Best New England Beer State

Discussion in 'New England' started by blisscent, Jan 18, 2016.

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  1. Jcorn

    Jcorn Savant (1,196) Jun 17, 2015 Massachusetts
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    I was referring to Heady.
     
  2. HeavyDandtheGirls

    HeavyDandtheGirls Pundit (773) Mar 7, 2014 Massachusetts

    MA
    VT
    ME
    NH
    CT
    RI

    MA & VT are kind of a toss up for me. The fact that we can get HF in MA at Armsbey Abbey/Dive Bar makes me give the nod to MA as best beer state.

    Accessibility also plays a factor for me. I picked up a bunch of Trillium the other day with ZERO wait around 5:30 pm at FP location. I didn't have to check a delivery schedule and arrive hours before opening to assure myself some beer.
    TH can only Wednesdays have been a breeze, although I wish they would up the limits. There is pretty decent distribution for other 2nd tier breweries as well, Nightshift, Wormtown, JA,etc...

    All that said New England is a great place to be a fan of quality beer right now.
     
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  3. celfan

    celfan Savant (1,048) Jul 4, 2004 Vermont
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    I just walked into a store and bought a lawson's triple sunshine today. lousy skiing weather helps.
     
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  4. jhavs

    jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,551) Apr 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Nice find. I got 4 last night and they had a bunch of full cases left near closing. Sucks for skiing, great for beer finding!
     
  5. jhavs

    jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,551) Apr 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I'll mention for VT that Lost Nation and Hermit Thrush make some great brews in styles other than IPA/Stout. I love VT, MA, ME, NH, RI, and CT beers.
     
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  6. CayseyW

    CayseyW Savant (1,200) Mar 7, 2013 Connecticut

    1. VT
    2. TIE -- MA & ME
    4. CT
    5. RI
    6. NH (Admittedly need to try more offerings)
     
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  7. Davl22

    Davl22 Maven (1,329) Sep 27, 2011 New Hampshire
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    This is a very depressing thread for NH-ites...... I will say though living on the seacoast I get to see the most action in our craft beer community and it's getting better every year. Plus being next to both MA and ME borders is pretty beneficial. I'm going to go ahead and say ME has the jump on MA strictly because Allagash and Oxbow are killing it with the Belgian/Wild Ales, and Bissell and Foundation now fill the void of Trillium-esque hoppy beers.
     
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  8. papposilenus

    papposilenus Grand Pooh-Bah (3,208) Jun 21, 2014 New Hampshire
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Don't make me choose!!!!

    I live in the southwest corner of NH and some weeks I go to Vermont and other weeks I go to Massachusetts. If I lived on the seacoast, I can see myself happily subsisting entirely on beer from the Portsmouth-to-Portland axis.

    Sorry, Connecticut and Rhode Island... your beers don't get distro'd up here.
     
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  9. bishopdc0

    bishopdc0 Savant (1,161) Jan 23, 2010 Maine

    This should be what states beer scene ate you most familiar/have had the most...

    ME world class belgians, sours, saisons and ipas. I live a 5 min drive of 5 breweries, 10 min drive to 10 and 20 min gets me 20.
    MA seller beers but availability fall short for me
    VT great beers but I'm spoiled so any more then a 20 min drive doesn't seem worth it. Also waiting in lines or for a truck no thanks.
    NH smuttynose had a special place in my heart.
    CT know NEBC
    RI sorry RI don't know much, my loss your gain (hopefully)
     
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  10. Shyla987

    Shyla987 Zealot (575) Jul 18, 2013 Connecticut

    And Kent Falls and OEC.
     
  11. JuliusPepperwood

    JuliusPepperwood Initiate (0) Jul 21, 2013 North Carolina

    I wanted to plan a New England beer vacation and I had a list in mind of breweries I wanted to check out. After some research though I got pretty disappointed. There are only a few breweries you can actually sit down and drink a pint at!

