Vermont / Buffalo 2022


This was my first solo brewery trip since before the pandemic. It had been 2½ years and I was ready to start traveling again.

Tuesday June 7. My first stop was AleCraft Brewery, which I had never been to before. It started out as a homebrew shop in 2013, and expanded into commercial brewing in 2017. They were planning to open another location in Railroad PA a few months later with a 7-barrel system (the system at this location is 2½ barrels). The beers I had were hit or miss.

Less than a mile away is Independent Brewing, where I had been three years earlier on my New Jersey / New York trip. Everything they make is gluten-reduced (they use Clarity-Ferm and other gluten reducers). They had 20+ beers on tap, plus a couple of kombuchas, a root beer, and a nitro brewed coffee. The first time I visited I didn't like their beers very much, but since they weren't out of my way I figured I'd give them another try. All the beers I tried this time were pretty good:

Then I went to visit my friends Mike and Virginia in Chadds Ford PA. There are several breweries along the way that I'd never been to and would have liked to stop at, such as Double Groove, Falling Branch, Slate Farm, Be Here, Braeloch, Kennett, and Dew Point, but they were all closed on Tuesdays. Another one, Bog Turtle, wouldn't open until 4:00.

After getting settled in, Mike and I went to Wilmington Brew Works, which opened in 2018. They had several marginal hazy pales but some good beers in other styles. We sampled:

A few minutes away is Stitch House Brewery, which opened in 2017. Parking was a bit sparse but we lucked into a spot right in front. We ate some good food (garlic parmesan fries and a chicken cheesesteak) and sampled:

Nic Cage in the urinal.


After we got back I crashed fairly early.


Wednesday June 8. Had a relaxing day hanging out, working on this triplog, lifting some weights, and napping while Mike worked until late afternoon. Then we went to Tired Hands Fermentaria, where I had been twice before (1, 2). They had just celebrated their tenth anniversary, hence the word "Decade" in some of their beer names.

The word "LUKR" refers to a Czech-style faucet that the Decade Pale Lager was served through. Opening the side faucet handle just a little creates foam, and completely opening the faucet provides a typical flow of beer. A micro screen inside the faucet aerates the beer in a similar fashion to a nitro faucet. Our server gave us "milk pours" of it by opening the handle just a little, and he instructed us to chug them, which we did. It was interesting and kind of neat to chug foam.

LUKR tap (front).
LUKR tap (side).
Milk pour.


Then we went to 2SP Brewing, which is off the beaten path so there weren't many people there. (There is also the 2SP Tap House off a main road in Chadds Ford.) 2SP refers to Two Stones Pub, which started the brewery in 2015. We sampled several beers and got a tasty chicken cheesesteak stromboli delivered from a nearby business called Cocco's.

They have a LUKR faucet too.


Crashed soon after getting back.


Thursday June 9. A nice warm and mostly sunny morning. Left around 8:30 and arrived at District 96 Beer Factory about 11:15. Their taproom wouldn't open until later but there is a place next door called The Burger Loft that opens at 11:00 and serves District 96 beer. The beers got high ratings on Untappd but they were merely good. Quite often my palate disagrees with Untappd and BeerAdvocate ratings. Anyway, I tried:

Then I hiked at Bear Mountain State Park. The weather forecast had called for rain but it was mostly sunny and warm. Normally there is a $10 park entry fee but no one was collecting money. Perhaps they were short-staffed. The previous weekend I was at a park in Maryland that wasn't collecting fees due to being short-staffed. Anyway, the hike starts out on pavement by Hessian Lake (Hessians were German soldiers who served as auxiliaries to the British Army during the American Revolutionary War). Then you take the Major Welch Trail, which is very steep and rocky -- one of the steepest trails I've ever hiked. Not sure whether these photos convey the steepness:

There was some nice scenery and occasional deer.

The pinnacle of this hike is Perkins Memorial Tower, whose steps you can climb and get some nice views.

There is a flat rocky area near the tower that offers some good views as well.

There is an inn next to the main parking area, so I went in and snapped a few photos.

