The Wonderbrewer of Nowheresville

On a 230-year-old family farm in a remote corner of Vermont, an enigmatic young brewer quietly stirs up some of the most acclaimed beers in the world.

Photos by Bear Cieri

I'm a bit nervous when I finally turn down the long dirt road to the brewery after a two-hour drive. The road doesn't seem to lead anywhere. I'm in the middle of nowhere and there is no brewery in sight. It certainly doesn't seem like the most logical place for one. There is no major city nearby. The town is small, at best. There are no college kids or young professionals in the area and the roads to the brewery aren't paved—they're packed dirt and gravel. There is one store in town— it's a grocery store, department store and hardware store all in one, with a lone gas pump outside. But Greensboro, Vermont is home to Shaun Hill, the master-brewer and philosopher behind The Hill Farmstead Brewery, where he produces some of the world’s most sought after beers on family land that has been passed down through the centuries.

I turn down Hill Road, its apt name reassuring me that my iPhone knows where we are despite dodgy service, and hope for the best. Eventually I see a …