Day 72 – Thursday, May 30th Portland ME to Burlington VT, via Lancaster NH
Today, the day we picked up the hire car at Portland International Jetport, it’s also Dr. Stan’s birthday! Marg and Maggie are sharing the driving with Hector the Navigator on duty throughout the next seven days.
There was a call for breakfast before setting off from Portland Harbor Hotel where we still felt there was a raw deal. You cannot send out notifications of included breakfast then withdraw this at check-in.
In her morning run, Marg had identified Becky’s Diner as being a suitable breakfast menu. Having herded the cats then schlepped along the street, Becky’s was found to be queued out. About turn.
The Hector quickly suggested Salt Yard Cafe & Bar which we had passed en route.
A spacious premises, no problem securing a seat, just finding food of interest.
Well, the others had no issue. It should be clear by now that Hector and breakfast are strangers. Also what is the point of buying food for the sake of it? Especially from the tiresome and ubiquitous US menu.
Knowing how to get to the Jetport by bus is one thing, having five find the right fare and manhandle the baggage, something else. Hector was charged with sorting an Uber, and so it came to be.
However, the Highway Patrol had other ideas. Our taxi was followed on the app, as it exited the Casco Bay Bridge, so the driver was pulled over. We of course had no idea why there was now a twenty minute delay. Our driver filled us in when finally he reached Portland Harbor Hotel, if he had been caught using his phone whilst driving, he was a very naughty boy..
Our driver knew exactly where in the terminal complex the Hertz desk was to be found, simples. Time for Maggie to stand up and do her bit. Having Marg named as second driver had to be done today for reasons known only to Hertz and their online booking system. Don’t even think about phoning the Hertz office at Jetport, they do not answer.
A six seater Toyota hybrid, henceforth referred to as – The Beast. For us, a massive vehicle, but then everyone who has driven us in Australia, New Zealand and Canada have all opted for SUVs rather than – a car. Maggie familiarised herself with the controls, Hector would ride shotgun, Dr. Stan and Clive were allocated the individual seats mid vehicle, and Marg, the non-driver at this time, was placed in the smaller bench seat in the rear. Still, quite an upgrade from the – rumble seat – made famous in old American movies.
To reach Vermont we had to drive across New Hampshire in a north-westerly direction, one US state in a day. We had three places to visit in New Hampshire, firstly a Columbia Sportswear shop. North Conway was more or less en route.
Highway 25 then Route 113 took us there in ninety minutes. To describe the journey as scenic would be an exaggeration. The view was mostly forest with gaps in the forest leading to more forest. Fortunately, the Hector had a real objective declared in advance.
Marg and Hector may have visited a Columbia outlet in the past week in Ontario, that did not stop more bargains being liberated. Clive refuses to wear anything but Columbia shoes, nowhere good as they used to be, cf Portland OR on Dr. Stan’s Big Birthday Trip. Being his birthday Marg insisted we buy Dr. Stan a present. Where’s me shirt?
The following minutes were difficult. In the same retail park was Haveli Indian cuisine, and it was open. By now, the Hector had an appetite and we had already picked out our lunch stop.
Worse, across the street, Sea Dog Brewing Company was open. Just the thirty taps, including intersteng Hazy and DIPA. Temptation, but there was still a state to cross.
Lancaster NH was the next scheduled stop, just over an hour away. Route 302 more or less got us there.
In Lancaster lies Copper Pig Brewery, sited on the banks of the Israel River.
A basement brewery tap and restaurant, it was surprisingly busy mid-afternoon, but then I don’t know what else this town has to offer.
Covering many styles of Bier, Copper Pig disappointed when it was announced that their NEIPA – was aff!
*
Copper Lager at 5.9%, a dark, ruby-red Lager proved to be adequate. A German style Lager, despite the appearance. For food, the Hector went Mexican.
The agreed driving deal for this trip is: Maggie drives us to the brewery, Marg drives us home. Therefore on leaving Copper Pig, Marg had to familiarise herself with – The Beast.
Maybe, most certainly, we could have found a better venue in all of New Hampshire between Portland ME and Burlington VT, but just outside Lancaster NH was where today’s Hector Highlight is located.
