The number of microbreweries continues to climb across the country, with almost two breweries opening a day. The consumer is getting a good taste of local beer, with 75 percent of adults living within 10 miles of a brewery. Americans’ thirst for great beer has become part of our culture. Beer is an economic driver, and most importantly, good beer feels good.
But who does craft beer the best? Everyone tries to lay claim to the title of “Beer City,” so we decided to list a few of the top beer destinations in the country, factoring in influence, breweries, history, homebrewing, and beer culture. Here are the top craft beer destinations.
Denver, CO
Home to more breweries than you can keep track of, Denver boasts some of the most well-known breweries in the country. However, Denver isn’t the only Colorado town obsessed with beer. Fort Collins has the likes of Odell and New Belgium while Boulder is home to Avery with Oskar Blues across the way in Longmont.
Colorado is home to over 200 breweries. However, the city has transformed into a beer destination on a national and international stage. It’s been hosting the Great American Beer Festival since 1984, a gathering of over 700 breweries to celebrate all things beer. And, as well as it’s long list of breweries and snowy mountains, the city has over 300 days of sunshine to get you drinking at an outside taproom or posting up at your favorite park. Even the state’s governor, John Hickenlooper, started Denver’s first microbrewery, Wynkoop.
Don’t forget about the American Homebrewers Association up in Boulder founded by Charlie Papazian back in 1978. The association sparked a resurgence in homebrewing and, as a result, led a lot of homebrewers to the opening up their own brewery, which have created some of your favorite commercial beers today. Needless to say, the city’s beer roots run deep.
Fun Fact: The Great American Beer Festival has been going on in Denver since 1984, and takes hold of the city with brewery takeovers and special events all week long. Thousands of people from all over the world come in for one of the greatest beer tastings held on this side of the Atlantic (or Pacific). Everyone from your casual beer drinker to the beer judge shows up.
Portland, OR
“Keep Portland Weird” is the city’s slogan, and when visiting it’ll seem weird when you start to see great beer in places like barbershops, arcades, movie theaters, museums, record stores, art galleries, coffee shops and whatever else you can imagine.
More than 80 breweries call the greater metro area home, which puts Portland as one of the biggest beer cities in the country. Nicknamed “Beervana,” Portland’s beer buzz began with BridgePort Brewing and Widmer Brothers Brewing when they opened in what is now the Pearl District. These two breweries laid the groundwork for what is expected out of Portland – great beer. And now, Portland is at it again by brewing some of the best beers in the country, from Old Town Brewing – this year’s GABF winner in English IPA – to the sour beer experiments of Cascade, the legendary Hair of the Dog, and the biking fanatics at Hopworks Urban Brewery.
Photo Credit: Troy Peck
Although Portland’s image to many is the Pabst-holding, skinny jean-wearing, hipster crowd, the city knows its beer. It has a long list of fests (Oregon Brewers Fest, Portland Beer Week, Firkin Fest), and strong and supportive brewing and homebrewing communities that fully embrace craft culture. Add that up and you have one of the best-damned beer cities in the country.
Fun Fact: Workers in downtown’s Brewery Blocks constantly drank on the job. This led the city to install water fountains throughout the city, otherwise known as Benson Bubblers. Today, the Benson Bubblers are still operational and are as much of the city’s identity as the beer.
New York, NY
Some of these cities are on here because of their concentration of breweries that leaves a beer drinker wondering if they should take a Russian Imperial Stout or an Imperial IPA into the movie theater, or maybe their history and contribution to craft beer is unparalleled. New York is here because of its size. When thinking about beer in New York and its five boroughs, you might get a bit dizzy. Places like Blind Tiger and Tørst get some of the most coveted beers in the country.
Then there are the breweries. Brooklyn Brewery has had its roots in the hip neighborhood of Williamsburg. Sixpoint Brewery has settled in nicely down the way in Brooklyn, and Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø runs Evil Twin’s taproom for his contract brewing from there – a brewery with a devoted cult following. Other Half Brewing is stripped down to walls of graffiti and cement, one picnic table, and some of the hottest IPAs in the city.
Fun Fact: In 1932, thousands of very thirsty New Yorkers attended a “We Want Beer” protest put together by Mayor Jimmy Walker, in support of the legalization of beer in the United States and repeal that devastating 18th Amendment.
San Diego, CA
You’ve definitely had beer from San Diego. You must have. I mean, come on! Beer has become as much of the city as surfing and sunshine – San Diegans talk about beer like Los Angelenos talk about movies. Perhaps from Stone Brewing and their nose-thumbing and robustly hopped ales, or maybe it was one of Green Flash Brewing’s hop-crazed ales. Then there’s Modern Times Brewing and their experimental brewing that you won’t want to miss.
San Diego has more than 100 breweries and hundreds of homebrewers in the area that collaborate and create some awesome beer as well with hopes of going pro one day. Lost Abbey does some of the world’s finest Belgians, AleSmith stands up with the best, and Karl Strauss was at the helm of the craft beer scene in San Diego in 1989. With great weather and a thriving beer scene, come for beer, stay for beer.
