Call it “beercations" or “beer tourism,” but whatever term one chooses, a boom in the number of craft breweries has carved a sizable niche into the travel industry.
More than 10 million people toured small and independent craft breweries in 2014, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group representing that segment of the beer industry. There were 5,096 U.S. breweries last year — a huge increase from 1,609 in 2007, U.S. Treasury Department statistics show.
There are so many new breweries popping up that it’s become impossible for even die-hard beer geeks to know which ones offer the best beer, food, entertainment and ambiance. So I asked beer expert Joseph Tucker to find the cream of the crop, and he has put together a travel road map to assist everyone in their searches for the Holy Grail of craft breweries.
“The number of available options for beer fans is better than at any point in the nation’s history,” says Tucker, the executive director of RateBeer.com. “By traveling to the places where the beers are made, you can experience the landscapes and culture that shape the product, have the beer with local foods to better understand local tastes and get the beer as fresh as you can possibly get it.”
Tucker was asked to list his 15 favorite U.S. breweries based solely on beer quality. The only other stipulation was that the brewery must have a tasting room for visitors.
Listed alphabetically below are Tucker’s hoppy and malty choices with related comments:
Blackberry Farm (Walland, Tennesse) — Blackberry Farm is a destination brewery like no other. The grounds, nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, feature hotel and spa accommodations and a James Beard Award-winning restaurant, The Barn. My favorite beers are the Noble Cuvee Dry Hop Saison and Classic Saison that capture the spirit of the place in a way that the best saison style beers do.
Cellarmaker (San Francisco, California) — In 2013, Connor Casey, Tim Sciascia and Kelly Caveney formed and named a brewery with the intention of building it around a barrel program (putting beer in barrels for aging and enhancing the flavor). They found that the public’s esteem for their hoppy ales was great enough to propel them to a spot as one of RateBeer’s Best New Brewers In The World. Since then, they’ve produced more than 300 new beers around a few consistently delicious stylistic themes. A couple of my favorites, Tiny Dankster and Coffee & Cigarettes, are on the menu board fairly often.
Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, Florida) — This brewery was the first to bring national attention to Florida’s craft beer scene, which is unique for its embrace of the state’s history and sunny weather. Those looking to sample favorites should find beers named after the Mayan god Hunahpu or the Russian military commander Marshal Zhukov. Cigar City also helped popularize Florida weiss, a fruit-flavored regional take on a light and quaffable German style.
Hill Farmstead Brewery (Greensboro, Vermont) — Most frequently chosen as RateBeer’s Best Brewery in the World, this humble, world-class brewery was built by Shaun Hill on his family’s Vermont farm in rural Greensboro. There are few things better in life than sipping some of Shaun’s wares in the surrounding natural beauty, which, seasonally, can also be world class. Be sure to leave room in your luggage for gems bought by the bottle in the retail shop.
Monkish Brewing (Torrance, California) — You will find this smallish tap room tucked away in a warehouse-style building not far down the freeway from Los Angeles International Airport. There you’ll often see Henry Nguyen, the humble, hard-working and thoughtful mind behind the carefully planned and well-executed beers. While my favorites have been the truly adorable bottled saisons and sours, like Haiku, Juteux and Fruit Cart, the new school hoppy beers are among the best anywhere on the planet.
New Glarus Brewing (New Glarus, Wisconsin) — New Glarus is not easily found outside of Wisconsin. This brewery built itself on uncommon lager brewing and has skipped all the hype around hops, extreme flavors and big beers. Instead, Dan and Deb Carey’s family operation impresses with a host of approachable beers that often highlight quality grains, a freshness that can only come with near distribution and a nuance that comes with careful balance. Dan has also produced notable beers brewed with freshly harvested fruits — try the Serendipity if you can get it. Adventurous visitors should look for Belgian-inspired beers made with a wild fermentation process.
