If you grew up in southern Vermont or upstate New York, chances are you’ve been to a Stewart’s Shops convenience store. Not to be confused with Stewart’s Root Beer and restaurant chain, Stewart’s Shops is a regional gas station-convenience store hybrid akin to Wawa or Sheetz, with 350-plus locations across the Adirondacks and surrounding counties. It prides itself on offering locally sourced dairy, fresh eggs, homemade ice cream, and a slew of private label products at a bargain price. There are seasonal glazed donuts, Stewart’s own “X-treme Tea” energy drink, a line of Stewart’s sodas, and its own brand of light beer, Mountain Brew.
There are big regional beers like Schmidt and Lucky Lager, and then there’s the little guys like Mountain Brew — unknown to most, but dearly beloved by the ones who do. Whether or not these beers ever make it big-time — or even taste that great — they naturally become ingrained in the local population’s identity. So when Stewart’s Shops executives made the decision to discontinue Mountain Brew in 2020, whimpers of mourning echoed throughout the Adirondack Mountains.
It’s initially puzzling as to why Stewart’s would take away Mountain Brew. It had all the ingredients to become a mainstay, from its alpine-themed packaging and ultra-low price point to its crushable flavor profile. To find out why, we look back on the brief yet tender tale of Mountain Brew’s rise and demise.
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In 2010, Stewart’s Shops rolled out the original Mountain Brew
