Johannes von Trapp brought his dream of bringing the European-style lagers he enjoyed in Austria to the States to life in 2010 when he gathered a team of experts and began brewing in the basement of the Kaffeehaus bakery on Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. Described as a “cobbled together” brewery by Sam von Trapp, Johaness’s son and Director & Vice President of von Trapp Brewing and Trapp Family Lodge, the brewery certainly came from humble beginnings. At that time, we were known as Trapp Lager Brewing.
As the beer gained popularity through Vermont and New England, we saw that our light, crisp lagers were fulfilling a need in the traditionally heavy, hoppy craft beer world. In 2015, we expanded in a big way. In 2015, we rebranded to von Trapp Brewing and opened our 30,000-square-foot brewery on Luce Hill Road, featuring a Rolec Brew House capable of producing up to 36,000 barrels of beer annually.
Our brewers use traditional German brewing techniques with the help of cutting-edge technology. While the equipment may evolve, the ingredients never will. We expertly craft our lagers using only four extremely high-quality ingredients: yeast, hops, malt, and water. The water at von Trapp Brewing is very special and provides the best base for our clean, quenching beers.
After finding a USGS survey map of the grounds from the 1898, Johannes discovered a blue marking on the map. With hopes of finding a reliable, efficient water source for the property, Johannes hiked behind the lodge and indeed found a natural spring. Underground pipes were installed and today those pipes and natural gravity help flow fresh spring water to the lodge, sugar house, snowmaking machines, private properties on the grounds, and the brewery.
Conveniently enough, the mineral composition of the spring water is almost identical to the water you’d find in Plzen, Czech Republic. “That really sets the base for us to brew great, clean, easy-drinking lagers with no distractions, no harsh salt, or mineral character,” says Jack Van Paepeghem, our Quality Manager. “It’s just the perfect base for everything else that follows.”
Want to learn more about how our brews are made and the history behind them? Click the button below to schedule a brewery tour on your next visit! Tours are offered from 6pm-7pm on Tuesdays and from 1pm-2pm on Saturdays.
Encore Renewable Energy announced today the successful commissioning of a 200kW roof-mounted solar array at the von Trapp Brewing & Bierhall in Stowe, Vermont. The electricity generated by the array will provide a clean source of electricity for Stowe Electric Department, with all renewable energy credits associated with the array being retired for compliance under the State of Vermont’s recently enacted Renewable Energy Standard. As the host and customer for the project, von Trapp Brewing & Bierhall will receive an up-front lease payment as well as net metering credits purchased at a discount compared to their face value, providing the Brewery & Bierhall with a lower cost electricity option.
“Following discussions with Stowe Electric Department, we reached out to Encore Renewable Energy to help develop and finance a solar project that we were interested in pursuing on the roof of our new brewery and Bierhall. The Encore team delivered this important project for our company, which will allow us to minimize annual electric costs and support the statewide renewable energy initiatives” said Walter Frame, Executive Vice President of Trapp Family Lodge.
“Stowe Electric Department was interested in helping one of our major customers secure a commercial scale solar project to support their operations, which provide significant value to our community. Having worked with Encore in the past, we understood the professional and comprehensive can-do approach that Encore Renewable Energy brings to the development of complicated solar PV projects.” said Ellen Burt, General Manager of Stowe Electric Department. “We look forward to working with Encore again.”
Encore was responsible for coordinating and managing all aspects of the project including navigation of complex roof issues, project design, permitting, financing, construction and commissioning activities.
“Encore is thrilled to have been able to support both the Trapp Family Lodge and the Stowe Electric Department in helping to deliver this exciting project”, said Chad Farrell, Encore’s Founder and CEO. “Renewable energy projects such as this are often highly complicated, and this project is the culmination of a significant amount of work across a number of different organizations. We are pleased to have been able to be of assistance in bringing it to the finish line for these two forward thinking customers.”
Right next door to the brewery is the von Trapp Brewing's Bierhall Restaurant, where you can try all of our brews — some only served at the Bierhall — as well as some delicious Austrian-style foods.
Tour our brewery and learn every step in our brewing process as well as the history behind our operation!
West Dover, VT
Exeter, NH
October 24th
