Beer Hear!: January 2013

WFMU's Beer Hear! with Bob W. and B.R. from 1/9/2013

Over 15 years ago Dave Brodrick founded one of New York's most beloved beer bars, The Blind Tiger. Beer-heads from the world over know that it's a mandatory stop on any visit to NYC. Now Dave has created a different kind of beer destination, this time in the New England picture-postcard hamlet of South Royalton, Vermont.

We saw 10+ accidents within 50 miles on rt. 89, even though traffic was going under 10mph!

The establishment, just over a year old, is called Worthy Burger and while all 14 beers on tap are of laudable distinction, it's the burgers that are the main focus of his new joint.

Driving into South Royalton in January... snow.

The concept is pretty simple. Serve the best quality burgers, fries and other bar food, with as many locally sourced ingredients -- from family farms -- as possible, who happen to be investors in the business, as well. They feature grass fed local beef, local produce, artisanal cheeses, homemade pickles and kimchi, and beer from small local breweries. Put that together in a rustic old railyard freight building in the middle of a Vermont town that looks too real to be real, add in a wood-fire grill, and there you go!

Mmmmmmm.....

14 awesome beers -- 5 of which from Hill Farmstead!

Worthy Burger has turned out to be a popular spot with the locals, who appreciate the unique flavor imparted by grilling food over an open wood fire. The students from the law school just on the other side of the town-green are steady regulars, and it's sure to become a destination for beer travelers, too, especially when the new brewery around back opens up. Patrick Dakin, formerly of the Norwich Inn Brewery, is opening up Freight House Brewing in the old railyard, next to Worthy Burger.

One Worthy surprise was oysters on the half shell. "Oysters in Vermont?!?" you say? Well, when one of your restaurant partners operates the best fish delivery business in the state, picking up freshly unloaded seafood at 3am in Boston Harbor three times a week -- YES! Hear all about it in this week's podcast!