Fun Fact: During Prohibition, San Diegans’ were still thirsty, and to quench their thirst they drove to the nearest place that decided they weren’t insane enough to outlaw alcohol – Tijuana. The city across the border saw a boom in population and growth during those dark years in the U.S.
Chicago, IL
When the craft beer revolution started, Chicago seemed to be lost. However, over the past few years, the city has found their identity and taken off, and today Chicago finds itself with more frothy suds than they know what to do with.
Revolution Brewing is the second biggest production facility in the state while Half Acre Brewery’s tours fill up early and are capped at 60 people. Want to get away from the crowds? Head to Begle Brewing Company, where things are laid back with small crowds. Don’t forget about Moody Tongue Brewery’s experimental brews, such as their $120 Black Truffle Pilsner that blew up the internet while supplies lasted.
Then there are the bigger players in town. Lagunitas chose Chicago for its second brewery location which is the largest brewery in Chicago. And although 3 Floyds is considered to be in Indiana, you won’t find any other city that has more bars with Zombie Dust and Alpha King on tap. Speaking of bars, the heavy-metal theme of Local Option or the Belgian-inspired kitchen and bar of Hopleaf are great places to grab a pint.
Fun Fact: Back in the earlier part of the 19th century, German immigrants established the first brewery in Chicago, the Lill and Diversey Brewery, making English-style ales and porters. Germans continued moving to Chicago and opened more breweries. The domination of the industry in Chicago by German immigrants and their offspring meant that the city became a leading center of “scientific brewing,” boasting a special school, the Siebel Institute of Technology.
Raleigh, NC
When you think of homebrewing and craft beer, destinations like Portland, San Diego, or pretty much all of Colorado come to mind. However, there’s been a quiet but booming beer scene in North Carolina, now home to over 100 craft breweries. At the center of this beer craze is Raleigh, which hosts more breweries than any other city in North Carolina.
© 2015 Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau
However, the recent surge in craft beer has only happened in the last decade, with homebrewing as a major driving factor. Just in Raleigh alone, there are five well-established homebrew clubs, almost a handful of homebrew shops, and many homebrew competitions throughout the year.
The symbiotic relationship between craft brewers and homebrewing is strong in the area. The growing appreciation is amazing to watch, and each side continues to push the other to create and perfect something magnificent. So much, in fact, it’s difficult to keep up with the ever-changing beer scene, which begs the question: What’s next?
Fun Fact: Raleigh has been rooted in beer since the 18th century, with the founding of Isaac Hunter’s Tavern. According to local lore, the tavern was a hotspot for the founding fathers of North Carolina–who loved it so much, they decided the state’s capital should be located within ten miles of the tavern, putting Raleigh and its beer on the map.
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids beer starts with Founders Brewing, which is well on its way to becoming an international beer force. However, we can look beyond Founder’s large shadow and see Brewery Vivant has won a strong following with its take on Belgian-style brews produced in an old chapel. HopCat has found its niche and is slowly becoming a local favorite and expanding throughout the Midwest.
And while Grand Rapids continues to develop strong breweries, it’s hard not to turn your head towards Kalamazoo, where you’ll find this little outpost called Bell’s Brewery, Inc. and other notable breweries in the area. Yes, they’re a little drive away, but trust us, it’s worth it. Wouldn’t you drive an hour or more to get great beer in places like San Diego, San Francisco or New York? Our point is Michigan has a lot of beer options, with Grand Rapids anchoring the entire operation. Every bar you walk into will host dozens of ridiculously impressive beer options. Grand Rapids is without question a top destination for beer.
Fun Fact: Similar to Chicago, German settlers started producing beer before the city was, well, a city. Before Prohibition decided to come along, the city moved more than a quarter of a million barrels of beer.
Boston, MA
Thanks to a gentleman named Jim Koch, Boston became a booming hub for craft beer. Koch discovered his great-great grandfather’s beer recipe and decided to run with it, opening up Boston Beer Company.
However, since those early craft beer days, much of the craft beer in Massachusetts has moved outside the city, and today you’ll find many of the most creative and innovative brewers in smaller towns. But this doesn’t take away from Boston’s credible beer scene. With brewers at Trillium, Harpoon and Endurance pumping out some impressive brews, and more bars than you could visit in a weekend such as Bukowski’s Belgian-inspired pub and Lord Hobo’s, this city offers up some of the most extensive and amazing beer lists in the Northeast.
Fun Fact: Beer has a long-standing tradition in Boston, with the first Boston brewery, West Boston Brewery, opening in 1796. However, we’d have to tip our hats to Burkhardt Brewing because they made the a Red Sox Beer and Pennant Ale for the Red Sox 1912 championship series.
The post 8 of America’s Best Beer Destinations appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.
from American Homebrewers Association http://ift.tt/1QidqBL
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment