In recent years I’ve been to spots in northern and southern
Vermont but have missed the area of western Vermont between Rutland and
Burlington . I believe I passed through Middlebury and Addison County on a
family trip on the way to Canada as a teen, but that’s more than 30 years ago.
Middlebury is known as an especially characteristic northern New England
college town located where the Lake Champlain Valley plains meet the Green
Mountains.

Middlebury may be best known for the college by the same
name which constitutes a major part of the town. This may not be the case
anymore, but I best recall Middlebury College for being at the top of the list
of most expensive four-year colleges back around the time I was of college age.
And a walk around campus indicates why that might be. Most of the buildings on
campus are gorgeous, the older ones almost all built of a harmonious white
stone, local marble I’m guessing, built around a town green like open space.
The newer facilities on campus like the student center, visual and performing
arts center, and athletic facilities look similarly plush. Overall it’s one of
the prettiest small college campuses I’ve visited. Is it still the most expensive
in America? I’m not sure.

I stopped by to go to the Middlebury College Art Museum, one
of the numerous such institutions on small New England college campuses and one
that’s particularly well known. The modern facilities are impressive but
overall it isn’t very large and probably has only a small part of its permanent
collection on display at any one time. At the time of my visit in early August
2016 a disproportionate amount of its floor space was given over to a photographic
exhibit on Japanese tattoo art – kind of weird!

Being such a small town, it’s hard to believe that
Middlebury is the seat of and largest place in Addison County . The town grew up
around marble quarries which are no long gone, but brick is the main building
material of the small downtown core at the point where Otter Creek goes over a
short waterfall.

What probably impressed me most about the Middlebury area
was the wide range of alcoholic beverage producers that offer tastings, most
located on a single road north of town. It would be great to have a bike and
spend the day going from one to another on the Middlebury Tasting Trail. These
include Lincoln Peak Vineyard Winery, Woodchuck Cidery, Stonecutter Spirits Distillery,
Appalachian Gap Distillery, Otter Creek Brewing Company, and Drop-In Brewing
Company. Time and driving a vehicle limited me to visiting just two of them,
Otter Creek Brewing which has some great sampler flights and Woodchuck Hard
Cider. Woodchuck is one of the largest cider producers in the U.S. and quite a
major operation. I’ve had quite a few of their offerings over the years, but I
honestly tend to find their ciders to be somewhat on the sweet side for my
taste . Although I like hard cider, I somewhat prefer drier ones more typical of
what you get in Britain. I was pleased to discover most of Woodchuck’s line of
about twenty ciders available for sampling, most of which I’ve never seen in
before in stores, ranging from one flavored with hot chili pepper to whisky
barrel-aged reserves to pumpkin, maple, and cherry-infused. Some of these were
fantastic, especially the pumpkin and barrel-aged reserve ones, so much so I
felt compelled to buy myself a six pack to take back to Sasquatch Lodge with
me.