NYC to VT - Insane?

That's a long day. I did a similar trip, though from Hartford. We left at 8 and got back at 9pm. For our trip, we did Warren store, HF, Rock Art, Alchemist, and then the prohibition pig in Waterbury for dinner and drinks, then went home. It's fun, but you're glad when the driving is done.

Regarding NEBCO, you won't see any Baby Ducks, that has already come and gone back in January. Same thing for ST. With luck, maybe you'll find some barrel aged stout trooper or whatever their Fat Ten-er variety is at that point.

As for Hill Farmstead, I have been there 2x on Thursday afternoons and did not have much of a wait at all, maybe 5 people in line each time. YMMV. A lot will depend on whether they have a limited release bottle or if there is anything going on in the area that would draw a lot of people.

 

Similar experience as pjs234 except from Southern Connecticut. Exhausting day but well worth it in the end. We hit Warren Store, HMC, Rock Art, HF, and Pro Pig and Reservoir.

I personally had quite a wait at HF on a Thursday afternoon (prior to their new space opening up). I believe we got there sometime around 1:15pm and didn't end up leaving until 3:30pm or so. If I'm not mistaken, this was the time they had Elab #2, Brother Soigne, and Everett as available bottles.

 

Warren Store is typically where I go for Lawson's (if I'm up there on a Thursday), and Hunger Mountain has a great overall beer selection (not to mention a great collection of VT products as well). I've never been to Table & Vine so I can't comment on that. Although I later learned that it is a chain, I was pretty impressed with the selection of Craft Beer Cellar in Waterbury as well.

 

The Warren Store is pretty out if the way, and depending on weather your drive up there may take longer. With the tight schedule you have you may want to consider a backup plan. HF is great, but 15-30 minute wait is optimistic. Also, I would nix the NEBCO stop and just focus on Vermont. Have you considered trying to set up an IP trade for some Lawson's and nix the Warren Store stop?

 

Table and Vine is probably the right stop in MA, since it is right off of I-91. I like your plan, but from experience, every stop takes a bit longer than expected. Good luck and have fun.

 

We have made a few cannonball trips from Brooklyn to VT, and everytime our schedule goes right out the door due to either unexpected traffic, bad weather, or long waits at HF. I would try to keep the day looser.

 

If you're driving through Morrisville, then you should definitely check out Lost Nation and pick up a growler or try a set of samples. They don't have bottles yet, so it's just samples, pints, and growlers.

 

Regarding the Warren store, unclejazz is right, it is out of the way. I feel like you can get to Waterbury in the same time as Warren, even though Waterbury is farther north, so it does end up adding a fair amount of time to your itinerary. It is mostly back roads to Warren and you can stay on the highway to get to Waterbury. What i would recommend is to call the Warren store to see what they have in from Lawson's, before you have to get off the highway to go there. If you're not interested in their offerings, then proceed right to Montpelier.

 

I did a trip from Bethlehem, PA straight to the Warren Store, then the Alchemist, and finally HF all in one day. It was both doable and totally insane. I thought I might catch a break at HF showing up late afternoon on a Wednesday but no such luck as I still had to wait in line for about an hour. Although they've since instituted a growler limit so that might help some. I wouldn't count on it though.

 

That is no bright side. To drive all the way up there and not get a brisket sandwich and a beer at Pro Pig, and a beer at Blackback and/or Reservoir is foolish. Go to Hunger Mountain. Don't go to Warren, F Table and Vine, and if you have time on the way back, hit up NEBCO. If you do this on a Friday, you'll be able to get Lawson's bottles and HT at Hunger Mountain.

 

Ahh well those are certainly impeding issues. So then maybe don't do Hunger Mountain, and do go to Warren for Lawson's? I'd still definitely hit up a bar or 2 in Waterbury for a beer. They always have awesome stuff on, and if you don't end up getting any Lawson's bottles, those places will almost definitely have a few different ones on tap. For me, Table and Vine is cool, but really most things you can find there you can find in VT.

 

I would hate making that trip alone, but more power to you. Thursday is a fine day, but if the Lawson's bottles to be released that week aren't to your tastes, I would skip Warren. I would suggest not planning on NEBCO, you are going to be running real tight.

Another wrinkle I would add is to consider working in Tree House on a Thursday, it will help you relax about taking extra time in Vermont if the HF waits are long, and won't add a TON of extra miles. Then after that, you can hunker down for the drive back to NY.

 

I'm not sure why you're stopping at Table and Vine and NEBCO, tbh, and I'm the biggest NEBCO homer on earth. Just not worth the time on an already long trip, IMO. Do you really need to buy the few extra distributed beers in MA that you can't get in either VT or NY? Doesn't seem to me like it's worth the stop for its own sake, although the break from driving is probably nice.

Eliminate those from your itinerary, and detour through Waterbury and or Montpelier and grab some beers on draft. You'll, in all likelihood, get to try some stuff that you aren't able to buy from any/all of Lawson's, HF, and The Alchemist. Those bars are worth the drive by themselves, even if you aren't going to eat.

Also, it seems unlikely to me that if you arrive at HF around opening you will be in and out in 30 min. Granted, I've never been on a random midweek Thursday in the colder part of the year, but I have never spent less than about an hour from opening to the time I'm out of HF, and I've also never arrived later than about 11:30.

It takes a lot of time for them to fill growlers, and if there's even five people in front of you filling maximum # of growlers, 30 minutes is really optimistic from the time you walk in until the time you walk out. perhaps @pjs234 can provide insight as to his timeline with like five people there.

I will also echo other people that Warren is out of the way, and I'm not particularly sure why you're headed there for a few bottles of Lawson's if you're not a big IPA fan. I'd just trade for some Lawson's instead.

 

This may be naive on my part but if I weren't "a huge IPA fan," I doubt I'd find a road trip to VT for beer all that worthwhile.