Visiting Massachusetts

[murphyslaw]

I don't know why this never occurred to me, but my in-laws live just outside Worcester, MA and in advance of our next visit, I thought I'd see if there were any breweries known for N.E. IPA's nearby. I've never tried one before. It turns out Tree House is only 50 minutes west, so I will definitely make a visit during my next trip.

I'll also try to make it to Trillium, but I'll likely to have to pick one for this trip and keep one for the next.

It looks like Alchemist and Hill Farmstead don't distribute outside VT, but Main Beer Co. does. Anything else I should be on the lookout for? Even in bottle shops?

 

[jpakstis]

Wormtown Brewery in Worcester makes a great NE IPA in my opinion, Be Hoppy. I've never gotten a chance to try any of their others, but I've heard they're pretty good too.

Also, in case you didn't know, the yellow smiley face was created in Worcester. An insurance company wanted to boost morale so they had buttons with the yellow smiley face made up and every employee wore them around the office. Which is why Be Hoppy has the big yellow smiley face on their labels.

 

[bluemoose]

Treehouse in Munson. Thank me later.

 

[bluemoose]

You should be able to get Lawson's finest in CT, as they contract brew there. Not too far.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

Love Be Hoppy.
Check Treehouse website for what's in cans/growlers. They're also very good with their Twitter updates. *Monson, but pronounced Munson

Also in Monson, Adams grocery store has a decent selection of beers.

 

[zipster222]

Definitely check out the Wormtown tasting room on Shrewsbury street. They serve many great beers besides Bee Hoppy that you cannot readily find in stores. I had an IPA-like beer there called Buddha Juice that was amazing.

 

[GrillaRays]

Harpoon Brewery makes a highly regarded IPA

 

[murphyslaw]

Thanks everyone. I did make it out to Tree House and it was awesome. They had sold out of Julius the day before but I got 12 cans of Doppelganger and a 750ml of Haze. You can't drink on premises so we went to a nearby BYOB bbq joint that was also fantastic. The beer was not only terrific, but really unique. I've never tasted a beer like that. Reminded me of the first time I had a sour beer.

I did also go to Adams grocery for some ice and browsed the beer selection but didn't buy.

After the bbq joint we went back to Worcester to check out Armsby Abbey. They had Hill Farmstead's Edward on tap, as well as their collaboration with Tired Hands, Karma Emulsion. Both were fantastic.

Next time I'll be on the lookout for Be Hoppy and will try to get to Trillium. Either way, I think a stop in Monson will become part of every future visit to the in-laws.