New England Beercation

I just can't condone visiting a single brewery in some of these fine states.
If you are visiting every state in NE, this would be my bare minimum recommendation:
CT: New England Brewing Co.
MA: Tree House, Trillium
VT: Hill Farmstead, and Alchemist if they are open by then (otherwise, Heady from one of the fine retail outlets you can find via the search function up there on the right)
NH: Garrison City (this will probably be the most contentions state, as there are no totally stand-out options)
ME: Bissell Brothers, Foundation, Austin Street
RI: Proclamation

 

I agree with above with two variations.

CT: OEC, Beer'd
NH: Stoneface, Smuttynose

 

All good choices, but I would sub in OEC for CT and Stoneface, Schilling, or Canterbury Aleworks (a different experience) in NH.

 

Definitely OEC if you are into sours. The taproom is nice but only open saturdays typically. For Boston I would get bottles at Trillium(they don't have a taproom) and then spend a few hours at Cambridge Brewing Company(great beer and one of the best patios in the Boston area).
In the summer I'd argue that Maine is the best place to be in the whole damn country and I'd suggest spending more time there than any other state. Beaches, seafood, mountains, national parks, excellent restaurant and beer scene in Portland, perfect weather. I would stock up on beer at the Portland breweries then spend a lot of time enjoying the rest of the state.

 

Its hard to say what OEC will have available in a couple months. Brunneis, Nepenthes, Salsus, Tempus and III are "core" beers that are some of the best sours of their style that I've ever had. They usually have their Berliner called Exilis available and I get a growler of that because it is good and pretty inexpensive. Most things they have in bottles they also have on draft so you can try a small pour before committing. Unlike MA and ME they will fill any growler in CT and VT so bring some empty growlers on your trip.

 

Speaking to RI, definitely agree with Proclamation but Grey Sail would be a good backup with slightly better hours if you can't make it to Proclamation a day they are open. Both breweries are in southern RI near the beautiful beaches and Newport, which should appeal to others in your traveling party.

 

If your goal is beer to bring home, only, here in MA, the others are correct with their recommendations of Tree House or Trillium. If your goal is an overall experience AND beer to bring home, Jack's Abby or Night Shift are my picks here in MA.

 

MA: When you stock up on bottles at Trillium (Boston location), go to the Fort Point Market next door to get bottles of other local beers (e.g., Night Shift) and grab a bite and beer at Row 34. I second the recommendation for Cambridge Brewing Company. If I could only go one place, I'd go there, especially since most of their stuff is available on draft only in house. If you have time, Night Shift's tap room is also a great time. Mystic is not far from there.

ME: Allagash should be on that list! If you're lucky, they could have a sour or two available. They are located across the way from Bissell, Foundation, and Austin St anyway. Downtown, Oxbow and Liquid Riot are great. And plenty of awesome food and bar choices (Novare Res, King's Head, Little Tap House...). Bier Cellar (beer geek focus) and RSVP (wider selection) are great bottle shops. EDIT: Forgot to mention Barreled Souls. Love that place.

NH: Garrison City is great. I'd choose Smuttynose over it though. Directly on the way to Portland, ME, and they have a restaurant. Garrison is just a tasting room. Earth Eagle is doing unique stuff in downtown Portsmouth. I like Portsmouth Brewery, too.

VT: Agree on Hill Farmstead as the one best. Then stay in either Burlington or Waterbury for more great beer.

 

I'll put in a shoutout for Mystic Brewing in Chelsea, just a few minutes from Night Shift. I really enjoyed my visit there after the EBF this year.

 

Another vote for O.E.C. I would hit Black Hog as it is around the corner. Skip NEBCO.

 

They make solid beer, just not sexy IPAs and such so they don't get much chatter. I like their porter a bunch.

 

Tree House in Monson, Ma needs to be #1 on your list.

 

My roommate and I just did this trip the past week from Ohio, cool to see someone else doing it too!

In Massachusetts we hit up Nightshift Brewing, who are making some fantastic brews. We went to the Trillium Canton location because it's more accessible for driving, and had an absolute ton of bottles for take home. Row 34 in Boston is probably the best bar we went to, and there's a bottle shop with solid offerings like three doors down. We also hit Tree House for their canning!

We went to Freeport Maine to visit Maine Beer Co, and then to Portland for a tour of Allagash. On the same street as Allagash is Austin Street/Foundation/Bissel Brothers, but they weren't open on Tuesdays so we unfortunately missed out.

Once we hit Vermont, we stayed in Burlington, which has Mule Bar and Prohibition Pig, who seemingly always have Heady and Focal Banger there, and great food. The top stores on this website all had heady/sip drops, you just have to look at their sites to see drop times. Hill Farmstead is THE brewery to go to in Vermont, and we had an excellent time there