    MA:
    Tree House - to go beer only
    Trillium - to go beer only
    Night Shift - taproom you can drink at

    VT:
    Alchemist - for sale at retail locations only
    Lawson's - for sale at retail locations only
    Hill Farmstead - to go beer mostly but it appears you can get samples
    Fiddlehead - taproom you can drink at

    I was sold on a MA or VT trip but it seems a little crazy for me to travel 1000+ miles to wait in line at a counter to buy beer to go. I guess I was hoping for more of an Asheville atmosphere where a lot of the breweries are walking distance from each other, offer tours, have great taprooms, and some have really good food. Am I really missing out on any experiences if I just trade for New England beer instead?
     
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  12. Capt_Quint

    Capt_Quint Zealot (626) May 29, 2015 Massachusetts
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    I would not let that dissuade you from making the trip. In Mass. you also have Jack's Abby (~30-35 minutes outside Boston), which has a beautiful, new and massive beer hall that also serves really good food. Wormtown (between Jack's Abby and Tree House also has a taproom with full pints.

    In VT, while you can't drink at a lot of the breweries, their beer is pretty readily available at a lot of awesome bars and beer spots in the Burlington and the Waterbuy/Stowe area. Make the trip, you will not be disappointed.
     
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  13. batch19

    batch19 Initiate (0) Dec 31, 2014 Connecticut


    When I visited Hill Farmstead in the summer, you could get pints of a select 5 or so beers while you waited your turn in line.
    I would also highly recommend Jack's Abby and Wormtown.
     
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  14. nolanz14

    nolanz14 Pundit (791) Aug 31, 2009 Massachusetts
    Trader

    (insert state you are from)

    close thread
     
  15. papposilenus

    papposilenus Grand Pooh-Bah (3,208) Jun 21, 2014 New Hampshire
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Well, um... unless you're from New Hampshire.
     
  16. blisscent

    blisscent Savant (1,066) Aug 16, 2015 Rhode Island

    You mean Rhode Island. I'd make the trade with NH.

    New Hampshire has one of the best of New England in Schilling, and then have great things coming from Deciduous, Stoneface, Garrison City, and Earth Eagle. And I am not even mentioning Smuttynose, Portsmouth, From The Barrell, Throwback, and Kelsen.
     
  17. soze47

    soze47 Maven (1,406) May 22, 2010 Massachusetts

    We've got an embarrassment of riches. No matter where you are in New England, you are close to a fresh source of good beer at a brewery or a store with more than enough options from these six states to keep you happy.

    I think back five years or so ago to where we are now and it is really remarkable. There used to be 1-5 awesome breweries in each state and now that has at least doubled, more likely tripled

    Cheers!
     
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  18. Skwalk47

    Skwalk47 Initiate (0) Aug 31, 2010 Massachusetts

    I think there are plenty of Massholes like myself who put either VT or ME ahead. Though maybe my opinion will change once the weather warms up and I have even the slightest desire to drink an IPA.
     
  19. bishopdc0

    bishopdc0 Savant (1,161) Jan 23, 2010 Maine

    Sound like you want Portland, Maine....
    http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/beercation-portland-me.375144/
     
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  20. skivtjerry

    skivtjerry Pooh-Bah (1,841) Mar 10, 2006 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah Society

    The Asheville area has roughly the same population as the entire state of VT, so a brewery taproom doesn't always make economic sense here, but there are a few nice ones around Burlington, e.g. 4 Quarters, Fiddlehead and 14th Star 20 minutes to the north. There are also a lot of nice bars along the Burlington-Waterbury-Montpelier axis, Blackback being my favorite. Hill Farmstead is a little like the soup nazi from Seinfeld at times, but you can get their hoppy and dark beers at a lot of bars. You can stay in Waterbury and walk to 4 or 5 nice places in less than 5 minutes but you will find easier pub crawling in the Boston or Portland areas.
     
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