East Coast Trip end of June and early July!

Looks like an amazing trip, for sure! I have a few small suggestions, if you haven't considered them already...

• If time will allow, take Route 1 out of Portland (Allagash, Rising Tide, etc.) on the drive to Bar Harbor. You can hit Freeport (Maine Beer / LL Bean, etc.) and potentially Oxbow. Beyond that, the drive through Wiscasset, Bath, Rockland, Camden, Belfast... is remarkably beautiful in places and affords the opportunity to discover unexpected gems... Like "Red's Eats" in Wiscasset. Great lobster roll! (Though I'm told by Maine friends you have to wind down lesser known peninsulas to achieve true lobster roll nirvana)
• Consider hiking the .75 miles to the west flank of Beech Mountain for sunset in lieu of Cadillac. It possesses all of the magic of Cadillac without the crowds and vehicular traffic... I've been on three occasions and only once seen another person - a local and her dog. I see you're doing Beech in the morning... It's quite awesome for sunset, for sure!

Have fun!

 

Are you going to be spending any time in Providence? If so, here's some info I have posted before. Take it or leave it.

Bars in Providence proper:
The Avery- Go to this place. They only have like 7 taps, but they are normally very good.

The Scurvy Dog- Another place to go to for sure. Great taps, free pool until 10 PM, old school video games in the corner, decent prices. Place gets a little packed after 11:00, but it's a great spot nonetheless. Taco truck usually parked outside on Friday nights.

Harry's- Small, but good tap list and great sliders.

E & O- Hipster central, but some good craft offerings. Within walking distance of the Avery listed above and Julian's (listed in my section on restaurants).

Places to skip are Wickenden Pub, The Apartment and English Cellar Ale House. All try to be craft beer hot spots and all fail. Also, Trinity Brewhouse is worth skipping in my opinion. If you do want to hit it because it's the only RI owned brewery located in Providence, then go for it. But be aware, the beer is so-so and the food is poor.

Bars just outside of Providence:
Track 84. 15 minute drive south on Rt. 95 to Warwick, RI. It's right next to the airport. They have the best tap list in the state. Prices are good too. Place looks like a dump, but don't be scared off.

Doherty's. In Pawtucket. Tons of taps (like 80+), nothing super special, but they usually have some damn fine cask beer.

Beer friendly restaurants in Providence:
Julian's. Don't be fooled. Julian's is not a bar, it's a restaurant first. They happen to have a kick ass tap list though, so it's worth a trip (although the food is so-so and the beer prices are high).

Louis Fullers. Much better food than Julian's in my opinion, but not as good on the beer front. But they are close to Julian's so you can do beer there and dinner at Fuller's.

Nick's. Also near Louis FUller's and Julian's. Quality craft and best food of the three. They have awesome brunch and a coffee stout with brunch is a good thing.

A place a lot of folks forget about is The Ivy on Hope St. A few beer offerings, but all quality. The food is good too.

The real expensive places like New Rivers, Farmstead and Chez Pascal have great beer selections as well. If you're going big $$$ hit New River's. Unreal food.

Bottle shops:
Nikki's is actually in North Providence. It's excellent, although right now they are planning for a big move to a new location. As such, I think the selection has dropped off recently (just my opinion).

Eno is smack downtown and actually has a solid selection.

High Spirits is in the plaza with Whole Foods (the large one, not the small one) has really stepped it up and is worth checking out. They have less of a mix a six selection than Nikki's, but more refrigerated sixers.

Last but most certainly not least is Bottles on the East Side. They have a solid selection and prices.

If you can, take a spin to Yankee spirits in Attleboro (10 minutes up I-95 in Mass.). Huge amount of beer and they get the stuff that RI doesn't.

I am sure I am missing some, but that's it for now

EDIT: I forgot Local 121. It's a restaurant downtown. They usually have 5 brews on tap and one of them is always Trinity IPA (so if you MUST try the cities one noteworthy brew you can). The food is way better at Local 121 than at Trinity. Plus they have other breweries on tap.

DOUBLE EDIT: What Cheer Tavern is worth checking out if local beer is what you want. They are located a good bit from downtown but are still in Providence.

 

Man I thought I was out of control with the trip scheduling. Awesome, you will return a changed man. I agree with the Rutt's Hut stop, know the place?

 

you have a lot of questions! (and your trip looks awesome, super jealous)

Here's my best shot at a few:

1. Modern Apizza (and New Haven pizza in general) is arguably most famous for white clam pizza. the more loaded / neapolitan pizzas are GOOD, but that's not what I'd go there for. Get a white clam and an italian bomb if you have to get something crazier - i just stick with a classic mootz (that's cheese for you out of staters) and white clam. but yeah, i wouldn't get a tomato / basil / mozzarella pie there. also be sure to drink some NEBCO on tap there... they have it, and often interesting stuff.
2. You will not be able to find any Attempted Redrum for sale (it was brewery only and went in 2 days)- you might be able to trade for it. Keep an eye on the NEBCO facebook page - Chardonneighbor is being released again sometime this summer. I don't think it will be before/when you come through, but you never know. I do, however, think you can probably find some of the new NEBCO Berliner Weisse right around when you come... The release is soon.
3. Gandhi-Bot - not normally sold in cans at the brewery. Growlers are quite possible. Check Amity Wine and Spirits (literally a 1 minute drive from the brewery) - probably the most likely place to find Gandhi-Bot cans. I believe Amity usually sells 4pks for 12.99 or 13.99, so a case will be a bit short of 80 bucks before tax, etc.
4. There's a lot of great breweries to see in Boston... Since you're coming from Providence, Jack's Abby is not really on the way, but JA, Night Shift, and Idle Hands are IMO three great ones to visit. In Boston, you could find some Cisco Woods if you look hard enough - for any of those other beers you listed, I don't think you'll find them on the shelf anyway along your trip.
5. I like your Bar Harbor/Portland itinerary. However, Lobster Shack is not worth it. The best lobster rolls in Maine, IMO, are at Red's Eats in Wiscasset. Depending on how you plan to drive to/from Bar Harbor, you could make Red's on your way... and if you're in that neck of the woods, you should/could go to Oxbow Brewing.
6. Portland: Nosh is good... But I would actually go to Duckfat, or, if you want to drink, Novare Res, which is a great craft bar in Portland.

