I am driving to the northeast from Chicago...collecting beer along the way! I am looking to hit a bottle shop with mix-6ers or an awesome selection at least once per day. And try to hit a brewery or great lunch spot with great beer each day. Hopefully also get some Heady. If you have any suggestions, I truly appreciate them. Here's what I've gathered so far: NY to Waterbury, VT - Maybe go by Fiddlehead. Stop at Healthy Living and/or Beer Palate in Burlington. I know Prohibition Pig is in Waterbury but I'm thinking Blackback Pub. VT to Maine - Village Market for HT. Stoneface in NH. Bier Cellar and Craft Beer Cellar in Portland. Maybe Maine Beer depending on taps. Maine to NY - try to find some Wormtown in Mass. Maybe some NEBCO in CT at Kays Wine & Spirits or Wines Unlimited. Trillium would also be nice but don't know their distro. Any suggestions?
1) Prohibition Pig or Blackback? Just do both, they're across the street from each other. There's also a Craft Beer Cellar right there that does mix 6 and growlers as well. Also, day of the week matters greatly for Heady/Lawson's stuff, so keep that in mind. 2) It won't take you very far off your route from Portland to NYC (maybe 20 driving minutes if traffic is good) to stop in Boston to hit Trillium. Worth it. Best place to get their stuff is at the brewery itself. 3) Tree House is also a slight detour, but should be worth it, especially if their canning operation is fully revved up by then.
if you're going that far north, gotta hit hill farmstead. if you're going into ct for nebco on your way to ny (depending where in ny), I'd just go to nebco itself. their can situation is really hit or miss. growlers are cheaper - and you're better off chances for better stuff than finding it in cans. amity a minute down the road has cans too when they send em out. prime 16, modern apizza, or cask republic for food / drinks. I'm 35 from nebco and 75 from nyc. basically, nyc from nebco is 75 too. oec is also worth a look if you got time and like sours. they always have bottles and the inside is really cool. highly recommend treehouse as well. them, nebco, and oec are my local favorites. if you are in nyc, other half, threes, or transmitter are the ones most will tell you to visit. deciccos for bottle shop. they have 3 with extensive bottle selections along the way. brewster, armonk, ardsley. enjoy man.
If you're already going to Portland I would stop at Allagash/Bissell Brothers/Foundation. They're all in the same industrial park and it's down the street from the Bier Cellar in Portland. Also if you do plan on going to Tree House, you might as well stop by Wormtown's new brewery in Worcester. Depending on the day, you could hit Wormtown around 2-3 and shoot down to Tree House for their opening at 5 (Thursday or Friday, 11 on Saturdays.) If you go to Tree House then I would suggest going to BT's Smokehouse. It's a nice BBQ joint and there's a Yankee Spirits basically next door and they have a bunch of Massachusetts offerings that you wouldn't be able to get in Illinois.
If you are going to Portland, I would hit Bissell Brothers, Foundation and Allagash. All brew great beer and are not far out of your way at all.
If doing Wormtown I would also suggest Armsby Abbey in Worcester. Great food and tap list, recently they have had a regular supply of Hill Farmstead kegs. One of my favorite places in MA.
The Abbey usually gets a new HF brew (or two) on Friday and they have been lasting until typically Tues/Wed.
I admire the beer bros who keep posting about epic runs, unless you space this out over a few days though it's going to be exhausting. For instance Hill Farmstead is 90+ min away from Burlington/Waterbury.
Thank you all so much for your suggestions. My schedule has me up there for a Mon/Tues/Weds, so sadly I will miss several breweries - Trillium, Tree House, Foundation, Bissell. And heading back to Poughkeepsie instead of NYC. As to Hill Farmstead...probably going to have to pass on that too. Heady and SoS will be my priority. Is there a good bottle shop around Boston? @Auror - Good point on Prohibition Pig..I'll do both and the Craft Beer Cellar. @dmolz - Looks like I'll miss OEC too, but it sounds delish! @RichD - Wormtown looks like it could work! Any good spots in RI? Gonna pass through because I've never been there. @Gosox8787 - Allagash also looks like a go - free tours! @dphalpin @jamis @MVP09 @jomobono - Abbey sounds great! If I had to choose between Wormtown or Abbey..which? @pavement714 @NickDrista - Sadly I'll be passing on HF. I'd rather wait for Heady and have some on tap in Waterbury. And, thank you for the admiration!
if you're headed to poughkeepsie and looking for good bottle shops, def stop at deciccos brewster. 30-45 depending where in poughkeepsie. if youre taking 84 there, youll pass it. right off the highway. it's been rated a top 5 shop in the country. they're on beer menus if you wanna browse for specifics - but they get way more they don't put up. half time in poughkeepsie is popular too.
Not many options in RI. None of the major breweries are open at the beginning of the week. There are a couple of nice beer shops in Providence (Nikki's and High Spirits), but as far as breweries there's nothing.
If you are already going to Vermont for HF then you could skip the Abbey (a restaurant) and hit Wormtown (a tap room). But if you need a place to eat on the way then go to the Abbey. Also by law I have to tell you depending on the time of day you are heading down the Mass Pike and taking the exit to I-84, you could swing by Tree House and grab some cans but this all depends on the day and time you are traveling.
I echo everything @jomobono said in regards to Worcester. One other thing to keep in mind, if you plan on getting growlers at any MA brewery by law you must have their branded growler. Just something to keep in mind because it could get costly. Luckily, most of the MA breweries are packaging now but some things could potentially be growler only.
curious why you are going to Beer Palate in Williston but not Bev Warehouse in Winooski? Bev Warehouse has 100 times more stuff and is cheaper. (although not the best for Heady - too much of a zoo).
