Vermont

Vermont is a beautiful state full of great beers and great views

Vermont Tips:

• Don’t miss Hill Farmstead Brewery: This spot is about an hour from the Waterbury & Stowe areas but absolutely worth the detour. They make some of the top beers in the country in a relaxed, simple atmosphere. Located in Greensboro Bend, VT.

• Waterbury > Stowe. Stowe gets the hype but Waterbury is much cuter, walkable, and quaint.

• On a New England road trip? Check out my New Hampshire recommendations here!

Waterbury Recommendations

• Freak Folk Bier: A top-tier brewery located in Waterbury. It is a cute little space with a front patio and superb beers.

• Blackback Pub: A restaurant with a great tap list in Waterbury. The nachos sound crazy with maple syrup on them but they absolutely slap.

• Vermont Beer Collective: A beer bar and bottle shop in Waterbury with a great tap list. They have 8 beers on draft and 3 on Lukr. The folks here are nice and their selection is legit.

• Prohibition Pig: ProPig is a restaurant in the front and a brewery in the back. They have a barbecue focused food menu and solid beers. They are also known for their margaritas.

• Ben and Jerry’s: The factory location is home to the Flavor Graveyard, factory tours, and more. Expect a line for the ice cream itself.

• Cold Hollow Cider Mill: A popular attraction with cider, donuts, and a slew of other things in their market. The also have breakfast, lunch, hard cider, and a few local beers in their restaurant space across from the market.

• Vermont Artisan Coffee and Tea: A coffee roastery that has a café along with tours and classes.

Stowe Pinnacle

Stowe recommendations

• The Alchemist: This brewery created Heady Topper, a famed IPA which they have on hand pull at the taproom. They have a neat space and a large outdoor area in Stowe. There is a rotating seasonal food truck onsite.

• Woodland Baking and Coffee: A nice little spot for breakfast and coffee with baked goods as well.

• Mount Mansfield Auto Toll Road: This road is 4.5 miles long and takes you to the near top of Mount Mansfield at 4,395ft of elevation. It is open from 9:30-4:30 daily. It’s pretty pricey at $35 per car and driver, $13 per additional passenger. Once at the top hike to The Chin—

  • The Nose to The Chin via Long Trail: This trail is 3.5 miles long with 1,053ft of elevation gain. It takes just over 1.5 hours to complete and brings you to the highest point in Vermont. The views are great throughout the entire trail from the Nose to the Upper Lip to the Chin. Though this trail is rated moderate it is not difficult and very nice. The bugs can be pretty awful in the summer months. To climb The Chin from the base instead of from the toll road you can follow this steeper trail.

• Doc Pond’s: A solid restaurant with a fun vibe and g0od beer list.

• von Trapp Brewing: A Lager focused brewery with a full food menu and restaurant style vibes. They have decent views and are connected to the von Trapp Lodge.

• Lawson’s Finest Liquids: An OG New England brewery located in Waitsfield. They have a small food menu and their taproom connects to the Heart of the Valley Trail.

• Stowe Pinnacle Trail: This trail is 5 miles long with 1,561ft of elevation gain that takes about 2.5 hours to complete. It is located in CC Putnam State Forest right outside of Stowe. I would recommend going early to avoid crowds, but in general it was very quiet. The trail is rated hard and is steep at points but is quite nice overall with beautiful sweeping views at the summit.

Foam Brewers

Burlington Recommendations

It’s just about a half an hour from the Stowe/Waterbury area to Burlington! This is a cool, artsy city on the water.

• Foam Brewers: A great spot with great beers. They have a nice patio space where you can juuuust see Lake Champlain across from Waterfront Park. The tap list is IPA heavy, but their mixed culture spot House of Fermentology occasionally has beers available as well. They also have a small food menu.

• Burlington Beer Company: A good brewery with a food menu, massive tap list, and nice space. The tap list is IPA-heavy and their flights are preset.

• Waterfront Park: A gorgeous park on Lake Champlain with the mountains in the background. It is a great spot to watch the sunset.

• Zero Gravity Brewery: A lovely space with delicious food, but the beer is pretty average.