Then it was onward to Hudson Valley Brewery, where I had been on my New Jersey / New York trip. Half their draughts were sour IPAs. Their beers were pretty good. I tried:

Just 5 minutes away is Industrial Arts Brewing. They have two locations; I went to their Beacon location, which opened in 2019 (their other location opened in 2016). They don't do small pours (only 10- and 16-ounce) but they let me try small samples of a few beers. They were all fairly good.

The guy you see sitting at the bar is one of the brewers. His name is Clancy and he gave me an impromptu tour of the brewery. It's a pretty big operation, with big vats and lots of space. After the tour he gave me a 4-pack to take home.

By the way, in New York there is no tax on beer. Either that or the tax is figured into the price. It makes it easy to figure tips because you're dealing with whole dollar amounts.

I drove to Wappingers Falls, checked into the Airbnb where I would be spending the night, and set out around 6:30 for Obercreek Brewing, where I had also been on my New Jersey / New York trip. I got lost on the way, which was fortunate since upon checking my phone's Google Maps app for directions, it said that Obercreek would close at 7:00. At this point it was about 6:45 and I was almost a mile and a half away, so I ran the entire way, arriving exactly at 7:00 drenched with sweat. (The things I do for beer!) Fortunately the server kept the place open well past 7:00. I sampled:

Since it was early I asked a few folks if there were any places in town with a good tap list. They said the only good place was County Fare, so I walked along Wappinger Creek...

...to County Fare. It's a standard neighborhood pub with friendly locals, none of who were availing themselves of the craft selections. I tried small samples of New Park Double Cloud and The Veil Broz Night Out, both of which were just okay, so I went with a can of Other Half DDH Stacks on Stacks, which was also just okay. Was my palate growing dull, or were most of the beers I'd had that day really not that good?

Walked back to the Airbnb and crashed.


Friday June 10. Woke up at 3:00 AM and couldn't get back to sleep, which was just as well since it took more than two hours to chronicle the previous day's adventures in this triplog. I was pretty sore from all the hiking and running. I hadn't run in well over a year due to cartilage loss in my right knee.

Left at 6:45 on a nice sunny morning. The scenery in Vermont was beautiful, with lots of greenery and mountains. I arrived at Lawson's Finest Liquids, where I had been three years earlier on my New England trip, at 11:00 when they opened. Small pours are 6 ounces, and they let me try several before deciding which to purchase pours of.

My favorite was the Triple Sunshine, so I bought a 4-pack.

My journey north brought me through Stowe, so naturally I had to stop at The Alchemist. The tasting room was closed for renovations so they were serving beer outside. They only offered full cans, not small pours, so I didn't drink anything, but I bought a couple of 4-packs to go.

Panoramic shot of the bathroom walls.


Then it was onward to the main reason I took this trip: a weekend camping and partaking of cannabis, which is recreationally legal in Vermont. (At the time of this writing, only medical dispensaries were in operation in Vermont; the first recreational dispensaries were set to open in October 2022.) This is a fairly secretive yearly event on someone's private property, and taking photos of people without their consent was not allowed, so I will not disclose exactly where this took place, and the photos below don't show any people. The folks who attend this event are hashers. I hashed a lot in the mid to late 90s, and started again in spring 2021. There were all forms of cannabis such as flower, dab, and rosin; and various smoking/vaping contraptions, including homemade ones. Lots of lights were strung up and also used to light the paths so our night "hashes" (basically just walks) looked neat. There were a few events such as the Beer/Bong Mile, where you run a quarter-mile loop 4 times and either drink a beer or take a bong hit each time around. There were bonfires both nights, and someone grilled sausages at 2:00 AM the second night. Folks wore everything from onesies to Speedos to kilts to fanny packs to glitter. It was a great weekend with nice, like-minded people sharing weed, food, and stories.

Sunday June 12. Packed, ate breakfast, and left at 10:00. Arrived at Four Quarters Brewing when they opened at 11:00. Sampled:

I bought a 4-pack of Strikkly Vikkly and headed down to Fiddlehead Brewing, arriving shortly before they opened at noon, and tried:

I liked the Fiddlehead IPA enough to buy a 4-pack. Of note is that 8-ounce samples were only $3, whereas at Four Quarters they charged $4 for 5-ounce samples.

After that I checked into an Airbnb and Ubered to Foam Brewers. They had a jazz band, and the place was fairly busy. All the beers I tried were pretty good.