My mental picture of New England was lots of covered bridges, a la The Bridges of Madison County. When Dr. Stan and I sat in The Three Judges (Glasgow) planning this leg of RTW-80, I suggested we add a covered bridge, or two, into our route. It was only then that we established that Madison County is in Iowa, future birthplace of Captain James T Kirk. The Hector was not put off.
Historic Mount Orne Covered Bridge crosses the Connecticut River at the boundary of New Hampshire and Vermont. By getting out of the car to take the photos on the far side, the Hector therefore became the first in our group to set foot in Vermont!
On the final leg of the journey today, the Hector was to discover that he had taken on quite a responsibility. It was OK for Dr. Stan, time for his mid-afternoon nap. Clive was quiet also. The Hector not only had to navigate, but stay awake, else who knows where we would have ended up.
I shall insert an aside: way back when Marg and Hector did the Altmuhltal (Deutschland) breweries, I set Marg the objective: stay on this autobahn towards Nürnberg, do not come off.
Ninety minutes later: Marg, why are we 19km from Stuttgart?
A quick dive down on Route 100, then Interstate 89W, had us in Burlington VT in an hour. The Hilton Garden Inn Burlington Downtown has valet parking. A novelty for us both, and part of the reason why we selected such plush accommodation. Cheaper venues to the north of the city had reviews often mentioning car break-ins. That we could do without.
We had a pukkah room, albeit in a remote part of the hotel, it was declared Bier Time. The best looking breweries are to the south of the city, so with the car parked up for the night, it was a matter of stay local, find Bier. Also, 22.00 was their typical closing time, no time to waste.
One never appreciates the true size of a Downtown area until one is on the ground. On the next block up from the hotel lies What Ale’s You, this looked like a good place to start. Basement premises, the five of us were given the once over in what we quickly established was a student bar. The place was empty, we were not turned away, but quickly left. The simple reason – no Bier!
Across the way, Manhattan’s and quite a throng of yoofs gathered outside. The Hector strode towards the door. An entity sitting on a stool again gave me the look up and down. I looked down:
Is it Halloween?
I have seen everything on this trip, I’ll take the reader back to a certain bus journey in Chicago IL. There I knew what we were dealing with, tonight, what was this character trying to – identify – as?
There was Bier, decent Bier as it turned out, but way too much noise, not our scene. Still, there was a drooth, and so we stayed to sample the fine ale.
Conehead Haze (Zero Gravity Craft Brewery, Burlington VT, USA) at 6.3% was the obvious Bier to start off the evening. A 6.3% NEIPA, suitably Hazy, the body matched the abv, but the Motueka, Simcoe and El Dorado hops lacked the hoped for intensity. Zero Gravity is on the agenda for tomorrow.
Despite having secured a table there was no sense of comfort in this bar. The loud music was such that conversation was nigh on impossible. Imagine wanting to have a conversation with friends on a night out.
The Archives was calling. A short walk north past town hall, Springfield, all of them, and Back To The Future came to mind, do all US regional cities have the same layout?
Entry to The Archives involved less scanning, still waiting to be asked for ID.
A large bar with an area behind full of adult toys, despite the potential for a Vegas-style racket, a much better atmosphere. There was much more of a welcome here, and there was Bier.
Mastermind (Fiddlehead Brewing Co., Shelburne VT, USA), an 8.1% DIPA had the full milkshake haze and a body which confirmed the classification. Well it was getting late, if it’s not time for a DIPA, then when? The 80-IBU surely contradicts the style? No hops information is forthcoming, not that they were prominent in the tasting. A smooth Bier, but not a big hitter.
Not wonderful, and there was time for the Hector to have another, and final Bier of this long day. Given how comparatively low the prices are at The Archives, no messing, let’s go – full.
Little Wizard (Burlington Beer Co., Burlington VT, USA) a mere 6.0% AIPA was chosen, no Porter tonight. This was in fact a NEIPA with the full milkshake haze and at last the hops were full on. Simcoe, Idaho 7 and Chinook featured. There was nothing here not to like, a Bier just a tad below – the wow!
Gone midnight, time for bed.
