When in Portland, Novare Res is definitely worth a visit — it’s right in the touristy area and is one of the country’s better beer bars. (Less of a must: a fun spot to eat nearby that usually has good beer on tap is Slab.) Not important unless you’re mailing beer to yourself ahead of time, but Maine is abbreviated ME.
Top 5 Reasonable Beer Goals 1. Drink Less Beer 2. Drink Better Beer 3. Visit More Beer Gardens and Bars 4. Catch More Live Music at Breweries and Bars 5. Have a Beer w Any Future Grandchildren I’d like to visit Russian River. Maybe hit up Starkbierfest in Munich. A cool pub or six in the UK or Ireland. A few other things. None of them are that important.
Just in case anyone takes previous comments seriously: Nobody has to wade through vomit at Oktoberfest. It is a huge, very well organized festival and many visitors aren't even drinking. Of course with 6.5 million visitors over two weeks there are going to be some unfortunate people who drink more beer than they can cope with, but the likelihood of you even seeing someone vomiting is very low and if you do it's easy to stay away from them.
Pretty far afield - will require some trip planning… I went to Jester King and thought it was awesome. I’d lived in the Texas Hill country for years and used to ride my back there so I knew what to expect - dry, barren Texas Hill country - but awesome beer and laid back atmosphere
If you’re going to VT, I’d pick Lawson’s way ahead of Trapp, though the taproom (look for the mountain goat), the view, and the backstory (Sound of Music) are great. ‘Lawson’s has world class beer and the nicest taprooom in Vermont, and afterwards you can drive over the App Gap
Don't forget that the von Trapp also makes cheese. No longer aged there, but they were making some of the first cheeses aged at Jasper Hill, just up the road from Hill Farmstead.
Since I’m going a few days before the madness that is FWIBF I’ll be lugging back an extra carry on of beer. Thankfully my god level status with Delta means I get up to three checked bags included.
More unsolicited advice: Von Trapp is only a 5 minute drive from The Alchemist, so if you’re doing one, might as well hit the other. If you’re at the Von Trapp brewery, it’s worth taking a short hike up a trail or a short drive in the car up to the Von Trapp Lodge just for the view and to see some hairy mountain cows. The Blackback Pub is Waterbury is also a great spot for trying a bunch of different VT gems.
Sierra Nevada's East Coast Brewery (Matt at Firestone told me this was the most beautiful brewery he has been to anywhere period) I can vouch for this one. It is a fantastic place. Massive, good food, good bear, great outdoors!
It was already on my wants but hearing that from someone who's been to every brewery he could ever want turned my head a bit.
Yes and no. You could have a very pleasant trip including Prague and the most interesting beery parts of Germany (which are fairly close to Prague) in that time, but including Belgium as well would be pushing it a bit. Of course everything is possible. You could skip Cologne and Düsseldorf to make time for Brussels, for example.
