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Beer Trip to Burlington/Stowe/Waterbury

Discussion in 'New England' started by EDNOSE, Apr 17, 2017.

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  1. EDNOSE

    EDNOSE Pundit (830) Oct 27, 2007 Connecticut

    My brother-in-law and I were considering spending the weekend of May 20th in Waterbury. I've been many times but it would be his first visit. Then I saw that weekend is both UVM graduation and some sort of 5K Brewfest in Stowe.

    Appreciate any insights on how much more crowded this will make things up there. We'd been trying to squeeze it in before "summer" (i.e. Memorial Day), but maybe should look to postpone until after summer and leaf season.

    I don't want him to have a bad first impression and, honestly, I'm getting too old to be worried about a crowded Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Foam, etc. etc.
     
    #1 EDNOSE, Apr 17, 2017
  2. ajthegreat

    ajthegreat Initiate (0) Nov 11, 2010 Vermont

    It will be considerably busier in the Stowe/Waterbury area. I know that it will be a shit show at Foam and Burlington in general. You could still plan a trip, steer clear of those areas, and drink lots of good Vermont beer.
     
    #2 ajthegreat, Apr 17, 2017
  3. duchessedubourg

    duchessedubourg Savant (1,135) Nov 2, 2007 Vermont

    Lot of Burlington overflow lodging spreads out to Waterbury/Stowe on grad & marathon weekend. That 5k is over in the morning. Forget about eating out anywhere in Burlington. Book lodging asap - stick with outlier towns for better price & availability, and do consider Air BnB. Can be a lifesaver on weekends like those!
     
    #3 duchessedubourg, Apr 18, 2017
  4. oldbean

    oldbean Initiate (0) Jun 30, 2005 Massachusetts

    Postponing through the summer and fall seems a little extreme. All these places are pretty mellow in the summer if you avoid the major holiday weekends.
     
    #4 oldbean, Apr 18, 2017
  5. EDNOSE

    EDNOSE Pundit (830) Oct 27, 2007 Connecticut

    The summer aspect was more for previous scheduled things on our end than worries about crowds (leaf season comment was more crowd related).

    Sounding like 5/20 won't be ideal based on comments above.
     
    #5 EDNOSE, Apr 18, 2017
  6. dphalpin

    dphalpin Devotee (390) Jul 3, 2012 Virginia
    Trader

    Hey All,

    Does the busyness extend to Hill? We originally were going to go Saturday but if it is going to be nuts we could swing an early Friday. Thanks in advance.
     
    #6 dphalpin, Apr 23, 2017
  7. vtcraft

    vtcraft Zealot (695) Apr 1, 2013 Vermont
    Trader

    Early June shouldn't be bad, weekend after Memorial Day?
     
    #7 vtcraft, Apr 23, 2017
  8. EDNOSE

    EDNOSE Pundit (830) Oct 27, 2007 Connecticut

    Just gauging when Burlington will get crowded for UVM graduation. Would people suggest Foam and a couple other Burlington breweries on afternoon of Thursday 5/18 and Hill Farmstead Friday 5/19 (under the assumption Burlington will start drawing crowds Friday as families get into town)? Originally, our plan was Hill on Thursday and Foam/Burlington on Friday but curious if we're better off the opposite way. Thanks.
     
    #8 EDNOSE, May 3, 2017
  9. ajthegreat

    ajthegreat Initiate (0) Nov 11, 2010 Vermont

    That is probably what I would recommend. I would do Burlington stuff Thursday to be safe and get up to HF early on Friday.
     
    #9 ajthegreat, May 3, 2017
  10. HoppierIsBetter

    HoppierIsBetter Initiate (0) May 3, 2017 Massachusetts

    My wife is bringing me to Stowe this weekend as a Valentine's gift and we plan to visit the Alchemist and other breweries.

    Which breweries do you recommend that is in reasonable trying distance from Stove? (we are coming from the Berkshires BTW)

    What beers should I look at bring home? Obvious ones are Heady Topper, FocalBanager, SOS - any others you recommend I get my hands on?

    We are going early on Friday and I see that retail places don't have Friday delivery, I'd like to go home with two or three cases if possible, However, my wife doesn't want to be driving all around and waiting in lines, so any pro tips are appreciated :wink:
     
    #10 HoppierIsBetter, May 3, 2017
  11. vtcraft

    vtcraft Zealot (695) Apr 1, 2013 Vermont
    Trader

    hillfarmstead is under an hour from Stowe. You also drive right past lost nation. You could try for cans at craft beer cellar in Waterbury or hunger mount and coop in Montpelier pro pig is worth a visit fill a couple crowlers out back. Take trip to Burlington wife can shop hit foam and farmhouse for a meal. Bottles and cans to look for: frost, foley brothers, Burlington beer company.... also not sure about Stowe area but there is still kbs on shelf at couple places around Burlington,
     
    #11 vtcraft, May 3, 2017
    HoppierIsBetter likes this.
  12. EDNOSE

    EDNOSE Pundit (830) Oct 27, 2007 Connecticut

    In addition to Foam, what would people put on the top of the list for breweries in Burlington area?

