Beer Cities You've Visited

[bosox]

Pardon me if this has been mentioned before, but I think it'd be fun to read what other Homebrewers do when they travel to cities.

As for me, I've been to 3 major beer drinking cities of the world. Prague, London, and Boston (the city I live in).

I tried the Pilsner Urquell in Prague, and I have to say I was not much of a fan. I tried some other beers I will never remember the name of, or ever knew how to pronounce. I also did try real Absinthe....

London I was not much into "real" or craft beer when I went there, but I sampled some Newcastle Brown Ale and some other probably commercial London brew which I also forget.

Then in Boston I love my Harpoon IPA and Octoberfest, as well as Sam Adams Boston Lager, Octoberfest, and IPA.

 

[CTS]

Well i live near winnipeg so there are a couple good local brews here, and Halifax. Took a tour of the Alexander Keiths brewery.

 

[Budzu]

Visited Prague as well (current avatar pic is there), actually lived in Brno for 8 months. All the beer there really encouraged me to start homebrewing.
While I enjoyed Pilsner Urquell, the one that really blew me away was Budvar for some reason, from a can. I kind of had one of those moments that defined my appreciation of beer.
Beer is a wonderful thing that you can remember and appreciate it along with the special place you were in, or the feeling you had. Not many things can do that!
Now to find a reason to visit Belgium...

 

[Airborneguy]

I've been to a little over 50 breweries/brewpubs all over the United States. We frequently take driving trips specifically in regards to beer. Just last week we toured the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York and hit 9 breweries along the way. It's a huge hobby of mine.

Basically, wherever I go I do an internet search to find all of the brewpubs/breweries in the area and try to hit as many as I can while I am there, then I map them on Google Earth when I get home. I love tasting unique beer at its source.

 

[Airborneguy]

Now to find a reason to visit Belgium...

You really need one other than the beer?

 

[Frankfurtvr4]

My favorite was Bamberg, Germany. I was stationed there from 1997-1999.

 

[Bulls Beers]

The beers in Boston are ok, but I was in Koln and Munich a few months ago and some of the beer( or most) I tried were amazing. Weinstephaner, Andechs, Augustiner, Reissdorf were some of the many great beers I tried. Next year I'm heading to Prague. Very excited Now, I have access to most of these beers here in Boston, but it isn't the same...

 

[EKennett]

I found Burlington VT to be a pretty nice beer city. The Vermont Pub and Brewery, Zero Gravity at American Flatbread, a bunch of nice beer bars in the city, Magic Hat in South Burlington, The Shed, Switchback, Long Trail, Otter Creek, Harpoon. Wow, a lot more than I realized

 

[bosox]

The beers in Boston are ok, but I was in Koln and Munich a few months ago and some of the beer( or most) I tried were amazing. Weinstephaner, Andechs, Augustiner, Reissdorf were some of the many great beers I tried. Next year I'm heading to Prague. Very excited Now, I have access to most of these beers here in Boston, but it isn't the same...

Well I'll give it to you that although we do have a very high amount of bars/brewpubs in the city, some or most of them are mostly commercial stuff. There's the Sunset Grille and Tap in Allston that has like 120 beers on tap and 380 bottled. Then there's the Publik House which has many craft beers, like one of my favorite LARRY IIPA.

 

[I-Hop]

Being from the Boston area myself, I am a huge Harpoon IPA fan. Harpoon & Sam Adams make some great beers. I agree with you that Sunset Grill in Allston is a great place too. I also like to hit Boston Beer Works/Salem Beer Works whenever possible.

As far as other beer cities, my wife has to travel for conferences for her work. I like to tag along and google the beer scene in each town we visit. You know, it keeps me busy while she is working LOL. My most favorite place we've been is San Diego. We've been there twice and OMG, I love that place. Stone brewery, Coronado Brewpub, AleSmith, Pizza Port, Ballast Point, La Jolla Brewhouse, Pacific Beach Alehouse, etc, etc. Not to mention the large quantity of bars in the Gaslamp Quarter. If you ever wanna visit there, check out www.sandiegobrewersguild.com . I would visit this town 100 times if I could.

 

[BrewSpook]

I always enjoy my trips to Michigan to see my wife's family. Hit the triangle, Bell's, Founder's, New Holland... and then head up to traverse city. TC has a few brewpubs that put out some good beer, and then head over to the Mission for some Jolly Pumpkin and North Peak. Good way to spend a day or two. There are so many breweries in michigan that you could spend weeks going one to another and never get bored.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

The closest I've been to a beer city is Austin. I've had most of the local beers but never toured any of the breweries. I keep meaning to try the Live Oak tour but it's on Saturday morning/early afternoon and I always drink too much Friday to get up. =/

 

[37OliveStBrews]

I grew up outside of Portland, Maine and I have to say looking back now I am grateful. That city has some of my favorite bars and brew pubs. Gritty McDuff's, Allagash, Shipyard, are just a few of my favorite "craft" beer places. The place is full of great bars but if your looking for variety of draft speciality beers then nothing touches Great Lost Bear. Oh do I enjoy going back and tasting whenever I get a chance.
Anyone else visited Portland and have input?

 

[Nugent]

The brewing cities that I have consumed significant quantities and varieties in are Edinburgh, London and Portland, OR. All three cities offered plenty of opportunities to drink their fine ales.

 

[Mongrel]

Anyone else visited Portland and have input?

Don't know about Maine, but anyone wanting to visit beer cities should definitely add the Oregon one to their travel plans.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Munich - Germany

Rochefort - Belgium

New Glarus, Milwaukee, Steven's Point, Madison - Wisconsin

 

[remilard]

My favorite was Bamberg, Germany. I was stationed there from 1997-1999.

I doubt there is any place that touches Bamberg.

