Vermont In Autumn Recommendations?

Data wise you should be fine. I’ve never had an issue with service and gps since first going there when they had opened. Just understand the routes you’re taking and enjoy it. Get your photos then put the phone away. It’s 100% in the moment thing.

However, if you are going anywhere around foliage time. Especially around peak foliage there. Which is different from southern New England. Expect a zoo and lines. Just go early if you can. Last time we went I had my pour or two and jumped in the line for a food truck since not much else to do and a drive to anywhere we were going. They literally ran out of food a bit of folks in front of us. And it was early in the day.

 

Parker Pie isn't far away and they usually have a lovely taplist as well, and food.

But so too does Blackback, which, being closer to 89 I'm sure you've been to, along with freak folk. If not, correct that.

Plenty of other pubs, even those lesser known in Barre, make it pretty easy to get good beer anywhere, as Hill and other breweries are more able to send draft around New England these days. It all depends on where you're staying, and how much you can handle, but I usually try to hang for a good few hours and just go slow. The simply perfect cheese plates don't hurt. I even like to stop by a co-op to grab some aged treats for myself later.

It doesn't matter if it's busy, the line will move, they'll be staffed for whatever is going on. I've never seen it crazy like the old days aside from first thing in the morning when they were dropping extremely limited bottle pours the day before a festival or whatever.

As long as you put directions in your GPS or phone before leaving your home base you'll be just fine. Try to make mental note of your main and alternative routes before going because once or twice it sometimes suggests some dumbass side road you shouldn't go on. Just stick to the main roads. They're always fine, even the few gravel spots. Lawson's, which I tend to hit on the way IN to Vermont, in addition to the places I already mentioned, are all of my favorite beer stops, while always looking out for Wunderkammer, though that's less an issue now that I'm a member.

 

Book lodging at least 6 weeks ahead if arriving during foliage season (approx. mid-Sept through mid-to late October.) Biggest tourist period here all year, and literally everything gets booked up.

 

Book early. You don't want to get stuck with whatever the equivalent is these days to the Econo Lodge in Montpelier

 

September is the best time to be in VT. Spent the first 18 years of my life there and if on occasion I choose to go back it’s always in Sept. Kids are back in school, it’s much less likely to rain, no leaf peepers yet, and no mosquitos (or not many).

 

This^

 

I live close to HF. You will definitely lose phone service occasionally in this area. I highly recommend using Google Maps and downloading the area for offline use. The taproom has public wifi available most of the time, but most likely you won’t have service there otherwise.

 

I assume you can find bottles of Wunderkammer in the area pretty easily? I know Walcott is nearby, where it’s made. Maybe like Lake Parker Country Store or The Wiley’s Store usually have it?

 

peak leaf season is around Columbus Day. There will always be hotel rooms in Burlington and it isn’t too far out of the way. Foam, Fiddlehead, BBCO are all in Burlington and Mule Bar has a good tap list.

I would try and go to HF and Alchemist on a weekday and I would get to HF when it opens - 11:30. I haven’t had too much of a problem the last few times I went. I might take a screenshot of the route. Google Maps sometimes tells you to turn left on Taylor Hill (?) which is a dead end - well known since the town put up a sign saying don’t believe Google Maps.
To get to Alchemist, try to take 108 through Smuggler’s Notch. Then down 100 by Ben and Jerry’s to Waterbury.

Blackback has the best tap list in the state. Freak Folk Bier is just down the street and has great beer. 20 miles S on 100 is Lawson’s - nicest brew pub in the state and SoS and DS always on tap.

River Roost in White River Junction has good beers.

 

I really think the leaf peeper tourism is being overstated. There is no way in hell more people go to VT for leaves than for skiing. Ski season is ridiculous, plus the roads can be absolutely catastrophic. New England leaf tourism is usually closer to metro areas from New Haven to Bangor, such as Boston and slightly inland from the coast. Most people aren't driving all the way in to central Vermont for leaves. I've been to VT several times during the Fall, there's always some place open, and usually a more worthwhile place than a copy paste chain hotel ala private properties and B&Bs, which I prefer.

 

i agree. my birthday usually falls at peak time for new england (northern mostly) and this year i did a weekend in portland, maine. i was sure the drive from ct to maine would be awful as a result and it was no different than usual. i think driving around to look at leaves were something normal people did before the invention of cell phones.

 

HF’s busiest weekend of the year is Columbus Day weekend; Mrs. Hill said it herself.

 

If good beer is higher priority than leaves, go a couple of weeks earlier
Go during the week if possible

 

And it's still not busier, not by a country mile, than Alchemist or von Trapp during ski season. The road traffic in VT during ski season actually feels more like a major metropolitan, which is terrible when combined with bad weather. Whereas during Fall you can still find plenty of empty roads all around. Vermont is not the madhouse during leaf season people are making this out to be, especially considering literally ALL of New England and New York and everywhere in between also has Fall foliage. The difference with ski season is that not all of New England has mountains or ski resorts. Considering HF partially closes or has limited hours during Winter, of course they're not seeing the same kind of business then.

They have an on-site shop now, but beverage Warehouse VT in Winooski has them often. Their socials announce bottle drops in several other bottle shops as they happen.

 

follow them on instagram or facebook to get updates on recent deliveries and delivery locations. Their post from last month said deliveries were made to these places:

Find it; @caledoniaspirits @bar_renee_vt @thelocalvt @parkerpieco @frankiesvt @blackbackpub @hotelvermont @stowepublichouse @beveragewarehousevt @caskandcorkbeer @hungermountaincoop @mehurons_supermarket @e.o.randall @thegennyvt @foxmarketandcafe @farmhouse05363 @brewfestbevco @thecrookedramvt @halfstepbeerandwine @brownsvillebutcher @meulmansqualitydraghts

 

I tend to disagree that ski season is more traffic than leaf peeping. Ski traffic might be bad in Stowe, but its always pretty slow on 100 since its one lane and there's a big intersection that backs up. Waitsfield is similar. Peeper traffic shows up in random places though, often away from town centers. Ski season is spread out over 3+ months, whereas peeper traffic is mostly confined to a 2-3 week period. Also, traffic is all subjective. If you live in rural VT, there's significantly more traffic for the leaves. But to someone who sits in traffic daily in a city, its not gonna seem like a big deal.

To be honest, I'm not sure. I think Parker pie should have them. Maybe the WIley store too. I'd focus on the places @darkandhoppy mentioned above. But Wolcott is super convenient for me and I'm also in the Wunderkammer membership. So I don't have to hunt around for his beers. Its also nice to support Vasilli directly. Side note, Wunderkammer is actually brewed in Albany, VT. But he sells bottles in his bottleshop in Wolcott, which is far more accessible and convenient.

Also, I'm fairly certain that July 4th week is historically the busiest at HF. Although Anniversary week around Memorial day has been giving it a run for its money the last couple years.