Northeast US trip soon, what beers to look for?

Taking a trip this spring. Passing through OH, PA, NY, CT, MA, VT, NH, ME.
Mostly looking for stuff I cannot get in Indiana.
Help me out, what beers do I not want to miss picking up a 6 pack of?

Thanks much,
Lakedawgs

I have no idea what is distributed to your area but check out Southern Tier if you are in South Western NY.

bknifefight said:

I have no idea what is distributed to your area but check out Southern Tier if you are in South Western NY.

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Great stuff, I can get it here but will put them on the list, thanks!

Jacks Abby out of Framingham Ma has great lagers. Definitely try Hoponious Union. Maine Beer Co in Portland ME is a one of my favorite. Their #1 is Peeper ale but I have not had a bad beer of theirs. White Birch in Hooksett NH also has a good line up of beers. Their Hooksett Ale is good. And another one of my favorites is Pretty Things, a nomadic brewery in eastern MA. Jack D'or is their flagship but if you're coming in the spring or summer, keep an eye out for fluffy white rabbits (spring) or meadowlark (summer).

Ommegang brewery has some great belgian ales. Three philosophers being one of best. Davidson Brothers has a really great brown ale. Saranac pale ale is really popular though you may be able to get it else where. Brooklyn is another good brewery....there are a lot of NY breweries and this list only scratches the surface. If you could only do one I find something from Ommegang.

Krovitz said:

Jacks Abby out of Framingham Ma has great lagers. Definitely try Hoponious Union. Maine Beer Co in Portland ME is a one of my favorite. Their #1 is Peeper ale but I have not had a bad beer of theirs. White Birch in Hooksett NH also has a good line up of beers. Their Hooksett Ale is good. And another one of my favorites is Pretty Things. Jack D'or is their flagship but if you're coming in the spring or summer, keep an eye out for fluffy white rabbits or meadowlark.

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This is it...Jack Abbey is must. The Alchemist in Vermont is one to consider but its a hike and they don't distribute very far.

If you are in southern Connecticut there is an awesome microbrewery called Cottrell. They don't make anything too fancy, only about 4 or 5 beers. However, they make a great IPA called mystic bridge IPA and a wee heavy called Perry's revenge. I love the Perry's Revenge it's a great beer. Also if you find yourself in south eastern CT you can go their brewery and take a tour and tasting. It's a tiny brewery but the guys that work there are great!

http://www.cottrellbrewing.com/

Also not too far away there is a "nano brewery" that just opened up called Beer'd (no association to my username). I actually haven't been there but if your in the area it can't hurt to stop by!

Hope you have a good trip!

Cheers!

You can only get the nano brewery beer by visiting the actual brewery, the guy only sells it in growlers

Great stuff, keep it coming.
While we may visit a brewery or two, I am looking forward to bringing back many asst 6 packs.

What is your intended route and stopping points? In NY at least, that makes a huge difference in recommendations as NY is the largest state in the NE.

In NY we will be in the southern part of the state near NYC on the outward bound leg and head home via Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, Erie.

In NYC, try to hit or at least get fresh Brooklyn Lager. I've always felt that beer skunks easily and tastes better here. Also Sixpoint. On the way back, don't miss Brown's in Troy just outside of Albany and Empire in Syracuse. Also, Middle Ages in Syracuse is outstanding.

Oh and if you don't get any Heady in Vermont, your entire trip was a waste.

Echo the Alchemist/Heady sentiments. Also, Hill Farmstead if you can swing it.

In Albany (well.. Cooperstown), Ommegang is a gorgeous facility.

In Buffalo, be sure to check out Community Beer Works, which is a fairly new Nano. Really cool guys and make a handful of great beers. "The IPA" is top notch.

Southern Tier is about 30 minutes east of Erie in Lakewood, NY. Definitely worth a stop.

If you are in Central PA consider stopping at Otto's in State College and Marzoni's in Altoona. Otto's has a dark cask beer that will raise your bar on cask beers.

http://beeradvocate.com/lists/top

There is a section to the right of the page which allows you to sort by location.

Click Mid-Atlantic and New England.

I'll add to it though:

Vermont is a Beer Mecca...

