I’m one of those people for whom coffee is a sacred morning ritual. It’s not necessarily about the caffeine—although who doesn’t like an extra pep in their step—but rather the act of sipping down with a piping hot coffee before starting the day.

With so many good coffee producers in Vermont (think Carrier Roasting, Capitol Grounds, Speeder & Earl’s), I find myself becoming even more of a coffee snob connoisseur. Last summer, I discovered cold brew in Vermont and am hooked. As warmer weather approaches us, I love that there’s a smooth, utterly tasty cold coffee option rather than iced coffee loaded with cream and sugar.

Meet cold brew coffee. No, it’s no iced coffee. As Cold Brewtus describes it, “Cold brewing is a process that uses zero heating, which keeps most of the bitterness and acidity out of the finished coffee. You are left with a crisper, smoother, and stronger coffee, that was brewed to serve cold.”

Three Vermont companies, Cold Brewtus, Death Before Decaf and Northern Bayou Cold Brew Company, are all based in Chittenden County and are cranking up the heat for their growing cold-brew businesses. Read interviews with their owners below to learn a bit more about what makes their cold brew offerings unique. And keep your eyes peeled for Vermont-made cold brew in a store near you, either in a bottle or on nitro… They might just change your idea of how coffee should taste.

Cold Brewtus, South Burlington, Vermont:
Will Peters, Co-Owner & Brewer

Employing only four people, Brewtus’s operation is in South Burlington, Vermont. The father-son team started brewing less than a year ago selling only on draft. Soon after, they introduced their bottles and have grown their active accounts to over 70 throughout Vermont.

To make their roasty cold brew, they fully submerge their coffee in cold water using large brewing tanks, let it sit for a long time and then double filter it into a holding tank. All bottling and kegging is done by hand. Bottled Brewtus is between $3.59-$3.99 a bottle and can be found at a number of stores across the state.

I’m a huge fan of their cold brew, as it’s the most distributed right now in Vermont and rather easy to get your hands on throughout the state. I also happen to love the bull dog on their label and their marketing messaging which reads, “Let’s face it – you like coffee. You’re not afraid of caffeine. You’re like a bulldog. Fearless. Stoic. When you need cold brew coffee, you don’t settle for something a fragile pomeranian named “Bubbles” would sip from a champagne flute. You want it bold but not aggressive. Fierce, but with a heart of gold. Drink it black, or with cream and sugar, whatever gets you going.”

Why cold brew? My parents owned a cafe for several years in Vermont where I learned a lot about coffee and espresso and began sample roasting myself. I didn’t get into cold brewing until later on, but realized that there was a growing market for cold brew coffee and started roasting coffee specifically for cold brewing. My dad and I decided to get into this venture together and keep our passion for coffee alive in Vermont. 

What about the Vermont brand and landscape helps enhance your brand, product and its marketing? Vermonters take great care in what goes into the products they consume, and we’re always on the forefront of food trends. We feel that cold brew coffee is a natural fit for the area in that it has no sugar, no chemicals and only two ingredients: coffee and water.

What separates your cold brew from others on the market and in Vermont specifically? Cold Brew has been around for decades, but only recently has it found itself as an actual category in the marketplace. Our cold brew is definitely a dark and roasty brew that’s bold and full of dark chocolate and dark fruit flavors. You can cut it with water or cream to lighten it up, but straight black is our preferred method. 

What’s the process for making your cold brew? There are several ways to make cold brew. For us, we fully submerge our coffee in cold water using large brewing tanks, and let it sit for a long time. We then double filter into a holding tank and bottle and keg by hand. 

How would you describe the difference between your brew on nitro and in bottles? Our kegged NitroBrew is definitely different from our bottled straight product. First off, it’s a slightly different roast, but the nitro adds a velvety mouth feel like a stout beer and mellows out some of the flavors for a really smooth cup of cold coffee. The nitro cascade in the glass makes it taste like there is cream in it already. The straight bottled product is definitely a bolder, fuller-flavored cold brew.

What’s next for Cold Brewtus? We have several things on the horizon like new packages, collaborations and expanded distribution, all of which we’ll be announcing soon.

Eager to try Cold Brewtus’ cold brew? Find their current distribution list (on draft and in bottles) here.

Death Before Decaf, South Burlington, Vermont:
Patrick Norris, Director of Sales / Operations

Death Before Decaf, the first brewer of cold brew in Vermont, is run by four high school friends. They hope to start employing more Vermonters next year. They are in the process of moving into a new 2,000-square foot facility in South Burlington, which will be fully operational by summer. They sold roughly 2,500 bottles in 2016. They anticipate they’ll have state-wide distribution by this summer and “look forward to putting our coffee in the ands of many more Vermonters,” according to Norris.