• Four Quarters Brewing: A solid brewery located in the Winooski neighborhood. They have a food menu, cocktails and wine along with their beers. Heads up you’ll need to pay to park here.

• Don’t stay at the Hampton Inn Colchester: I had a pretty terrible experience here and would never recommend it.

Providence, RI

Providence as a whole was really disappointing to me. The city is pretty trashy, folks are horrible drivers, and I had some mediocre experiences. BUT I did go to a few really great spots, so I wanted to be sure to share my recommendations, as well as spots to avoid.

Providence Recommendations:

• Long Live Beerworks: A great brewery with an IPA focus. They have a front patio, a cute interior, and an incredibly nice team.

• Ogie’s Trailer Park: A delightful spot with a fun atmosphere inside and out. It exudes dive bar vibes with a food truck inside serving tasty eats. This is also a popular spot for brunch.

• Buttonwoods Brewery: A casual brewery with electic vibes in the Federal Hill neighborhood with a variety of beers available. Screaming Unicorn is located inside for eats.

• Oak Bakery: A Jewish bakery with delicious eats.

• DePasquale Square: A touristy area full of restaurants (particularly a lot of Italian spots!). There is a cute fountain in a pedestrian area with seasonal patio seating.

Ogie's Trailer Park

Other ideas:

• Moniker Brewery: A Lager-focused brewery in the Federal Hill neighborhood.

• Proclamation Ale Company: An average brewery in the suburbs of Providence. They have some games in the taproom and Saugy Hotdogs inside for eats.

• Titled Barn Brewery: An overrated brewery in the suburbs of Providence that is overrun with children, overpriced, and serving average beer.

• Buns and Beans: This looks like a good spot for breakfast and coffee but it was absolutely exploding with people and a line down the block so I ended up skipping it.

• Rocky Point State Park: A run down park on the water in south Providence. Very sad excuse for a state park.

• Tori Tomo: A downtown ramen spot that I would give a 0/10. Half of my ingredients that I paid for were missing and the service was awful.

New Hampshire

Keene

Keene is a cute little town just over the Massachusetts and Vermont borders in southwest New Hampshire.

• Modestman Brewing: A great brewery on Main Street with chill vibes, the nicest people, and a pizza menu. Highly recommend.

• Margaritas: A Mexican restaurant in the heart of downtown. The have a nice front patio, friendly staff, and margarita flights!

• Stay at Courtyard Marriott Keene: This hotel is right downtown off of main spot and incredibly convenient. It is a nice spot and the staff is very friendly.

• Branch and Blade Brewing Company: A small spot with a restaurant inside and dog-friendly outside area. The beers here were a bit hit and miss for me, but I’ve enjoyed their cans in the past.

Mount Willard

White Mountains

The White Mountains region is located in northeast New Hampshire, about two hours north of Keene. It is a beautiful area full of hiking trails.

• Crawford Notch State Park:

  • Arethusa Falls and Frankenstein Cliff Loop: This trail is 6.6 miles long with 1,637ft of elevation gain and takes just over 3 hours to complete. It is rated hard, and you’ll climb over 1,200ft in the first 1.6 miles which is quite steep at times. After this ascent you’ll reach the cliff which provides stunning views. From there you’ll journey to the largest waterfall in New Hampshire. You can also do just the cliff trail or just the waterfall trail—the waterfall trail is more popular and more maintained. It is $5 to park.

  • Mount Willard Trail: This trail is 4 miles long with 895ft of elevation gain and takes just over 1.5 hours to complete. The trailhead is at Saco Lake and then has a steady incline to the summit. This trail is wildly rocky, so be sure to wear sturdy shoes. There is a great view of the Crawford Notch at the top, though the summit can be overrun with bugs in the summer months.

• Schilling Beer Co: Located in the adorable small town of Littleton, Schilling is a Lager powerhouse. Their beers are superb, and the atmosphere on the river is tough to beat. Their food menu is pizza-focused and full of absolutely delicious eats. They have three locations on their campus: the store and tasting room, the brewery pub and kitchen, and Mill Street Kitchen.

