Touring the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory

When I visited the Montpelier Vermont area with my sisters in the fall, we drove wistfully by the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury, knowing that we’d have to leave that attraction for another time. Well, that time came two weeks ago, when Andy and I took a 20 hour trip to Vermont. It was so much fun!

The first thing we did was the tour of the inside of the factory. If you plan on doing this, try for a weekday, since I’m sure it would have been more fascinating if we could watch the ice cream production in process. Still cool, though!

I must say, tobacco-free site signs do make me happy.

Another kind of sign that makes me happy: wastewater reuse systems! #gogreen

We weren’t really allowed to take pictures on the thirty-minute tour (understandably so), but it was fun – nothing spectacular. It’s intriguing to hear how the ice cream is manufactured and seeing the huge equipment they use. I also liked the short movie at the start of the tour that explained about Ben & Jerry’s history and their social and environmental values (yay!).

The sample of a top-secret sneak peek flavor at the end of the tour. Andy liked it, but Becky and I were pretty meh. That’s okay, we bought scoops of our favorites later anyway!

Becky and I at the end of the tour, standing in front of the ‘New Flavors’ display.

In case you were wondering: yes, Ben and Jerry are hippies and still support local and environmental causes, just as they did when they first started the company.

The ubiquitous head cut-outs! It’s tough to get these shots right, isn’t it? No one ever sticks their head far enough into the hole.

I admit, I do love a good pun 🙂

Biggest sugar, milk and cream dispensers ever!

The Flavor Graveyard: where all your old favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavors go to rest in peace.

I don’t even know what was in Vermonty Mython, I just love the reference.

Andy cries for the fallen ‘Cool Britannia’ ice cream.

The Cowmobile: a modified mobile home that Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield drove around the country in the late 80’s the bring their brand outside of Vermont. Their campaign worked 😉

The nitty gritty: Factory tours at Ben & Jerry’s are $4 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. However, if you check in with FourSquare, you can get one free ticket (which we found out only after we’d bought ours!). The Waterbury Factory is open nearly every day of the year, with the exception of Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, and Christmas Day. Be prepared for crowds if you’re there on a weekend, and do take time to stop by the Flavor Graveyard on the hill to pay your respects to some old retired favorites.

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Diana: I wish I were rich, and I could spend the whole summer at a hotel, eating ice cream and chicken salad.

Anne: You know something, Diana? We are rich. We have sixteen years to our credit, and we both have wonderful imaginations. We should be as happy as queens.
[gestures to the setting sun]
Look at that. You couldn’t enjoy its loveliness more if you had ropes of diamonds. 

–L.M. Montgomery