Gucci beers?!

That’s how Gov. Peter Shumlin appeared to characterize totally hop-tastic, Vermont-brewed beverages during an exchange Wednesday with a certain Seven Days reporter, as chronicled by Green Mountain Daily’s John Walters.

Joking or not (And we presume he was. After all, we’ve witnessed him imbibe a Hill Farmstead Edward or two in our time), the gov’s comments rubbed some beer drinkers — and purveyors — the wrong way.

“He put his foot in his mouth,” says Three Penny Taproom co-owner Scott Kerner, whose Montpelier establishment registered its disagreement on a blackboard (pictured at right) outside its doors Thursday. 

Kerner was particularly miffed to hear Shumlin say he sometimes drinks that god-awful crap “brewed” by Belgium-based Anheuser Busch.

“For him to bring up a company like Budweiser in that context is ludicrous,” Kerner says. 

“Saying that is kind of like saying you like Aunt Jemima more than real Vermont maple syrup,” echoes Kurt Staudter, executive director of the Vermont Brewers Association. “It’s the industrial swill versus hand-crafted goodness.”

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Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

9 replies on “Montpelier A-Buzz Over Shummy’s Gucci-Gate”

  1. Jesus, Seven Days – get over it with the “Bud Light, really?!” crap. Beer snobbery is the lamest form of hipsterism. Sometimes you want a Heady Topper, sometimes it’s a Bud Light. Just depends on where you are and what the occasion is. At the end of the day, it’s just beer. Your taste in beer (or anything else for that matter) doesn’t make you a better or more interesting person.

  2. I’m not going to pick on anyone for drinking Bud Light, other to say anyone who does drink Bud Light either doesn’t like beer or doesn’t want to get drunk, they just want to piss a lot.
    Unless price is a factor, there’s no reason to drink crappy beer.
    Having said that, I do enjoy tossing back a few PBRs on a hot summer day.
    Shumlin did step in with his Gucci comment. That to me is a form of snobbery. I’m sure he was joking, but he probably would be wise to not insult Vermont companies during these tough economic times.

  4. Jeezh, one little reference to Gucci beer and we’ve got ourselves a full-headed brew-haha. haha. Fun story. Not sure I could vote for anyone who drinks Bud Light.

  5. The best two quotes of this whole thing are:
    Beer snobbery is the lamest form of hipsterism. Betsy Parks
    Saying that (he prefers Bud over ‘Gucci Beers’) is kind of like saying you like Aunt Jemima more than real Vermont maple syrup — Kurt Staudter,
    so – what kind did Obama & co drink at the ‘beer summit’..?

  6. Good read. This is a fun article about a stupid issue. Fun to see all of these guys talk about what they like to drink.

  7. Mr. O’Hara, there are a good many of us Southerners who feel strongly that Florida is not a part of the South.

  9. Actually, Jack Daniel’s IS bourbon. All bourbons are whiskeys, and Jack Daniel’s is a Tennessee Whiskey, which is a type of bourbon. Jack Daniel’s just chooses not to advertise their product as a bourbon. That doesn’t make it not so.

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