-Anything by Maine Beer Co. - Lunch, Zoe, Peeper, Mo, etc.
-Alchemist Heady Topper
-Lawson's Finest and Hill Farmstead are amazing as well

Captain Lawrence - NY
Ithaca Flower Power - NY
Brooklyn Black OPS - NY
Brooklyn BLAST - NY
Fat Heads Head Hunter - OH
Troegs Nugget Nectar - PA
Russian River Pliny the Elder - avail in parts of PA
Elysian - avail on East Coast
Smuttynose Finest Kind - ME
Cisco rare bombers - MA
Wachusett Larry - MA
New England Coriolis - CT
Rare Cantillon or Fantome bombers if you can find them

Not sure if you normally get beers from Cali, but some of them are shipped to the East Coast. That would be the other Beer Mecca -- some available Breweries on the East Coast include: Firestone Walker, The Bruery, Green Flash, and Ballast Point.

I assume you may be take route 78 east as you come through PA towards NYC. Definitely check out Weyebacher, its just of 78 in Easton, PA. Fun little brewery tour. The more details about route the better. Additionally, depending on your route, Keegan Ales in Kingston, NY is a great little brewery with limited distribution. It's off of the NYS Thruway US 87. You could always stop at Yeungling on your way through PA depending on your route. Not exactly craft beer but it's a great tour.

Edit: If you end up in Syracuse, go to Dinosaur BBQ for the BBQ dunno about the beer there but the BBQ is legendary

How about Victory? If you don't get them where your at I suggest picking up some prima pils on your way through PA, there is a reason why it's listed first in the bjcp examples under German pilsner.(it's that Damn good) Troegs also makes great beer.

We won't get to do a ton of brewery tours on this trip. Mainly want to fill the trunks with as many different 6 packs as I can fit! I do plan to research a lot of these places so a tour may fit in.

I'm not sure what you can or can't get in Indiana so I'll tell you some of my favorite Breweries

Troegs
Victory
Six Point
Brooklyn
Flying Fish
River Horse
Carton (as a keg only brewery good luck finding that one at a bar and only have growlers in NJ)
Weyerbacher
Allagash
Yards (they're not my personal favorite but a lot of people love them)
Ithica
Longtrail (another one that's seeming more popular than I like their beer)
Ramstein (another limited availability but they do distribute to PA and NY, if you can find their Eisbock get it but I don't think it's available right now)
16 Mile (based out of Delaware not sure where they distribute)
Cricket Hill (imagine they have some PA and NY distribution)
Keegan Ales (pretty cool place that's starting to expand)
Ommegang
Sly Fox
Stoudts
Lancaster

And 2 that have very small distrobution but are cool

The Alchemist (Heady Topper, haven't gotten my hands on it yet but my buddy in Vermont raves about it)
Cooperstown Brewery (I recommend their Backyard IPA for a nice light British IPA)

For upstate NY, specificly the Rochester area, I would try to find beers from 3 Heads, Roc City and Custom Brewcrafters. All local breweries with limited distribution. We also have a store called "Beers of the World" which should be a must stop for any serious beer drinker passing thru. Ithaca Brewing and Ellicotville Brewing are also upstate regionals and if you can find the time, the tap room at Southern Tier is well worth the stop.

Bypass all the states in New England except Vermont. On the way pick-up some Jack's Abbey in Mass. There website can tell you where to pick it up.

If you are looking for beer, you'll want to stay in Waterbury, VT. Blackback (this place has the most Hill Farmstead on tap in state), Prohibition Pig, and The Alchemist brewery is really all you need to try some beers. The Alchemist usually sells out - they can their beer on Monday and Thursday and they are usually sold out by Wednesday-ish and Friday-ish. If you want beers to take home from Hill Farmstead you'll need to drive up there, (roughly hr and 15 min trip). They have a few bottle selections, and you can get growler fills. They are not open Sun-Tues. To get Lawson's Finest you'll want to get down to the Warren Store (in Warren VT), on Thursday when they get their shipment.

