LITTLE SIP IPA PHYSICALLY DISTANT SUMMER SOCIAL
We are keeping the fun rolling through the last weeks of summer with our Little Sip IPA Physically Distant Summer Social! Very soon we’ll be announcing another special Little Sip IPA initiative with a sweet grand prize, so stay tuned to our social media and website for more details. And don’t forget, our #LittleSip IPA Instagram Challenge is running every week, so be sure to keep posting your pics enjoying Little Sip IPA out and about and you could win one of our weekly prizes!
Our Little Sip IPA Scavenger Hunt kicked off last month and continues through September, with a weekly chance to win a Little Sip IPA swag bag filled with all sorts of Little Sip IPA goodies! Keep your eyes peeled for clues posted on our social media accounts once a week throughout the month.
Have you entered to win our custom Little Sip IPA cooler yet? Just enter your email address and subscribe to our newsletter on the contest page and you’ll be entered to win this Little Sip IPA Coleman 54 Quart Steel Belted Cooler. We will pick a random winner at the end of September!
BEER GARDEN & RETAIL STORE UPDATES
Our Beer Garden and Retail Store are open from 12-7pm Monday through Friday and 11am-7pm on the weekend (credit cards only please and masks required). Please note we ARE open on Monday, September 7th (Labor Day).
We are truly enjoying welcoming guests to our Beer Garden as they enjoy some liquid sunshine amidst the fresh air and mountain views. If you are planning on coming by for a visit, please reserve a table on our website prior to your arrival and don’t forget your mask! For a full outline of the guidelines we’ve put in place in order to ensure the safety of our employees and guests, please visit the taproom page on our website.
Our drive-thru retail store is also open and our staff is here to bring the sunshine right to your car! We’ll take your order at your window, or bring out your phone or online order that was placed ahead of time. You can order your to-go beer online or over the phone at 802-496-4677 ext. 0. Please be sure to bring your photo ID with you!
We continue to serve as the designated Mad River Valley pick-up location for free meals distributed weekly courtesy of Shift Meals, a local food response to COVID-19. ShiftMeals provides nourishing meals for those in need during these challenging times, including laid-off restaurant workers, musicians, artists, gig workers, farmers, and anyone else affected by this crisis. Meals can be ordered online via the ShiftMeals site by noon on Tuesdays for pickup on Thursdays between 12–6 PM at our retail drive-thru.
BEER RELEASES
We are thrilled to usher in the new month with the return of an old favorite, Kiwi Double IPA, available for the first time in 16oz cans on Friday, September 4th. Brewed with a massive charge of New Zealand grown Nelson Sauvin & Pacific Jade hops, Kiwi Double IPA brings you the terroir of our hop loving friends in the southern hemisphere.
The middle of September marks the transition from Super Session #4 to Super Session #2, which will be available in both 16oz 4-packs and 12oz 12-packs throughout our nine-state distribution territory. Our session IPA is so tasty and quaffable that it will leave you craving more! Super Session #2 features full malt flavor and assertive hop character with copious additions of Amarillo hops late in the kettle and in dry hopping. It has a distinct citrus character with notes of lemon lime and orange.
On September 12th, our version of the Black is Beautiful stout will be released. Brewed by Sean Lawson and Mark Leopold at our original 7-bbl brewery in Warren, VT on August 19th, this robust American Stout with a dry finish was made with English, American and German malts. The Black is Beautiful initiative is a collaborative effort among the brewing community and its customers launched by Weathered Souls Brewing Co. in an attempt to bring awareness to the injustices that people of color face daily. We stand with over 1,000 breweries in 20 countries working to affect change in our industry and beyond through the collaborative creation of a special beer. All proceeds from this release will be donated to The Peace and Justice Center, a Vermont non-profit working through education, advocacy, training, nonviolent activism and community organizing on interconnected social justice issues.