• Maia Papaya: A delicious spot for breakfast, lunch and coffee in Bethlehem. An absolute delight!

• Franconia Notch State Park:

  • Lonesome Lake via Cascade Brook and Pemi Trail: This trail is 8.1 miles long with 1,210ft of elevation gain and takes about 4 hours to complete. It is located at The Basin, which in itself is worth checking out. The lake is a popular trail but it is still quiet, and it is a part of the Appalachian Trail. As a heads up, the lake itself can be swarming with bugs in the summer months. I would not actually recommend this route, as the Pemi Trail is absolutely awful. There is a shorter, more direct trail that avoids the Pemi Trail, but you will also miss Cascade Brook which has Kinsman Falls, two stream crossings, and is pretty walking along the water.

  • Bald Mountain Trail: This trail is a quick .6 miles long with 242ft of elevation gain and takes about 30 minutes to complete. At the end it is a very steep scramble, but otherwise it’s very moderate. The views at the top are pretty but hindered a bit by the neighboring ski area. This trail also connects to Artist Bluff and Echo Lake.

  • The Flume Gorge Trail: This trail is 2.4 miles long with 482ft of elevation gain and takes about an hour to complete. Reservations are required and the entrance fee is $19. There are limited hours with the earliest you can enter is 9am, and I would recommend arriving around this time to have the trail to yourself. I found this to be a bit overwhelming, but it is quite popular. If you’ve been to Watkins Glen State Park in New York this has a similar vibe but is less impressive.

• Look up! The stars at night in this area can be incredibly bright due to the isolation.

• While you are in this area, Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, Vermont, is just about 1.5 hours away. They make incredible beers in a pretty, simple space.

Portland, ME

Portland, Maine is consistently rated one of the best beer cities in the US and is super gorgeous! I highly recommend this cute little city!

​Portland Tips: 

• Walk! Portland is small enough that you can walk from spot to spot most of the time instead of needing to drive/Lyft.

• Go whale watching! But don’t be surprised if your tour is cancelled multiple times due to weather.

• Portland is pretty small so you don’t need much time here, 2-3 days is perfect. Acadia National Park is another great spot in Maine to explore, check out my guide here! are It is also easy to hop on the Amtrak to another Northeastern city if you’ve got more time! Check out my guide to Boston here!

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations:

• Novare Res Bier Cafe: A great beer bar with a killer selection! They also have a nice patio and food options—I highly recommend the charcuterie board!

• Tandem Coffee and Bakery: Delicious breakfast spot! I’d recommend ordering online as it can be quite busy.

• Mast Landing Brewing: Fantastic spot just outside of town in Westbrook, Maine. They have a huge tap list exploding with delicious IPAs and a small food menu—I highly recommend the pretzel!

• Maine Beer Company: Located in Freeport, Maine, about 30 minutes north of Portland, this is a must-visit. They have a beautiful space, delicious pizzas, and phenomenal beers.

  • Mast Landing Brewing has their second location right around the corner in Freeport as well!

• Belleflower Brewing: An under the radar brewery that is crushing it. Definitely recommend checking out this little spot, particularly for their IPAs.

• Oxbow Blending & Bottling: A terrific brewery specializing in Farmhouse Ales. This spot has awesome vibes plus they have Duckfat onsite for drool-worthy fries and other goodies.

• Bissell Brothers Brewing: A great brewery with tasty IPAs and a full food menu. They’ve got a nice patio and a large taproom. Heads up, you’ll need to pay to park.

• Brewery hop on Industrial Way:

  • Allagash Brewing: Easily the most popular brewery in Portland and for good reason! They have fantastic beers and don’t sleep on their onsite food truck Bite Into Maine!

  • Definitive Brewing Company: Industrial vibes, tasty beers, and frequent food trucks.

  • Foundation Brewing Company: Solid brewery with a variety of beers to choose from.

  • Battery Steele Brewing: Another option on this brewery-packed street!

Allagash Brewing Company

touristy things in portland worth doing:

• Hang out on the Eastern Promenade: Walk the trail and gaze at the sailboats!

