Vermont Beerchasing - a few specific questions

If you look on the alchemist's website it provides you with list of stores around Stowe that carry Heady.

 

Winooski Bevy around 2pm for Heady is unlikely but they do the second release at 6pm, and there is plenty in the area to kill a few hours. And they do cases if the line is not too bad.

 

Winooski Bevy does a 10am and a 6pm drop of Heady on Tues/Thurs. Last couple of weeks has been between-tourist-season, so Heady has lasted quite a bit. I picked up some morning Heady around 2:30pm a week or two ago. Evening Heady has even lasted into Friday morning. The large lines there has died down because the summer vacationers/tourists/beerhunters are taking a break and the ski/snow/peeper/beerhunters hasn't started up yet.

Lawson's drop around noon at Winooski on Fridays. I've also been seeing lots of people walk-by and pass up Sip of Sunshine and there's a 6 bottle limit on SOS per person. (That's the one brewed in CT). The most accurate (and best informed) times are found on the store's pages. Check out the Vermont Beverage Warehouse and Hunger Mountain Co-op Facebook pages in the past few weeks. They nearly always post times of Heady and Lawson's. Lawson's will post which beer is going on their FB and website, but another guy does the driving (Mad River something).

Peeper seasons will be starting soon. Leaves changing a bit this weekend, so there might be some early peepers, but next weekend will probably be peak/high traffic. I wouldn't recommend driving to Stowe if it's peeper weekend, We don't get much "traffic", but it could take you an extra hour or two to get from Waterbury to Stowe if the peepers are there. I've seen traffic back up for half a mile on I-89, because of everyone heading to Stowe area for the leaves.

If you're crazy for a Heady, you can get one when you land at the airport. The Skinny Pancake has it behind the counter and some other great local offerings. There's one inside the checked area and another one near the ticket counters, both have Heady and others.

 

^ Shit, I may have booked the wrong weekend to stay in Stowe - Oh well...

Planning to do HF on Saturday the 4th and expecting a bit of a wait with the extra tourist barrage. Looks like tons of bottles have been available lately which is great, I will take whatever and fill up my 3-5 growlers. Is there any good time to target on a Saturday to minimize waiting? Then heading to Stowe to check in, probably do a bit of searching for 2-4 4 pks of Heady on the way from HF to Stowe, maybe a stop at Lost Nation. Waterbury for dinner, seems like locals prefer the Rez over Pro Pig these days? Mt Mansfield hike on Sunday morning. Which paths are your favorites? Looking for a ~4-5 hour hike of moderate difficulty. Stopping at Worthy Burger or maybe just a quick snack at Montpelier Co-op on the way home.

 

Not a local, but depends what you're looking for. Rez definitely has more of a watering hole vibe, and Pig is a bit more upscale. Can't really go wrong, though I lean towards the Rez since it's bigger and typically easier to grab a spot at the bar. Also, poutine.

Up and back Sunset Ridge from Underhill State Park is a nice moderate/difficult hike and should take 3-4 hours. There are other trails on the mountain if you want to extend that.

 

Heading up tomorrow so hoping crowds are too crazy. Best Western in Waterbury still had multiple rooms as of this morning so might be another indicator that peak time is not quite there.

 

I just got back from the bevy and talked to the new guy there. He says Thursday's sell out faster than Tuesday's drop. By 12:30pm, the 10am batch was already sold out today. The last time I picked up Heady at 2:30pm must have been a Tuesday (sounds about right). So I doubt you'll find leftovers from the 10am batch at 2pm, but if you spend the afternoon at Farmhouse Tap & Grill, Mule bar, or get samples from a few local breweries, then you could head over to bevy and get in line for the 6pm release.

 

If it has to be Heady, then your probably screwed, but you might be able to get some Lawson's over at the Warrington country store, or Foley's, if you want to drive out.

 

FYI- if you are landing in Burlington at 1:30 I would head straight for HF, they close at 5. You are cutting it close, if you need to pick up a rental or have any delays. Also the roads around Greenboro can be tricky to navigate if your not from the area. Write down the directions, cell coverage is spotty and navigation systems may sent you in the wrong direction.

 

Everything you said is wrong.

Heady is available in Stowe on Fridays
Lawson's is available at the Warren Store, Thursdays not Fridays.
Foley Bro's beers are distributed, and available at stores all over VT.

 

Correct. Also, its only 90 minutes give or take to HF from Burlington once you're on the interstate (do the same trip almost weekly), so if you get on the road at 2pm you'll be there around 3:30-3:45. That's of course assuming you don't get lost, which you shouldn't as it isn't nearly as complicated as folks sometimes make it out to be.

 

I was just at Hunger mountain this past friday, landed there around 6 and they probably had 20 bottles of Sip of Sunshine left, but didn't have any Double Sunshine.

 

I always enjoy the embellishment that happens when talking about the trip. From Burlington, it can be literally be as easy as 5-6 turns/roads. From 91 it's like 4! Then winter/mud season, the things people say are pure gold!

 

Also, the airport has Double Dose on tap right now..., but it might not be there when you land. Alchemist pop-up sale happening next Saturday too.