House of Fermentology is a brewery located 10 miles south of Burlington. At this time they were on a brief hiatus and all their releases were hosted by Foam Brewers.

Next I ubered to Burlington Beer Company and tried:

Then I walked past the world's tallest filing cabinet...

...to Zero Gravity. The smallest pour was 10 ounces so I only ordered one:

I walked across the street to Queen City Brewery but didn't order anything, for two reasons:

  1. They had low Untappd ratings.
  2. I was drunk.

I managed to Uber back to the Airbnb. I don't remember anything after that but I suppose I fell asleep shortly thereafter, not only because I was inebriated, but also because I hadn't slept since Friday night.

Monday June 13. Woke up around midnight to pee, and again around 3:00 AM. Couldn't get back to sleep, so around 4:00 I got up, wrote for a few hours, showered, packed, and left at 8:30. It was a nice mostly sunny day. There was a lot of beautiful scenery in Vermont and eastern New York. There were also some parts where I didn't get cell service, so I was glad I'd printed paper directions. I made it to the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, where gas was 20 cents per gallon cheaper than in the eastern part of the state, by 3:30 PM. I hadn't been there since the 2011 trip I took with my long-time friend Tony. I met him at his cousin Jason's house, where I would be staying for the next several days, just as I'd done 11 years earlier. Tony and I walked around the neighborhood, which was built in the 1950s and has maintained the old-style look and feel. He and Jason grew up on the same street. Tony's parents and Jason's mother live in the same houses they've been in for many decades, and Jason lives next door to his mother. The only photo I snapped is of an in-ground trampoline:

When Jason got back from work we ordered some great Indian food and ate at his house. A little while later we crashed.

Tuesday June 14. Jason's dog Chuck slept on the bed with me, which was nice because I love dogs and the only reason I don't own one is that I travel and go to late night parties, sometimes staying overnight.

At 8:00 Tony came by and we went to Chestnut Ridge Park, a large (1213-acre) park that we went to on our 2011 trip. We took a short but steep hike to Eternal Flame Falls.


Then we went to the top of a hill that people toboggan on in winter. There are some slides that give an accelerated start.

Next we went to the tree under which Tony had proposed to his wife 35 years earlier. It was not in the best of health. On the left is the photo I took in 2011, and on the right is the one I took this time around.

Then we walked around for a while.

Next we drove to the Erie Basin Marina and climbed the tower to get great views of Lake Erie.

Then we drove into downtown Buffalo. Parking was interesting. We found a metered spot and got a bunch of quarters to put into it, but it wouldn't accept them. They wouldn't go in the slot. I had to download an app to my phone, set up an account with a credit card, and pay to park with the app. Anyway, we went to the Pearl Street Grill & Brewery because Tony's nephew Alexander works there (but he wasn't there today). It's a huge place with four levels, several bars, a rooftop deck, and function rooms (Tony's brother's 25th wedding anniversary party was held in one of them). The building was constructed in the 1800s. The restaurant/brewery opened in 1997. All the beers, unless otherwise noted, were fairly good.

Our next stop was Delaware Park, a 350-acre park with lots of greenery, paths, a river, and flamingo boats. Each year a group called Shakespeare in the Park puts on Shakespeare plays. They were setting up the stage to do As You Like It the following week, which coincidentally was the play we saw there in 2011. The park is beautiful, and the spectacular weather made it even more so. After walking around we took a siesta under a tree.

We went to a section of Buffalo called Allentown. The residential part is quaint and cozy, with old houses and big trees.

The commercial section isn't so pretty, but there are a couple of bars that Tony used to go to in the mid-80s. First we went to The Old Pink, aka the Pink. It's one of the diviest dive bars you'll ever see. Opened as the Pink Flamingo in 1983, it's a dimly lit refuge for freaks, geeks, music fanatics, and the like. Food and beers are served, but there is no printed menu, so you have to ask a bartender for their offerings. Also, there is no sign outside displaying the bar's name. We ordered a Brooklyn Bel Air Sour and a Southern Tier IPA.

A stone's throw away is a less divey dive bar called Nietzsche's. It's more brightly lit and bigger, and often has live music. We each got a Harpoon IPA and listened to good live music by a band called the Steam Donkeys.

