I am driving from Chicago to Burlington VT, and then down to Dewey Beach DE. My hope is to pick up some great beers that aren't available in Chicago. I will be watching their websites to see what is available from Hill Farmstead, The Alchemist and Lawsons. Is Julius still on the shelves out there? I'll be digging around on BA for beer stores, but I would also appreciate any suggestions for fantastic beer stores out there. In Chicago we have Binny's - what is the chain of great beer stores in the Northeast? Thanks! Kris
Be prepared to set aside a few hours to get some Julius if it's available. TH has been a madhouse recently. Julio's Liqours in Westborough, MA is a good start. We don't really have chain stores like Binny's, the closest thing would be Craft Beer Cellar.
They don't always have Julius at the brewery either, but go there even if they don't. Julius is the one with the name recognition, but their beer is amazing across the board. Julius isn't in my top ten Tree House beers, personally.
Plan to hit breweries, that's your best bet - most of the "whales" people come here looking for don't hit distro. On your travels in New England if you're looking to hit good stores plan a stop at Beverage Warehouse in Winooski while you're in Vermont, Julio's in Westborough while you're in Mass and then Nikki Liquors in Providence while you're travelling down 95....
If you're going through Westchester, hit Deciccos (preferably the Armonk or Brewster locations, Ardsley if it's convenient). Definitely Winooski Bev like said above, and check them out on Twitter and Facebook too for their Heady/Lawson's release announcements.
If you're sticking to the I-91 corridor on the way through MA, Table & Vine in West Springfield has a selection that is comparable to Julio's.
second deciccos. they carry pipework now too! just drank a crimson snapper with julius, green, c17, & 3rd ds last night. delicious. half time is worth a look too on the drive. since you're going through ct, I'd def try to go to nebco and oec (black hog if you hit oec, 5 min away) too after mass on your way. real solid stuff.
A friend and her husband were going to go to Tree House last weekend, but they only had ONE beer available. Maybe call before you go to see what's there.
Hi Kris, New England is not really friendly to chain stores. You won't even find a lot of chain restaurants around, compared to the rest of the country. Plus in Mass, there is a limit on the number of liquor outlets one company can own. That is why in a supermarket chain, only a few select locations will have beer or wine. Vermont doesn't really have chain anything. I don't know if it's because it's so rural or if people are just independent-minded. Probably some of both!
they are pretty good about updating their site. that's not normal. they're just super busy now. last night they went through 400 cases of julius cans at half case pp. in 3 hours.
Pretty sure they had lights on, ma, and c18 for growler fills last weekend. They also had cans of lights on and c18 at open. Maybe your friend meant they only had one beer available in cans, because lights on sold out quick, C18 lasted till around 1:30. It is not common for them to only have 3 beers availble, usually they have at least 4-5 options. Also no reason to call, their website is always up to date at open, and they regularly update twitter througout the day.
