Brewed slow under old oak.
Old Tree Brewery is a heritage craft brewery built around a 300-year-old bur oak. We ferment slow, age in oak, dry-hop bold — 14 taps, barrel cellar, beer garden and a taproom that smells like history.
12k happy visitors / year
Citra • Oak tip • 6.4%
01 — About the brewery
Rooted like the old tree
In 1897 cooper Elias Thorn planted a brewery beside a giant oak to keep his barrels cool. Four generations later we still brew in its shade.
Old Tree Brewery survived Prohibition as a cider mill, revived in 1987 as Vermont's first oak-aging craft brewery, and today blends heritage with New England hop science. Every batch touches oak — chips, staves or 500L puncheons. Every wild ale sleeps at least 9 months in our limestone cellar.
We farm 12 acres of Cascade, Centennial and Saaz, malt with family farms, capture our own wild yeast from the old tree bark, and give spent grain to neighboring dairies. Slow beer, honest beer.
Cooper's first ale
Elias Thorn builds brewhouse from fallen oak limbs. First Old Tree Ale served in stoneware.
Back from dry years
Post-Prohibition lager wins county fair. Oak cellar dug by hand, still in use.
Wild yeast pioneers
Granddaughter Maya isolates Old Tree strain. First American oak-aged saison.
Slow beer movement
Solar brewhouse, coolship loft, 14 taps, beer garden under the canopy.
02 — Core & seasonal beers
Pours with character
Flagships always on, seasonals rotate monthly. All unfiltered, naturally carbonated, oak-touched. Ask for a flight — five 5oz pours under the oak.
Old Oak IPA
Citra + Centennial, finished on toasted oak tips. Pine, grapefruit, vanilla whisper.
Wild Orchard Saison
Coolship-fermented with orchard apples, aged 11 months in wine puncheons.
Smoked Porter 1897
Beech-smoked malt, bourbon barrel aged. Chocolate, campfire, long oak finish.
Canopy Lager
Slow-lagered 6 weeks, Saaz & lime leaf. The lawnmower beer of the gods.
“The rare brewery where every pint tastes like place — moss, oak, orchard air. Old Tree is Vermont in a glass.”
— Craft Beer Review, 2025 Editors' Choice
03 — Process
Slow is our technology
Heritage malt & estate hops
Floor-malted barley, estate hops picked at dawn, well water from oak grove aquifer.
Open coolship & wild inoculation
Wort cools overnight in attic loft, kissed by wild yeast drifting from the old tree.
Oak aging, no rush
9–18 months in French & bourbon oak. We taste weekly, blend for balance, never force.
Live pour, zero filtration
Bottle-conditioned, naturally carbonated. Every keg still hand-checked by our cellar crew.
04 — Taproom & garden
Come sit under the tree
300 seats in barn, cellar & 2-acre garden. Fire pits in winter, shade sails in summer. Brewery tours Sat-Sun, live bluegrass Fridays, oak-fired pizza daily.
05 — Journal / News
Fresh from the cellar
Barrel releases, harvest reports, taproom parties & brewing notes. Click any story for the full read.
Cellar notes coming soon
We're racking barrels — check back for harvest & release news.
06 — Visit us
Find your spot by the oak
◷ Hours & location
1 Old Oak Lane, Burlington VT 05401
Parking + bike racks + dog-friendly garden
Phone: +1 (802) 555-0189
✉ Book a tour / table
Groups 6+ & private barrel tastings — tell us when you're coming.