Don’t get me wrong, I love Maine and the beer and bar scene around the state; there’s nowhere I would rather call my beer home. That being said, there are a number of things I wish my town did more like the town of Burlington, VT. Vermont seems to embrace their home grown beer like none other. From programs like the Passport Program and the Vermont Brewers’ Festival — both run by the Vermont Brewers’ Association — to start-ups like the new website Burlington Bars, Vermonters (Vermontians?) really seem to get it. burlingtonbars.com is described as “Vermont’s newest website completely dedicated to the local bar scene”. They are creating separate pages for each bar, pub and dance club in Burlington. Not only that but the actual bar owners have access to their listing so they’re able to update information (bands playing, drink specials, menu, etc.) themselves. And it’s all free of charge.
The site is still new (and about to undergo a redesign) so there’s not much there at the moment (I’d call it still in the “beta” phase) but it shows promise. From breweries like Magic Hat and Long Trail to Burlington mainstays like the Vermont Pub & Brewery and Ri-Ra, to the fact that Burlington — which isn’t all that different than Portland — supports such sites and organizations makes my jealous. Even just the fact that their brewers’ festival — again, not that different than Portland’s in thought — is both outdoors and during the summer, is something to be envious of.
I’m impressed that such a site can exist for one town in one small New England state, and the fact that it does shows the dedication of the people of Vermont to their beer. I wish it success, but more so – I wish such a thing would exist for Maine (unless I am that thing).