Mount Holly Beer, Belmont
Do what you love; love what you do. That mantra convinced Dan Tilly to ditch his job in London banking and to merge his passions for travel, fermentation, and his hometown of Mount Holly.
Dan launched Mount Holly Beer in 2020 and sold his first case of beer that December. Dan works closely with teams at two Vermont breweries, supplying them with specific ingredients he’s sourced and recipes he’s developed to brew his beer. “We do a fantastic job producing exactly what I want. We then pick up pallets of freshly canned beer, transport them to our warehouse in Mount Holly, and handle all the deliveries from there,” Dan explains. By “we,” he means his business partner, Mike Shannahan, who oversees sales and logistics. Mount Holly Beer is available throughout Vermont thanks to Dan and Mike and their refrigerated trucks. “My job is to keep our beer fresh and cold, getting it into stores that will ensure that consistent quality.”
Dan swings by local farms to pick up ingredients he'll incorporate into his beers and ciders. Photo: Dan Tilly
Mount Holly specializes in modern, lower ABV (alcohol by volume) IPAs and singleorigin lagers that are not brewed to emulate a historical style but are rather a showcase of a particular barley varietal and growing region. Dan calls this “a winemaker’s approach to lager brewing.” The top-selling Green Stand drinks like a lager but oozes all the juicy flavor of a Vermont IPA, while the hazy Green Mountain Gold offers hints of pineapple and grape must. Camper Van Soft IPA and Belmont Lager are sessionable summer sippers.
With no overhead costs of running a brewery, Dan can be a little more adventurous with the ingredients he chooses. “Each beer highlights a specific lot grain or hops I’ve sourced, creating a clean, pure expression.” Dan travels the United States and Europe meeting farmers and producers as he seeks the unique ingredients—grains, hops, malts, yeasts—that fit Mount Holly’s small-scale operation. He pops in to breweries wherever he visits as a form of self-education. “I’m always learning from other people and places,” he says.
Dan will periodically visit Champlain Valley Hops as the summer growing season progresses in preparation for fresh hop season. “We brew one fresh hop beer every year, which is an absolute highlight for me and a true celebration of the harvest,” says Dan. (If you’re a fan of fresh hop beers, check out Sugarbush Fresh Hop Festival this fall.)
Camper Van, a crushable IPA perfect for summer living. Photo: Dan Tilly
Mount Holly also produces unique hard ciders, sourcing apples from Windfall Orchards in Cornwall and Dutton’s Farm in Manchester. “We make a beautiful cider that blends Dutton’s raspberries and apples; it looks like sparkling rosé.” Dan will be setting up a cider garden at Dutton’s Manchester location on Saturdays in July and August. Mount Holly’s bottled ciders are available at Dutton’s and The Crooked Ram in Manchester, High Thai in Brattleboro, and The Local in Middlesex.
For Dan, nothing’s better than seeing a new beer come off the line, cracking it open that night in the kitchen, and doing sensory tests: aroma, visual, taste. But after a couple of sips, he’s already thinking about the next variety he’ll create. And that’s what keeps brewing fresh for Dan—just like his beer.
