As a sort of consolation prize for having to skip the recent American Cheese Society conference in Seattle, I loaded the kids into the car last week and drove from Chicago to Vermont and back. It was a variation on a trip I’ve been concocting for some time—part research, part reunion,  part family vacation. We visited one of my old South Florida Punk Rock Confederates, James, who has lived outside of Burlington since 1993. He and his wife Valerie have two wonderful little girls, so my two youngest now have new friends in Vermont. Some mountain hiking, swimming, and farm stuff ensued (James raises chickens and grows hops), and we squeezed in a bit of cheese and cheers. 

My boy with a rack of Moses Sleeper

On Friday a group of us headed to Greensboro to visit the charismatic Jasper Hill Farm. I had been introduced to Mateo and Andy Kehler some years ago, have written about them extensively over the years, and had narrowly missed visiting Jasper Hill on previous Vermont trips.  This time I made it a priority.  Mateo gave us a nice tour of the relatively new affinage facility, and the kids had a chance to meet some of the ladies (40 Ayrshire cows) who provide the milk for Jasper’s own cheeses. Jasper Hill expanded a few years ago with the addition of Cellars at Jasper Hill, a new business entity which ages, markets and helps distribute fine cheeses from other New Enggland artisan and farmstead cheesemakers. The 22,000 square feet of underground cheese storage is tied directly to this endeavor, and both Jasper Hill and partner cheeses are aged in its five vaults. While pulling sample plugs from many of the cheeses, Mateo pointed out that ceiling of one of the vaults has begun to play host to one of the same molds that is present on one of the cheese that resides in the vault, and is now becoming an even more effective environment for affinage.

After seeing the caves we headed to the milk barn and met one of the cows and a brand new calf. Mateo and I swapped some Midwest beers for some Vermont cheese before our group took off. As we drove back out the driveway, the herd was coming up the trail from the pasture for its afternoon milking. I wish we would have had time to visit Hill Farmstead Brewery, just up the road from Jasper, but we’ll have to save that for another trip. I should note that Jasper Hill is not set up for public tours, but plans are in the works for a video tour to be added to the Cellars website.

Friday night we had a two-family dinner on the deck at he storied Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington, where the late Greg Noonan pioneered, and where James’ band the Slipper Kings has played a few sets over the years. The brewery seems to be in good hands after Noonan’s untimely passing in 2009. I tasted a several nice beers including the well-balanced Forbidden Fruit raspberry wheat, a seriously wild beer called Tulach Leis, and a cask conditioned ESB, and we enjoyed them with a nice Vermont cheese plate. 

Old friends and new at Vermont Pub and Brewery

On Saturday, we left our hosts just after the rooster crowed, and drove across New York to visit an aunt in Buffalo. Took the kids to see Niagara Falls, and on Sunday we toured the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. I found the museum to be mostly outstanding (accounting for personal tastes), but I’ll try to limit my observations to two. The first song I heard in full as we approached the museum entrance was Johnny Cash’s Luther Play the Boogie Woogie, so the place had earned creds from me before I got in the door. Inside, I was most impressed with seeing Joe Strummer’s workhorse guitar—a 1950s Telecaster covered in political stickers, cuts and bruises. Any Clash fan who may have forgotten how intense the band was and how hard Strummer worked at his art, should go to Cleveland and see this worn, rusted and tattered instrument, looking like it had spent 20 years on the road to rock and roll and another 10 or 15 in a barn somewhere. Maybe in Vermont.

So that was our summer vacation, and the kids go back to school Tuesday. Later this week I’ll post a piece on a great new brewery from Wisconsin, and soon, the first report from my cheesemonger training.  I’ve got a bunch more great pics from this trip, so I’ll try to put them on my Facebook page soon.  Cheers, and happy Labor Day!

In the Cabot Clothbound vault