As many of you know, we are craft beer lovers. We try to get brewery tours every chance we get, not only because they are interesting but because they are often accompanied by some free beer samples, score! We recently traveled to a few breweries in Vermont and Maine and they certainly did not disappoint! Shout out to our friend, Mary for the great suggestions:]
1. Our absolute favorite brewery of this trip, and maybe of all time, was Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine. There are two very important factors that went into this being our top choice. The first is that Allagash has damn good beer, the second is that you can get a flight of beer for free EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I’m not making this up, we went three days in a row. The staff did begin to recognize us by the end of our stay, I’m hoping it was not because we carried a noticeable odor after not showering for about two weeks. Regardless, they welcomed us with open arms, exceptional beer, and an overall great experience. When you make beer this good, why not give it away for free? I’m pretty sure everyone that walks into this place ends up purchasing some beer to take home anyways. So if you’re ever in the area be sure to check this place out and bring us some back:]
2. Our second favorite was The Alchemist in Stowe, Vermont. There is a ridiculous amount of hype surrounding this brewery, if you don’t believe me please check out this article. We arrived at the brewery around 10:15 (they open at 11), thinking we would get a jump on the competition. There was already about a 15 person line, and it was snowing, so yeah its kinda a big deal. They put a limit on how many 4 packs you can buy in one day, naturally we bought as much as they would allow us. Don’t worry, it lived up to the height. If you’re a fan of IPA’s you have to get your hands on the famous Heady Topper or one of their other exceptional hoppy beers.
3. Rock Art Brewery, in Morrisville, VT was a family owned microbrewery with friendly staff and a great variety of tasty beers. We would definitely go back!
The north east certainly knows how to brew beer, stay tuned for a comparison to the western beer scene!