 

[RM-MN]

I doubt there is any place that touches Bamberg.

I'm not so sure about that. I have been to Fargo, ND! :rockin:

 

[bierhaus15]

I was really impressed by Portland, Maine. No particular beer stands out, just lots of good, honest craft beer. Portsmouth is pretty cool too...

London and Prague are probably my favorite European beer cities; both have lots of good beer and the latter is practically a city designed solely to make drinking beer easier.

 

[Mparsons327]

I found Burlington VT to be a pretty nice beer city. The Vermont Pub and Brewery, Zero Gravity at American Flatbread, a bunch of nice beer bars in the city, Magic Hat in South Burlington, The Shed, Switchback, Long Trail, Otter Creek, Harpoon. Wow, a lot more than I realized

I have to agree. I have family that live in Burlington. I always enjoy visiting and drinking a ton of craft beer. I'm hoping for switchback to expand their distributing soon. If you haven't tried their stuff go for it you will be pleasantly surprised!

 

[olllllo]

There are classic beer cites- the ones specifically listed in the BJCP and then there are good beer cities.

Classic
Bamberg
Dublin
London
Edinburgh
Senne Valley
Brussels
San Francisco

The good beer cites list will require some thought and a few pints.

 

[bosox]

I can't put San Fransisco over Boston for classic beer cities xP I believe Boston has the oldest tavern in America and has had beer history for 100s of years.

Now whether or not you want to make the argument San Fransisco/California beer is better than Boston Beer (doubt it! ) well, that's I 'spose debateable.

 

[olllllo]

The classic beer cities are so listed because of their influence or birthing of a BJCP style.

SF - Steam Beer.
BOS - zip

Other cities are (off the top of my head)
Dortmund
Munich
Burton-on-Trent
Pilzen
Newcastle

 

[JohnTheBrewist]

I lived in Germany from 84-87. I've visited all the great beer cities there: Munich, Bamberg, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf... Had Pilsner Urquell along the Czech border. I went to Oktoberfest everyday of the fest all three years I was there. My favorite beer place was Kloster Andechs, at the time you could get their "Experimental Beer" in small wooden kegs.

When I came back to the States and couldn't find a decent beer without paying an arm and a leg for imported stuff, I started making my own.

I also agree with a previous post about San Diego- great craft brew city!

 

[NYCBrewGuy]

New York has become a great beer city. Plenty of brewing history (especially in Brooklyn). Plus you have Sixpoint, Kelso, Chelsea Brewing Co., Captain Lawrence, Keegan Ales, and of course Brooklyn Brewery just to name a few of the local breweries. Great beer bars, with more popping up everyday seemingly.

Philly is also a favorite beer city. Victory, Troegs, Weyerbacher, Flying Fish (in NJ), Stoudts, Philadelphia Brewing Co., etc. Again, good beer bars and good food.

San Francisco has already been mentioned. Boston too. Only been to Germany for the world cup, and while I drank a lot of good local beer I have no memory of what it was and I was not in the best beer cities (Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Kaiserslautern).

Belgium (mostly Brussels) was incredible.

Amsterdam is a good time but not a great beer city, though an Oranjeboom goes down easy when you're sitting in an historic bruincafe... makes a nice interlude from those other 'Dam activities

 

[horner638]

Drinking local beer while overseas is a great way to connect with a city or culture. When I travel I only drink local, even if it's commercial. When I was in New Zealand I enjoyed Speights quite a bit. I had so many different beers while I was there but I cant really remember most of them.

My wife and I like to plan our trips like Zane Lamprey in Three Sheets. We love that show and it has completely changed how we approach travel!

 

[DAlexander]

Revival!!

I surprised Bend, OR didn't make this list. With such a resume its a beer destination for sure. How they support this scene being hours from the nearest large city I don't know.

Bend Brewing Company
Boneyard Beer
Deschutes Brewery
10 Barrel (my favorite)
McMenamins (least favorite)
Crux Fermentation Project
Cascade Lakes Brewing
Old Mill Brew Werks
Goodlife Brewing
Silvermoon Brewing
Worthy Brewing

No thats a tour.

 

[Mongrel]

Revival!!

I surprised Bend, OR didn't make this list. With such a resume its a beer destination for sure. How they support this scene being hours from the nearest large city I don't know.

Bend Brewing Company
Boneyard Beer
Deschutes Brewery
10 Barrel (my favorite)
McMenamins (least favorite)
Crux Fermentation Project
Cascade Lakes Brewing
Old Mill Brew Werks
Goodlife Brewing
Silvermoon Brewing
Worthy Brewing

No thats a tour.

I wouldn't rank 10 Barrel's beer near the top, but the food and atmosphere at the pub are great.

You should also check out the pub in the Brew Shop, and our multiple growler stations if you ever come back through Bend. There are also breweries in the nearby towns (Sisters & Redmond).

 

[dhuggett]

I've been lucky enough to visit Prague, Brugges, Antwerp, Brussles, Cologne, and Munich. I still prefer West Coast Ales to most of the old world styles.

 

[tgmartin000]

San Diego was tits. And SF (Russian River, hells yea!)

I live in Denver, so craft brews are all over. Never been to the classic european capitals, but I've been to St Louis and Wisconsin! Without a doubt, some of America's brewing capitals. Regardless of how you like the beer!

But yea, we always target tap houses wherever we g0. Hoping for a trip to Belgium for the 10th.

 

[HopHoarder]

I will second Bend as a fantastic beer city; the highest number of breweries per capita in the U.S. I spent 3 days there last year doing the ale trail by day and the Bend Brewfest by evening. For Canada I rank Victoria, BC as a great beer city with notable breweries like Phillips and Driftwood plus other good breweries such as Spinnakers, Swans, Vancouver Island Brewing, Hoyne and several brewpubs.