The Journey Home

Sometimes you need to go off the beaten path. Normally when we go to New Hampshire, we take Route 9 across Vermont. It’s a nice route: picturesque, direct, and plenty of brewpubs along the way. I like to joke that I only stop at brewpubs that start with the letter “M”. That lets me visit Madison Brewing in Bennington, Maple Leaf Brewing in Wilmington, and McNeill’s in Brattleboro. Nice pubs, but not what I visited this weekend. It’s the standard route, the normal way I go, and I convinced my wife that it was a beautiful day and we should try something different. And for an extra 40 miles, I had the perfect trip planned.

We took Interstate 89 through New Hampshire, and went to the Harpoon Brewery (http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/) in Windsor, VT. Jenn had actually been there before when the facility was associated with Anheuser-Busch. It then went to the now bankrupt Catamount brewing, and now it is owned by Mass Bay. I was in search of the latest release (#19) of the Harpoon 100 Barrel series. This version was labeled Peche, a peach limbic that I was able to try on draft and in the bottle. I also wanted to let everyone know how good the food was here. They made their own sandwiches. I got the Vermonter which was turkey with slices of green apple and cheddar cheese while Jenn had one with smoked ham and mustard. It was a nice pitstop for our journey: kid friendly, good food, and bottles to go.

We then headed north to take Route 4 across Vermont. It is a very scenic road with small towns, ski resorts, and mountain streams on the route. We stopped at Long Trail brewing (http://www.longtrail.com/) in Bridgewater Corners and I got to try a sampler while Jenn had the kids run up and down a nearby hill (exercise is essential for the little ones). I’ve had all the Long Trail beers before in bottled form, but I was able to try them all on draft. The place was packed, and it had picnic tables over-looking the stream. I liked the Double Bag which is their version of an Altbier. We then got back on the road and headed home.

I figured that the trip cost us an extra hour of travel time, but for me it was well worth it. - 4179

"A quart of ale is a dish for a king." - William Shakespeare