planning a little beer trip for March. Want to stop at treehouse on Wednesday and drive up to Vermont the next day. Was thinking of staying in Worcester but not sure if that is the best option. Any suggestions of places to sleep for the night and good places to grab a drink at that night in the area.
There aren't a ton of hotels in Worcester I would want to stay in. First choice would be the Hilton Garden Inn on Major Taylor Blvd. There is a Holiday Inn another block east from there. Both are walking distance to Armsby Abbey, the best beer bar in Massachusetts, and a pretty good restaurant to boot. They, and their sister establishment Dive Bar, generally have several lines of Hill Farmstead flowing. Wormtown Brewery has a taproom on Shrewsbury St. where you can get full pours and flights. On that street you will also find a bunch of other restaurants and bars of varying quality.
Here's the thing though ... where in Vermont are you going? Because if you are going to the beer-y part of Vermont Worcester isn't really on the way from Tree House to northern Vermont. You will either have to go east or west a ways to get on 3>93 or 91 to get up into Vermont. And if we are talking weekday, you are going to hit traffic traveling east from Worcester in the morning. You might want to consider a night in the Northampton/ Amherst area. There was a recent thread about beer and non-beer stuff in that area, I will look for it and edit to add the link later. Edit: Here you go: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/hadley-ma.380403/ (Hadley is the town across the river from Northampton). Nothing in Hamp or Amherst will quite live up to Armsby, but there are good options nonetheless, and if your VT itinerary includes a stop in Greensboro, getting HF on tap in Mass might not be as important. I would much rather spend time in downtown Northampton than downtown Worcester (I work in Worcester) and it will mean a little less driving for the Vermont leg of your trip. Anyways, good luck.
You could consider Sturbridge. Coming from Ohio you will be driving through anyway. It's much closer to Tree House. You could be at New England Brewing in just over an hour. You could get a bed and breakfast kind of place, or a larger hotel. It's off season so you should be able to find a deal. It's about the same distance to Vermont as Worcester is. If you're into antiques there are shops everywhere. Not any good craft beer bars, but Enrico's has good brick oven pizza, and sometimes Wormtown on tap. You can byob at BT's Smokehouse. Might be the best BBQ in Mass. Yankee Spirits is one of the better beer stores in Mass. Have fun and don't forget to drive like an a**hole.
I I have no suggestions for hotels, but if your traveling from Tree house to Worcester, be sure to stop at Rapscallion. They've got solid beers and a nice atmosphere. Plus it's literally 10min away from Tree house and only a 5 min detour. As for Worcester, Armsbey and Dive bar have been mentioned along with Wormtown and all are worth a visit. There's other Breweries in Worcester, ones called 3cross...but I haven't made it there yet (maybe this weekend), and the other is Flying Dreams (another I still need to try). As a side note Dive Bar is cash only (like many establishments in Worcester) so be prepared. As far as other places...if your into cigars stop by Micheal's Cigar Bar...they have a solid cigar selection and more importantly they usually have good beer on tap...and can make a good drink should you need a break from beer.
Worcester is a great beer city. Wormtown, Armsby, Dive Bar, and Shrewsbury St. Venture east Cold Harbor, Medusa, and Jack's Abby. Also Julio's
Anyone have any details on this place? Website has no hours on it. Are they open to the public for growler fills? Looks like they're in the old Wormtown spot, no? I'm in our Worcester office today which is right up the road, maybe I'll pop in...
If you are able to get to Treehouse by noon for cans, I would suggest getting back on the road after lunch (BT's perhaps) and maybe trying to get all the way to Waterbury VT for the evening. It's not clear whether you plan on coming straight through on Wednesday. If you won't get to Treehouse until later, I would suggest hitting Armsby Abbey and Wormtown, then Julios on Rt. 9 in Westborough, and staying near I-495 and Rt. 9. There are several hotels near there. I strongly endorse stopping at Worthy Burger in South Royalton, VT, if you are in the vicinity near a meal time (once you head to VT).
