Hunger Mountain Coop

tigg924

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Hunger Mountain is the place to get beer in northeast Vermont. I was up in St. Johnsbury for a week, tried several beer stores and no one else compared. It is worth the drive. It is first and foremost a great grocery store similar to Whole Foods in quality. Lots of fresh and exotic but wholseome food. Prices for beer were about what I would pay here in Massachusetts. Service was beyond friendly and helpful. They have a nice variety of bombers and six packs. Stone, Ommegang, several local Vermont beers, and if you are lucky, Hill farmstead. If I am doing anything in the area, this is the place to stop. This certainly does not compare with some mega stores I have been to but wow. I would come back here if I was staying in the area. Another great perk is that you can park right outside by the bike path and it is just a 5-10 minute walk to the heart of Montpelier.

08-11-2011 14:07:28 | More by tigg924

4ster

Quebec (Canada)

4.09/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

A medium sized, local/organic/natural food co-op, with a small food bar/cafeteria area to eat, and a above average selection of beers for a grocery store.

Like me, you may end up here hoping to catch a few bottles of Lawson's or HF, but alas, there were none at the time (check their delivery schedules, I think they get Lawson's on a Friday or something...) On the plus side though, as mentioned they do have a pretty decent selection of beer from around Vermont and other States and European Imports... Good mix of styles, more selection in bomber singles on the shelf, with most cold refrigerated ones being 4 or 6 packs. Didn't look like many people were buying singles since it seemed like a premium on their price (or maybe just $/4?) They were around 4$/single.. for a 12oz.... Overall prices seemed a bit high, but if you didn't feel like driving to the breweries then I guess not a bad option. (think a 4 pack of Heady was 13.50? instead of 12$)

And if you were looking for some good food to go with your recently purchased beer this store has a really nice selection of organic products, though like Whole Foods, you will pay a premium for it and it is not cheap there....

Worth a stop by though if you're passing through or heading back on your journey.

05-18-2013 20:43:21 | More by 4ster

NEhophead

Massachusetts

4.11/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | $$

A relatively large market situated just off the main drag towards the city's entrance. The beer selection is located a bit up and to the right of the store's entrance and occupies a pretty decent space. There are approximately 4 cooler shelves approximately 12 feet long, mostly housing local, regional, and some national four/six packs...yup, they have Heady Topper and Lawson's...although both move quick. Directly to the right of the refrigerated section is a section of warm import singles that go about 4-5 shelves high and 6 feet long. Notable offerings include Fantome, Mikkeller, Trappists, etc. If you turn completely around from the cooler and import section, you will find a section of approximately 6-7 shelves high and 8 feet long of warm domestic singles. A nice range of VT, regional, and national domestics stock this area. Notable offerings in this section include: Rock Art, Stone, Founders, Smuttynose, DFH, etc. Arguably the best quality/selection for a store in VT. A must stop if you're in the area or passing up to Burlington.

04-30-2013 18:27:16 | More by NEhophead

orangesol

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped in here to start my second day in Vermont. I was really surprised by the size of this place, it really feels big once you get inside. Tons of people all over the place doing their daily shopping and eating in the cafe area. Everything in the store feels like it is top quality and the staff was very helpful and offered some suggestions on which beers to get and when the new ones would be arriving. I wish I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, I would have just eaten here since the food looked really good.

I actually missed the beer area the first time I made my rounds, once I found it I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't picked clean yet. They had 4-5 different Hill Farmsteads, a few different Lawson's, some four packs of Heady Topper and even some Belgian Lambic's too boot. I picked up a few bottles and was very happy with the prices. Overall a really nice place to stop and get some bottles while you are in the area, I will definitely return in the future.

10-24-2012 17:45:34 | More by orangesol

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.23/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped by en route to HF from Burlington.

Overall a very cool place, somewhat similar to Whole Foods. The craft beer selection is about quality, not quantity. One small aisle of beer with one side being a refrigerator and the other being a shelf. Good selection that included Heady Topper along with Maine Beer Co, Founders, Mikkeller, Allagash and others. Prices were reasonable. Staff was very friendly.

A cool little beer store that is worth stopping at if you ever make your way through Vermont.

07-28-2012 13:50:51 | More by TheSevenDuffs

millerbuffoon

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

On my Vermont Beercation in October, 2011, I passed through Montpelier, and had this on my itinerary, as well as the Three Penny Taproom for lunch.
Hunger Mountain reminded me of a mini Whole Foods, but with a local flair, and a cool-collegy-alternative-uniqueness to it. Beer (Ommegang) samples and growler fills. Food samples and unique culinary selections.
As far as beer, my eyes got wide. Being from PA, we have awesome distribution. But there are some things we can't get. Like floor stacked cases of Maine Brewing Lunch, Peeper, and Zoe. Hill Farmstead Everett and Arthur. Heady Topper 4-packs, Acer Quercus, Rock Art varieties, all in the cooler. I dropped $200 here on awesome Vermont goodies.
Overall, a great place for beer selection, and although I didn't eat here, the food looked incredible.

