From a distance, Foam Brewers in Burlington, Vermont, checks the requisite boxes for a young, hype-generating brewery—sticker-labeled 16-ounce cans, a destination taproom in New England, massive buzz around its rare out-of-state beer drops, and an Instagram following more than 72,000 strong. Yet Foam Brewers has an old soul that belies its five-year history.
Its ethos harkens to the earliest motivations of the craft-beer movement: stylistic experimentation, support for local farmers and artists, pursuit of quality, and a commitment to running a small business the right way. Its founders are fine with the idea of Foam’s popularity, so long as that popularity is tied to the quality of beer.
“It’s great to be liked,” says Jonathan Farmer, Foam’s creative director. “At the same time, we’ve always tried to stay true to the tenets of what we started Foam on. Everyone evolves over time, but we try to make sure that we’re not being pulled in one direction just because that’s where [trends] are going. We really are trying to stay true to who we are, and when that aligns with what everyone’s liking at the moment, that’s great.”