• Wander around the adorable downtown and pop into shops!

• Peak’s Island: Grab the ferry and adventure around! We rented a cheap and fun little golf cart to go around the island for a couple hours.

• Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse: Gorgeous and totally worth the short drive from downtown Portland!

Portland Head Lighthouse

Other Portland things to do:

• Liquid Riot Bottling Company: A variety of local beers + check out the view from the back deck!

• Rising Tide Brewing Co.: Another great brewery in Portland! They have cute little flight trays and a wide array of options!

• Austin Street Brewery: Located right next door to Rising Tide, this is a solid brewery with a small tap list.

• Little Tap House: A restaurant with a farm-to-table menu and a large tap list. This spot is especially great for brunch and happy hour!

• Lone Pine Brewing Company: Solid brewery with nice staff members and a large patio outback. The Oh-J is a must try!

• Goodfire Brewing: Right behind Lone Pine, this a cool spot with experimental flavors + shuffleboard in the back.

Boston, MA

Boston can get a bad rap for its weather and aggressive locals, but it’s a cool city to spend a few days in!

Boston Tips: 

• Expect terrible driving. Parking is bad. Drivers are bad. Lanes end with no warning. I’d avoid having a car if you’re staying in the city center.

• I would not recommend going in the winter unless you really enjoy the snow and cold—Boston gets slammed with winter storms.

• Be sure to venture into Cambridge and out to Cape Cod while in the area as well!

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations:

• Tree House Brewing Company: A stellar brewery with 5 locations (one is on the beach and one is at a golf course!). They have some funky rules about how many pours you can get and ordering to-go beer, so be sure to check out their website for each taproom’s policies before visiting.

  • Sandwich: A beautiful spot on Cape Cod at the beach! Dog friendly outside, and they serve delicious pizzas and lobster rolls.

  • Carlton: The OG location is a massive, beautiful campus. They run like a well-oiled machine. Dog friendly inside and out, pizzas sometimes available.

  • Deerfield: This is a converted industrial building that they made into an epic taproom. They have a plant-filled interior and a spacious outdoor area. Dog-friendly outside, pizzas available.

• Trillium Brewing: Trillium is consistently one of the best breweries in the country and you absolutely must try their beers while in Boston! Trillium has four locations in the area: Fort Point, Fenway, Canton, and on the Greenway!

  • Trillium Fort Point: This location has a large tap list, a rooftop bar, a full food menu, and a nice outdoor patio. Highly recommend checking out this location!

  • Trillium Fenway: A smaller tap list and a small taproom, but the outdoor space is nice. This location is right next to Time Out Market which has a bunch of different food options.

  • Trillium Canton: Their newest space is a bit further outside of the city center. Full food menu, gorgeous, spacious taproom, and a huge outdoor area.

    • Pro-tip: The Homewood Suites in Canton is a 3 minute walk from this Trillium location!

  • Trillium on the Greenway: A seasonal taproom located right on the Rose Kennedy Greenway!

• Fenway Beer Shop: A bottle shop close to Fenway Park with a really good selection of cans and bottles. Highly recommend!

• Mike’s Pastry: Touristy but worth it. Cannolis are not usually my favorite but I loveeeeee Mike’s. The peanut butter chocolate is clearly the best. Cash only!

• Rose Kennedy Greenway: A fun outdoor space in the heart of the city. The city’s best food trucks park here for lunch time—get on it! Trillium Brewing also has a location on the greenway!

• Tatte Bakery & Cafe: This fantastic bakery has numerous locations throughout the Boston area for you to try their delicious baked goods. I recommend going to the location near the Boston Commons and taking a stroll with your coffee/snack!

• Vitamin Sea Brewing: A solid brewery in Weymouth specializing in IPAs. It is a nice little spot with good vibes. They also have a location in Plymouth.

  • Barrel House Z is across the street

• Sam Adam’s Brewing: Super touristy of course, but at least they have brewery-only releases to try when you visit! They have a nice outdoor space as well.

• Night Shift Brewing: They have several taprooms throughout town, so we checked out the Love Joy Wharf location. It is right on the water and they are a solid brewery.

