Day 6 was a good one. After staying in a highly questionable hotel, I woke up, and my cargo was safe and sound. In the morning, I went to northern Connecticut to collect my local sausages to hoard and bring back to Minneapolis. Then I quickly drove through my hometown of Suffield before heading to the H&M giant grinder shop for a trip down memory lane.
The first beer stop was at the highly recommended Fox Farm Brewery in Salem, Connecticut. The Avalonia Red wild ale was really tasty. I should be taking better-tasting notes, but my stops are so short, and my mind is racing with other thoughts. The brewery was beautiful, and the external barrel room was looking great. The staff was also very helpful and cheerful. I picked up some IPA cans and a few bottles of wild ale to go.
I then worked my way west across the state to Kent Falls Brewing. What a picturesque location for the drive in, through dirt roads with great views of the mountains and valley. I tried a decent farmhouse ale, picked up my bottles and cans, and briefly looked around the place. Much more of a farm feel than Fox Farm.
The last two stops of the day were in Massachusetts at two mega breweries. Trillium and Tree House. Treehouse is a behemoth. The place almost seems too big to navigate with lines for this and that. They are, of course, world famous for their Juicy IPA’s. I grabbed a case of the standards and a few 4-packs of the doubles to make flights. I also picked up a couple of bottles of their WIld Ales and stouts to try later. It was quiet while there, but I bet they jam on weekends.
The last stop of the day was at Trillium Brewing. Nice to meet up with my Brother in law and relax to have a couple of beers and some food at the bar. Trillium is another giant location made to serve massive amounts of people. I again grabbed some standard cans and a few 750ml examples of their farmhouse and stout styles. The wild ale cuvee blend was nice, and I also had a juicy, hazy IPA. We capped off the night with a draft of Hill Farmstead IPA at a local bar.
Today I head up to Maine for Alagash and Oxbow before heading over to Hill Farmstead and a couple of other small stops to pick up some goodies. After that, only one big day left before the long drive from Ohio back to Minneapolis.
