Need New Englanders' Help, please

What styles do you like? I would recommend anything from Jack's Abby, particularly fresh Hoponius Union. Maine Beer Co. gets a lot of love, but I don't care for the price point. Mystic, Idle Hands and Night Shift might be something worth checking out as well. If she is passing by Portsmouth, NH on her way up the coast, she could hit the Portsmouth Brewery and see what's in the bottle shop. Same goes for Allagash in Portland Maine.

 

To piggy back on what Jwale73 recommended I would also suggest stopping by Blue Lobster on the way to Portsmouth Brewing. I haven't had a bad beer by them yet and think they are worth checking out.

 

Good suggestions above (Especially Blue Lobster - and if she's going to Portsmouth Brewery it'd be worth also stopping by Earth Eagle right around the corner.) I'd recommend that she checks out Redstone Liquors (off the highway on the way up to Maine) - they have a website with pretty up to date inventory so you could come up with a wishlist to have her take in hand to the stores.

 

I would also recommend MBC and Jack's Abby. Trillium brewery in Boston produces quality beers and does growler fills which would be nice if she can stop by there.

 

If she's going to be right in York, have her check out "Anthony's Food Shop" (http://anthonysfoodshop.com/) on Route 1 not far from the I95 exit - It's a gas station, but don't be scared away... They've got one heck of a beer selection overall, and typically lots of Maine Beer Co bottles in stock.

Otherwise, I second all the recommendations from above: Blue Lobster on the drive south, and she get you 1-2 bottles from Mystic, Idle Hands, & Night Shift all within about an hour... But I'd prioritize loading up on Jacks Abby bottles around Boston OR out at the brewery.

 

List of breweries that distribute to Massachusetts but not New York (per Seekabrew)
Alchemist [Limited]
Backlash
Baxter
Beer Works
Berkshire
Boulevard
Breckenridge
Brewmaster Jack
Bull Jagger
Cambridge (MA)
Cape Cod
Element
FiftyFifty
Haverhill
High & Mighty
Hook & Ladder
Idle Hands
Jack's Abby
Just Beer (formerly Buzzard's Bay)
Kennebec River
Laughing Dog
Lefty's
Lexington (Alltech/Kentucky)
Mayflower
Mystic
Nashoba Valley
Night Shift
Notch
Oak Pond
Opa Opa
Oxbow [Limited]
People's
Port/Lost Abbey
Rising Tide
RJ Rockers
Rock Art
Sebago
Slumbrew
Tommyknocker
Tuckerman
White Birch
Wormtown

And then Maine's exclusives (without Mass shared ones)
Anchorage
Black Diamond
Mission
Moat Mountain
Oak Pond
Oxbow

 

In particular, I'd tell her to seek out any/all of the beers from Night Shift. I've been mightily impressed by their offerings and I'm sure you will really enjoy their Berliner Weiss line-up. It doesn't hurt that they are really nice guys worth supporting, who make quality, wacky beers.

 

See if she can go just a bit north of York to Tully's in Wells. They have a great list, including some succulent local stuff (Allagash, Maine Beer Company, Marshall Wharf). I'd also recommend Rising Tide's Maine Island Trail Ale. Plus all of the Massachusetts stuff others have mentioned. And some others they haven't mentioned, like Clown Shoes Galactica IPA.