How Mothership Landed

down to earth

In 2004, Brewer and Co-Founder, Paul Sayler, set forth on an intrepid quest to expand the availability of marvelous beers from around the world to local beer lovers.  Up to that point in time, Vermont was limited in the range of malt beverages available to the public. He worked diligently with distributors and importers to bring a larger selection of beers to our little state, from other parts of the US, Europe and beyond.  American Flatbread Burlington Hearth became the first taproom in Vermont to offer these treasures. This ripple turned into a wave of enthusiasm for diverse beer and opened the door for our 10 barrel brewery, Zero Gravity Craft Brewery, to brew traditional and eccentric styles for an audience who could properly appreciate them. Finally, our customers could order a house-brewed English Bitter, Belgian Saison, or German-style Kölsch and taste them side by side with classic examples brewed overseas.  Not only did this create an opportunity for them to expand their palates and knowledge of beer, but our own as well.

For several years, we built up a robust draft and bottle list showcasing our favorite styles from around the world while brewing them, too.  We held epic beer pairing and tap takeover events, which continued to stoke passion for craft beer in our community. Things got pretty wild during the extreme beer days, but we remained grounded and refrained from brewing with candy or edible sparkles.  The endless combinations of malt, hops, yeast and the occasional fruit or botanical held us captivated.

By 2010, it was time to take a leap of faith, and focus solely on the beers that we were brewing in-house.  We let our bottle list go and slowly shifted the draft offerings from the world to a few regional offerings, then eventually to 100% beers made on site.

As the craft beer industry headed full steam into a boom phase in 2015, Zero Gravity expanded to an impressive 30 barrel production facility & taproom just down the road.  Our brewpub and the new larger brewery maintained a dynamic relationship and continued to support one another.  Everything was going great, then 2020 arrived.

After we got our bearings, we embraced the opportunity to freshen up the space at Burlington Hearth.  Our beloved vintage wood bar, where many fond memories were made, was rehomed at American Flatbread in Stowe (and looks quite dapper living up in the mountains now).  Additional windows and a new bar made of Vermont Verde serpentine stone were installed.  During this spell of downtime, a sense emerged that the time had come to restore our identity as a small brewery.  As Zero Gravity continued to soar, the brewpub needed a new name.  This moniker would have to resonate and communicate the organic path of our evolution. 

mothership brewery was it!

Small is all. Good beer helps.

A peel-shaped logo is a nod to our rustic roots at American Flatbread. 
The central image is a  depiction of the mighty dandelion, a crucial pollinator that provides early sustenance for the hummingbird to carry on along its journey.  As the dandelion’s florets reach for the sky, it remains firmly rooted in the Earth.  And when the flower has gone to seed, the potential for regeneration comes full circle.

We’ve been crafting lagers and ales from the beginning and embrace the growing enthusiasm for lagerbier today while maintaining a diverse array of beer styles from America and the world. 
From light to dark, sessionable to nightcap, we commit to showcasing the wondrous diaspora of beer.