Northeast Road Trip

While you're in Waterbury, stop the Craft Beer Cellar Waterbury. Beer store with a great selection, especially local stuff. Von Trapp is another area brewery worth considering (they're in Stowe).

In Portland, when you're over at Allagash, go across the street (literally) and check out Austin Street, Foundation, and Battery Steele (three breweries in the same industrial park). RSVP Liquors is another solid beer store in Portland. They're close to Bier Cellar and their inventory usually differs somewhat.

When heading south from Portland, stop at Barreled Souls in Saco (about 10 minutes south of Portland). Then in New Hampshire, consider checking out Stoneface and Deciduous. Both great breweries.

 

Schilling is a potential stop between Stowe and Portland. Excellent food and beer, they do almost entirely German/Belgian/Czech styles, so it depends on how interested in that stuff you are.

And as far as getting to Maine Beer Co on time... whatever. If you love their stuff I won’t argue with you but if you’re going there just on reputation, IMO their beers are really nothing special these days.

 

www.mainebeerscene.com for all things Maine. Hasn't been updated to reflect Battery Steele, a new brewery at 1 Industrial Way in Portland. I highly recommend Barreled Souls. Banded Horn (about 5 mins from Barreled Souls) has good brews, lots of takeaway brews and a "retro arcade" feel. If you go to Novare Res, a late night charcuterie hits the spot. Be sure to ask for their cellar beer list as well. Not cheap but gems abound.
As another poster mentioned, I would actually skip MBC. Almost everything they pour or have for bottle sales is readily available on tap at any one of the numerous bars/restaurants or at a bottle shop.
Blackback Pub in Waterbury is likely the place for Lawson's. Usually have several lines on tap. Also try Prohibition Pig and The Reservoir. You will likely not find anything other than Sip of Sunshine for take away. Craft Bier Cellar in Waterbury is ridonkulous. If sours are your thing, they carry lots of Hermit Thrush (pricey at $5-10 for 16 oz. can) but so damn good.

 

For the Cooperstown-VT leg, I recommend bypassing Montpelier and taking 100 North from Stockbridge. Much more scenic, you can stop at the Warren Store, and you're on a straight line for Waterbury, Stowe (Alchemist), Morrisville (Lost Nation) on your way to HF.

Also a good idea to hit Alchemist first if you're looking to stock up on cans. Their allocations are basically per day as opposed to "on 'til it runs out" like HF. Lately looks like they've been slammed on the weekends, so if you wait until the trip back to Stowe you might miss out on a few options.

 

Since they are staying in Stowe and going to Doc Ponds for dinner I think Montpelier -> HF -> Lost Nation -> Stowe makes more sense. I am imaging OP is tasting at each location. Best to finish up at your final destination for the night rather than driving back from HF after an afternoon of tasting.

 

Nice aggressive list, OP. Just curious but why start in Buffalo and drive the length of upstate NY?

I agree with others that skipping Maine Beer is sensible. No real reason to go there at all unless you're a huge MBC fanboy. You can find their beers on draft and shelves at most places in Portland where your time is better spent. I'm also a huge proponent of Banded Horn in Biddeford.

Where are you staying on Monday? If you aren't decided, consider Portsmouth NH. Nice walkable downtown and many good beer stops.

 

For the Portland visit, I also would skip Maine Beer and go to Portland breweries like Lone Pine and Rising Tide instead. Both are open sundays and Lone Pine is putting out killer beer lately.

Also, driving from Portland to Peabody isn't 4 hours unless you are going on Route 1 the whole way. More like 2 hours max. Unfortunately, it looks like most of the Portsmouth area breweries, like Stoneface, Great Rhythm, Deciduous, are not open on Mondays. Portsmouth is a great town for food an walking around like mentioned, so it might be good to stop in for lunch, walk around, then go down to Smutty for a tour and grab dinner at Hayseed, their restaurant.

 

Another idea would be from Cooperstown to Stowe, once you get to Rutland go north on route7 to Brandon and swing through Foley Brothers. It's such a cool spot, old barn that has been renovated into their tasting room is a trip and their beers are fantastic. Then head over Brandon gap on route 73 to Randolph and then North on 100 through Warren, Waitsfield, Waterbury on way to Stowe. There are so many killer spots for Lunch on the way and this is quintessential VT. I would rather do 100 than interstate 89 personally. I would say Alchemist early as it'll be busy then head to HF. Lost Nation is on the way but their beers don't do it for me. Great spot for some food though. Only issue with hitting HF late is if you are set on getting back to Stowe. Not sure what you've got going on with Lodging but I would imagine Stowe that evening is going to be a pretty penny as opposed to other spots in the area.

 

Doc Ponds is meh. I'd do The Bench instead. IMO Better food/Better tap list.

3 Penny in Montpelier is amazing.

Itinerary is solid!

 

^^ definitely would fit Shilling into itinerary if possible. Really great spot. Add me to the list of those who recommend skipping MBC.

 

You've got a busy itinerary and others have chimed in with lots of great ideas. I'll second the suggestion to hit up some of the other Portland breweries, and when you're in Peabody, I recommend heading into Salem to check out Notch Brewing. They put out some tasty, interesting beer, and the taproom is gorgeous and a superb place to hang out. Also, that morning you're in Portland, zip over to South Portland to Scratch Baking Co for the best damn bagels (and lots of other tasty baked goods) anywhere; then, if you still need it, grab a donut at the Holy Donut.

 

Yeah, for Monday lunch in Portsmouth I would hit Portsmouth brewery (fish sandwich) or Earth Eagle, or both. Don't bother with bottle shops in NH. You will find better options in Portland and Mass. If you want solid access to Mass beers, hit Redstone in Stoneham which is close to Peabody. Also, agree with above to hit Notch. Excellent session beers with focus on German/Czech/British styles.

If you hit Smuttynose, you don't need to do the tour to do a tasting round at the brewery. Just get the tasting card at the retail store when you walk in. Unless you love production breweries. My approach is skipping the tasting altogether, and just try what you want next door at Hayseed, and buy a pint of what you like.

 

Check out Big Ditch Brewing in Buffalo as well while you are there. The Deep Cut IIPA and Hayburner IPA are solid and the tap room is a cool spot with good food.

 

Not to pile on, but you could easily skip MBC and Smuttynose (unless they have created something new). I'm also of the opinion that I wouldn't seek out Lawsons, if you are only able to get regular SIP. If they have some other variant, then maybe it's worth a try, but you can't swing a cat without finding a better offering than SIP. In Portland, make sure you check out the ratings of the offerings recommended here and what they have available. Bissel always has something excellent, while some of the others are hit and miss in terms of what they have available.

Take the two hours that you padded into the Portland/Peabody schedule and go to Trillium in Boston. Limits are generally pretty high and the folks back in PA will thank you for it. Of the breweries you have mentioned (other than HF), you will probably get the best match of quality and volume at Trillium. The only drag on HF is that you will have a car full of growlers and an empty wallet. Any chance you can line your trunk with insulation and fill it with ice?

 

Canton is probably a better call as you can get pours but I must say it is amazing how easy it is to get to Trillium in Fort Point. It's right off the freeway and maybe I've been lucky but I've always easily found parking. Boston can be a nightmare if you don't know your way around. Row34 right next door to Trillium FL usually has a crazy tap list, and some damn good (maybe a touch pricey) food.

 

If you do have time to spend on the North Shore, as someone suggested a visit to Notch in Salem is worth the trip. Other great breweries in the area are Mystic, Nightshift, and Idle Hands.