Credit: Courtesy of Vermont Brewers Festival

For the first time, the Vermont Brewers Association takes its show to the snow with a winter brewfest. Visitors are invited to ski — ticket packages can include Killington lift passes for the vertically inclined — and sip pours from more than 30 local breweries. Sample a hop-forward pale from Frost Beer Works or perhaps a foudre-aged sour from Hermit Thrush Brewery, or check in with the folks at Lawson’s Finest Liquids for a taste of a special brewfest cask. Live music and eats from Bluebird Barbecue, Woodbelly Pizza, Worthy Burger and more. Not imbibing? $10 designated driver tickets bequeath access to all but the beer.

Vermont Brewers Festival: Saturday, March 24, noon-3 p.m.; 4-7 p.m., K1 Base Area, Killington Resort. $10-111. Info, 448-3045, vermontbrewers.com.

More food events

Caturday! The Cat Wine Tasting You’ve Always Wanted: Friends of felines and the cat-curious sample German Riesling from cat-shaped novelty bottles. Saturday, March 24, noon-4 p.m., Beverage Warehouse of Vermont, Winooski. Free. Info, 655-2620, beveragewarehousevt.com.

Vermont Maple Open House Weekend: Maple fans partake in sugar on snow and boiler-side chatter in celebration of spring’s beloved sweetener. Saturday, March 24, and Sunday, March 25. Various locations, statewide. Free. Info, vermontmaple.org.

Transcendental Inebriation: The Magic of Herbs in Booze: Gin: Students learn the history of gin — and then partake in a blind tasting. Sunday, March 25, 6-8:30 p.m., Railyard Apothecary, Burlington. $25-30, preregister. Info, 540-0595, railyardapothecary.com.

This article appears in Mar 21-27, 2018.

Hannah Palmer Egan was a Seven Days food writer from 2014-2019. She was a 2017 James Beard Journalism Award finalist for her coverage of Vermont's food and agriculture industries, and received food writing awards from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. She lives in northeast Pennsylvania with her family, where she works in the outdoor lifestyle and adventure tourism industry.