We capped off this great day with tasty food from Mighty Taco.

Wednesday June 15. Up around 4:00 with the birds. Spent the morning writing, walking Chuck (actually he took me for a mad dash), doing laundry, and working out on Jason's Bowflex. A little before noon Tony picked me up and we had lunch at Friendly Chinese Buffet. The food was good by buffet standards.

Then we picked up Jason (he didn't work today) and went to Other Half Brewing, which as of this writing has seven locations. I had been to one of their Brooklyn locations on my New Jersey / New York trip, and also their Washington D.C. location a few months earlier on my DC / Columbia excursion. Today we went to their Buffalo location. The weather was hot for Buffalo (high 80s) and this place had no air conditioning so it was very warm in there. All the beers we sampled were pretty good but lighter in body (nothing over 7.5%) and not as flavorful as the beers I've had at their other locations. They were clean and refreshing on a hot day though (well, except the stout of course).

A few blocks away is Southern Tier Brewing, which as of this writing has five locations in four states. Their Buffalo location opened in October 2021 and is a taproom only; they do not brew here. It's big and modern and has air conditioning, which was very welcome after our shvitzy walk in the heat. (It was the only brewery we'd visit that day that had A/C.) The bar tops change colors and there are more than 30 video screens. The beers, like the ones at Other Half, were pretty good but light in body (even their DIPAs were fairly light). They did not have any of their big beers (Crème Brûlée, Pumking, Choklat, etc).

We headed over to Alexander's apartment and went up on the rooftop to get a view of Buffalo and Lake Erie...

...and then the four of us went to Thin Man Brewery. Most of the beers were kind of light for my palate but there was one that I liked.

Our final brewery of the day was Froth Brewing. They make a lot of fruited sours, and they name them after whatever fruits are in them. We tried 12 beers and I liked almost all of them. This was definitely my favorite brewery of the day.

After that we dropped Jason off at home and the remaining three of us went around the corner to Pubski Pub (a lot of Polish people live in the area, and many of their last names end in "ski"). Formerly the Anchor Inn, it opened in February 2021 as Pubski. It's a nice friendly neighborhood place. Some of Tony's old friends met us and we all had good food.

Thursday June 16. Up with the birds again. A very warm and humid morning. Tony picked me up and we stopped at a cemetery to visit some of his relatives' plots. His car key broke but fortunately it could still start the car so we left his car at his parents' house and walked to Jason's to get my car. We headed to Anderson's Frozen Custard, which has about half a dozen locations, for some ice treats (he got lemon and I got strawberry). They were quite good, and also refreshing on a hot and humid day. Then we burned off some of the sugar by walking around a nearby mall called the Walden Galleria. He was hoping to find a Father's Day card but not one place in the entire mall sold greeting cards, so we went to Wegman's where he found one.

There is a beer store called Consumer's Beverages that has many locations in the Buffalo area, and since Jason works at one of them I thought we'd go to one. It has a fairly extensive variety of beers, including many cold ones and a growler fill station. I picked up a few cold cans.

Then we went back to the neighborhood. Tony hung out with his parents and called his daughter to have her FedEx his spare car key, while I relaxed at Jason's for a few hours. It was the first day of this vacation that wasn't packed with activities so it was good to get a rest. Then Tony came over and we spent the evening listening to music. Eventually Jason came home and we drank some craft beers until 11-ish.

Friday June 17. Was able to sleep in until 5:30. Cooler weather than the past two days. Tony came over around 8:00 or 9:00 and we went to Stiglmeier Park, aka Losson Park. It has over 300 acres of trails and sports fields. The weather was nice and sunny and the park looked beautiful. We got lost on the trails but eventually found our way back to my car.

We went to Tony's parents' house to see if his car key had arrived yet. It hadn't. The four of us went to Apollo Family Restaurant, where his parents go every Friday for the fish fry. The place was very busy. Seated to the left of Tony is his mom (his dad didn't want to be in the photo).

When we returned to Tony's parents' house, his key had been delivered. I dropped my car off on an adjacent street because I couldn't get into Jason's driveway due to road construction...

