Back in the summer 2009, I spent three days touring the 20+ breweries in Vermont as part of the Vermont Brewers Association Passport Program. Trapp Lager Brewery, located in Stowe, Vermont, wasn’t yet part of the passport program; it was one of the few breweries in Vermont that I hadn’t visited. We’ve been seeing Trapp Lager popping up at more bars around the state in the past year or so, so we decided it was time to see what the von Trapp family’s beer making operation was all about on a recent visit to Stowe. And, drinking beer out of a das boot beer glass happens to be on my bucket list…

Visiting Von Trapp Brewery in Stowe

Driving up the mountain road to Trapp Family Lodge and the brewery, which is located about 10 minutes from downtown Stowe, we got a tad confused. On the access road leading up to the Lodge, there’s a sign for the Trapp Lager Brewery, with fine print saying it’s the future site of the brewery. Aha! I hadn’t heard they were expanding, so we continued up the road and found the brewery at the top of the hill (on the left, look for kegs), overlooking a pond with expansive mountain views. It turns out, Trapp Lager Brewery will have a new facility in the next year with a 50,000-barrel system (1.5 million gallons) and 40,000-square-foot brewery. This expansion will allow the brewery to start bottling and gain a wider distribution. An 150-seat Austrian restaurant will also be built, attached to the brewery.

The micro-brewery currently is located in the bottom of the DeliBakery on the Trapp Family Lodge property, which used to serve as an Austrian tea room. The operation is quite small for a Vermont brewery, currently making 60,000 or so gallons a year (Magic Hat‘s output is close to 4.8 million gallons to give you a sense of scale). The brewey opened in 2010 after Johannes von Trapp decided he wanted to expose Lodge visitors to the lagers from Austria. All of the hops and barley for Trapp beers are imported from Europe. Trapp Brewery says their spring water mimicks that of Austrian spring water, helping create the flavor of more traditional European-style lagers in Vermont.

So, How Was the Beer?

Even though I tend to prefer hoppy beers or porters and stouts over lagers, Trapp Lager is perfecting European-style lagers. We opted for a flight of their three beers on tap: Golden Helles (light and crisp, an easy-drinking session lager), Summer Lager (a light pilsner with a smooth finish and wheaty taste) and their Oktoberfest Bier (a copper-colored, malty seasonal beer with a caramel finish). Although sweeter than I typically prefer, the Oktoberfest was my favorite, but too sweet for me to drink a whole boot of it. I will, however, hold onto that bucket list goal for another trip to Trapp Lager over the winter to experience the deck après-ski on a sunny winter day or a trip to the new facility next summer. Although the beer might not be my favorite style, I can see Trapp Lager Brewery becoming a common stop for us while we’re in Stowe or visiting with friends. The oversized deck and mountain views are the perfect combo for some al fresco beer drinking in Vermont.

Mountain views + expansive deck = happy al fresco beer drinkers

Expansive, beautiful views for summer sipping or apres ski

Expansive, post-foliage views from Trapp Lager Brewery, Stowe, Vermont

The former Austrian tea house, now brewery, at Trapp Family Lodge

A sample tray and a view at Trapp Lager Brewery

Trapp Lager Brewery
700 Trapp Hill Road
P.O. Box 1428
Stowe, Vermont 05672
802-760-6325