Other Half (Brooklyn, New York) — Other Half founders Matt Monahan and Samuel Richardson have convincingly demonstrated just how big of an appetite New York City has for its Northeast-inspired double IPAs. One of RateBeer’s Top New Brewers In The World (2014), the brewery has exploded in popularity and already expanded due to the insatiable demand for its trademark hoppy brews. It also cans some of its offerings which is great for travelers who want to avoid leaks and breaks associated with glass.
pFriem Family Brewers (Hood River, Oregon) — A trip out to pFriem usually means an hour-long journey from Portland, Oregon, along historic, scenic Highway 84, which follows the Columbia River along the Oregon-Washington divide. pFriem sits not far from the water across from a shoreline park. Depending on time of year, you might be sharing space with skiers down from Mount Hood or kite surfers enjoying the wind on the river. You can sample delicious beers from their barrel program or one of their solid hop-forward beers brewed on premise. My favorite? In a world of fancy beer, sometimes the plain and simple, done exceptionally well, can be the standout. Their pilsner is glorious.
Sante Adairius Rustic Ales (Capitola, California) — On a good day, you can get from San Francisco to Sante Adairius in Capitola or its new tap room in Santa Cruz in about 90 minutes. More often, you want to set aside more time for this worthwhile trip. SARA, as it’s known by its acronym, built its reputation around gorgeous Belgian-inspired beers but also makes a stellar porter called Chavez and incredible hoppy beers with its Simpleton series. The brewery’s most coveted bottles are often reserved for its club members, but what’s available daily at either of its taprooms is still worthy of slow appreciation and repeated sniffs.
Side Project (Maplewood, Missouri) — Side Project was the side project of Cory King, the former head brewer of Perennial Artisan Ales which is across town from his current brewery in the St Louis suburb of Maplewood. The brewery ages all its beers in barrels, a step that adds considerable dimension to King’s blended imperial stouts, wild yeast beers and impressive barleywine. Beer travelers can visit the brewery’s tasting room or the nearby Side Project Cellar, run by Karen King, Cory’s wife. It features a very well-curated list of incredible beers, as well as wine and whiskey.
3 (Three) Floyds (Munster, Indiana) — I still remember my first tasting of a flight of Three Floyds beers and how completely stunned I was by the aromatic, lush and utterly impactful force that hit my tastebuds. Visitors today can still expect a flavor shock at the brewery’s industrial digs. At Three Floyds, you have to go big. Looks for ominous names like Dark Lord, Behemoth and Dreadnaught.
Tired Hands Brewing Company (Ardmore, Pennsylvania) — Tired Hands, in the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore, makes beer in a way that always manages to express handcrafting. With every beer, there’s a level of creativity that just defies any kind of corporate mold. Whether it’s the creative use of uncommon grains, its fantastic quirky artwork, adventurous ingredients like mushrooms or oysters or a new presentation such as milkshake IPAs, the indomitable imagination of owner Jean Broillet always shines through.
Toppling Goliath (Decorah, Iowa) — Toppling Goliath is not near any major city — about equidistant from Des Moines and Minneapolis. Despite being off the beaten path, the brewery has managed to create a strong following of beer geeks with its hop-focused beers like pseudoSue, King Sue and Pompeii, and top-ranked imperial stouts Kentucky Brunch and Mornin’ Delight. Truck chasers have been known to follow delivery trucks for hours to improve their chances of sampling some of Toppling Goliath’s rarer offerings.
Tree House Brewing (Charlton, Massachusetts) — Tree House elevated the now very popular New England IPA beer style to its greatest heights with amazing beers like Julius, Haze, Green and Eureka. This cloudy, often fruity, more approachable alternative to the more astringent, crystal clear, hop-driven beers developed out West has been replicated by hundreds of breweries around the world, but few approach the quality being consistently delivered by this brewery about an 80-minute drive west of Boston.
Trillium Brewing (Boston and Canton, Massachusetts) — In 2013, Trillium emerged as a new Boston brewery that could do many so many styles of beer very well. Craft beer fans quickly began spreading the word about this family-run brewery that could do saison, American sour, IPA, porter and Belgian strong. That early customer enthusiasm has only grown. To try to meet demand, the brewery’s owners, JC and Esther Tetreault, have steadily built up three locations — two in Boston and one in nearby Canton. While you can’t go wrong with any of the hoppy beers, you should sample their entire offerings, especially the saisons and sours.
Cheers!