...and we went in Tony's car to the Burchfield Nature & Art Center, a 29-acre park. It has a network of trails, a playground, and some artwork. Although not as big or beautiful as Stiglmeier Park, it's still nice.

Tony dropped me off as close as he could get me to Jason's and I took a siesta while he hung out with his parents. A while later I retrieved my car when the construction rubble had been flattened. Shortly thereafter Tony came by with his friends CeeCee and Barbara, who grew up next door and across the street from him, respectively. We walked to the Catholic school that they all attended as kids...

...and then to Pubski. We sat outside for a while, then went inside for dinner.

Barbara (next to me) bought us these pink flamingos.

At dusk we walked back down the street to visit CeeCee's sister Aggie, who lives with her husband on the opposite side of the street from the house she and CeeCee grew up in. Then we walked Barbara home - she lives with her husband in the same house she grew up in. The weather was very windy and cool. What a change from the previous day.

Saturday June 18. A cool, cloudy, windy morning. Took off at 8:15 AM. At 11:45 I arrived in Pittsburgh at Dancing Gnome Brewery, where I had been three years earlier on my Eastern U.S. trip. They opened at noon, which gave me 15 minutes to lay a base with a few sandwiches and some baby carrots. Their smallest pours are 8 ounces so I only got two.

In nearby Braddock is Brew Gentlemen, where I had also been on my Eastern U.S. trip. They serve 6-ounce small pours. I tried three DIPAs:

Then it was off to Williamsport MD, where there are two breweries walking distance from each other. First I visited Homaide Brewing, which opened in November 2020. I got 6-ounce samples of:

Cushwa Brewing opened in early 2017. In addition to their beers they serve cocktails, and they have two machines that turn their fruit sours into slushies. There is also a pizza place in there called Rad Pies. I got 5-ounce samples of two NEDIPAs:

Then I went to the home of my friends Todd and Mitsy in nearby Hagerstown. I hadn't seen them in about a decade. They have a vegetable garden with a hothouse, bees, chickens that lay several colors of eggs, and an English angora rabbit whose fur Mitsy spins into yarn and makes into clothing items. We spent the evening chatting and having crabs and beer.

Sunday June 19. A gorgeous sunny, cool morning. It felt like fall. We had a nice breakfast featuring omelettes made from their chickens' eggs and hung out on their deck...

...until I headed down to Frederick in the late morning. I arrived at Monocacy Brewing just before they opened at noon. Their flights were less expensive than at most other places: $8 for 5 samples. I tried:

Next stop: Rockwell Brewery.

A block away is Midnight Run Brewing. The website said that they open at noon on Sundays, but they didn't actually open until 2:00. Their smallest pours are 8 ounces but the server let me have some small tastes so I was able to try five beers while only ordering two. All of them were pretty good.

My old friend Eric, who I hadn't seen in many years and is also the son of an old friend/coworker, saw my Facebook posts from the other breweries, so he met me here and we spent a few hours catching up.

Then I checked into the Days Inn and Ubered to Olde Mother Brewing. I tried:

Next I Ubered to Steinhardt Brewing. Their beers got low Untappd ratings, and boy did they live up to them. If it weren't for the alcohol, these beers would have had no redeeming qualities. I drank maybe half of each sample.

Right next door is Idiom Brewing. I tried their two NEIPAs and they were pretty good.

A few hundred yards away are two more breweries, so I walked over a canal...

...to Smoketown Creekside. I'd been to their original location in Brunswick a few years earlier and was not impressed. My server told me that they planned to open another location in Hagerstown in a few months. This location had more than 20 beers on tap, almost all of which got low Untappd ratings, so I tried the one beer whose rating was pretty good.

Smoketown is flanked by two Attaboy Beer locations. On one side is the Attaboy Barrel House, which is only open on Saturdays, but I went there anyway to take a photo through the glass door.

On Smoketown's other side is Attaboy Beer's tap room. I sampled:

Then I Ubered back to the Days Inn. I wasn't that drunk even though I'd been to 8 breweries because I limited my intake.

Monday June 20. Slept pretty well. Spent a few hours writing and showering, and returned home.

It was a great trip: I spent time with several friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in a long time; did some hiking; had a nice campout with fun people; visited 35 breweries; and sampled 170 beers.