Breweries, bars and cafe visited today:
Copper Pig Brewery – 1 Middle Street, Lancaster NH, 03584 USA
Sea Dog Brewing Company – 1976 White Mountain Hwy #9, North Conway, NH 03860, USA
Manhattan’s – 167 Main St., Burlington VT 05401, USA (closed)
The Archives – 191 College St., Burlington VT 05401, USA
What Ale’s You – 152 St., Paul S., #4634 Burlington VT 05401, USA
Salt Yard Cafe & Bar – 285 Commercial St., Portland ME 04101
Day 73 – Friday, May 31st
Another action-packed day began with Marg out for her morning exercise which included an exploration of the lakeside, whilst the Hector got some more words written. Our rendezvous with the others was at 13.00, and so the Hector found himself out early with Marg retracing her steps.
The train station was two blocks down form the hotel, not that there is much noise disruption such is the sporadic service southwards to Albany NY and New York NY. Trains do not run east-west.
Lake Champlain, the sixth largest in USA, is a classic honeypot, all the usual activities understood. Ritual photos completed, we headed inland to explore Downtown Burlington.
Town Hall was classic small town, USA, the ubiquitous Back To The Future architecture, a facade first seen in the Universal Studios backlot on a school trip to Los Angeles in 2000. Downtown had the feeling
Burlington VT is the home of Ben & Jerry’s, we visited their Church Street outlet, a presumptive – source.
Ice Cream to start the day, but nothing – soft. Carpiagni/Taylor is always a welcome sight on an ice cream dispenser, when one cannot secure proper Ice Cream a la University Cafe (Glasgow, Scotland).
In the course of our meanderings we passed two venues close to our accommodation: The Vermont Pub & Brewery, and Three Needs, the latter, a dive bar, was open until 02.00 last night.
Noon is far too early for Curry, but if Burlington VT was to appear in Curry-Heute, needs must. I chose carefully from the four Downtown outlets. The Goat Curry at Shalimar of India took me by surprise, way better than I had envisaged, proper – Desi – Flavours. I wonder if the local population appreciate just how good Shalimar actually is? This Curry House stood well above the Mainstream.
The Beast was fetched by the valet chaps, with Maggie at the wheel, we headed back east towards Stowe VT,. Dr. Stan was not too taken with the intended first port of call but was not playing a veto card. How could we be so close to the von Trapp family estate, and brewery, and not pay homage?
On the edge of Burlington VT we passed the corporate headquarters of Ben & Jerry’s, nobody cried out that we must have their Ice Cream at the current source.
Von Trapp Brewing & Bierhall was under an hour away. It was quite a climb to get high on the hill, The Beast was not challenged. No Julie Andrews, no Christopher Plummer pulling Nazi regalia off the building front, and no weans conducting spontaneous singing. This was unlike any other rural Brauerei, von Trapp Brewing & Bierhall resembles a mega alpine lodge, stuffed animals mounted on the wall aplenty.
The Bier array was Deutschland-plus, or maybe in this case I should write Österreich. The Czech Tmave seemed out of place, and Kölsch was naughty. Many years ago in Kelheim (Bayern) I rediscovered Helles, it had to be.
With big expectations at our next port of call, an aperitif. At 4.9%, cold, yellow and fizzy, it was competent, not outstanding.
Dr. Stan was on board, I can sense what he feared when we arrived, A Bayersiche theme park perhaps? He was not amused when having ordered our – one Bier – he spotted gravity poured. We had a schedule to keep.
With Marg behind the wheel, an easy day for Maggie, we rolled down the hill to the one venue which Dr. Stan had highlighted at the conception of this trip – the place where new England IPA was conceived and first brewed.
The Alchemist Brewery was a matter of minutes away, a lowland setting, highly accessible to hikers, cyclists. Set in a park-like estate, magnificent. We entered the Brewery Tap with expectations as high as they could be. What awaited defied belief – one tap! Had it been a magical – straight five – NEIPA, all would have been forgiven, alas not. The wee girl manning the tap was less than efficient also, the crimes were piling up.
