Day 14

Well, we ended up spending most of the day in the car, instead of out and about on the bikes.  I have a feeling this is going to change tomorrow.  We woke up and wanted to head to Boston so that we could get to New Haven at a decent hour to get to explore the city.

We got to Sam Adam’s at quarter to noon, which was great since the next tour started at noon.  Parking was a bit of a hassle, especially considering it was before noon on a Monday, but not too terrible. They had some interactive displays for the guests to explore while they wait.  I could have spent hours in front of the computer which allowed you to watch videos from the brewers themselves and learn about all the different varieties they make.

The tour was awesome!  The tour guide was very engaging and funny.  The tour itself was pretty typical in the information given, but Jake made it very entertaining.

We were able to then experience the Boston Lager, the Summer Ale, and the Brick Red Irish Red Ale from his perspective.  He analyzed the beers as we all drank them together in the tasting room.  He especially described how the Boston Lager hits your mouth in different ways.  He also described in detail the way the glass is contoured to emphasize the beer in certain ways.  Surprisingly, Ty singled himself out during the tasting session by asking if it would be bad form to ask other tables if they needed assistance in finishing their pitchers (each table was given a pitcher of each style of beer to analyze and consume).  Jake laughed and said it would only be appropriate.  The rest of our table appreciated Ty’s assertiveness.  Overall, it was one of the best tours on which we have been.

We were tempted to head to the pub nearby where you could get a free glass from touring the brewery, but we did have a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us, so I really just wanted to hit the road.  It’s a good thing we did, because Boston traffic was horrendous.

We made it to New England Brewing around 4 and we were not exactly welcomed in the same fashion as other breweries.  This place was very small and the workers were doing their thing.  There was also a guard dog tied to the front which was a little strange.  The dog ended up being friendly along with the people, once we got to know them.  The main guy reminded me of John Goodman playing an antisocial character.  He was not open and inviting, but once we told him about our journey, he gave us a personal tour and described the process in great detail.  He was not a brewer himself, but was particularly descriptive in regards to the canning process.  They just purchased a new canning device which is not even hooked up yet.  After the tour, we sampled two of their beers.  One was a very good Double IPA and the other was a Belgian.  We decided to buy a growler of the IPA since it was tasty and he went out of his way to give us a personal tour.  We got to talking about different Vermont beers, and he cracked open a can of the Alchemist Heady Toddy, which we were told is the best beer in America right now.  We attempted to visit that brewery yesterday, but were unable to, since they were closed…although the information we were given about the brewery said they were open daily.  It all worked out in the end.  The Heady Toddy was disappointing, but the guys at New England were great.  I got a new Untappd friend who stopped by to fill some growlers and talk beer with us as well.  He suggested we go to Delaney’s for their selection and Mikro for dinner.  Mikro supposedly has amazing food and a great beer selection.

From New England, we found our motel, which ended up being in a much shadier part of town than expected.  We unloaded the car, refilled the coolers with ice, and headed to Delaney’s.  There was a retired teacher sitting at the bar which I immediately struck up conversation with and we found another New England beer on tap which was not available at the brewery any longer.  We had a good experience, but had to keep on moving.  We went to Mikro, and I was very disappointed in both their beer selection and the fact that the item I wanted to order from the menu was not available, due to a lack of tofu.  It sounded delicious, but I was out of luck.  I ended up getting a typical salad, but Ty had a very good pork belly fancy sandwich with homemade fries.  We met some interesting people while there, including one of the workers from New England.  He made a point to come over to us since he recognized us.  I thought that was really nice. 

Next, we followed another lead to a place uniquely named “Bar” in downtown.  The downtown area looked awesome and I hope to explore that tomorrow morning.  I had a ginger mojito, which was delicious and Ty tried two of their own IPAs.  I was under the impression that Mikro made their own beers, which is one reason I was disappointed in them.  Bar had their own and they were pretty good.  I was afraid of being too old, since we were basically in the Yale University hang out area, but there were either parents or professors there hanging out as well. 

We decided to head back to the hotel around 9:30 to upload pictures, write this, and figure out what in the world we are going to do from here.  I have not heard a word from my buddy in NYC, so I think we’ll skip that part, and explore more in Pennsylvania and perhaps Delaware instead.  I have a feeling the real adventurous part of our excursion is ahead of us in the next couple of days.