• The Lawn on D: This is basically an adult playground with games, swings, alcohol, dogs, and more.

• Harpoon Brewery: This massive brewery is definitely worth a stop. Be sure to get a pretzel.

Trillium Brewing

touristy things in boston that are worth doing:

• Fenway Park: You gotta do it! It’s such a cool little stadium. Even the cheapest seats have a great view because everything is compact.

  • Bleacher Bar is a great place to pre-game with lots of craft beer options right across from the stadium

• Newbury Street: Wander the shops & admire the brownstones!

• Boston Public Garden & Boston Commons: The swan boats are iconic and the park is gorgeous!

• Wander North End: This neighborhood is full of fantastic Italian restaurants! For something casual grab sandwiches from Pauli’s and enjoy them on the waterfront of the Boston Harbor at Langone Park with Mike’s Pastry!

• Boston Public Market: A great food hall with lots of options. Makes for a great stop for lunch!

• Explore Cape Cod: A fun spot to spend a day or two! Expect road delays.

  • Provincetown: A cute little town at the end of the cape full of shopping, restaurants, ice cream shops, and more. Be sure to stop at The Canteen, a self-proclaimed “Provincetown institution.” This restaurant and bar has a great patio on the water. The food is tasty but nothing too special and they have a solid beer selection. Their raw bar is weekends only.

  • Sandwich: This town is at the start of the cape and home to one of Tree House Brewing Company’s taprooms. It is located right on the water with gorgeous views and a beautiful interior. They have delicious and massive pizzas + lobster rolls. In addition to their incredible beer they have craft cocktails in the airstream outside.

  • Cape Cod National Seashore: Check out Highland Lighthouse and Coast Guard Beach!

Fenway

Cambridge & Somerville Recommendations:​​

• Explore Harvard of course! Here is a self-guided walking tour!

• Lamplighter Brewing: A fun brewery with yummy beers and a small food menu.

• Remnant Brewing: A great brewery in Somerville located in Bow Market. Really good beers and several other food/drink options in the market plaza as well.

• Aeronaut Brewing: Another brewery in Somerville with good beers, a huge patio, and chill vibes.

• Simon’s Coffee Shop: A cute and homey coffee shop with killer breakfast sandwiches!

• Kendall Square Roof Garden: A cute garden with a nice view.

• Cambridge Brewing Co.: Personally my favorite part was that they have different mini-glasses for flights for each type of beer! A fun spot with food as well.

• The Sinclair: A great spot for brunch in Harvard Square. Sit on the rooftop if the weather is nice!

July 2021

Y’all. July was insane. I visited Columbia South Carolina, Portland Oregon, Hood River Oregon, part of the Oregon Coast, Bend Oregon, Seattle Washington, Boston Massachusetts, Portland Maine, Bar Harbor Maine, and had some killer beers at home in Charlotte in-between. Trying to narrow down this list of my top beers in July was ridiculously difficult after visiting 65(!) new breweries in July, a few of which are some of the top breweries in the country. Check out my top beers in July below:

Everything from Great Notion Brewing in Portland, OR

Hi it’s me, already cheating for choice number one. It is impossible for me to pick one favorite beer from Great Notion that I had—I visited two of their taprooms and had a flight at each, so I had 10 beers on tap and 4 beers in cans throughout my trip. Some highlights were: Carnibaal Smoothie-Style Ale with raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, cotton candy, and marshmallow flavor that is a collaboration with @baabaabrewhouse, Orrerey Imperial Pastry Stout, Big Papaya Fruited Sour with papaya, Shepherd of the Forest Imperial IPA with Strata, Galaxy, Citra, and Vic Secret, and The Mad Batter Imperial Stout with chocolate, vanilla, almonds, and coconut.

Native/Wild Estate Honey From Oxbow Blending and Bottling in Portland, ME

Native/Wild Estate Honey is a Spontaneously Fermented Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale with Maine grains, aged hops, well water, and estate honey. We enjoyed everything we tried at Oxbow and the highlight was definitely this bottle. Duckfat also has a location onsite to pair your beers with some killer fries.

