Need help planning New England road trip.

Pick up some Jacks Abby along the way in Mass.

 

Ebenezer's in Lovell ME, and/or their sister pub Lion's Pride in Brunswick.

Cambridge Brewing Company in MA. Also make sure to stop at a store or pub to sample some of the many excellent new breweries that have set up shop here in the past few years. Stuff from Pretty Things, Jack's Abby, Night Shift, Idle Hands, Blantant, Backlash, Slumbrew, Clownshoes, Notch, Mayflower etc. A few of these guys have their own brewery and thus have tasting rooms, growler fills, etc, but many are contract brewed and thus have no tasting room. Hitting a store like Rapid or Redstone (which look to be on your route) is probably a better use of your time.

In VT, add Hill Farmstead and Lawson's to your list.

In CT, add New England Brewing Co if you're heading through New Haven (as opposed to staying on I84 all the way through CT).

Captain Lawrence has a beautiful tasting room just over the Tappan Zee bridge east of the Hudson. If you're heading up 87 and you have time and don't mind the $5 toll to cross the bridge, that could be another possibility.

 

Willimantic Pub and Brewery is off the beaten path, but still accessible from I-395 & I-84 in Northeastern CT (if that's the route you're using), they only fill growlers, no prepacked bottles, but great food with even better beer. Trinity Brewhouse in Providence is a safe bet in Rhody, and should be on the way. Hopefully some locals from Maine will chime in on the Portland area, there are tons of places. Bring some Fatheads Headhunter or White Rajah for an IP trade if you are passing through the metro NYC area!

 

First, I'd second checking out the new breweries and especially CBC in the Boston area. It's only off the beaten path compared to Boston, but stick with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge--hit the CBC for one of the best brewpubs in New England, as well as Lord Hobo and Atwood's, both a short walk away, for a great selection of local (and non-local) beer.

I'd also highly recommend Ebenezer's in Lovell. I'd also stop at Moat Mountain brewpub in North Conway, NH, which makes excellent beer and smokehouse BBQ in the shadow of Mt. Washington. Ebenezer's is about 30-40 minutes east of Moat Mountain, so it's an easy combination. If you need a place to crash outside the camper, Moat Mountain also offers the most reasonably priced rooms I've seen in the White Mountains, right above the brewpub. Otherwise, the area is lousy with campgrounds and you should be able to find one (or a parking lot) no problem.

I haven't actually visited Magic Hat yet, but personally I'd skip it in favor of spending some time in downtown Burlington. The best brewpub in town, in my mind, is Zero Gravity at American Flatbread.

On your way back down the coast, you should definitely stop at the Portsmouth Brewery. I'm not sure of your exact route back, but if it makes sense, spend a day in Portland. There are tons of great breweries in town, and several excellent bars--Novare Res and the Great Lost Bear at the top, with places like Mama's Crowbar also worth checking out--have great local selections.

Have a great trip.

 

I'd take a tour of the Allagash Brewery in Portland ME. If you are in the Portland area on a Friday I'd also tour Maine Beer Co. They only do tours Fridays at 2pm, and they are also right up the street from Allagash. If you make it up to the Bangor ME (mid-Maine) I'd make a stop at Nocturnem Draft Haus.

 

Through the western corridor of Massachusetts there are some really nice destinations
- Moe's Tavern (Lee)
- Shaker Mill Tavern (West Stockbridge)
- Nejaime's Liquors (Lenox)
- Olde Forge Tavern (Lanesborough)
- Man of Kent (North Hoosac, New York)

 

I'll be brief: Heady Topper from the Alchemist (duh)
Portsmouth brewery (worth stopping by)
Allagash brewery (I think it's cool that they have a cool ship)

If you pass through Vermont near the Three Penny Tap room then stop by, it'll be worth it.

Cheers,

 

On the way through RI you should most definitely stop at Track 84 in Warwick. It's minutes off of Rt.95 (whichn if you're passing through RI, you will definitely be driving on). It's well worth stopping. The place looks like a dump but it has a tremendous tap list and is by far the best beer bar in the state (my opinion of course). Here's what they got right now (and it changes frequently): http://www.track84.com/draft-list/.

Also, when going through Mass. hit Yankee Spirits in Attleboro, MA. It too is minutes off of Rt. 95. At Yankee you'll be able to grab tons of local stuff as well as some great stuff that distributes here like The Bruery, Founders, Troegs, etc.

 

I go through Rhode Island all the time and almost never hit 95.

 

Mayflower Brewing Co. offers tours and tastings on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm. Check out the website for more details! www.mayflowerbrewing.com. Located right off Rt 3 in Plymouth Ma. Plymouth also has a lot of great craft beer bars in the down town area. Cheers!

 

I'd just like to concur with everything emannths recommended (especially my own beloved local brewery, NEBCO), and add that if you're in Maine on a Friday afternoon and want something extremely off the beaten path, check out Oxbow. Their saisons were all top-notch, and it was just a cool place to hang out for a bit.

 

Hill Farmstead is somewhat close to Alchimest, but I've never been. Norwich Inn is also close by, I can vouch for how beautiful that place is, and their beers are flipping amazing.

 

HF is about an hour, maybe an hour and a quarter from waterbury. Worth the trip.

 

I am not sure of your route, but if you go through northern NH you should stop by Moat in North Conway, good beers and good food. It's between Hill Farmstead and Ebenezers.

 

I hate to buzzkill a good local brewery, but I always leave less than satisfied dining at moat. Great shop, I'm guessing I just had horrible luck.

 

To each his own, but to me few meals I've had a brewpub can touch the smoked salmon topped with mango salsa over beans and rice that I've had at the Moat. Without doing too many adventurous styles, I also think Moat makes some of the best and cleanest takes on several standby styles--pale ale, brown, hefeweizen, and so on--in the region.

A trip from Ebenezer's to Hill Farmstead, stopping at Moat Mountain for the night would be a northern tri-state beer dream.

 

The only time I ate there my brisket was dry as hell... I was very sad.

 

I'd hit up waterberry too, they've got the Alchemist cannery, and a couple good pubs.