August Trip: Prohibition Pig Lives Up to Hype

Hill Farmstead's Abner at Prohibition Pig.

By Carl

I had looked forward to every single part of our early-August beer excursion, but I may have been most excited for what lied ahead at leg No. 4. With Lost Nation behind us, another half-hour drive separated us and Prohibition Pig in Waterbury. I had heard tales of this place, and their Instagram account filled with mouth-watering pictures of different menu items they offered left a lot to be desired. We had been starving ourselves all day for this and it was finally time to stuff our faces!

The anticipation grew stronger as this was probably one of the toughest drives we made all trip. The combination of slow drivers in front of us and even more winding backroads through the Vermont wilderness saw us take about 45 minutes to arrive. It also didn't help that Mark and I had serious calls of nature that needed to be answered!

Nonetheless, we finally landed in Waterbury and quickly relieved ourselves before walking into Pro Pig just after it opened at 4 p.m. Now just because I was looking forward to chowing down for a feast that would hopefully give Thanksgiving dinner a run for its money, this trip was about beer and boy was there another incredible selection available to us!

The Pro Pig.

While I was tempted to go after some of the brews Pro Pig makes in house (and I hear nothing but good things), I decided to go with a pair of Hill Farmstead options, starting with Abner, which I also got a growler of from the source earlier in the day. This double IPA was slightly disappointing to me as I had built it up in my head for so long, but it can still give any double a run for its money.

I later went back to an old reliable, Edward, which was the first Hill Farmstead beer I'd ever had during my last trip to Vermont in early April. While pale ales are not usually my cup of tea, this guy is as smooth and flavorful as they come.

As I noted, if we had more time and did not have to do anymore traveling, I would've attempted to try every one of Pro Pig's brews, which I intend to do next time around!

Anyway, while this is not a food blog, I have to give a shoutout to Pro Pig for it's incredible cuisine, which certainly did not disappoint. All-in-all, yet another successful leg of our trip, but it was not over yet!

Alchemist's Focal Banger.

A little research during our meal had us scrambling to finish as we had tracked down my personal white whale: The Alchemist's Focal Banger, which was right across the street at Cork Wine Bar & Market.

I was ecstatic. I had been searching for this beer for what seemed like forever, but it was about to go down! Upon finishing up at Pro Pig, we ventured across the street and ordered three Focals at this quaint market.

What we did not know was this would not be our last Focals of the night, but I savored it as if it would be. And I'll tell you what, it makes the case for the best beer I've ever had. If you've read some of my past posts, you know I am a sucker for the mixture of Mosaic and Citra hops, and sure enough this masterpiece had both. My white whale had finally been slayed, putting the finishing touches on a great visit to Waterbury.

On our way back to the car, we stopped back into Pro Pig one more time to grab a 4-pack of snifter glasses for $20. I have a strong collection of glasses right now, but this snifter is one of my favorites.

Just like that it was back in the car around 5:30 p.m. and we were ready for the fifth and final leg of the day. We were on our way to Burlington and got ourselves prepared for some of the exciting nightlife it provides!