New England Road Trip Itinerary Feedback

Hey good people of BA- I'm heading up to a wedding in Madison, CT next weekend and have planned a beer centric New England road trip to follow it up. I'm coming from NC, so I've done my best to research and come up with what I feel is an ambitious, but hopefully, achievable itinerary. Would love to hear some local feedback/suggestions and thanks in advance!

Thursday- 7/24
Leave Wilmington, NC
Pit Stop at Tired Hands and drive to NJ (staying with a cousin for the night)

Friday- 7/25
Drive to New Haven CT,
Lunch at Modern or Prime 16/ head NEBCO @ 3:00 for a growler or 2 (have rehearsal dinner that night so no time for anything else)

Saturday- 7/26
Drive out to Beer’d Brewing and grab a growler to bring to Abbots Lobster for lunch
Wedding that night

Sunday- 7/27
Arrive in Boston (staying at the Omni-Parker)
Lunch at Parrish café
Touristy stuff (duck tour/freedom trail)
Dinner at Neptune Oyster

Monday- 7/28
Late Breakfast at Paramount
Drive out to Night Shift around Noon
Head over to Cambridge for lunch and do CBC/Lord Hobo/Meadhall (maybe not all 3)
Dinner at Saus
Night cap at Row 34 or Eastern Standard

Tues- 7/29
Leave for Portland (staying at Holiday Inn-By the bay) in the morning
Lunch at Duck Fat or Nosh
Bier Cellar to pick up treats (hoping to find some Substance, but seems to go super quick and the delivery days aren't set in stone from what I understand)
4:00 tour at Allagash (emailed Jake from Austin Street, so hoping to swing by before the tour to try some stuff even though they aren’t open)
Want to get back in time to catch the 5:30 HopandGo bus to Rising Tide
Dinner at Novare Res

Wed- 7/30
Drive up to Oxbow around 11:00 am and hang for a while
Grab a lobster roll along Rt. 1 on the way back (thinking about 5 islands, but any other suggestions off Rt. 1? Don’t think I want to deal with the lines at Red's)
Go to MBC in Freeport
Dinner at Pai Men Miyake
End the evening at King’s Head

Thurs- 7/31
Leave Portland around Noon
Check In at Old Stagecoach inn
Try to pick up some HT around Waterbury, or Fiddlehead cans (bier cellar)
Start bar hopping (Pro Pig, Blackback, Reservoir)
Dinner at hen of the wood- 8:30
Nightcap at the bars

Friday- 8/1
Drive up to Hill Farmstead- leave around 9:30-so we arrive by 10:30-10:45
Hope to be through the HF line by about 12:45
Head to Lunch at Three Penny taproom
Hunger Mtn Coop- try to arrive by 2:45 for Heady/Lawson release
Dinner at one of the Waterbury bars

Saturday- 8/2... drive back to reality, but hopefully with some awesome beer and a few extra pounds on me

Let me know what you think! Cheers!

 

Thanks! Saus just seemed like a decent choice close to the hotel, but we'll look into some of the other suggestions. Also, I don't think Trillium is open on Sunday or Monday, so hoping to find their stuff on tap around town at one of the other stops. Any tips on the best place to find their bottles around that area? Boston Wine exchange perhaps?

 

I really wish we were heading up on Saturday so we take that route and could hit tree house and Jack's Abby, but they will both be closed on Sunday so will have try my luck for JA beers in Boston. Are the BA variants a brewery only release? Any chance to find some around Boston?

 

Thanks for the tip! We will do Ford's in that case. Do you know if it's also BYOB? Can you bring your own growlers to Beer'd, or will they only fill their own?

 

Yep, it's right at 3:30 from Portland. I was planning on calling Warren Store on the way up to see if there is any Lawson's left but from what I've read we would need to be there by about 10 to land any. Thanks for the tip on Hunger Mountain- was looking for feedback on the timing. What is a good time to get there? I'm hoping last weekend was somewhat of an anomaly due to the beer fest... Might just need to head straight to hunger mtn from HF and grab some food from the store and eat in line, then grab a drink at three penny after to (hopefully) celebrate the day's haul.

 

Awesome info, thank you! The wife spent a summer in Boston and loves Parrish so I think we have to make that a stop. Row 34 looks incredible for dinner, I just didn't know if it would be too much like Neptune oyster and we are traveling with another couple that hasn't been to Boston and wanted to show them some different spots. Dinner in Cambridge might be the way to go. I've had the pleasure of visiting CBC and Lord Hobo before, so we'll just stick with those 2. Thanks again!

 

Thanks for the info on Beer'd growlers, I'm bringing about 6 empties with me so that'll work out great. It does suck that we're in Boston the only days that Trillium is not open, but gives us something to look forward to for next time. I'll take a look at their site to find out where else I can taste their beers.

We've been to Neptunes a couple of times and love it, but Row 34 does look incredible and may win out... can you speak to the warm lobster roll, because that is one of my favorite meals of all time (@ Neptune) but would be nice to not have to show up at 5 in order to eat at 8:30. Also, I'm digging the tree house idea on the way back but we are driving to DC that day so I don't want to get too sidetracked and it seems like it could turn into at least and hour or 2 depending on what's pouring. Any thoughts on average wait times or when we need to arrive? If I have any of the beer budget remaining once we leave Waterbury, I'll most likely try to squeeze it in. Thanks for your feedback!