Lucy & Howe Brewing Company, Jericho
While Jesse Cronin and his wife, Libby, were teaching in international schools, they fell in love with the beer culture of Austria and Belgium. When they moved back to Vermont in 2015, Jesse decided to shift gears and work his way through a variety of jobs at Magic Hat to learn production brewing.
In 2018, Jesse began converting an old summer kitchen attached to his Jericho home into Lucy & Howe, a small-scale brewery where he fine-tuned his recipes for the European-influenced beers he loves best. When the pandemic hit, he left Magic Hat and started brewing full time at home. Starting May 2, 2020 Jesse began loading his beer into people’s trunks as they showed their ID through the car window. Talk about community service!
When the Jericho General Store came on the market in 2021, Jesse and his friend, Jay Wimette, saw an opportunity, purchasing the 1880s community hub and transforming it into Jericho Ale & Bean, a partnership of Jesse’s brewery and Jay’s Brew House Coffee Company that specializes in cold brew bottled in glass. “I’m really proud of how we maintained the spirit of this historic space,” Jesse notes. “We tried to keep as much of the store’s feel as we could while breathing new life into it.” Visitors can order Jay’s cold brew coffee drinks or pours of Jesse’s beers. Cans and growlers of all are also available. Additionally, Jesse serves his house-brewed hard seltzers flavored with syrups made from local ingredients. The café offers a succinct menu: charcuterie board, fancy grilled cheese, a special sandwich each weekend, and hot dogs for the kids.
Super fresh cans of ice-cold beers straight from the glass-front refrigerator cases
This support of things local extends to the cheese and meats on his charcuterie boards (from Cabot and Babette’s Table, respectively), sourdough sandwich bread from Stewart’s Bakery in Williston, and the Champlain Valley Hops he uses in several of his beers, such as Underwater Space Helmet or Puzzle Monkey, both 6.4% IPAs.
Jesse describes his Franco-Belgian-EU–inspired beers as “refreshing, easy drinking, not super hazy.” Think lighter saisons, Mexican lager, Irish red ale, citrusy IPAs. His Biere du Chateau, a 5% ABV Belgian-style table beer, tastes of lemon and coriander, a summer favorite. Lucy & Howe’s IPAs are contract-brewed at Rutland Beer Works; four-packs are available throughout Vermont.
“I’m a firm believer in a rising tide raising all boats. When people come through here following one of the Vermont beer trails, I’m happy to recommend other small breweries to visit.” That same communitarian spirit drives his decision to commit a percentage of his revenue to local organizations that help people who need some assistance. “We’re a locally focused place, and part of being neighborly is supporting your neighbor,” he explains.
Which may explain Lucy & Howe’s tagline: Real change is incremental and ordinary; the world can be made a better place through quality, kindness, and action.
