Help me plan a trip this summer (New England)

Yes, what Ednose said.
Hen of the Wood would be on a list of restaurants.

I only usually go to Blackback, but lots of people love Pro Pig and Reservoir.

The ZenBarn has been creeping up the list, but they are about 1.5 miles from downtown Waterbury.

 

The real key probably is what's your starting point? Are you meeting up in Philly and driving from there or are you thinking you are each flying in from your respective locations and meeting in Boston, Hartford, Burlington airports?

If you are driving from Philly, I'd hit the road as early as you see fit to avoid Philly and NY traffic, get to Treehouse in the middle of the day. Buy beer at Treehouse (under this plan on a Thursday/Friday like you mention, Treehouse will not be serving pours that early). From there, head to either Portland or Northern VT (the aforementioned Burlington/Stowe/Waterbury area).

If you are flying, choose a city and fly to that city (or fly to Boston as your gateway to Portland).

From what it sounds like you are looking for, both Portland and Burlington are equally hop from brewery to brewery friendly. That said, many of the best breweries in Burlington "area" are actually not hop to them friendly. You are much more contained in Portland but if you are there, you are going to end up in your car or an uber/lyft to do everything you should do on your visit. In VT, you definitely would want a car because anyone will tell you that you need to visit some combination of Fiddlehead, Lawson's, Alchemist, von Trapp, Hill Farmstead, Lost Nation, and others (all of which are not in Burlington).

Many people who go to VT stay in Waterbury/Stowe and then work in day trips to Hill Farmstead and Burlington. The problem there is that getting from Waterbury/Stowe to either place is something one of you will have to drive. Uber/Lyft drivers are around but not something you can rely on. Within Burlington, you can rely on them being readily available.

 

I won't surprise anyone here by saying this, but we're talking about the summer. Coastal Maine/Vermont is the answer. It's beautiful in both places. There's so much more to do than just drink (though if that's your thing, good on ya). Rivers and hikes and water and sunshine and good food.

 

I just checked and you are correct. I don't know why I thought it would add like an hour.

 

It probably does. Boston has a lot of good breweries but not in a way that make it a good beer destination, if that makes any sense. Most of them are in weird outlaying areas that aren't necessarily in great places to visit other than the brewery. Portland and Burlington are nicer places to visit in general, and definitely better walking beer cities.

Basically I would say: Portland if you just want to be in one great downtown all weekend. Burlington/Waterbury with a Hill Farmstead/Alchemist visit if you want the ultimate New England beer road trip.

 

This is excellent advice. Both areas are great, but decide whether you want to drive around within a 90 minute radius to a bunch of places or go with one stop shopping for excellent beer and food.

 

We did the same walk. I assaulted impressed with Foundation's progress versus my first visit years ago.

There is also the funky Oxbow tasting room in Portland. Kind of hit or miss sometimes, but always interesting.

One thing about the region is the variety that exists. Not just breweries, but dining, nightlife, scenery, you name it. Question is how much time does one want to spend driving around feeling rushed versus enjoying yourself.

 

There's definitely a bucket list I'm never going to go there component to Hill, but on a regular trip, for a person that may not care *that* much, I'm not sure I would recommend it given it's so far away from everything else and may limit the amount you might be able to do at other places. You can also have drafts of it in both the locations that are recommended (Burlington and Waterbury).

Portland is probably the best recommendation here. Summer, beaches, food, beer. It is probably the best candidate for weekend getaway.

 

My wife and I live in Montgomery County just outside Philadelphia and we’ve made almost this exact trip several times. We’ll leave around 7am and head for Treehouse to arrive around opening. Grab some (a lot) of cans to go and hit the road to Stowe.

Some places in Stowe I recommend to stay are the Green Mountain Inn and The Butler House. Both are very nice but GMI can be expensive while the Butler House is very affordable. With that as our home base we do pretty much everything jhavs mentions. Along with some non beer related things like walking through the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington, Ghost tour in Stowe, and Ben and Jerry’s tour in Waterbury.

Then if you’re so inclined you can stop back at Treehouse on your way home. Although that really isn’t necessary anymore with the limits they now have. Lol.

I can’t comment on Portland Maine other than I’ve heard great things but we haven’t made it yet. That is on the list for a future trip though.

Good Luck - Enjoy.

 

If you decide to go to Boston after Treehouse, you might plan to have lunch afterwards at Jack's Abby/Springdale (all in the same building) in Framingham which is right on the way. They've got a cool beerhall with good food and you can get great lagers at JA and more oddball stuff at Springdale (which has its own funkier taproom too). Right down the street is Exhibit A which is a solid stop if you want to add another notch to your belt.

Once you're in Vermont, don't sleep on Von Trapp Brewery which is only about 5 minutes from the Alchemist in Stowe. Beautifully scenic German styled beerhall with great food and traditional German beer styles.

Have fun!

 

We enjoyed our visit to Oxbow.

Cheers!

 

If you take the Merit Parkway New England Brewing Company is just off the exit in Woodbury CT. Worth a stop.
Then head to Tree House. If no pours take a few cans to BT ‘s Smokehouse for some great barbecue.

My vote would be for VT. Stay at the Hilton Garden in Burlington. You can walk to Foam, Zero Gravity (American Flatbread) and can find plenty of VT beers in any of the bars.

From there you can plan a day trip to whatever places you are interested in, Alchemist, Lawson’s,etc.....

 

* Woodbridge, CT ...

 

There is no place in America I’d rather be in the summer than Maine. The beer, food, water, weather. Vermont is great but things are so spread out so you waste a lot of time sitting in a car. In Portland you can walk brewery to brewery to beer bar to amazing restaurant.

 

I think Portland, ME will be better destination. Head out early and get to Treehouse around opening for cans, stop in Worcester for lunch at Armsby Abbey (there is always a few Hill Farmstead taps and the food is solid), then back on the road to Portland. In Portland there are many breweries within walking distance ( there are literally 5 within a few hundred feet of one another). Plus there are a lot of excellent restaurants, and shopping too. As for timing I would avoid 4th of July or Labor Day weekends (any holiday weekend actually) if possible. Also I would suggest leaving early Thursday then hitting road early Sunday on your way back. Hopefully this way you will be able to minimize sitting in traffic. 495/95N can be a parking lot on Friday afternoons in the summer (hence the early Thursday departure). It might even be worthwhile to Leave later on Thursday and arrive at Treehouse later in the afternoon so there is a greater chance of pours. Then head into Worcester for dinner and hang out there for the night, leaving Friday morning for Portland. That way you would have most of the day Friday and Saturday to spend in Maine, and hopefully avoid most of the traffic.

 

The real moral of a lot of the suggestions is ... take off one more day from work than you were all planning and spend it in Portland or VT! Seriously, as randytrevor said, traffic can be crazy if you travel on Fridays after noon and most of the day on Sundays particularly in the MA to ME corridor.and also to a lesser extent in CT.

 

All great options. With Foam one could add Queen City (I've been very impressed by the Freak Folk offshoot that they have available), Zero Gravity, Simple Roots & Switchback and utilize the Burlington Bike path to put together a non-traditional, pedal-powered brew tour. We often hop on our bikes and hit at least a few of them up.

 

Is Freak Folk an actual subsidiary of Queen City or do they just share a space?

 

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont...xed-culture-fermentation/Content?oid=28053369

 

It seems strange to me that people rave about Freak Folk but Queen City seems just average. Don't side projects tend to be of similar quality to the original? Maybe they aren't really comparable because the styles are so different.