re: New England beer trip planning rec request

If I only had one day in Vermont, I would spend it in Waterbury going to Prohibition Pig, Blackback Pub and The Reservoir. Hit the Craft Beer Cellar across the street from Pro Pig. Drive over to Burlington and walk around downtown and maybe check out Foam (I've had hit and miss experiences) and maybe drive up to the Beverage Warehouse in Winooski 10 min north of Burlington.

But, those three places in Waterbury will have beer selections all around better than you will drink brewery hopping in the area. If you want to go to actual breweries mostly, Alchemist is also in Waterbury. Lawson's is 10 min south in Waitsfield (where I got married, actually). Original Ben & Jerry's factory is in Waterbury. 20 min south is Warren and should visit the Warren Store for breakfast and visit its covered bridge. Warren is about Vermont as Vermont can get. 30 min north of Waterbury is Stowe and in May you should zip line down Stowe Mountain, which is awesome.

As for visiting Hill Farmstead, you sound like you're going to be on the road a lot. Hill's to go offerings are never special. If you want to drink on site, just realize it's a pain in the arse to get to, you'll probably lose phone signal, can't be more out of the way and not really a safe place to leave from if you drink much. I've been to a couple big events there (Festival of Farmhouse Ales and Zwanze) and they literally required you to be dropped off so driving afterwards wasn't an option. First time we went, we AirBnB'ed in Greensboro literally in a barn. It was neat.

Hill Farmstead is amazing. These are just my two cents if I had only one day in Vermont.