Later in the month, we’ll be doing a special re-release of one of our annual favorites, Kingdom Trails IPA! A fundraising beer brewed in collaboration with the crew at The Kingdom Trails Association, it will be available on Thursday, September 17th at our Waitsfield location and at select retail accounts throughout Vermont. The latest release in our Good Brews for a Cause initiative, proceeds from the sale of this year’s Kingdom Trails IPA will support the conservation of land on the Darling Ridge in the Northeast Kingdom in partnership with the Vermont Land Trust. Kingdom Trails IPA is pale yellow in color, soft and refreshing on the palate with a mild bitterness and an intensely fruit forward and floral nose.
SOCIAL IMPACT PROGRAM (SIP)
We would like to extend a big thank you to our beer garden and drive-thru retail guests for their continued generosity via donations during these difficult times. Lawson’s Finest service model is “hospitality included” as we pay our staff living wages and generous benefits, and there is no tip obligation when guests come to the taproom. Rather, our guests have the opportunity to donate to the Sunshine Fund. Our donation of $13,890 to the Peace and Justice Center of Vermont Racial Justice Program, our Sunshine Fund recipient during the month of July, was made possible thanks to guests.
For the month of September, the Lawson’s Finest Sunshine Fund is thrilled to support Knoll Farm’s Better Selves Fellowship. More than an organic farm, Knoll Farm in Waitsfield, VT has a nearly 20-year history of a social mission to be a refuge and gathering place for different people and groups to come together. Knoll Farm is open to community leaders to give them what they need most: encouragement to do their best work, time to renew and re-commit. Better Selves Fellows are working on immigration issues, police reform, and land justice efforts. Knoll Farm has been operating their retreat center all summer for free to essential workers and anti-racism groups: Black Lives Matter, The Bail Fund, The ACLU, The Food Bank, and Migrant Justice. This fellowship is about restoring and building people power in a time when people power is essential for liberation and health. Donations to the Sunshine Fund will support these ongoing fellowship efforts.
EVENTS
The Friday Night It’s Lit Disc Golf Series with Disc Golf Vermont continues through September and October! One Friday a month, we’ll be sampling some of our fine liquids at Vista Beast in Bolton Valley while forayers will play a round of 9, take a break and then play 9 more holes, for a total of 18 holes under the lights. The ski lights aren’t usually turned on for disc golf, so make sure you catch one of these unforgettable events!
If you’re local, you’ll have three opportunities to taste some of our finest liquids with our Brand Ambassador at Big Fatty’s BBQ on Thursday, September 3rd, The Richmond Village Market on Thursday, September 17th and at Village Market in Waterbury on Thursday, September 24th. Stop by and say hello!
We at Lawson’s Finest are thrilled to be taking part in the annual Beers With(out) Beards Festival, the country’s largest celebration of women in the beer industry, hosted virtually this year by our friends over at Hop Culture. Lawson’s Finest will be participating in the Women in Social Media panel, and there is a full line-up of amazing virtual events scheduled.
BEER DELIVERIES
Hopzilla will be joining our list of offerings in our nine-state distribution territory during the month of September. Loaded with high-alpha U.S. grown hops, this brawny dry hopped ale will terrorize your taste buds, yet has enough malt backbone to balance a fierce bitterness. Keep an eye out for this monster of an IPA at your favorite local accounts in VT, MA, NH, CT, RI, NY, NJ, ME and PA!
As always, fresh deliveries of Sip of Sunshine will continue, and September signals the end of this run for Super Session #4 and the arrival of Super Session #2. Both beers are available in 16oz 4-packs and 12oz 12-packs!
RETAIL STORE
Another few weeks of summer means another chance to grab some sweet Little Sip IPA gear from our retail store to enjoy in the great outdoors! From our Little Sip IPA golf set to our Little Sip IPA bandana and Little Sip IPA mountain bike shirt, we’ve got all the goods for your physically-distant activities.
Though our retail store remains closed for in-store shopping, you can view all of our offerings in our online store. Our most popular items are also available for curbside pick-up at our drive-thru retail store via our online ordering page. You can also purchase gift cards for use at our drive-thru retail store in Waitsfield, VT.
JOIN OUR TEAM
We’re hiring! Are you or someone you know passionate about the craft beer industry? We currently have four job openings!
Regional Sales Representative – CT/NY
Regional Brand Representative – NJ/PA
Logistics and Procurement Manager
