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Albans, on the heels of a major downtown revival, veteran-owned 14th Star Brewing moved into a former bowling alley, expanding its production capacity from 750 to about 12,000 barrels per year. In mid-December, that brewery introduced cans with a huge food drive for the local food bank. And in Greensboro Bend, Shaun Hill spent most of the summer and fall building more brewing capacity into his operation at Hill Farmstead. Meanwhile, Alchemist owners John and Jen Kimmich worked to enact a plan that would double the company's annual production with an additional brewing space in Stowe. Zero Gravity made plans to expand beyond its current American Flatbread space into a bigger production brewery on Pine Street (this also should open sometime next year). In June, Burlington’s Switchback Brewing Company opened a sleek new taproom, not long after Trapp Lager Brewery broke ground on a new building that will house a huge new brewing operation and beer hall. Memorial Day Weekend launched a beer-soaked summer in style in the Mad River Valley, with an Alchemist truck sale, Lawson's Finest Liquids sale, and Valley-wide tap takeovers from Hill Farmstead, which celebrated its fourth anniversary that weekend. After about a year of brewing on a tiny, one-barrel system, team Pig increased its capacity to about 1,100 barrels per year. On the day after Christmas, Waterbury's Prohibition Pig threw open the doors of its new brewery tasting room. In December, Northfield’s Paine Mountain Brewing Company also embarked on a full-on production schedule (it had formerly been producing for the adjacent Knotty Shamrock pub both businesses are owned and operated by Kevin Pecor). Later in the year, Hermit Thrush (in Brattleboro) opened, with a mission to brew barrel-aged and Belgian-style sour beers and lambics. Pouring tastes of legal beers brewed in their home, Ukolowicz and Pawlusiak were a welcome presence at the Burlington and Winooski farmers markets all summer, and their rotating variety of brews - which range from cream ale to pitch-black, barrel-aged oatmeal stout - are consistently good and often fantastic. In Burlington's New North End, Dan Ukolowicz and Kara Pawlusiak launched Simple Roots Brewing in June.

Around the same time, longtime homebrewers Paul Hale, Paul Held, Phil Kaszuba and Maarten and Sarah van Ryckevorsel started pouring pints at Queen City Brewery on Pine Street in Burlington, emulating European styles down to the tiniest chemical detail. In Braintree, brewers Mike Czok and Cody Montgomery opened Bent Hill Brewery in June, focused on making sessionable ales (often flavored with indigenous ingredients such as maple syrup or Hubbard squash) and endless variations on a porter. In central Vermont, several noobs hit the scene during the long, warm days of summer. Further south, Hop’n Moose Brewing Company brought Rutland its first brewpub. In Chittenden County, Four Quarters Brewing, Burlington Beer and Infinity Brewing made their debuts. The year’s first quarter welcomed a handful of new breweries. With so many hops happening, year’s end seemed like an ideal time to look back through 12 months' worth of bottles, kegs, cans and growlers. The state’s brewing capacity expanded monthly in 2014, and more brewers are on track to launch next year.

At least 10 new breweries opened for business, and several established ones staged massive expansions. In 2014, Vermont’s brewing industry continued on a path of explosive growth.

Bowling green beer works fireside porter