Help me plan a trip this summer (New England)

Welcome to the site. Do you plan on having a designated driver? That will make a difference regarding how much travel you can do in a day. Do you know what kinds of beers the four of you like?

 

"...a trip to New England this summer..."

Permit me to suggest one location to visit: Portland, ME. My wife and I spent a couple of days there on our return leg from our vacation to Nova Scotia. There are a lot of high quality breweries/brewpubs in Portland to choose from.

Cheers!

 

Chris, the downside here is that you will lack the input of folks like me who have visited but do not live in New England (I do not participate on the New England forum).

Cheers!

 

...what Jack said. If for some reason you'd rather not be in Maine, Vermont is the other obvious visiting point, with anchoring around Burlington. Downside is you'll have to drive more in visiting more rural and far-flung breweries. Have fun!

 

Original poster, please specify your (and your traveling group's) style preferences or whether you're seeking a variety of styles. Otherwise, you're probably going to get inundated mainly with recommendations for breweries best known for New England IPAs (they may produce other stuff, but that's not why people will be promoting them). Also, I personally prefer cool, preferably unique venues when I travel. Is that of value to you, or are you interested solely in the contents of the glass (i.e., best beer, even if the setting may be ordinary or lame)? Your preference there could significantly impact recommendations.

 

I agree too, but thought it wasn't where the site typically wants such discussions.

 

Hi,

That sounds like a fun trip and is a very nice thing for you and your friend to plan for the mentioned husbands.

If you decide on Vermont as your destination, the two main areas you will like to be around are Burlington and the Stowe/Waterbury area. You could feasibly travel from one of these locations as a home base for your 2 nights or spend a night in each of these areas.

In Burlington it is easy to see a lot of breweries and pubs in a short time with a car or by using Uber/Lyft.
Where I would go for breweries:
Foam
Burlington Beer Co.
4 Quarters (short trip in neighboring town)
Fiddlehead (short trip and great for lunch and some beers)

If you stay the first night in Burlington you could then aim to hit Hill Farmstead for open on the next day (an hour ish drive). From there you could head back to the Stowe/Waterbury area for your next night. On the way back from HF you could stop at Lost Nation, von Trapp, Alchemist (and others if you want more). Lost Nation and von Trapp are good for beer and food.

If you choose Waterbury as the location to spend the night I like Old Stagecoach Inn. You can walk to 3 of the best beer bars in the state within a couple minutes. Lots of food options. In Waterbury you could also go to Ben and Jerrys for a non-beer option.

The next morning you could head from Waterbury to the nearby Lawson's Finest in Waitsfield VT. They have some small plates and great beers. Tours are available. A mile away is Worthy Burger Too, which would be awesome for lunch and some beers before you head home.

There are a lot of additional breweries you could add on or sub in based on preferences and how much time you want. Unfortunately the best option is to drive with a DD as the breweries are not all close to each other or centralized with public transportation options. But, both Burlington and Waterbury have lodging options that will provide a "night time" base for walkable distance bars etc. Waterbury option mentioned above and anything in downtown Burlington area will be walkable to Foam, Zero Gravity and a bunch of great bars and restaurants.


Also check out these threads:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/vermont-recommendations-for-october.620375/

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/whats-new-in-vermont-2019-2020.624823/

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/burlington-vermont-advice.577495/

 

If you can narrow down where in New England you might want to go it would be helpful. You can do an awful lot of driving and that takes away the enjoyment, in my opinion. That said, hard to go wrong with Portland, ME. TThere are five or six breweries on one corner in the industrual park including world-class Alkagash. Tremendous breweries, wide variety of beer styles to try, and great dining experiences. The Old Port area is great for walking and shopping. You are not so remote that you can't make day trips to other places. Freeport for the obligatory LL Bean visit and Maine Beer Company. You can reach Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, ME but it is a bit of a haul, so long day trip there. We have stayed in Ogunquit before as the base station and hit Portland, Kittery, Kennebunkport, Portsmouth from there.

If you know your destination and route, maybe we can help find some good spots to hit on the way. But in my opinion, it is hard to beat Portland for beer and general good times.

 

I can't argue with any of the Portland, ME or VT recommendations, but if it is at all possible to stop at Treehouse in Charlton, MA on your way there or wherever you end up you will not be disappointed.

 

i'm also from the Philly area and have made this trip a number of times. i always try to fit in Suarez Family outside of Hudson, NY. Good spot to stop for lunch, i usually bring a hoagie.

i'm still trying to hit River Roost en route but never seem to be passing by when they're open.

 

Yup, a number of breweries/brewpubs in a small area. My wife and I started at Allagash (a very pretty setup) and then walked to Foundation and Austin Street.

Other high quality breweries/brewpubs basically right next to each other are Long Pine and Goodfire. Prior to this visit I had never heard about Goodfire – I was a BIG fan of Goodfire beers.

Cheers!

 

Tree House is a good place to stop and get cans to go, and a couple of pours.
You can ONLY get 2 pours each for onsite consumption. So you could stay sort of near here for first night on way to Vermont (after stopping at Suarez or Hudson Valley on the way), and enjoy a couple beers in the evening, or drive staright to TH, get 2 pours, and continue on to Vermont..

 

Bummer.
I live near there and there is nothing there (stop in Worcester maybe?). It would also take you pretty far out of the way if you were trying to go to VT. I guess it is kind of on the way to Portland or Boston though.

 

Hen of the Wood
Prohibition Pig
And...?

 

Blackback, Reservior, Pro Pig ...

 

Hill Farmstead is often considered to be one of the best breweries in the world. They are known for all styles including IPA's.
Tree House is definitely easy to hit on the way up to VT.

Boston is a nice location as a base and very easy to Uber around to various breweries.