Boston/Maine Trip 2nd week October Help

I would watch to see if Maine is releasing Dinner, then it would be worth it.

 

Skip Night Shift on Thursday.

If you're looking to grab lunch/beer before Tree House stop at Jacks Abby or at BT's on your way out to Tree House. You want to get there as early as possible because things take awhile (especially growlers) and you have a fairly hefty drive up to Maine.

I'd also make a stop at Yankee Spirits before or after Tree House. They are one of, if not the best, beer stores in the state.

Follow Allagash's instagram page since you might get lucky and get a special release that weekend.

Finally, I'd skip Tributary/Stoneface and instead go to Deciduous in Newmarket, NH its only like 20-25min away from Kittery and they're making some interesting sours

 

IMO Wallingford Sq Kittery is one of the coolest little seaside enclaves in NE. Anchored by Black Birch (awesome food....ME all star beer list including multiple MBC, Bissell, Austin St. and Tributary brews) - the little square also sports a killer cocktail bar called the Dram and a real special/cheap Korean/fusion place called Anju - get the pork bun -- and they always have two ME taps -- usually Substance and something else interesting. If you get bored w/Kittery - head over the bridge to R34. Cheers and have fun!

 

Thursday: I agree there is no need to stop at Night Shift on Thursday unless you're hitting it early after Redstone on your way to Trillium in Canton. You should be able to find NS cans at Redstone and/or Yankee Spirits (as was suggested above).

Redstone --> Night Shift (?) --> Trillium Canton --> Treehouse (BTs? Yankee Spirits?) --> Kittery is a long day one.

Friday: I'd say you want to be at Bissell no later than 1PM for the release, and would lean closer to noon to guarantee you get it. Allagash is definitely worth a stop as it's directly across the street from Austin St./Foundation. Maine Beer is not worth the drive if you have had any of their stuff. Lots of good restaurants in Portland - Duckfat is best known for its belgian frites, Eventide has one of the best lobster rolls in New England.

Saturday: This might be a good day to bounce from Deciduous, Stoneface, and Tributary. I disagree with the above post as Stoneface is making some of the best beers in the area IMO, and Tributary has a diverse lineup and nice tasting room. If the weather is nice, you might consider walking around downtown Portsmouth - lots of great restaurants to choose from with a handful on the water. The wife might also enjoy window shopping around Market Square. Row 34 is a must stop for oysters and a good tap list.

Sunday: Tough to say when you'll need to get there, but would again lean on the earlier side. Two other breweries between Kittery and Portland you might consider on your way back - Barreled Souls and Banded Horn.

In regards to other shopping, your wife will enjoy the Kittery Outlets on Route 1 for sure.

Have fun!

 

The trip from Night Shift to Trillium Canton can be a nightmare depending on traffic, we traveled in a bad spell once and it was 3+ Hours. Night Shift does have some beers at the brewery that I never see in the stores (without hunting, which is more time consuming) that I believe are worth buying, but hit it late at night on your way back to your hotel or something. Agree with stopping at Jacks Abby (Framinghammer variants and Excess and great German style fare) but mind your time, because even the ride from Framingham to Monson via I-90 can be a haul with bad traffic. (Check venues in Boston that week, if there's something big traffic gets worse).

If you want Substance in cans plan on being at Bissel at or just before noon, 1 and you will probably miss Substance. Bucolia is not a huge release for them so no need to line up extra early. Evermore is a tough guess, that's probably going to be 2 4-pack limit, so 220 people, and it's a crap shoot guessing what the crowd will be.

If you plan on going to Foundation and Austin Street go to Allagash anyways, it's a minute walk and a pretty cool tour. MBC has brewery only pilot beers, some of which are great, and Freeport has tons of touristy stuff to do if your into it. Plus fresh Another One on draft is great.

I'll throw in my unsolicited opinion and say Fore River and Foul Mouthed brewing are worth a stop in Portland (and the food at Foul Mouthed... oh yeah). Barreled Souls, Oxbow, Rising Tide, Banded Horn, and Liquid Riot are also good breweries in and around Portland. There is no shortage of beer. If you bring some PA/NY beers up you can usually trade for some past BB releases (Nothing Gold, Umbra, and Reciprocal) and sometimes Vermont beers (Esp at Bissel or MBC).

