Red Barn Brewing: July 19, 2025
- François Steichen
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
THE BREWERY
True to its name, Red Barn brewery resides in a beautiful, freshly-painted red barn on a recessed, slight rise off the north side of US Route 2 as it rolls through Danville, VT. I actually drove past the Red Barn at first, and had to make a U-ei.
Curious fact: Danville is not named for Dan. It was named - by Ethan Allen - after a French Cartographer: Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. Many towns in America were named for French figures as expressions of gratitude for France's assistance during the Revolution, though we tend to know only the towns named "Lafayette!"
The driveway is gravel, with a nice, large parking lot. The barn has a fairly large patio in front, with nice views of the hills to the south. The crowd was mostly local, with families seeming to dominate outside, while the Seniors huddled indoors at tables near the bar. The brewing equipment took up a good portion of the building, and no one seemed interested in sitting in a large space to the right of the bar room.
The whole setup is nondescript, to an extent, but Red Barn seems to be the Little Engine that Could: very good beer, with a distribution contract to spread costs over volume, and a loyal "home" crowd that comes to the barn to relax.
THE BEERS
Longview Light American Lager (4.8% abv) The label says "Pilsen malt, with [adjuncts of] flaked corn and rice, and lightly hopped." The abv is actually on the medium-high scale for an American Lager, and the body is not, in fact, light. That's OK if calories are not your worry. This is a pretty drinkable beer, though, so popping a second one is always a danger! Otherwise, the label description is dead-on. A very slight hint (and no more than that, truly!) of golden syrup on the mid-to-back palate, which makes one sit up and notice, but is not a deal-breaker by any means. Good beer!
Local Girl Vermont Ale (5.4% abv) A low-key IPA, with good malt flavor, with a plummy note and a minor note of caramel. Magnum, Centennial and Cascade hops create definite bitterness, but the emphasis is on mellow in this beer. Magnum is the first hop mentioned on the label, and I have to believe it dominates the bill percentage, since the classic citrus, grapefruit and even piney flavors of Cent/Casc are not overly apparent. Altogether, a balanced IPA, at relatively low abv. A nice brew.
Iris Citra & Mosaic NEIPA (6.6% abv) Massive flavor of lychee and gooseberry (the Mosaic hops speak loudly), well-carbonated, good bitter on the back end, and it lingers nicely. It's an IPA, so it's not necessarily a thirst-quencher, but the bitter definitely clears the palate nicely. Quite a heavy beer, so recommended for sipping more than quaffing. This is a technically-correct, very good IPA.
