BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Never mind summer vacation. During the warmer months, Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery’s brew crew is racing to keep up with its customers.
“It takes 10 to 12 days to brew a batch of beer, and in the summer months, it takes 10 to 15 days to sell it,” said brewery manager James Branagan.
And most times, once a particular brew is gone, it’s gone for good. Since it opened in 2012, Whetstone has produced more than 250 different beers. Just one has earned itself a year-round spot on the tap list.
“The Whetstoner Session IPA is our flagship beer,” Branagan said. “We made it as a one-off in 2015 and it was a big hit.”
He’s got high hopes that Big Stoner Double IPA will join those ranks. But Branagan enjoys the variety that the one-off beers bring to his work.
Some of those include collaborations with brewers from near and far. One of those partnerships has them working with some European brewers.
“We’re collaborating with some Hungarian brewers to make our Hungary Stoner,” he said with a laugh. “We make a lot of ‘stoner’ puns.”
They’re also aging a few brews in oak bourbon barrels from nearby Saxons River Distillery that have been soaked in maple syrup.
Though Whetstone Station only sells its beer directly from its Brattleboro brew-pub, it’s available to go in 32-oz “crowlers,” a hybrid between a can and a growler. They also offer a catering service, bringing the brew pub to you.
There was a time, however, when you couldn’t even buy their beer on-site. In its first year, Whetstone Station had no brewery. Instead, it offered a wide variety of drafts, bottles and cans from across the country and beyond.
It’s kept with that theme. On any given day, there are 24 beers on tap. These include four house-made beers, as well as 10 guest-taps downstairs and a different 10 guest-taps upstairs.
The brew pub offers a full menu downstairs. Windows look into the little brewery — Branagan said it’s like “working in a fishbowl.” There’s also a riverside deck and the upstairs boasts an open-air “bier garten” overlooking the Connecticut River.
For those that want to keep track of what they’ve tried, the mug club offers a take on the classic “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” Sign up, and you’ll get a scorecard with 11 categories of beer. Try 99 different beers in a year, and you’ll get your own mug, earning you bragging rights as well as a 20-ounce pour instead of the standard pint.
For more information, visit www.whetstonestation.com.