Hoping for guidance from VT locals. I am doing college visits in NE with my daughter, first BC/BU, then driving to U of VT. Of course while I'm there, I selfishly want to score some Heady and/or HF/Lawson's bottles. But we aren't going to Burlington until Friday afternoon, and with a campus visit on Saturday, the beer shopping window is only Sat PM and possibly Fri PM. I know stuff from the big 3 vanishes right after it is delivered. Do I have any hope of getting any of it? If so, how and where? If not, I won't kill myself looking for bottles and I'll just focus on enjoying what's on tap! Thanks! Lurpy1
Hi Lurpy, I hope your daughter finds a good fit with a school in New England; the ones you listed are all great, by the way (and double-by-the-way, it's "UVM," not "U of VT"). There is no one-stop shopping where you can get bottles from the Big 3. HFB only sells bottles at the brewery (that is, if they even have any for sale), Lawson's only sells at the Warren Store (and Saturday farmers markets here and there), and the Alchemist has a limited (central VT) distribution. If your goal is to bring stuff home, I think your best bet is to zero in on Heady. You should be able to buy some at the cannery--not that far off I-89--on a Friday afternoon. And there are a lot of bars/restaurants from central VT through Burlington that have all the great VT stuff on tap. Enjoy!
When you heading home? Tree House is open Friday night (Brimfield MA)- but may open too late and be to far south for your purposes.
I'm doing the 3 on Thursday am. I can probably help with updates but chances are... Lawsons - Probably all gone by mid morning Thursday after delivery. Alchemist - You might be able to score some but they have been selling out at the cannery but Friday morning it seems lately. Hill Farm - Go to the brewery Wed-Sat. Might have to wait but you'll get it. I'll give you an update thursday.
I dont even know why I'm telling you this because they already almost always sell out before I get off work but winooski Beverage Warehouse gets a delivery of Lawson's every Friday, usually around 1pm and usually sold out by 4. Search for beverage warehouse of winooski on facebook or twitter, they post on there when the shipment comes in and what it is. Winooski is just down the hill from UVM, maybe 5 minutes in a car if that. Heady delivers different places different times, not sure if anyone gets a Friday delivery, don pay too much attention because I know when my place gets it so I can just stock up on delivery day. Most places that get Heady sell out same day. Hill is brewery only but you may finds some Grassroots (they bottle under this name) around, plenty o Arctic Saison around last I looked. Good news is if your daughter decides to come here you will have ample opportunity to get our beer.
Great info, everyone, thanks! I will try and arrange a bio break at Waterbury and, oh, hey, there's a brewery here! And I think Winooski is on the way to our hotel in Colchester. I would love to hit Tree house too, man does that place sound good, but I don't know if we'll be out that way at all, let alone at the right time.
Apparently if you want to get to Tree House you have to go on Thursday. There is always Monday morning, the Alchemist opens at 11 (I think). I find it amazing that Heady Topper is available at almost 150 places. http://www.alchemistbeer.com/retail-availability/ http://treehousebrew.com/hours/
While in Boston why not try and score some growlers from Trillium on Congress st? Great beer and they are open Tues-Thurs from 4:00-7:30 and Friday from 12-7:30. As for Vermont, like others have said try and focus on Heady at the cannery on Friday. They may or may not have inventory left. Good luck!
Hunger Mountain Co-Op in Montpelier also gets Lawson's deliveries. They've recently been putting it on shelves mid-morning on Fridays and are relatively good about posting to Facebook/Twitter regarding its availability. Two other things to look for: Grassroots Brewing Arctic Saison is still on a number of shelves around Vermont. It's Shaun Hill's collaboration label, in this case a batch he brewed with the folks at Anchorage Brewing. Running $10.99 for a 750ml. Not nearly as hyped, but all around solid is Long Trail's Farmhouse IPA series. Only available in VT in 12 packs, 4 different IPAs. Might not be worth lugging one home, but it's a new venture for Long Trail and a decent price point.
Absolutely do this. You're likely not going to be able to get beers from Lawsons, Alchemist AND HF, so consider Trillium your "consolation prize." But in reality, their hoppy stuff is at least on par with (and in many cases better than) the hoppy beers from the big 3. Not hyped, but so worth it. Also, if I were you, I would do everything possible to hit HF if I could make just one stop. To me, it's by far the best beer and the best experience. You could always set up some IP trades for Heady and maybe Lawson's while in Burlington.
