The era of lining up for a hyped hazy IPA release thankfully seems to be over. Sure, an Instagram post teasing a rare drop can still bring out the beer geeks. But now they're going to Howl Bier, and they're showing up for lager. The cozy new taproom on the Winooski rotary certainly beats standing in the cold. The sun streams in through huge windows, filtered by lush green plants hanging above communal tables. A hops-draped arch, a family heirloom cuckoo clock and a glimpse of the Bavarian Alps complete what Wilson Ballantyne called "Euro-cottage vibes." Co-owners Ballantyne and Matt Wiley lean hard on their travels through Europe's best beer cultures to bring that vision to the Vermont beverage scene. The duo, who met working at Magic Hat Brewing in 2015, like to show off what they found in the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, from the relaxed public-house environment to snacks such as obatzda, a Bavarian beer cheese. Oh, and a special keg of beer or two. Just over two months into its run in the upstairs part of the former Archives space, Howl is already proving that it can draw a savvy beer industry crowd, scoring rare imports such as Brasserie Dupont's Bons Voeux, a boozy holiday saison once reserved for the Belgian brewery's regulars. Howl also has some of Vermont's most sought-after sips, with a couple of Hill Farmsteads on tap and bottles of Freak Folk Bier and Wunderkammer Biermanufaktur in the cellar. The beer list by itself is enough to build Howl's street cred. But the co-owners also highlight over-the-top-nerdy details reminiscent of the early days of craft beer hype: The date of the most recent draft-line service is stamped in red at the top of each menu. Your beer will be poured from the proper type of tap; while the custom system has just 12, they include specialized German slow-pour faucets, LUKR faucets and NukaTap faucets. And you'd better believe it will be served in the right glass — or big, burly mug. "Those subtle parts of our approach are fun for us," Ballantyne said. "But they also show how damn important it is for us to take the high-quality products we're trying so hard to get our hands on and follow all the way through." Beer nerddom isn't for everyone, but if your requirement for a pint is…