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Hikes + Hops: Trail and brewery pairings for New England travelers
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items There are few things more viscerally satisfying than sidling up to a bar after an industrious ramble, ordering a fresh beer, and savoring the foam as you take that first, well-earned gulp. Regardless of the season, beer is an intuitive accompaniment ...
Map
Sections
6
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont
Connecticut
Head to the remote, serene woods of eastern Connecticut and kick things off with powerful Chapman Falls. Then venture into the forest of this state park and explore the labyrinthine paths to reach oddities such as natural stone potholes once rumored ...
Pairing 1: Devil's Hopyard State Park
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After taking in the sights and sounds of Devil's Hopyard State Park, motor over to a parcel of farmland where these artisan brewers offer seriously crisp pilsners and Czech lagers. The brewery is housed in a gorgeous stone barn that brings to mind ce...
Pairing 1: Fox Farm Brewery
Imagine an endless tunnel of foliage, rustling in the breeze, with its colors shifting from green to burn orange. The Larkin State Park Trail brings this seasonal dream to life, following an old railroad route through the woodlands of one of Connecti...
Pairing 2: Larkin State Park Trail
Not only does Black Hog Brewing offer some seriously robust beers like a Lotus and Citra hopped IPA and a nice malty doppelbock, but it's one of the only breweries in New England that literally exists next to a hiking trail. From the Larkin State Par...
Pairing 2: Black Hog Brewing
Maine
Did you know that Maine has its own "Grand Canyon" hidden deep in the northern timberlands? A trip to Gulf Hagas is one of the legendary Pine Tree State adventures, with a trail that skirts the rim of the long canyon and visits cascades such as Screw...
Pairing 3: Gulf Hagas
Bissell Brothers has built a hallowed status among Maine craft beer hounds; cranking out some of the juiciest, hoppiest ales in the northeast. And as it happens, they have a north country taproom that's just a short drive down the road from Gulf Haga...
Pairing 3: Bissell Brothers
The sunset view of Portland's skyline at dusk is a stunner, and it's best savored from the waters of Back Cove. Not only does the Back Cove Trail offer primo access to this urban oasis, but it's one of many trails that comprise a vast network in Port...
Pairing 4: Back Cove Trail
Housed in a repurposed and glammed-up gas station building, with a killer patio, Austin Street Brewery offers a sudsy smorgasbord of refreshments like piney IPAs and toasty dark ales. And it's easily accessible from Back Cove: just make the crossing ...
Pairing 4: Austin Street Brewery
Massachusetts
Not only is Mount Holyoke College named after a literal mountain in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, but the peak contains an old summit house with a wraparound porch that offers an astounding view of the Connecticut River below. And the ...
Pairing 5: Mount Holyoke
After being in a high place in the Pioneer Valley mountains, try looking up at them from the patio at Fort Hill Brewery while sipping one of their locally acclaimed beers. While the menu spans a wide and inclusive gamut of flavors, the darker, maltie...
Pairing 5: Fort Hill Brewery
Worcester, the largest city in Central Massachusetts, happens to boast one of the coolest and most scenically diverse urban trails in New England. Running roughly 13 miles across town through the city's parks, wetlands, and forests, from Lake Quinsig...
Pairing 6: The East-West Trail
"Beer for People" is the mantra of this Worcester craft beer haven, and on a typical summer day, their taproom and porch can feel like the hub of the civic universe, with an eclectic crew of visitors enjoying their Pilsners and stouts. It's the perfe...
Pairing 6: Redemption Rock Brewing Co.
New Hampshire
New England's high points tend to be more lumbering, with less angular extremity than the mountains found out west. Table Rock is a towering exception. This spire of stone in the northernmost woodlands of New Hampshire feature's a table-like peak tha...
Pairing 7: Table Rock
The craft beer revolution took its time reaching the Great North Woods of New Hampshire, but now, Coös Brewing Company reigns as a craft beer beast in a remote land. Its pinier elixirs like a single-hopped oat IPA are paired with sweeter innovations ...
Pairing 7: Coös Brewing Company
There's a reason why the traverse of Franconia Ridge is one of the most popular hikes in New England: it's an epic, scenically opulent challenge of a lifetime. In the course of one big loop, you'll summit three 4,000 footers (including Mount Lafayett...
Pairing 8: The Franconia Ridge Traverse
Inspired by both classic and new styles of European beer, Schilling is a balm for anyone who's getting tired of the Double/Triple IPA arms race (though Schilling does make a mean IPA too.) Crisper, malt-forward pilsners and lagers are served alongsid...
Pairing 8: Schilling Beer
Rhode Island
Perhaps the wildest green space in Providence, Neutaconkanut Hill is a testament to the regenerative power of nature and how people can help it rebound. After being treated as an informal garbage dump for years, this verdant, wooded hill was rehabbed...
Pairing 9: Neutaconkanut Hill
The operative word in this brewery's moniker is “project” because the vibe at Origin Beer Project is one of a wizard's workshop. The IPAs, lagers, and stouts are imbued with an inspired range of ingredients, while adhering to Old World styles of brew...
Pairing 9: Origin Beer Project
Vermont
Some of the most unforgettable vistas require a sizeable climb, but Barr Hill belongs to that special genre of high point hikes that involves minimal climbing and plenty of audible ooh-ing and ahh-ing. The short loop path that pokes around the woodla...
Pairing 10: Barr Hill Natural Area
If any brewery in New England looks, feels, and tastes like a deep labor of love, it's Hill Farmstead. This family-owned microbrewery draws beer lovers from across the world to sample their award-winning pale ales and tart “farmstead” ales, all of wh...
Pairing 10: Hill Farmstead Brewery
One of those “crushable” day hikes that's just tough enough to get the sweat flowing but simple enough to be tacked onto a dreamy summer or fall afternoon, Stowe Pinnacle is a classic northern Vermont mountain ramble. The views of the Stowe valley an...
Pairing 11: Stowe Pinnacle
Even the most diehard IPA fans who've scoured multiple states' worth of breweries will likely admit that there's no beer quite like Heady Topper: an imperial IPA with one of the most incredibly complex flavor profiles. So smooth and yet so vivid and ...
Pairing 11: The Alchemist Brewery