Planning a New England Vacation...

Remember that while Heady Topper is available for sale at retail and restaurants, the actual brewery/cannery is closed to the public. You may already know that, just wanted to throw it out there.

 

jack's abbey framingham, ma
treehouse brewing monson, ma.
new england brewing co. woodbridge, ct.
trillium brewing boston, ma.

lawson's @ the warren store on thrusday mornings

use google maps and the alchemist website to hunt your heady topper.

use facebook and breweries websites to check hours of operation and tap lists.

 

HF bottles are only sold on site. Can be found on draught at some pubs, such as Three Penny Taproom, Farmhouse Tap & Grill, Blackback Pub, Reservoir, etc.

 

I picked up bottles of HF in Montpellier at the Hunger Mountain co-op. Had like 6 cases when I went, that was in January though.

 

What bottles did you pick up? I am assuming it was a collaboration bottle or the rare instance of a Grassroots bottle that was released outside of HF in last few months. Maybe I am wrong but I would not rely upon this advice.

 

I found Florence at the Hunger Mountain Co-Op, they had roughly 6 cases when I went. I saw them post it on Facebook and called up. Had no issues and was 2 per person. Again, this was from early January.

 

Cherche, try and adjust trip so you can make it to HF on Wed. Possible?

 

Don't assume that Fuzzy Baby Ducks will be available at New England Brewing. They've made it once recently and from what I've heard at the brewery there will be at most two more brews during this entire year. Not only that but when it goes on tap people line up like mad so it's both rare and quickly gone. Also be aware that they're only open from Wednesday to Saturday, and only from 3-7 in the afternoon W-F.

Having said that, You should absolutely try to make it there if you can. Fuzzy Baby Ducks is indeed a great beer, but it's not miles better than their other beers, in fact it's not even my favorite beer of theirs. Any of their single hop brews are phenomenal (Supernaut, Coriolis, Galaxy Pale Ale; although these, like FBD, are brewed less frequently and there's no guarantee you'll run into any of them at the brewery) and Gandhi-Bot remains one of my favorite all time beers. Fuzzy Baby Ducks just seems to be the beer that everyone has latched onto as "the best." It's good, and there's always the chance you'll luck into it, but bear in mind that it will take a lot of luck to do so if you're going to be limited to just one visit.

You may not get Fuzzy if you go there but you'll likely get to try something great regardless. Their Fat Ten-er series has been fantastic all around and all of their core offerings are strong as well so don't worry about getting their rarest stuff, just go and enjoy what you end up having.

 

Thank you Mooltipass for pointing that out, it seems like every time I talk to someone about NEBCO they immediately ask about FBD. Fuzzy is a great beer, but it is not lightyears away from the others. Coriolis in my opinion, is better than Fuzzy. NEBCO has kind of narrow hours but don't let that scare you away, CT has other awesome breweries; Firefly, Beer'd, Thimble Island, and of course the new Stubborn Beauty brewery that all make great beers. All this is also only a 50 minute train ride from Grand Central Station.

 

Id skip trillium , beer is OK nothing id drive up and have to get again. The other breweries are pretty easy to get to but trillium is in the city in boston and honestly not worth the parking/driving hassle.

 

Definitely don't skip trillium if you're in Boston. Their fort point pale ale and congress street ipa are fantastic. Grab lunch right next door at row 34.

 

Burlington - Farmhouse Tap & Grill

Waterbury - Blackback Pub, Prohibition Pig, Reservoir

Montpelier - 3 Penny Taproom

West Glover - Parker Pie

I think it's easier to find Lawsons on draught. Almost guaranteed to be at one of the 3 Waterbury places. In bottles, you need to arrive just after delivery and possibly wait in line before it even arrives at some places.

 

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