Would you travel 200 miles for a beer?

There are beers worth going that distance (and more) for, indeed. Save your miles for something that meets the criteria.

 

Did you misspell go-to?
Or is this some sort of groovy dancing beer?

 

Do what makes you happy. I can think of myriad beers that don't have novelty names that would blow that Monty Python out the water. I love you. Cheers!

 

Don’t take that guff. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

 

I do about 250 round trip to pick up Tavour orders I can’t get shipped to my house any more. I usually try to coordinate with a Voodoo lottery win, if I can.

 

The Knights of Ni wish for a shrubbery. It is a small wish after all.

 

I have traveled some stupid distances for beer. Same-day flight to VT for some SoS? Done. Same-day flight to Albany for a drive over the VT border to get Second Fiddle? Done. A 6 hours drive to Decorah and back for some DDH King Sue? Done. Twice. Funny that all of these beers are now in distro in my area, haha.

But to your question: In all honesty I don't think that this particular beer is worth the trip. If you are an IPA man, then go to MA and get some of the amazing things they make locally there and then look for this beer too.

 

Would it not be easier to get a trade in place.

I was staying in western MA when Treehouse was out there. They were around an hour away and I did not make that trip. I did drive to Stowe a few years back when I was in NE NY. That was almost 1.5 hours. Worth the trip and we had a nice day and had a few beers at Von Trapp as well.

Enjoy

 

The question isn’t: “Is it worth it?” The question is: “Is the inventory list for this store accurate, and if so, is this beer years and years old?”

 

No. Just because it's different does not mean it's better or worth more than the beer you can buy off your local shelf locally in most areas.

 

Will you have fun and enjoy the trip?

If so, go.

 

Maybe the MA store could ship it to your store. It couldn't hurt to ask. Alternatively, you could search Untappd for "Monty Python" and use the Find It feature to locate any of the myriad beers that will show up in the search results. It may be closer than you think.

Me? If I lived that close to Massachusetts, I'd make that drive in a cold minute. Then I'd go to Tree House.

@Ultrarunner2018

 

90-120 miles is my max for day trips to hit breweries (and the occasional beer store)... 200 miles, I'm gonna stay for a weekend and hit EVERYTHING near there.

 

No.

 

I would definitely call ahead since the stores show Limited quantity so if you make make the trip you may not be able to get it. I wouldn't do it solely for that beer - I would pick up some other beers to make the trip more worthwhile and fruitful. My guess is that it's not likely very fresh either.

As for me - no, I wouldn't drive 200 miles for beer unless there was some other reason I was driving that far like work, vacation etc. Good luck!

 

No

 

Did you look up the beer here? The collective has it rated at a 3.3, a below average rating. I quickly scanned some of the comments and the best indicate it is an OK ale. But it isn't always just about the beer.

In general, for me the answer is no. If I am going to travel that far I'm going to plan on staying a couple days and enjoy everything I can in the area. I live in eastern MA and haven't driven out to any of the Treehouse locations. Allagash is one of my favorite breweries and about the same distance as you are talking and I won't go up for a brewery only bottle release no matter how enticing the beer seems.

 

You must drive a LOT faster then me - it takes me closer to 16 hours non-stop to get to Decorah! Six hours will barely get me to Grand Rapids!

 

400 miles round trip for some beer? That's a tank of gas, maybe a stop for a bite to eat, and an entire day just for a few beers. No way, I have better things to do. But if that's what you want to do, go for it.

 

Sure, if you're willing to be disappointed when 1) TW doesn't actually have any in stock and 2) it's been sitting in the sun at room temperature for the last six years (with the date mysteriously obscured). Your best bet would to be take a 2-3 week trip to England and sample fresh local brews!

 

That was a few years back. I used to live in the Midwest and my in-laws still live there. I often start my beer expeditions from their house when we visit them.

If anything I'm a slow driver so I'd need a couple of days to reach Decorah from where I am now!

 

Kind of me too! I arrive and stay overnight, hitting TG the next day.

 

Yeah, I have. Topping Goliath is 230 miles from where I live, and I drove there back in 2019 to try Mornin' Delight for the first time. It was worth it, and I had a great day with friends.

Do I do something like this on a regular basis? Nope. Haven't been back since. Would I go back? Yeah, under the right circumstances.

 

At the moment I don't travel for beer, everything needs to be delivered. Naturally checking for new NA beers when traveling though.

 

In 2017, maybe I do a full day trip for very special beers from a very special brewery because the top breweries were few and far between back then and distribution of those beers was also very limited. Not in 2023, too much local, convenient access to good beer. However, I would definitely plan a weekend getaway somewhere 3+ hrs or more away for primary purpose of visiting an awesome brewery or 2 but there also has to be more involved in that weekend excursion beside just drinking beer/muling beer home.

 

If you are looking for a Monty Python beer drinking experience, instead of Holy Grail Golden Ale drink a can of Fosters whilst wearing a fancy hat?

 

Not sure where exactly in Finland you are based at, but travelling for (cheaper) beer to Tallinn is pretty common for many helsinkiläinen, isn't that true?

 

Yeah, I'm from Helsinki, the travel to Tallinn by boat takes 2-3 hours. Years ago there was a boom, when people dragged loads of beers from the harbor, but it may not be very extensive now. More like they load up a bit as they are there, the prices probably are equaling out.

 

In the early 1980's, I took three trips to Albany NY (once with a friend) to drink and purchase Newman's ales; this is a round trip of more than 300 miles.

 

Go for it. I travel 200 miles roundtrip every three months for beer pickup and party. Totally worth it. When Hair of the Dog was closing, my wife made it a weekend and drove up to Portland (1400 miles roundtrip).

While it's great that beer delivery by shipping has expanded during COVID, I just enjoy the experience and getting out of the frigging house!

 

Only for Tree House.

 

I still stand by my response above, but since it seems that nobody who responded actually had this beer and you directly asked the question, I will add this since I've had the beer: When only considering it on its own and focusing on the benefits of the catch rather than the chase, this beer is not worth going out of your way for. YMMV and no offense to the beer.

 

In terms of Monty Python's Holy Grail being worth a 200 mile trek, I'd say NO. It isn't bad, necessarily, but it is usually old as hell. Being a pretty typical British-style golden ale, it doesn't handle age well, either. If it was brewed in the last 6-12 weeks it would still be a shaky endeavor, but it was probably brewed 9-12 months ago if not longer.

Is it worth traveling 200 miles for any beers? Absolutely. If you add up the crazy distances I've traveled in Germany and Belgium (+ the airfare just getting there), you'd up with a total that's like 50x that much.

 

Could always train a swallow to carry it.

 

Not unless I had to go there for some damn good reason.....