    I've been to Fiddlehead (and will go there again this trip if they have cans), Zero Gravity (good, but it's the one place the person I am traveling with has been to) and VT Pub and Brewery (many times, man was I disappointed last fall).

    We are staying in Waterbury so thinking we might just hit Burlington Beer Co and Stone Corral on the way in / out of town.

    Also, best bet for good and affordable (cheaper than Farmhouse) place for lunch in Burlington with good beer selection?
     
    #12 EDNOSE, May 5, 2017
  13. jhavs

    jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,481) Apr 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I was going to say Burlington Beer Co. but see you mentioned on the way out. Simple Roots is worth a stop if you've never been.
    Skinny Pancake has a good beer menu and is cheaper than Farmhouse. Manhattan Pizza has good beer selection and cheap food.
     
    #13 jhavs, May 5, 2017
  14. vtcraft

    vtcraft Zealot (695) Apr 1, 2013 Vermont
    Trader

    +1 to skinny pancake and manhattan
    American flatbread isn't bad $$ wise if you split a pie, zero gravity on draft. I haven't had the food yet but Burlington beer co serves food now. hatchet in Richmond is good, vt pizza and taphouse In Williston has decent food and good beer list, lots of places in downtown Burlington have at least fiddlehead on tap and heady/focal cans
     
    #14 vtcraft, May 5, 2017
    jhavs likes this.
  15. Capt_Quint

    Capt_Quint Zealot (626) May 29, 2015 Massachusetts
    Trader

    Frost is between Burlington and Waterbury. Will add about 10-15 minutes. Small taproom, samples, growlers and bottles to go.

    And I very much enjoyed El Cortijo for lunch.
     
    #15 Capt_Quint, May 6, 2017
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  16. duchessedubourg

    duchessedubourg Savant (1,135) Nov 2, 2007 Vermont

    FYI to any beer peeps headed to VT week of May 15th: it is Green Mtn. Beer Week, and there are lots of special events going on. Tastings, educational stuff, beer dinners, cheese pairings, etc. Follow VT Brewers Assoc. website where a calendar of events is posted, and being added to daily.
     
    #16 duchessedubourg, May 7, 2017
    jhavs likes this.
  17. EDNOSE

    EDNOSE Pundit (830) Oct 27, 2007 Connecticut

    I was surprised to see I started this thread last year! I'm looking for a little advice on how far out of the way a couple places are. We will be based in Waterbury (W, Th and F nights). This trip, 2 of 4 of us have done the Waterbury visit before.

    We arrive mid-late afternoon Wednesday to Old Stagecoach (let's just assume at 5). Is it crazy to try to knock out Burlington Beer Co and either Goodwater or Stone Corral that evening before we go out in Waterbury? Or would we be happier just going out in Waterbury? I liked BBCO last trip up and could get there on the way home from Burlington on Friday except ... see next question.

    How far out of the way is Frost on the way back from Burlington to Waterbury? We plan to go to Burlington for most of the day on Friday before making the way back to Waterbury. Someone above mentioned 15 minutes out of the way but it seems like more than that to me.

    Also, just confirming that Uber is still hard/impossible to get outside of Burlington.
     
    #17 EDNOSE, Aug 27, 2018
  18. vtcraft

    vtcraft Zealot (695) Apr 1, 2013 Vermont
    Trader

    Frost is about 15-20 min off the Williston exit of 89, same one you take for Bbco but you go in the other direction. You can hit frost then head to Richmond and hit stone coral (15ish min drive) then hop on 89south in richmond. All that being said Frost is has a small tasting room and no food.. it is easy enough to pick up cans or either frost or bbco in stores...
     
    #18 vtcraft, Aug 28, 2018
  19. IGaveYouPower

    IGaveYouPower Savant (1,034) Dec 2, 2010 New York
    Trader

    BBCO is a really cool tasting room, though, and it has food and a million of their beers to go. AND they'll let you mix-and-match four-packs.
     
    #19 IGaveYouPower, Aug 28, 2018
  20. jhavs

    jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,481) Apr 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Do you plan on going to Fiddlehead while in the area? If so, Frost is like 7 or so miles from there. If you are going strait from Waterbury to BBCO then back to Waterbury, Frost is a bit out of the way as mentioned above. Stone Coral is much closer to the highway.
     
    #20 jhavs, Aug 28, 2018
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