Hey ya'll, I'm in NH and I'm headed down to NYC on Wednesday to see Phish at Madison Square Garden. I'll be parking in either New Haven or PortChester to take the Metro North rail into the city. I'd love some advice on grabbing some beer on the way down. I'm not really looking to hit any breweries unless they were literally right on the way. I'm definitely not looking to do Tree House as I just want to get down there and not wait in any lines. I'll be heading out to Monson in a few weeks anyways. Are there any exceptional bottle shops to check out where I could get some CT distro? I'd love to try NEBCO in particular but anything awesome that I can't get in NH would be great. Link to my exact map is below. Thanks so much! https://goo.gl/maps/4y4PkgeHkwt
Lines shouldn't be horrible at TH if you're looking for cans only - depending on the time of day you're driving through. Between 4pm - 6pm would be my expected sweet spot, but who knows. Julio's Liquors in Westborough MA wouldn't be too far out of the way and is a great shop, but wouldn't get you the CT distro you're looking for. I'm sure some of the CT folks can help you out with Hartford / New Haven recommendations.
Park at the Mamaroneck, NY Metro North station. Half Time, the largest craft beer store in North America, is located literally across the street.
NEBCO isn't very far out of the way especially if you take the Merritt, although then you'd be stuck with growlers to keep cold. Also near New Haven, Amity Wines (which is near NEBCO) and Coastal Wine and Spirits (a bit of a detour in the other direction, in Branford, but not too far) are very good.
Your best bet would probably be a NY store. We get some great beer here in CT, but in order to score stuff like sip, G-bot, captains daughter etc. you either have to be at the right place at the right time or be a regular customer at a store. although if you do head out from new haven check out coastal in branford. NY gets great distro, and some of the bigger stores you could visit are really awesome. Nebco is arout 2 minutes out of the way if you take 15, but not sure what their hours are this week.
treehouse is cans only today and tomorrow. 2 beers up today, likely 1 tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be busy but usually cans don't surpass 30 min unless it's something crazy. and less after open. if you're taking 84, oec in oxford ct off exit 16 if you like sours. they're open 4-8 this weds but you can usually call ahead and they'll sell u bottles or prefilled growlers. with them being open on weds, odds are good they'll be there good part of the day. or any of the deciccos. especially brewster or armonk. big selection and they have crowler machines.
