Flying in from Illinois, what weekend would be the best time to go? Don't want to go during a ticketed event or when they would be closed. Hoping a bunch of their saisons will be available to go, especially Arthur.
I don’t think they’ve ever had a ticketed event in April. The earliest event is the Anniversary around Memorial Day and that’s open to all. No regular schedule for the shelf beers, but Arthur is available as often as any of them. I’d be surprised if you couldn’t get 3-4 at least, though in the colder months we seem to get more Everett, George, etc. If you do miss Arthur, check out the Willey’s True Value in “downtown” Greensboro. They have a regular stock of HF shelf beers, sometimes stuff that has run out up the hill. Really you shouldn’t have any trouble no matter which weekend you pick. Mud will be the most likely obstacle so choose a rental wisely.
Yeah, April mud season up there is no joke in a low-clearance rental car. Go end of the month, or rent an SUV. Not kidding, btw.
If your priority is to walk away with core farmhouse offerings (Arthur, Anna, Florence, and Dorothy), then there really isn't a bad weekend to go. They've had all four available with little/no interruption for six months now. If you want the limited release beers, some weeks are certainly better than others. But chances are you'll walk away happy. And if you're going in April, this:
I’ve actually had pretty good luck w/AT&T the last year or so in the area and even at the brewery — it has definately improved since the early days.
In April, don’t worry you will walk away with more beer than you or your wallet planned. suv or similar for sure.
Also, your actual route will matter in March/April. Coming up from Hardwick is easy -- if you follow Google Maps from 91, however, it'll probably direct you to drive down like 5 miles or so of dirt (mud) roads.
Have made the trip to HF from Long Island four straight years, usually last week of March to stock up for baseball season (also hit the usual suspects). Drive a 2001 Honda. The Honda don't like it much once I turn on to Taylor Road. I just go slow and follow previous tracks. And I've had both mud and snow............prefer the snow.
Grew up about 10 minutes from the brewery. Haven't had an issue with driving a sedan in all seasons, but it's AWD. Most important thing is to drive slow if you're not familiar with mud. Really can't stress this enough. There'll be plenty of great beer for you regardless of whether you go fast or slow, so take it easy on those roads. You picked a quiet time to go up. Most people hate mud season but I actually kind of like it. It's much quieter. Enjoy your trip!
O The last time I was there was in my better half's fancy European sports car, I went solo and because of that lost signal, I couldn't figure how to re-engage its fancy - hint - proprietary German stereo system - and had to make part of the trip back to civilization tuneless. So moral of the story - make sure you don't rent a European SUV, or leave the engine on while procuring your bottles...!!! Have fun!
Funny thing- it's actually illegal to leave your car running for more than 5 minutes in Vermont, unless it's necessary for safety reasons (like making sure your car will keep going in the snowy middle of nowhere). http://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01110 Because it would certainly actually be noticed or anything way out there, but still.. just thought it was funny and had to share some crazy facts.
Thanks for the amusing FYI but after being denied some road trip tunes, next time I'm 100% taking my Jeep, the muddier the better!!
