Suggestions on breweries to visit on a beer trip

Yes. San Diego to pick me up on the way.

 

You don't mention the timing of about how long you plan on being in each place. Some of these breweries either don't offer tours or give you the "here's the fermenting tank, have a nice day" sort of tour. You may want to consider a few of these places as well;

http://draftmag.com/new/feature/america-100-best-beer-bars-2013/

and I might suggest some of the BA'ers could recommend the good bottle shops where you can bring back the goodies. It may prove to be more efficient and more fun, and then target those breweries that are really worth seeing.

FYI - Your NY list doesn't mention any of the Long Island breweries. You may want to consider Blue Point or any of these;

http://www.longislandbeerguide.com/

Heck, if you end up at Port Jeff Brewing you can take the ferry that's right there (with car) to Bridgeport Connecticut and head to NEBCO.

 

While I agree that you are generally smart to not waste time on the RI beer scene, I would encourage you to hit Track 84 in Warwick. It's a great beer bar and is only a five minutes of off Rt. 95. So if you're coming up the main interstate, it's worth popping in to wet your whistle.

 

This place in Connecticut is really good;
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/6588/?view=beerfly&ba=socon67
This place is my local go-to place on Long Island;
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11519/?view=beerfly&ba=socon67

 

As far as I know, Pipeworks doesn't offer tours. I wouldn't really waste my time at Two Brothers. It's about 45 minutes to an hour outside Chicago in Warrenville and it's nothing special. Revolution's brewpub is great and has a wider offering of craft beers besides Revolution (plus the bewpub has food.) There's a good bottle shop just down the street from Half Acre called Bottles & Cans. Across the street from Half Acre is a brewpub called The Bad Apple that has a great craft list. We have a bunch of new breweries opening here in Chicago this summer too, so the brewpubs and bottle shops will be your best bet to try them. Depending on when you stop in Chicago, Lagunitas new brewery might be open (right now it's slated for August, but who knows when it'll finally get top open? It was supposed to be up and running in April.)

 

On your way up to DE, you should try and squeeze in Evolution Brewing, they're quite good. Plus, you need to add a bunch more PA breweries to the list: Victory, Troegs, Triumph in Philly, Stoudt's, Weyerbacher, Sly Fox and Flying Fish (technically NJ but they're right outside of Philly. And, if you go to any bottle shop in the MD/DE area, go to State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD right over the DE border. Incredible selection. Also, I'm curious how you're accomplishing this massive journey since it's a dream of mine to do something similar. You're not going alone, right? Someone needs to share DD duties. Where are you staying each night? If you're getting a hotel room every night that's pricey as hell.

 

Yea. For us in Chicago Lagunitas Tap room is the biggest tease in the history of beer!
Still can't...wait!

 

If going thru Richmond up 95 stop by Once upon a Vine, Corks N Kegs, or Total Wine and get some Hardywood stuff. BB Sidamo, Hoplar, and BB Cru are all on the shelves. Also grab some Pocohoptus or Kolsh from Center of the Universe.

 

If you are going to be in the area of Captain Lawrence, I would hit up Peekskill. Awesome place and great beer.

 

For MI, add Odd Side and don't waste your time with Perrin.

 

If you're going through the Boston area you should consider stopping at Cambridge Brewing Co. and nearby there are another couple of good beer bars - Meadhall and Lord Hobo that I would also recommend (though I tend to prefer Lord Hobo to Meadhall personally)

 

If in AA to go to JP, try Wolverine on the west side of town.

 

I second this.

 

Don't skip Victory when you go through PA. Yards is another good option.

 

I'm pretty sure Lawson's doesn't offer beer at the brewery. I think you have to hit one of the (few) stores/bars that they deal with. And at the stores, only certain times on certain days will be productive. Might want to do a little research there. Frankly, with some of the hard-to-get VT beers like Lawson's and HF, your best bet is just to hit one or two of the bars in Waterbury (Black back, Prohibition Pig, etc.) You can't take it with you, but the selection of good beer is just.... beyond words.

Also, you are a machine.

 

Get a credit card that gets bonus points for gas and/or hotels!

 

As far as NC & SC, you're going to have to make a lot of detours to hit some good breweries. I assume you're going up I-95, so Holy City & Westbrook in Charleston, SC are good but will take about a 2 hr detour off & back on the interstate. The best breweries in NC are all several hours off I-95. Top location is Asheville, then the Raleigh/Durham/Winston-Salem area. Closest off I-95 would be Mother Earth in Kinston.

In Ohio, Jackie O's is kind of out of the way going from PA to Chicago. A better option would be to follow the south shore of Lake Erie, which would take you near Great Lakes and Market Garden in Cleveland, Fatheads & Brewkettle in Strongsville and several others like Willoughby, Cornerstone, Maumee Bay, Rocky River, Cellar Rats, Chardon Brewworks and Buckeye. Can't vouch for the quality of the tours (nor have I had beers from all those places), but it's probably the most concentrated area in Ohio for breweries.

If you decide to drive clear down to Athens to visit Jackie O's (check a map) you might as well cut over to Zanesville and hit Weasel Boy and then up to Columbus to check the brewpubs there. But I still think the Lake Erie area is your best bet, and a straight shot to Michigan too from NY and PA.

 

Clarification: Absolutely go to Hill Farmstead, but don't miss just going out on the town in Waterbury.