Down a dirt road in Albany surrounded by fields of burdock, Vasilios Gletsos brews one-of-a-kind beers using a wood-fired copper kettle, locally foraged ingredients and a beer cave 15 feet underground. Gletsos, 47, moved to Vermont in 2001 to join Bread and Puppet Theater, then founded Wunderkammer Biermanufaktur in 2016; it remains his solo project. Wunderkammer is German for “cabinet of curiosities.”
The brewer combines his love of art and foraging to create an unusual array of beautiful beers. He designs all the labels and has used sumac, yarrow, goldenrod and lichen in his brews. Inspired by artisanal European traditions, Gletsos produces just a couple hundred barrels annually and distributes the product himself.
In the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger visited Gletsos for a tour of his brewhouse and beer cave.
Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about filming the episode.
How did you hear about Wunderkammer?
I got an email from Gletsos’ brother-in-law asking me to feature the brewer. “He is never one to toot his own horn,” Toby Wells wrote, “but he’s worth the visit and the conversation.” Since 2021, Gletsos has been renting the spaces that used to house the Bonnieview Farm creamery. Once I heard about the former cheese cave where he ferments his beer, I was in.
What was the brewery like?
I have filmed in a few modern breweries, and they are usually large, sterile, factorylike spaces filled with stainless steel. That’s the total opposite of Wunderkammer’s rural, sensory-rich spaces. I was drawn in by the smell of woodsmoke and the sound of rain on the tin roof. Between the brewhouse and the beer cave, we took a leisurely stroll along a dirt road lined with wildflowers — several of which have made it into the brews over the years. As Gletsos said, “I really like to incorporate aspects of the landscape into the beers.”
Once we entered the cellar, the temperature dropped about 25 degrees — Gletsos accurately noted that it feels like jumping into a swimming pool — and our voices echoed. There, I got to taste a dark beer Gletsos has tentatively named Fort. All these experiences did indeed add up to a “cabinet of curiosity” that is very distinct to Vermont’s rural backwoods.
Where can you find Wunderkammer?
Gletsos makes about 100 to 200 barrels of beer a year, so the stuff is rare! Your best bet for scoring some is to follow Wunderkammer on social media. The brewer posts about new batches and where they are headed. He has a bottle shop in Wolcott, and the Parker Pie Company in Glover is a good place to sample his latest creations. In Chittenden County, you can find the brews at Beverage Warehouse in Winooski and Juniper Bar & Restaurant in Burlington. Gletsos plans to use his old-fashioned methods to brew a wider range of beer and potentially increase his production down the road. But he’ll continue making his signature super-niche, rare brews.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Small-Batch Wonder | Wunderkammer Biermanufaktur brews rare beer in the Northeast Kingdom”
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 2 2025.
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