Heading up 91...

sure you will find plenty.

http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/culinary_tourism/docs/brewery-passport.pdf

 

Haven't tried them but I hear Tree House is very much worth the trip.

 

Harpoon Brewery in Windsor VT and Seven Barrels Brewery in Lebanon NH.

 

You should definitely stop at Tree House if you are going up on Friday or Saturday.

 

spend the extra hour and a half hit 89 and get to the tent sale in waterbury

 

X2 on Harpoon. Great place, neat little group of businesses there - the brewery, a distillery, a local products shop with cheeses, honey, ice cream, etc, Simon Pierce glassblowers, and an outfitter with a hidden gem behind it - they call it a peace garden, it is a really cool couple acre field with a bunch of sculptures representing the different stages of life. Cool little stop off and only 5 minutes off the highway.

 

Northampton Brewery, The People's Pint (Greenfield MA), or McNeill's (Brattleboro VT). These are veteran brewpubs that pre-date the current American craft beer hype bubble, immersed in the lost art of making good, simple, beer styles without a three hour wait in line. Nor falling prey to the other cardinal craft beer sin du jour- trying to sell you $8-$10 bombers. All three are about 5 minutes off I-91.

 

Ryan & Casey is a great beer store in Greeenfield also.

 

Treehouse is kind of out of the way if they're taking 91, but is one of the best breweries around. Northampton Brewery is pretty good, and some decent beer bars in Northampton like Dirty Truth. Also, BBC is right off of 91 and does a good tour.

 

Table & Vine is right off the highway in W. Springfield, MA. Bevvy superstore!

 

Tried McNeill's black IPA and Lazarus, Ray's HT competitor and like them more then any McNeills offerings I've had in the past five years. Whetstone in Brattleboro is worth a stop for food and beer. The Hermit Thrush in Brattleboro just opened, but worth the stop if you'd like to fill a growler.

 

Northampton not only is a nice brewery with good beer and good people, the town itself is pretty awesome. If your wife is treating you to a trip up north that focuses on beer, you can do no wrong by a little stroll around the shops in Northampton especially around the holidays.

 

I always stop at Whetstone for dinner on my way up to northern VT. Food is excellent and they always have decent beers on tap.

McNeills has a lot of good offerings, but you can't buy anything to take home and the place is kind of a dive bar.

Treehouse is excellent, but be prepared to wait awhile. They take your order and let you wander around, which is nice, but it also means that you have no idea how close you are to filling since you arent in a physical line. If you are on a tight schedule, it would be hard to fit them in.

If you care about minor VT breweries, Jasper Murdoch/Norwich Inn should be on your way and isnt too hard to stop at for a quick drink at the bar. Mostly English Style beers if I remember right.

Harpoon is a decent stop. Windsor is more of a family restaurant while the Boston location feels more like a club. You can get most Harpoon offerings anywhere, but they always have at least a couple brewery only things to try that are usually good.

VT brewery map shows Long Trail more to the west side of the state, but I think its easier to get to taking a detour while traveling up the left side of the state. Very comparable brewery and experience to stopping at Harpoon.

All the best VT breweries are way further north.

 

I live in Northampton, about a mile from 91. Treehouse is a solid 45 minutes away. Add to that a potential 2 hour wait, and half your day is gone. Sure, the beer is great, but seriously, don't do it if your goal is to actually head up the 91 corridor.

Northampton Brewery and People's Pint have enjoyable beer. You won't get all the tropical fruit flavors you get at Treehouse, but it's good, if not a little more old school. People's Pint also has enjoyable snacks, but the rest of the food (in my limited experience) is so-so. I have a serious affinity for Northampton Brewery's onion rings.

Whetstone is worth a stop. Their food's good and their beer selection is solid.

 

the Dirty truth in noho is a killer beer bar. The student prince German restaurant and bar in springfield is an institution - and they always have 3-4 classics on tap.

 

You can always ask where you are in the pile and they will give you an estimate of how long it will take to get your bottles filled. Sometimes there isn't much of a wait, depends on what is on tap and what time of day it is.

 

Depending on what way you go through CT Two Roads, New England, and Broad Brook are all less than a mile off the highway. At New England there is almost always a line, the other two are easy in and out and have solid beers.

 

wawhoah! would love to see Ray get back in the game. That place holds some serious sentimental significance for me. The 90's were seriously amazing at McNeills