at SIPtemberfest and beyond! Learn more about these awesome journals here.

Also new this year, since we have added SIPCoffee to our SIPtemberfest family, we’ve invited Awake Coffee to pour samples of their fairly traded, organic small batch coffee after dessert – the perfect way to end the evening!

There are still a few tickets left for SIPDinner but they are only available until THURSDAY! You must have a ticket to attend – no walk-ins. Get your tickets here!

Awake Coffee

Ten years ago, three beer-lovers sat on the porch at Mad River Glen and debated about what to expect at our first SIPtemberfest. Craft beer was certainly becoming more popular. Small batch local brewers were popping up all over the state, putting their own creative stamps on a reenergized industry and brewing up some of the world’s finest beers. MRG was certainly a great venue for a tasting and the weather was looking incredible. But would people come to SIPBeer and would they like our little event?

The answers were YES and YES. SIPBeer has since become a thriving event known for having great beer and the greatest crowd. And today we are seeing the same patterns that lead us to start our little beer fest forming in the coffee scene. Craft coffee is a totally reenergized industry and Vermont is seeing tons of small batch local roasters popping up all over, (several of whom actually have origins in beer brewing!) Each of these roasters are putting their own particular twist on their craft and producing some incredible, high quality brews. So we are taking a leap and starting SIPCoffee and we hope you will join us!

So what’s the deal with SIPCoffee? It will be just like it’s sister: each ticket comes with a tasting mug and tasting tickets. Seven of the state’s finest coffee roasters will be attending, serving both hot and cold brews.  Plus you’ll be able to buy beans and other coffee merchandise directly. There will be live music and a chill atmosphere in the Base Area of MRG, and food available for purchase from Village Grocery Donuts and in Mad River Glen’s Stark’s Pub. There will also be some coffee beers on tap in the pub. It all takes place Sunday, Sept 24 from 11am-2pm – a great way to end your SIPtemberfest weekend!

And let’s talk about these roasters, shall we?

802 Coffee

Brave

Carrier Roasting

First Branch

Abracadabra

Brio

Awake Coffee

• Awake Coffee VT – A lot of love and intention are put into these beans! Located right in Waitsfield, Awake sources fairly traded, organic beans from around the world to create a unique variety of small batch, hand-roasted blends, fresh to order.
• Abracadabra Coffee Co – These are beans roasted by some self-described “weirdos” in Cavendish, Vermont. And they give a damn every damn day. They support the farmers that grow the best coffee in the world, roast that coffee with insane attention to detail, and package it in biodegradable and recyclable material. They want you to drink that liquid magic and continue on your day, givin’ a damn about the whole damn world.
• Brave Coffee & Tea Co. – Located in Waterbury, Brave is a family-owned Vermont coffee roasting company offering freshly-roasted coffee from around the world. It all started in 2009, in the back room of Black Cap Cafe in Stowe, but after working in the coffee business for 13 years in positions ranging from Barista, to trainer and salesman, Scott Weigand took over Brave in 2014, and added roaster to his resume.
• Brio Coffeeworks – Brio is a specialty roaster, retail boutique and tasting counter in the beautiful South End Arts District of Burlington. Brio is a place for coffee professionals and enthusiasts to learn, connect and indulge.
• Carrier Roasting – Carrier Roasting Co. is a micro-roaster and coffee subscription created in the spirit of Vermont’s rich agriculture tradition. Located in a post and beam barn in rural Central Vermont, Carrier shares a space with potters. And while that may seem like an odd match, the requirements for roasting coffee and making pottery are actually quite similar: fire, time and patience. Carrier has ties to Good Measure Brewing, and you might recognize the name from Carrier Mild, a coffee beer made by Lawson’s Finest Liquids.
• First Branch – Another roaster with brewery connections, First Branch Coffee was started by the three owners of Upper Pass Beer Company: Andrew Puchalik, Chris Perry, and Ivan Tomek. Located in South Royalton, they roast ethically sourced coffee focusing on freshly roasted micro batches and cold brew.
• 802 Coffee – When Bob first bought a roaster and opened the cafe in downtown Montpelier, VT good coffee was hard to find. Capitol Grounds Cafe has been a steadfast and diligent fixture in Montpelier for years. Now known as 802 Coffee, they are still the same group of dedicated individuals working tirelessly (and well-fueled with caffeine) to bring you the very best coffee from around the world. The name may have changed but their commitment and their coffee hasn’t!

So we challenge you to kick your hangover while testing out your pallet and seeing if your beer knowledge translates over to coffee!  We have plenty of tickets left so grab yours right now! (Online ticket sales end Thursday and tickets will be $5 more at the gate!)

The sky is dark before 8pm, I’ve practically moved into my hoodie and I’m stress-baking. SIPtemberfest must be right around the corner!

This time of year has always been my favorite; crisp and refreshing hoodie-wearing weather, goodies baking in the oven, football, pumpkin beers, (jk on that last one tho.) Since SIPtemberfest started, it now also means late nights on the laptop, running out of checks, my living room turning into my second office, lots and lots of tortilla soup from the Mad Taco and coffee and beer pretty much everywhere, deliberately and otherwise. But for real: it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

From the moment this SIP-train started rolling I’ve had the honor and pleasure to meet, work with, learn from and have fun with a long, long list of incredible people. The craft beer community is truly a very special group of passionate, entrepreneurial, creative and curious fools – exactly my kind of people. And while, yes, we’ve all encountered the occasional human embodiment of drain a pour, the overwhelming majority of us beer-lovers haven’t lost sight of what is at the heart of this community: enjoying craft beer together. Because of that, SIPtemberfest is 10.

And what a ride it’s been! On behalf of the entire SIP Team, I can’t thank our beer family enough for supporting us through all the rain and shine, muddy dogs, Single Chair rides, guitarists on the railing, marriage proposals, team photos, scavenger hunts and of course beer! We have something really special here and even though we know it’s cliche, we really couldn’t have done this without you!  We are so excited to enjoy craft beer with you all for years to come!

oh crap. I think the cookies are burning. Sorry. BRB.

Please help us celebrate our big one-zero and rock your old SIP Ts, hoodies and hats, and/or come in your most festive beer-drinking attire! If enough people represent, we just might have to award some prizes…!!

We will be in touch all week sharing more about prizes and other cool things about #SIP10 so stay tuned for more SIPNews!

Some quick notes:

• We still have some tickets left for SIPDinner & SIPCoffee! ALL Online ticket sales end THURSDAY! SIPDinner tickets will only be available online. SIPCoffee tickets are a wicked cheap $20 online, $25 at the gate. This year’s SIPDinner will feature Lost Nation Brewing and River Roost Brewery paired with food from Chef Michael Witzel. Our inaugural SIPCoffee will feature 7 Vermont Coffee roasters serving up hot and cold brews crafted with the same passion our brewers have! See if your beer knowledge translates into caffeine and kick that hangover all in one fell swoop! Click here for more info about tickets.
• Please don’t forget to CARPOOL!! If you are coming on Saturday with 2 or less people in your car, please consider hopping on one of our shuttles! We have room on our Waitsfield Bus which will pick up at the Big Picture! Contact us for more info!
• If you are looking to sell/buy SIP Tickets, please post on our Facebook Invite. $4$ sales only please! NO DBs! Thanks!!
• No cookies were burnt during the writing of this content.