Why cold brew? At the time of conception, there were no cold brew coffee companies in the area. We are big Stumptown Cold Brew fans and huge lovers of coffee in general. The original idea stemmed from a music festival: Gathering of the Vibes, where we were highly unimpressed with the over sugary, heavily creamed iced coffees we received from a vendor. With those components and one of our owners’ tattoo ideas, Death Before Decaf was born.

Why Vermont? All of the four owners were born and raised in the Burlington area. Having separated ways after high school to all over the country (Chicago, North Carolina, San Diego and Portland, Oregon), we somehow managed to align back in Burlington around the same time. It is unquestionable that a person holds an indescribable love for where they were raised. It’s obvious how drawn we all out to Vermont, considering the unwavering natural beauty this area provides. Vermont has a reputation for quality products and many of them seem very approachable. So, it was a risk putting out a logo and a brad that seemed a little more edgy, however, this was done intentionally and despite our strong branding, our cold brew speaks for itself compared to others.

What separates your cold brew from others on the market and in Vermont specifically? Our cold brew is certainly drinkable for the average joe, but our focus remains on impressing the above average coffee drinkers. Coffee connoisseurs if you will. We refuse to add sugar, cream, or any type of flavoring, mainly because we believe that different, quality coffee beans and roasts have such diverse flavor profiles on their own. Of course, it someone likes cream and sugar in their coffee, we encourage pouring our product over ice and adding as necessary.

In regards to the Vermont market, we feel our cold brew is the best. We took a slightly different approach to some of our competitors, making a ready-to-drink product versus concentrate that you have to mix with water. We believe that a bottled beverage should not require instructions or measuring of any kind.

What’s your favorite variation of the cold brews you make? We recently released our second product, Death Before Decaf Purgatory. This product will feature different monthly roasts from coffee beans all over the world, sourced and roasted by Mocha Joe’s Roasting Company.

Looking to try Death Before Decaf’s cold brew? Find their current distribution list here.

Northern Bayou Cold Brew Company, Charlotte, Vermont:
Ben Lee, Owner & Brewer

Behind Northern Bayou is a husband and wife team, brewing out of a facility in Charlotte, Vermont. Last year, the couple made north of 2,000 gallons of cold brew. Northern Bayou only uses the freshest roasted beans possible and Vermont spring water. It gets gets triple filtered and the rest of the details as to what makes the brew unique are secrets. Northern Bayou sells bottles and cold brew on nitro; bottles can be purchased for $4.99-5.99 or $8.99 for the double size. If you’re lucky enough to work at Dealer.com, the Pine Street-based company has their cold brew on nitro to keep their employees caffeinated.

Why cold brew? I’ve been making cold brew for myself since I was in college ten years ago. I originally made the switch after realizing that the lower acidity in cold brew would allow me to continue to drink the massive amounts of coffee I was accustomed to drinking (I had started to experience acid reflux).

After college, I lived in Brooklyn for some time and saw that companies were selling bottled cold brew. After returning to Vermont, I noticed that there wasn’t anybody doing it here! I thought Vermont was the perfect place to blend local ingredients, work in local collaborations, and produce an organic, all local product like this, so I decided to dive in and be the first.

Why Vermont? I felt Vermont was the perfect place to work with other local companies to produce a product Vermonters would be happy to enjoy because of the amount of small business support and growth it promoted. Not to mention that fresh, thoughtfully crafted products are something Vermonters seek out.

What separates your cold brew from others on the market? Our cold brew is made using only locally roasted beans. We collaborate with several different roasters to offer an exciting line-up of special cold brews that not only keep things exciting but also support other local businesses. We also play with other ingredients to make cold brew concoctions that are unique on the market, such as our hopped cold brew and cocoa nib cold brew.

We also provide all of our retail accounts with fresh bottles weekly or biweekly to make sure customers always get the freshest coffee. I’m pretty sure we are the only Vermont company to offer a true concentrate. Our cold brew is double strength and takes to dilution remarkably well. I drink it straight but I’ve got a thing for high doses of caffeine.

What’s your favorite cold brew “flavor” you make? My current favorite is our cocoa nib cold brew featuring cocoa nibs from Blue Bandana Chocolate Maker on Pine Street. As for our offerings only available on nitro pour at our vending events, I’m digging the toasted coconut and Aztec hot chocolate, which I call “I wanna feel the heat with somebody”.

What’s next for Northern Bayou? We will be vending at Waking Windows in Winooski on May 7, as well as farmers markets throughout the summer. We plan on expanding our bottle offerings, vend at more markets and events, and come up with fun new collaborations with other local businesses. 

Looking to try Northern Bayou Cold Brew Company’s coffee? Find their current distribution list here.

Have you tried Vermont-made cold brew? What’s your favorite? Share in the comments below.