 

Whatttt. This is what I get for ignoring the NEBCO thread.

For OP... It seems like you are eschewing beer in Boston for some more touristy things. The North End is kind of a dead-zone for beer, and Faneuil Hall/downtown isn't much better. Naturally you'll get some great Italian food and pastries there, but I hope you like wine!

 

I agree with others. Duckfat is a must. The waits can be long but you can't have gone to Portland and not had Duckfat fries. They also usually have Oxbow on tap. Lobster Shack's appeal is the view, not the food. If you are looking to kill some time, Cape Elizabeth is beautiful but doesn't seem like you'll have the time to kill.

I wouldn't trade for Heretic, and Lucious would be extremely hard. I just had my last Lucious and after 2 years it has held up, I really doubt Heretic would have.

Two more good spots to stop in Waterbury, VT would be the Cabot Annex (free cheese and chocolate) and Cold Hollow Cider Mill (apple cider and apple cider donuts). You'll pass by both of these going from Waterbury -> Greensboro (on Rt 100). When going to Greensboro make sure you go Rt 15->16->Taylor Rd (not 15->14, which is how some GPSs will take you). The 15 to 14 way is not friendly to cars.

 

Adding that if you do idle hands and night shift, mystic is five minutes drive, absolutely a must to do all three while JA is quite a distance though worthwhile

 

Gandhi Bot will not be a guarantee to find either at the brewery or in a beer store. They are pouring it out these days but it goes quick so you will have to hope on timing. Given your drive is right through CT, try to monitor the NEBCO thread and see where the most recent place to get Gandhi Bot is (it usually alternates New Haven and Fairfield County with lesser amounts in the other counties). Your best bet to score some may end up being in Fairfield County on the way to New Haven.

Consider hitting the Wine Thief in downtown New Haven as they often have Gandhi Bot a little longer than other places.

Consider Grey Sail Brewing which is in Westerly just over the CT / RI border.

Go to Nor'East Beer Garden while in Provincetown. Great place to have a beer outside.

If you have time, stop off one direction or the other in Hyannis and go to Cape Cod Beer - good people putting out some good beers. Growlers only to go, plenty of samples on site.

Cambridge Brewing Company would be one choice of place to hit (beer-wise) in Boston, if you can work it in.

 

Pour Judgement is my favorite beer bar in Newport. The college kids have gone home but it's summer so the Yachties are in town. Also, they don't show it in the tour books but there's a bar at Rutt's Hut so you can sit down and wash down your Ripper with a cold one...

 

If you're going to be limiting your stay in Boston to Government Center and the North End, be sure to stop by Saus for a delicious waffle and a surprisingly good beer selection: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28350/?view=beerfly. It's hidden in between a bunch of terrible "Irish" bars, but well worth 30-45 minutes of your time.

I'd recommend expanding your activities in Boston and visiting Lord Hobo, Deep Ellum, or Publick House to really get a flavor of the local beer scene.

 

No. . . slightly different. This hike starts a the end of Beech Hill Road. Beech Cliffs are accessible from this parking area but the hike doesn't originate at Echo Lake. You could do this hike from Echo Lake but it would be a fair bit longer. . .

See here: http://www.hikenewengland.com/BeechME080609.html

The ridge you want is the 0.6 mile stretch on the west ridge of Beech Mountain in the map depicted in the link above. I have a picture I could post but don't want to spoil it..

 

Is Tuesday a Canning day and able to get beer now?

 

On my visit to Mount Desert Island a few years ago, I found the Liquor Locker to be well worth the stop as a bottle shop.

 

On my visit to Mount Desert Island a few years ago, I found the Liquor Locker to be well worth the stop as a bottle shop.

 

On my visit to Mount Desert Island a few years ago, I found the Liquor Locker to be well worth the stop as a bottle shop.

 

Did you visit Mount Desert Island a few years ago? Did you find the Liquor Locker to be well worth the stop as a bottle shop?

 

They can Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so you will be good to go.

 

Was at the brewery today with Rob pouring. That's the great thing about NEBCO, it's usually Rob or Matt pouring and they are always willing to discuss beer. Just great guys. He told me Chardonneighbor should be out soon--not sure if it will be ready when you get there, but possible. Certainly possible that Gandhi-Bot could be available in growlers at the time you go there (usually $15 for a Bot fill). Today they had Galaxy, Sea Hag, and Elm City for $10 and they fill any growler you bring so no pressure to buy one there (although you may want to get a Bot shirt, Bot tulip, or 668 tulip when you go). Agree with the suggestion above that you check out Amity for NEBCO stuff. They always have whatever is released, and you will most likely drive right by it on your way to NEBCO (it will be on the right just past the fork in the road). NEBCO is small, but it is everything a craft brewery should be. Great beer and great people. When you head to MA, you may want to check out Tree House Brewery just over the MA/CT border near Sturbridge. If they have Julius or Tornado, you should definitely stop in. You have to buy one of their growlers for a fill, but really worth it and very scenic. Safe travels and enjoy!