Burlington has some good beer spots too - Winooski Beverage(biggest beer store in the state), American Flatbread, Farmhouse, Vermont Pub and Brewery, etc

If you go to Portland, ME you'll want to get some Rising Tide and Baxter Brewing. Allagash and Maine Beer Company are good too.

Edit: Oh and Ratebeer just named Hill Farmstead best brewery in the world.

lakedawgs said:

In NY we will be in the southern part of the state near NYC on the outward bound leg and head home via Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, Erie.

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In Syracuse, I would definitely try both Empire Brewing and Middle Ages

If you're just stopping to get bottles/cans and not interested in brewery visits, you can get most of your Northeast selections in Mass and VT. The only thing I'd recommend you grab in CT is some Gandhi Bot from New England Brewing Co. If they don't have that, grab some Sea Hag IPA.

If you want to buy anything at all in New England then come to NH where you will save $$$$$. We have no sales tax and we have lower sin taxes. That is just the way it is.

Pa has good old yuengling in Potts ville, but can be found all over the state and Ohio. Troegs is in hershery pa. Voodoo brewing company , meadville pa. Erie brewing company pa. Straub beer st. Marys pa. Lion brewery wiles barre pa. Helltown brewing mount pleasant pa. Duquesne brewing company Pittsburgh pa. City brewing company (Latrobe) pa. Iron city brewing Pittsburgh pa. Intercourse brewing collegeville pa. Sly fox brewing pottstown pa.

When in the NYC/Long Island area, try to pick up a sixpack of a local slawart - Blue Point Toasted Lager.

Depending on the path taken through PA some of my favorites are: the church brew works in Pittsburgh, north country brewing which is about an hour north of Pittsburgh and victory, weyerbacher and yuengling in the eastern part of the state.

In Maine definitly hit up Allagash.

If in Syracuse hit Middle Ages brewing. My favorite is ithaca beer co. Be sure to hit Ommegang, Southern Tier, Troefs. Also if passing through Utica hit Matt Brewing which is home to Saranac.

I can't stress enough how much Middle Ages surprised me. I expected a gimmicky place with ho-hum beer and ended up blown away. Middle Ages' IPA held its own against Dinosaur BBQ that night.

I feel so lucky to have middle ages so close. Their beers are simply fantastic.

I actually live in Alabama. But my dad lives in Syracuse so when we visit I always visit Muddle Ages as well as Dino BBQ (some o the best BBQ I have had anywhere. Also forgot Empire brewing in Syracuse and War Horse and Wagner down in the finger lakes.

the_trout said:

For upstate NY, specificly the Rochester area, I would try to find beers from 3 Heads, Roc City and Custom Brewcrafters. All local breweries with limited distribution. We also have a store called "Beers of the World" which should be a must stop for any serious beer drinker passing thru. Ithaca Brewing and Ellicotville Brewing are also upstate regionals and if you can find the time, the tap room at Southern Tier is well worth the stop.

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+1 Take the time to find some Custom Brewcrafters Cream Porter!!! Available at Beers of the World, or the brewery! Beers Of The world has everything!!!

We visited the US from the Netherlands in April/ May. Thanks to the advice in this thread and others we managed to visit 7 brewpubs in total. Advice by bobbrews was particularly useful:

bobbrews said:

http://beeradvocate.com/lists/top

There is a section to the right of the page which allows you to sort by location.

...

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Greatly enjoyed the visit to Trinity Brewery in Providence, RI. Great beer, great bison-burger and great fun to guess all the persons in the last supper painting on the wall.

Old thread, but I just wanted to second that recommendation to stop in Troy, NY at Brown's brewpub. Also, it's a one minute walk to Dinosaur BBQ, who also have a pretty decent beer selection and fantastic food. About half a mile away is The Ruck, an awesome bar with around 40 craft beers. And up on Hoosick street is Hoosick Beverage, really nice selection and they let you do mixed sixers from anything in the store, whether it's opened or not.

Yeah! I have a friend that lives just beyond Hoosick Beverage. I always stop in there while visiting - they have a fair amount of stuff that you can't otherwise find in Upstate NY, like Jester King and Mystic.

In Rochester there is rohrboch, ROC brewing, and Genesee brewing (they make some decent beers under their sub brands). Also look for Saranack brewing