Everything from The Ale Apothecary in Bend, OR

It is impossible to choose again here, so why not just talk about all of the beers? Ale Apothecary is a super unique little spot in Bend where all of their beers are 100% barrel aged, wild fermented, and naturally carbonated. I had every beer available when I visited: Pear Sauvie with @meccagrade barley and rye malts, @sauvieislandhops Crystal hops, and pear juice; Sahalie malted barley & wheat and @goschiefarms Cascade hops, house lactobacillus culture, aged up to 1 year in oak barrels then a month-long dry-hopping in oak barrels; Walking Fish dry-hopped brew transferred onto freshly harvested Crystal hops from @sauvieislandhops; Sahati barley & rye malts with @goschiefarms Cascade hops brewed in a fallen spruce tree; Farmhouse with barley, rye, wheat, and oats aged in barrels 3-4 months, dry-hopped in the barrel, and naturally carbonated with Oregon honey.

Twice the Daily Serving From Trillium Brewing in Boston, MA

I always love this series from Trillium! This version of Twice The Daily Serving is a Berliner Weisse with blackberry, plum, and raspberry. Visiting Trillium was incredible and of course we left with a plethora of cans for the rest of our time in New England! I enjoyed this one with the sunset over the bay in Southwest Harbor, Maine near Acadia National Park.

Speling van het Lot VIII.ii: Schaarbeekse On A Toast (Medium) - Blended & Alive (Season 17|18) Blend No. 47 From Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen in Lot, Belgium

Did you get all of that? 3 Fonteinen always produces some of the best Lambics around and this one was no exception! It was incredibly smooth and had a nice hint of cherry without being overwhelming. Here is their description of this brew: Speling van het Lot” (Twist of Fate) is a series of small batch experimental brews, barrel maturations, fruit macerations and/or blends. This 8th version features the maceration of Schaarbeekse cherries on charred/toasted barrels. This Schaarbeekse On A Toast has macerated for 265 days on a fresh 1,000 liter medium toasted French oak barrel, in a proportion of 1 kilo of Schaarbeekse cherries per liter of Lambic. After the maceration, the fruit Lambic was blended with young Lambic for a continued fermentation in the bottle.

Pear Mary 2019 From Cascade Brewing in Portland, OR

Cascade is a must visit in Portland! I absolutely loved getting to taste a bunch of their Sours and hanging out in their patio space. My favorite beer I had was Pear Mary 2019, a blend of sour blond ales aged in oak wine barrels then naturally fermented with juice from Northwest-grown pears and infused with fresh rosemary. I also enjoyed Chêne des Fous 2018, Apricot 2019, Garden Party 2017, and Belmont Street Bramble.

Double Dry Hopped Fort Point from Trillium Brewing in Boston, MA

Fort Point is Trillium’s classic juicy Pale Ale, and the DDH version of it was absolutely incredible. It is the classic Fort Point recipe with Columbus hops and then double dry hopped with Citra hops.

Eleanor from Fair Isle Brewing in Seattle, WA

Eleanor is a Farmhouse Ale refermented on elderberries with Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. It has a berry body with notes of cinnamon, clove, and earthy flavors. Fair Isle was my absolute favorite stop in Seattle! They specialize in creating mixed-culture Saisons and they absolutely crush it. I can’t wait to visit them again in the future!

The Purple Kriek From de Garde Brewing in Tillamook, OR

The Purple Kriek is a Spontaneous Wild Ale aged in oak barrels with black and red raspberries and Montmorency and Morello cherries. de Garde is a must visit on any trip to Oregon! They are consistently ranked one of the top breweries in the country, with good reason.

Back in the Zone collaboration From Mast Landing Brewing in Westbrook, ME and Orono Brewing in Orono, ME

Back in the Zone is an Imperial IPA with Citra, Mosaic, and Rakau hops. Mast Landing’s IPAs were absolutely stellar. I loved everything at the taproom outside of Portland, Maine and luckily they were on tap at several spots in Bar Harbor as well!

CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO SEE MY TOP BEERS OF August!
CHEERS —ALEXIS