Best New England Beer State

BostonBrewins · Jan 29, 2016

oldbean said: ↑

I have to say, I think Vermont is kind of overrated if you factor in accessibility at all. Lawsons may make some amazing stuff, but they're the brewing equivilant of Brigadoon. Alchemist? They make one beer, and dudes from New Jersey buy every available case within thirty seconds of it's delivery. My beloved Commonwealth doesn't quite have the elite breweries that VT does, but it's close with Trillium and Tree House, and you can actually go to a store and buy stuff from Night Shift, Jack's, Idle Hands, Mystic, CBC, etc, without knowing the secret drop off times or chasing a truck around.

MA
VT
ME
CT
RI
NH
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Cannot stop laughing at the Brigadoon line, so true! It's bloody Brigadoon!

Skwalk47 · Jan 29, 2016

skivtjerry said: ↑

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 **** 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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"Hill Farmstead is a little like the soup **** from Seinfeld at times" That's funny and +1

jhavs · Jan 29, 2016

WarEagleJeep said: ↑

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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New Alchemist in Stowe opens soon (early summer ?). Have they said whether you will be able to get pours/samples?
Lost Nation is close to Stowe too. Good beers, good food!

Best New England Beer State

BostonBrewins Zealot (698) Jul 26, 2009 Massachusetts

Skwalk47 Initiate (0) Aug 31, 2010 Massachusetts

jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,587) Apr 16, 2015 New York
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Best New England Beer State

BostonBrewins Zealot (698) Jul 26, 2009 Massachusetts

Skwalk47 Initiate (0) Aug 31, 2010 Massachusetts

jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,587) Apr 16, 2015 New York Pooh-Bah Trader

jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,587) Apr 16, 2015 New York
Pooh-Bah Trader