Yep, you heard right, I'm not a beer drinker. Never have been. So why on EARTH would I go on a Brew Tour, you ask? Because we were in Burlington, VT! And as they say, "When in Rome..." (or in this case, Burlington!). Actually, I booked this tour for my fiance as a bit of a thank you for doing a similar wine tour a few days earlier in Niagara.
The day before our tour, we received a phone call to confirm our reservation and let us know what time our pick-up time would be. I appreciated this because, as it turned out, we were the first couple picked up, and therefor it was a bit earlier than I anticipated, and I was able to adjust accordingly.
Matt, our tour guide, arrived promptly at the appointed time and was both courteous and outgoing. We had the pleasure of visiting with him alone for a bit as we made the rounds to the other hotels to pick up the rest of our party. As others have stated, yes, the AC in the van has some issues, but even during one of the hottest days of the summer, it was merely a nuisance not a tragedy. Matt made sure to offer us cold water at each stop (and in between) and did his best to keep the van parked in the shade when not in use. Additionally, we weren't in the van more than 15 mins or so at a time, so it really wasn't too bad. I would suggest that if you are extremely sensitive to heat, you might want to wear light clothing and sit as close to the front of the van as you can; you'll get a bit of relief that way.
Our first stop was Vermont Pub & Brewery, followed by Switchback, Fiddlehead (where we had lunch), and finally Magic Hat. At each stop, I was consistently impressed not only with Matt's vast knowledge of the breweries themselves, their histories, and the beer making process in general; but also with his obvious good rapport with the people who run these microbreweries. At each location, Matt (and by association, our tour) was greeted warmly and welcomed like family. Matt made certain we knew what to expect at each location, and always seemed to be a step ahead of any questions we might think to ask - he was an excellent and intuitive tour guide, striking just the right balance between guiding us, and allowing us to explore.
Lunch was delicious (pizza!) and I actually really enjoyed trying a variety of beers - I even found three or four that I enjoyed! Likewise, my fiance - a much more seasoned beer drinker - enjoyed trying new brews and learning more about the process of brewing.
All too soon, our time was over and we were being dropped off at our hotel once again. This was a great tour, and we wouldn't hesitate to take it again on our next trip to Burlington.