The Fiddlehead Brewery finally opened in Shelburne, across from the winery on rt.7. I am always interested in new beers in the area so clearly I stopped in for the opening weekend. It is a beautiful space. Clean, wide open, and w/ huge windows so you can check out the process from the tasting room. There was no shortage or loiterers. Like many new VT businesses this one is trying to pull off the family operation thing it seems. I like the idea but you really can't run a business that way. There is too much distraction. That was clearly the case here. This place has been in the hopper for months. When I showed up I was the only one there looking to actually pay hard currency for anything and yet I was not as interesting as the "intern", the "soon to be restaurant employee", the 6 kids, or the random guy at the end of the bar. The helpless girl behind the bar had little knowledge of the beer and also was unsure about brewery capacity etc... One older woman was more knowledgeable but was distracted and back and forth between the bar and the brewery floor. The brewmaster was also back and forth but not very interested in conversing. This place has been a woulda coulda shoulda for awhile now. The restaurant which is a pizza joint is still not open even though the building owner is the proprietor. They would be well served to focus on customers and build a following rather than chat w/ their deadbeat friends. The beer is not that good. It is ok but lacks depth. I had a growler of the IPA. It had the hop bitterness but not that nice fresh flavor or aroma. A few of the really solid hoppy offerings out there locally like the Hill Farmstead beers, the Heady Topper, even the Zero Gravity TLA have a depth of flavor and aroma that make the first sip as good as the last. This one takes awhile to kill your taste buds in order to enjoy. There is potential there but it is not one of my favorites. It is always hard to tell how a business will do in VT because the people are weird but if I were a betting man (and I am), I would say they will be lucky to make it 1 year. Clearly this one has a tough location (great for me though), terrible service or business acumen, and so far so so beer. The pizza place had better be great. Seriously, shape up Fiddlehead, you have a ton of potential but a little too much smuggery.
On the flip side another in the Flatbread incestuous family, El Cojito made another positive impression on us Saturday. The tacos were pretty fresh and tasted good. I even thought the goat special w/ puffed tortilla was solid. The margs which I tried for the first time are ok... a little heavy on that lime acidity. The beers are cheap but everything else is a little overpriced, that is my one complaint. Otherwise the food was good, the service acceptable, and the place was pretty full at 2pm which is a good sign. Ole!
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