S
cott Wheeler, who publishes Northland Journal (a monthly magazine
celebrating the people and places of the Northeast Kingdom) can
explain the factors that lead to Newport’s Main Street demise: the
pullout of the railroad in 1965 and the arrival of Interstate 91 in 1972. But,
that’s old news.
Wednesday on the Waterfront!
The MAC Center for the Arts!
Dusit Thai Cuisine!
Kingdom Brewing!
These are the headlines of Newport today.
With both an impressive history and an exciting future, the city boasts
such recent ventures as a weekly summer music festival (Wednesday on
the Waterfront); the Memphremagog Arts Collaborative (MAC) Center
for the Arts; Dusit Thai Cuisine; and Kingdom Brewing.
Kingdom Brewing (the northernmost brewery in Vermont) advertises
itself as “a mile from Canada, but a million miles from normal.” Launched
in 2011 by Brian Cook and his wife, Jennifer, Kingdom Brewing sells
roughly 600 31-gallon barrels a year on-site, as well as thousands of
growlers and 22-ounce bottles. “As fast as I fill them, they buy ’em,” says
Brian. He also sends kegs to restaurants throughout the state and to
Burlington International Airport. There’s a food truck in the parking lot
in the summertime and live music every Friday and Saturday night. The
biggest sellers are Out of Bounds, a double IPA whose name pays tribute
to the skiing tradition in the Northeast Kingdom, and Round Barn Red,
named after the largest round barn in Vermont, which burned down in
nearby Irasburg in 2016.
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