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San Diego, San Francisco Bay, Portland, and Boulder (the Colorado Rocky region as a whole is the best area IMO) come to my mind as the best...then with honorable mentions to places like Philly, Milwaukee, and Boston. I'm sure there are plenty of others though.
Milwaukee is the mecca of crappy beer. For microbreweries/craft breweries, I'd agree that the Front Range area of CO (spanning from Colo Spgs on up to Fort Collins) is tops, along with Portland, Seattle, and San Diego. Philly does pretty well too, Boston and St Louis I'm not so sure about.
Microbreweries have really taken off in lots of cities, though...city restrictions have loosened in many places which have made it easier for microbreweries to flourish. Being a beer fanatic and moving from CO to TX I was terrified all I'd be able to find was Lone Star and Shiner Bock, but there are some amazing microbreweries here and I have rarely missed CO. (512) Brewing Co. & Austin Beerworks in Austin stand out, as do Saint Arnold in Houston and Rahr & Sons in Fort Worth.
I have to imagine there are plenty of fantastic cities for getting craft brews. Personally I had a good time in San Francisco for finding a lot of incredible and relatively local craft beers, but I didn't stumble into many actual breweries.. so I can't be of much help here. Gordon Biersch did treat me well, though.
There is an area in Cleveland which is absolutely excellent for bar hopping and craft brews, as you can see here - USATODAY.com I think its unique because its one of the only neighborhoods where there are actual breweries and pubs gathered together..and incredibly close to each other while establishing a very classy vibe.. with more breweries to come.
Cincinnati is starting to get a bit better, with Morlein opening a location on the river. It will take a while for it to get its reputation as a beer city back.. but thats economic, not social. Its still very much a beer city.
Also, I simply must plug another place I have lived.. Vienna.. If anyone out there gets a chance, go to Home it will knock your socks off!
Anyways, I can't really say where the best are, but that is what I know. Of these cities, I had the best beer in Cleveland, but that's probably due to how much longer I was there and how much more of an opportunity I had to explore.
Location: Jefferson City 4 days a week, St. Louis 3 days a week
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TAM88
Pretty simple: what city/metro area is home to the best beer breweries?
I think the two that standout are St. Louis and Milwaukee, but there are many other cities that have some great beers coming out of them.
I agree. Pretty difficult to beat either of these two...some of the most German cities in the country, and both give the Midwest its famous flair for beer.
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
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The best seem to be from the Colorado frontier region and Portland. I personally prefer Avery Brewery and Founder's, which I believe are from those areas. There's one in the Twin Cities called "Surly" that is actually a top 10 microbrewery and one of my faves as well, who make a KILLER IPA (as does Avery with its "Maheraja"). In Cleveland, there is Great Lakes Brewery, which makes two of my absolute top 5 favorite beers: Blackout Stout and Christmas Ale. As a (now) aficionado of stouts and holiday ales, I find those two to be unmatched by most any takers (although I can totally see a better stout come along)! The Christmas Ale is EASILY the best in the country thus far, and I've tried close to 20 different "wannabes" now!
They are relatively "crappy" though, but in terms of taste, not because they're cheap. You can find some much better beer for not much more than stuff like budweiser and miller (or for the same price at some places). That said, I'll still drink the cheap stuff, and I even like some of it. Beer is beer, and cheap is good. Of course taste is subjective though, and is also acquired in many cases.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanscav
I have to imagine there are plenty of fantastic cities for getting craft brews. Personally I had a good time in San Francisco for finding a lot of incredible and relatively local craft beers, but I didn't stumble into many actual breweries.. so I can't be of much help here. Gordon Biersch did treat me well, though..
For breweries in SF itself, there's:
Anchor
21st Amendment
Speakeasy
Breweries elsewhere in the Bay Area:
Lagunitas
Bear Republic
Moylan's
Russian River
Trumer
Gordon Biersch
Might as well list a few more Northern California breweries:
Sierra Nevada
Lost Coast
Mendocino
^I'd say all of those are quite good overall, aside from 21st Amendment, Trumer, and Gordon Biersch which are just OK in my opinion. There are a bunch of much smaller ones too, that I'm not very familiar with.
And of course there's a lot of good stuff in So Cal too, especially San Diego (I'm not as knowledgeable about So Cal stuff, but Ballast Point and Stone are some of the best and most well known breweries in SD). The northwest and Colorado have tons of good stuff too. There are good breweries all over the place though.
Last edited by CaseyB; 04-11-2012 at 11:04 AM..
Reason: response to deletion
Pretty simple: what city/metro area is home to the best beer breweries?
I think the two that standout are St. Louis and Milwaukee, but there are many other cities that have some great beers coming out of them.
Ick! St Louis and Milwaukee are ground zero for terrible big-brewery watery american-style pilsner grossness. And, unfortunately, as a result, craft breweries have had difficulty making inroads in either of these places.
I would say most large west coast cities have fantastic craft brew cultures with abundant breweries, micro brewpubs, beer bars, and brewing events. San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland stand out as the clear frontrunners for American craft breweries. Los Angeles has several, but the beer culture there is slightly lacking. If I had to choose one, it would probably be San Diego, since it is the birthplace of the hoppy American IPA. But you can't go wrong in any of those cities.
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