Heady Topper at 8.0% is not a session Bier. It poured suitably Hazy, but was not the full milkshake. Six hops were boasted, five declared: Apollo, Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe and Amarillo. Dry tasting, with the hops to the fore, this tasted too West Coast, WCIPA-DIPA is how it shall be recorded in Bier-Traveller. With an IBU of 100, this was not a NEIPA.
The Hector was not amused, Dr. Stan was not in raptures either. The blurb available for all to read stated that the owner believes his Bier tastes better from the CAN. We hadn’t travelled thousands of kilometres to drink canned Bier. We had come to worship, the Covenanters had won the day, their way or nothing.
The ladies led Clive outside to the expansive parkland, Dr. Stan and Hector were not drinking DIPA is the sunshine. A one Bier stop is not what was planned, more time for Burlington VT. As we exited the complex, so Marg was distracted by a pickup-load of dogs, brought no doubt for the amusement of the children. Nobody suggested we return to von Trapp.
There is a cluster of three breweries in the south of Burlington VT. Queen City Brewery was dismissed, sources suggested it didn’t have what we sought. Across the street from Queen City lies Zero Gravity Beer.
Conehead Haze at 6.3% was sampled last night, time to have it at source. It’s a pity there was no other comparable NEIPA to offer an alternative. It was deemed still to early to have Buck Buck Juice, a 9.0% DIPA. Electric Wheelie, also at 8.0% featured the dreaded – Talus.
Conehead was the safe bet, still enjoyable.
Others declared it time to eat, again. The Hector held out, and it was disappointing to have just the one at Zero Gravity. Had we stayed, maybe the Buck Buck Juice would have tempted.
Across the way, in an industrial estate lies Burlington Beer Company. We could have done damage here.
A spacious venue with an array of NEIPA/NEDIPA to select from, this could well have become a matter of – see you later. We still had The Beast, it was becoming unfair on Marg to still have her driving, getting the vehicle home before sunset was agreed, and so another one Bier stop.
Little Wizard at 6.0%, an AIPA/NEIPA was suitably Hazy, enjoyable. Featuring Simcoe, Idaho 7 and Chinook hops, a decent Bier, no more maybe.
If only we could have stayed. A third night in Burlington VT could well have been a good idea, but then the same applies to Portland ME. We are cramming so much into our ten days in New England, and there’s the small matte of keeping to RTW-80.
The Beast was abandoned. Approaching the lake, we pointed Clive and Maggie in the direction of our next brewery as Marg and Hector recorded sunset/twilight over Lake Champlain.
Foam Brewers was stowed, inside and out. Having queued for Bier, we commanded a table for five outside where the bugs would have supper. A Led Zeppelin tribute band got underway, the female vocalist doing not a bad Robert Plant simulation. With only guitar, bass and drums, it was the early Zeppelin material which was being performed.
As the night progressed, so further members joined the band on stage, the keyboard player, in particular, permitted a very fine rendering of – No Quarter (Houses of The Holy) – as good, as if not better than when I heard this unveiled at the Green’s Playhouse (Glasgow) on its release. Zeppelin were the first big-named live band I saw who disappointed.
Maybe the Hector was – in the zone – already, or maybe it was just a change of Bier style was required. Novocaine For The Soul at 8.2% was taking no prisoners. An Imperial Stout giving off Chocolate, Coffee and Cherries, the was a full blast on the palate. More!
Clive and Maggie faded first, as Dr. Stan does like Led Zep, so he stayed on, along with Marg who had now been liberated from driving duties and was making the best of it.
Foam Brewers was a great venue in terms of entertainment, had we come here first and found no NEIPA, the song would not have remained the same.
Breweries, cafe and restaurant visited today:
von Trapp Brewing & Bierhall– 1333 Luce Hill Rd, Stowe, VT 05672, United States of America
The Alchemist Brewery – 100 Cottage Club Rd, Stowe, VT 05672, United States of America
Zero Gravity Beer – 716 Pine St, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
Burlington Beer Company – 180 Flynn Ave, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
Foam Brewers – 112 Lake St, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
Ben & Jerry’s – 36 Church St, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
Shalimar of India – 16 N Winooski Ave, Burlington, VT 05401 USA
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