Planing a long summer roadtrip from Knoxville, TN to Portland, Maine. Only definite stops so far are TreeHouse in Massachusetts & Hill Farmstead in Vermont. Am planing 1st leg from Knoxville to Cumberland, MD to see family. Then probably take an easterly route towards Boston and then Portland. On the return will swing more west through Vermont, upstate NY, and then north of Lake Erie to Michigan or south of Lake Michigan through Ohio before heading south and home. Beer preferences are currently west coast style IPA and mid-gravity porters. My wife is more open, but mainly likes pale ales, sours, NE IPA's. Am looking for brewery recs that have taprooms, particularly if they have outside beergardens or views. My wife and I like to bike so towns that have a nice ride is a plus (rails to trails type not mountain biking). Great pizza would also be a plus.
First thought is plan your New England time to be Vermont heavy. It's the most scenic for biking, and the beer is going to (ever so slightly, really) do a better job of appealing to both your tastes. Great pizza without going into New Jersey or NYC will be most plentiful if your route takes you through New Haven, CT. But there are some quite good spots in Boston and Portland if looking beyond pure NYC style isn't a dealbreaker.
If you like WC IPAs, you'll probably enjoy Lawson and Alchemist IPAs that are more of a hybrid style. As for breweries that also have great pizza onsite - get the white pizza at Pizza Boy Brewing on your way through PA from Maryland. And on your way from Maine to Vermont, spend some time in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, then stop at Schilling Beer for some top notch traditional lagers, wood fired pizza, and a great view from their deck overlooking the river. Pennsylvania has a bunch of Rails to Trails, the Perkiomen Trail that is northwest of Philly suburbs is very nice as it runs along the Perkiomen Creek. If you're going to come through this area your can DM me for more details on great breweries in this area. Yards Brewing Washington Porter is a personal favorite.
As a native Tennessean now living in Boston, I beg of you to spend some time in the White Mountains of NH. It is beautiful up there, and really reminds me of the Smokies. But without all the go-kart tracks and putt putt courses. And as mentioned above, Schilling/Resilience will blow you away. Also, make sure you hit Portland ME. To me it's not debatable, it is the best city in New England, and the breweries there are numerous and amazing. I would probably spend 75% of my time in New England in VT, NH, and ME.
I’m from Massachusetts. I couldn’t care less about Duke. I also have more than enough time for road-trips.
I think he just meant that every time one of these threads pops up, the forum goes crazy and before you know it, there's recommendations to go to every brewery (the phonebook) in the region. You'll end up more confused about where to go than when you started.
My initial reply was supposed to be a joke, but fell flat. Still waiting for the phonebook - most of the replies have been general without naming specific breweries.
There is a lot of information available in two recent phonebook-like threads: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/i-want-to-plan-a-beer-road-trip.671366/ https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/trip-to-the-east-coast-this-october.670984/
You'll be able to eat all the above average pizza you like from NYC to Portland, every other brewery serves pizza. It's the biggest profit margin for post-industrial digs and poorly named product. Since Portland is only the beginning of Maine's gifts, you'll miss the bulk of that part of New England. Since I like everything and being particular about your beers in these threads is a pain in the ass.. I'll recommend all the stuff that doesn't necessarily make the phone book. I've been partial to Madison Brewing in Bennington VT since I first went through that state 11 years ago at the ripe old age of 24. I don't know where it is now, but I enjoyed Stout Beard Brewing in Syracuse, I haven't been there in five years though. Middle Ages I enjoy too in the same piece of country. Old First Ward/Gene McCarthy's is one of my favorite breweries that I've come across. Very working-class. Bottlehouse Brewery/Meadery in Cleveland is an old delight. I've enjoyed Masthead in Freeport Maine, but you'll have to go past Portland for that one. Most of Portland Maine is like Portland Oregon, the same breweries, the same beers, the same designs, the same venues, over and over and over again. Gotta make that profit. Saco/Biddeford has alot of new venues, those old milltowns used to have actual Mainers living there. Now they're full of schizophrenic 30-something yoga teachers who can't afford Boston or Portland. That means, lots of sours, IPAs and beardy gentle giants.
I did a short beer-centric tour of NE a couple of years ago on a motorcycle and am planning a longer one in a car in three weeks. I was more imperial stout focused and more 'buy now drink later' . . . so I did a handful of breweries and a handful of stores. Of the three breweries that I recall (Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Tree House) the people were great at all of them and, at least the first two have some food options . . . and a number of nearby options in Stowe and Burlington for food. Hours are 'unusual' . . . I think both close early and Hill Farmstead is only open four days a week (I believe) so planning ahead may come into play. There is another brewery not too far away (Schilling ?) that was highly recommended in the forums when I asked but I did not get there (no stouts, if I recall, but it looked to be a scenic place). I did have dinner (pizza) in Hanover one night. I enjoyed the pizza . . . but don't recall the restaurant. Hanover made a nice impression on me. I am hoping to get to Portland this trip. Have fun.
