In the land of hazy IPAs, von Trapp loves their lagers

von Trapp brewing in Stowe, Vermont is smack in the middle of NE IPA country, but they’re all about lagers.

Founder Johannes von Trapp was inspired by the lagers her sampled while visiting the countryside of his ancestral home on Austria. With a goal to brew an American version of these beers, von Trapp Brewing opened in the lower level of Trapp Family Lodge’s DeliBakery. Today, they’re brewing 50,000 gallons of beer each year and distributing to several neighboring states.

Brewmaster JP Williams was born in New Jersey and attended college in New Hampshire. During his college days, he took a trip to Dublin, Ireland and visited the Guinness Brewery, sparking his interest in all things beer. He later traded in some textbooks to buy homebrew gear and even changed his major to include more chemistry. His brewing career started at Magic Hat where he worked his way up to Operations Manager however he realized big brewery life wasn’t for him and joined von Trapp in 2012.

This week we talk with JP about von Trapp’s beer and other ventures, if he’s ever been tempted to jump on the haze craze bandwagon, what Lager life is like with increasing demand for the styles, Vermont’s new franchise reform laws, and what’s coming up from the brewhouse.

We also welcome Brian to the bigs as he takes on his new role as Co-Host and say hello to Jerry Payne, who joins Beer Guys Radio as our Audio Engineer. Jerry brings 10+ years in radio and podcasting to the team – and he loves beer. Perfect. Plus, we’ll reminisce about all the beers we enjoyed over the last week with stops at Orpheus for their multi-day anniversary celebration, the brand new Porter Pizza & Brewery, and a visit to Pontoon Brewing to sample their new Fluffy Otter Oatmeal Cream Stout with marshmallows and vanilla. What a week.

BEERS OF THE WEEK