Hill Farmstead Society & Solitude #6
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Tasting Notes
Society & Solitude #6 pours with an aroma built around fresh citrus, tropical fruit, and the resinous, piney character that defines Hill Farmstead's house hop expression — intensely aromatic without being loud. On the palate it leans into ripe mango, grapefruit pith, and a subtle biscuity malt backbone that keeps the whole thing from flying off the rails. The body is full but not heavy, with enough bitterness to give the finish real structure rather than letting the sweetness linger. It finishes dry and long, with the hop oils coating the palate in a way that invites another sip.
About the Brewery
Hill Farmstead operates out of Greensboro Bend, Vermont, on land that has been in founder Shaun Hill's family for generations. Founded in 2010, it has consistently ranked among the top-rated breweries in the world on enthusiast tracking platforms, drawing pilgrims to a genuinely remote corner of the Northeast Kingdom. The brewery is known for its double IPAs, farmhouse ales, and stouts — often named after philosophers, family members, or recurring concepts — and maintains a deliberately limited distribution footprint, with most beer sold on-site.
Food Pairings
The resinous bitterness and tropical fruit character here work well against the fat in spicy Thai curry, where the hop aromatics echo lemongrass and kaffir lime. A rich, washed-rind cheese like Taleggio has enough funk and salt to stand up to the beer's intensity without being overwhelmed. Grilled pork tenderloin with a mango or pineapple salsa mirrors the tropical notes directly and lets the malt backbone show up more clearly. If you're keeping it simple, aged cheddar brings out the biscuity malt quality and offers a clean contrast to the dry, bitter finish.
Style Guide
American Double or Imperial IPA is essentially a bigger, more aggressive version of the American IPA — more hops, more malt, more alcohol, typically landing between 7.5% and 10% ABV. It originated in the American craft scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s as brewers pushed the IPA format toward its limits, with Dogfish Head and Russian River among the early standard-bearers. What separates it from a standard American IPA is intensity across the board: the bitterness is higher, the hop aroma is more saturated, and the malt has to be substantial enough to provide balance rather than sweetness. It's distinct from West Coast IPA in that it doesn't aim for leanness — the added malt weight is structural, not incidental.