 

If you are interested in World Class sours, call the Allagash retail shop and ask what is available that day.

 

If you decide to skip Night Shift and grab lunch on the way out to Tree House, Armsby Abbey in Worcester is a solid alternative to JA. Locally-sourced menu and HF on tap.

 

Don't know how late you're arriving into N Andover on Wed night, but Jimmy Culpepper's is a decent spot for beer and a bite (not listed in BA directory yet):

http://www.culpeppersna.com/

 

For Maine stuff feel free to take a gander at https://www.mainebeerscene.com -- short reviews and details of my favorite breweries, food trucks, restaurants, events...etc.

 

If your departure is adjustable at all, you can do all of Thursday on Wednesday on your way in rather than driving in 84 to 90 then going another 2 hours to North Andover then retracing your steps the next day. Seems like you might be departing after work Wednesday so if you have to be there then it is what it is, but you'd save a ton of time driving leaving Wednesday morning to get to Tree House by like 3:30 PM to guarantee cans then JA/Trillium/Redstone on the way to North Andover. Frees up Thursday to do more on the way to Kittery.

If you stick to your original Thursday, driving to Trillium Canton from north of Boston makes no sense (but everyone does it anyway because some people exaggerate parking in Fort Point to sound like driving through Fallujah) so I would go to Fort Point.

 

Glad some have pointed out the ton of driving time in opposite directions here - I'm looking at the map right now and on the route from TreeHouse to Kittery there is a construction zone and eleven what they call "incidents" - 12 shades of red? Andover to Trillium in Boston is showing a half hour without traffic - when is that, I wonder - and parking isn't always horrible since there's a parking garage (or two) within walking distance. Maybe possible to see lighter traffic with timing it right - but what are the brewery hours? Granted on a Wednesday you are likely in and out with not much fuss.

I think realistically you are looking at a minimum of four hours driving (assuming perfect timing on traffic) plus whatever waiting you have to do at the breweries. Seems like a really long day to me...especially after driving up from Philly.

It seems to me that the problem is TreeHouse and Trillium aren't really "on the way" anywhere else you are going unless you hit TreeHouse on the way up, then Trillium, then head north. Even then, isn't TreeHouse a ways off 84 assuming that is the route up?

In my opinion, you would do yourself an injustice to skip Allagash since it is across the street from Austin St. and Foundation. They usually have a few items you don't find elsewhere and if they don't you have wasted no time just popping in. Plus you get four tasters for nothing. Bissell has relocated, but they aren't too far apart.

You could (theoretically) taste your way through all the breweries in Portland in a day - but somebody else is gonna have to drive. I tried it - mostly with regrets - and there's more breweries now. But the easy part is Kittery to Portland - that isn't usually a bad drive - 40-ish minutes and it is a great destination. We do that one frequently when vacationing in Maine. And Kittery to Portsmouth, NH is easy as pie. The thing that throws this off to me is the TreeHouse/Trillium combo.

 

Kittery is a cool little town. Some suggestions.
-When Pigs Fly has the best burger I've ever tasted plus a nice little beer menu.
-Spruce Creek Provisions is a decent little beer store.
-If you like cider, (I typically don't but listen up) North Country Hard Cider is just a short trip away in Rollinsford NH on this pretty little river. They make the best cider I've ever tasted called FireStarter, made with Habanero peppers. It's insanity & my wife (a huge craft cider lover) is in love with it. You may be able to find it on tap in Kittery too though.
-Not beer but, if you want a great Maine lobster roll I recommend Sues Seafood. Just a little hole in the wall shack in Kittery with a bomb ass $10 lobster roll.

And yeah skip Night Shift since you'll likely find their cans at most good bottle shops around Boston.

 

Obviously, I assume there's a reason you are staying in North Andover tonight ... that's what is really messing up all this driving!