Beercation!

Good God, man!

 

Pretty much anywhere my girlfriend and I go we take time to go to distilleries and breweries. It's a great way to get a taste of the local culture and meet friendly people.
“Good people drink good beer.”

― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

 

I am an East Coast guy,in Love with West Coast Breweries,and have some very good Friends who always take Gr8 care of me when I get there,could not get away this Year-work,work,work,-however already have made plans for next May [a whole month off! yippie!] me and my buddy are gonna take our bikes cross country,and just drink as much west coast I.P.A.'s as humanly possible,"Sierra Nevada & Ballast Point Breweries" being the Big 2 on my list,..I just have to figure out how in the hell to fit a fresh half keg of Sculpin on zee ole Road Master for the ride home...hehehe....[ya,I know-good luck even trying to find a Half Keg of the nectar of the Gods right? lol]

 

We've done several long weekends in VT and they've been fantastic. and this October I am hitting the Shelton Festival in the Tampa area. I've added an extra couple days to my trip so I have plenty of time to hit the local breweries and bottle shops.

Only advice I'd give is make sure you have everything mapped out i.e. When they are open, growler policies, delivery schedules, etc. I've seen so many people post that they were hitting VT on a Saturday and wanted to score lots of HT.

 

You should nix Jersey if you are truly doing a beer vacation....just my opinion

 

I just returned from a Beercation in Toronto, Canada, Don't forget our neighbor to the North. In November, I make my second one to San Diego, where I will hit all the places I missed on my first trip. Stone Liberty Station, here I come.

 

That is a great quote that I will not forget.

 

Beautiful place, nice people, and damned tasty beer!

 

A work trip to London allowed me to take extra days off the Thursday and Friday afterwards to stay in Brussels. It happened to be the weekend of Toer De Geuze. Needless to say, I got to drink all kinds of specials brews I had never had before. Stayed in a hotel a 5 minute walk from Moeder Lambic. Got to drink at Grote Dorst and have my final dinner at De Heeren van Liedekercke before flying home. The highlight was staying at De Heeren after hours and chatting with a local couple who eat there every week. They were fascinated by our excitement.

 

Believe it or not, my favorite was a trip to NYC in the middle of May and finding some Founders Breakfast Stout on sale for $7.50 a 4pk because it was "old"

 

Well no vacation for me Ill be working this weekend during Labor day. Gotta do some heavy lifting at Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen

 

Euro beercations are the shit. 6 days in Germany, 2 in Belgium, and one in the Sedan-Lille area in France, home of the biere de garde. Cantillon, Moeder Lambic, Orval, and La Chouffe in Belgium. All kinds of great lagers, kolsch and altbier in DE. I can't wait to go back. Next time we're doing Bavaria/Franconia, Austria, and Czech republic, maybe try to slip in to northern Italy if we can. Also great food, art, history and architecture to enjoy.

 

Real cool you made it up North, what did you hit in TO? Did you make it to Bellwoods? They are definitely on my list for my next visit if I ever get to swing back around there again...

 

All my trips generally involve hitting a brewery along the way. I recently got back from a drive trip from Texas to Southern California and back. It was an 11 day, 3500+ mile trip with the wife and kids in tow. We hit 4 national parks, countless hikes including a12000+ foot mountain and the Grand Canyon, 3 MLB games (Anaheim, SD and AZ) and 21 breweries. I joke with my friends that my 11 and 9 year old boys have been to more quality breweries then they have. Lol Though fortunately, with the in-laws along for the ride, they didn’t have to go to all of them on this trip.


For those interested, the brewery list was (in order)…

Dragoon Brewing (Tucson)
Barrio Brewing (Tucson)
Alpine (Alpine)
Alesmith (SD)
Bruery (Placentia)
Noble Aleworks (Anaheim)
Pizza Port Ocean Beach (SD)
Ballast Point Little Italy (SD
Rip Current North Park (SD)
Mission Brewing (SD)
Mother Road Brewing (Flagstaff)
Wanderlust Brewing (Flagstaff)
Dark Sky Brewing (Flagstaff)
Lumberyard Brewing (Flagstaff)
Historic Brewing (Flagstaff)
La Cumbre Brewing (Albuquerque)
Red Door Brewing (ABQ)
Bosque Brewing (ABQ)
Boxing Bear Brewing (ABQ)
Turtle Mountain Brewing (ABQ)
Marble Brewing (ABQ)

 

Awesome stories here.

I went to Oregon in May. Got to visit De Garde, Cascade, Fort George, Pelican, Seaside, and Mill City Brew Werks. Plus Beermongers, Imperial Bottleshop, and Caps N Taps in Camas, WA. Best part though: Visiting Belmont Station and then spending 5 days on the coast drinking my Belmont haul.

 

I live in CT and plan on going to VT next month. Can I ask what Inn you stayed at? Amazing that the innkeeper stocked your fridge like that. Was it the Rabbit Hill Inn?

 

Very impressive list. What did you think of Dragoon (a favorite of mine)? Historic (been wanting to visit)? The ABQ breweries?

 

I stayed in basement of a home, perfect size space for 1-4, 1 or 2 best, just off 89 and only couple miles from downtown Waterbury, found through VRBO. VRBO.com/495503 (Meadows, Mountains, and More). Bruce and Sandy. He told me if I referred someone, he'd pay the tax portion of the total. He made Heady and Lawson's run before we arrived and had waiting in fridge. Let me know if need additional info.