05-11-2012 04:43:50 | More by millerbuffoon

patrick802

Vermont

4.2/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

foremost this is a health food store at it's finest and it has a pretty impressive beer department. carring most locals and some really hard to get stuff. here is a small list of what is currently in stock at the coop.

Mikkeller/Grassroots Wheat is the New Hops IPA , Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast , Lawsons Finest Permagrin Rye Pale Ale,3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek, Liefmans Cuvée Brut, Mikkeller Beer Hop Breakfast, Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero,Oude Gueuze Tilquin à l’Ancienne, Mikkeller 1000 IBu, Lawsons Finest Black Hapi, Mikkeller Big Bad worse, Dogfish head Pearl Jam 20, Dogfish Head Noble Rot, Alchemist Heady Topper, Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot, Brooklyn brewery sorachi ace, 8 wired batch 31

for a tiny beer set there is alot of fantastic options. even the geekiest of beer geeks could find a couple things to take home.

04-30-2012 17:53:11 | More by patrick802

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -17.2%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$

Made a stop in here based on BA ratings, after a trip to the Montpelier Farmers Market. It's basically a granola, flannel, and metrosexual type food market comparable to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, that has some organic food selections, and good local foodstuffs, but nothing that can satiate a normal person's entire shopping list. I was hoping for a good beer selection, but was pretty let down. There were good local options, but overall the selection was pretty mundane. I suppose they may get Lawson's and Hill Farmstead bottles when they're in season, and I suppose that outside of Burlington, this is probably as good as it gets for a small town, so I can't say it's all bad. But as a "visitor," I really have no reason going out of my way to come here unless I'm in the area for a reason--which during this trip was the farmers market and Hill Farmstead, and Montpelier is about a halfway point between Burlington and HF, if you take a slightly roundabout route. On the plus side, I believe I ran into the beer guru of the store, who was eager to offer his assistance, had I required it.

So yeah, basically a good stop for locals, and a possible location for HF and Lawson's wares, if you're lucky enough to be there at the right time. But that's about it. If you're in Burlington and have no other reason to travel out this way, stick with the Winooski Beverage Warehouse.

04-24-2012 06:29:57 | More by Rifugium

nh2032

New York

4.16/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped in on our way to Hill Farmstead. The store is mostly focused on organic grocery products, but there is a decent beer and wine selection. In the beer corner I was happy to find bottles of Lawson's (limit 2), Alchemist Heady Topper (limit 2), several Maine Beer offerings, a couple White Birch, and seemingly the full lineup from other VT breweries (Rock Art, Otter Creek/Wolavers, Long Trail). There was tons of Founders around as well (Double Trouble, FIS, regular 6 packs) which I imagine has something to do with them just entering the state. The end of the beer shelf had a good selection of Belgian/import bottles and I happily grabbed a 3F geuze.

Service was good. I was having trouble finding the Lawson's and must have looked confused as I was approached by a helpful employee who pointed me to the small beer cooler I had over looked. Prices seemed reasonable, basically in line with what I found elsewhere.

Overall a place I'd happily visit every week if I lived in the area.

04-15-2012 17:17:08 | More by nh2032

ElGallo

New Hampshire

4.43/5  rDev +8.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$$

I come to Montpelier several times a year, but I just got around to coming to the Co-op this month. It's a little hard to find, as the road it sits on feels like an unmarked exit from something pinched between the river and railroad tracks. Once you find the one-way parking lot, though, you are happy. The Co-op is a great modern store with lots of fresh, local, organic foods and the quintessential Vermont vibe. Makes me wish I lived up here. The beer area is small but very distinguished. Thursdays they do growler fills from a specific brewery so check their website for updates. My friend got a 64 oz. growler fill of Founders Imperial Stout for $9 - I nearly fainted! The day I went they were featuring Trapp Brewery, which makes a great Trostenbier (dunkel with a touch of smoke). I also benefitted from good timing and scored some Founders Curmudgeon's Better Half. The Co-op carries Lawson's Finest, but there's a two-bottle limit. Heady Topper on sale here too. Hill Farmstead bottles sometimes make an appearance, but it pays to ask someone if they "have anything special out back," as they sometimes do. A must visit if you're in town, then get yourself over to Three Penny Taproom for the best beer experience in Vermont!

02-26-2012 01:35:53 | More by ElGallo