What brewery tours have you done?

I searched for this topic, so I apologize if it has already been discussed.

I do a lot of traveling for work and also try to hit up the local breweries and if possible take their tour. What breweries have you toured and what's your favorite? Maybe the list will give me some ideas, if I'm in or near that city.

Try to list the brewery name, city and state if you know it off the top of your head.

So far I've done the following:

Yuengling, Pottsville PA (30 Min from my home and by far my favorite tour just for the history aspect of it. I highly recommend it if you are in the area)
Dogfish Head, Milton, DE
Victory, Downingtown, PA
Troegs, Hershey PA (I have done the tour at both locations, Harrisburg and Hershey. Hershey is a self guided tour though)

Just CA breweries for me:

Stone San Diego
Green Flash San Diego
Ballast Point San Diego
Karl Strauss San Diego (Carlsbad)
Anchor San Francisco
Drakes San Francisoc Bay Area (San Leandro)

Schlafly Bottleworks
Schlafly Taproom
Augusta
O'Fallon
AB "Brewmasters Tour" - totally not worth it. I was led around by Jessica, who doesn't even know how they carbonate beer.
Square One
Civil Life
Russian River - brewpub
Lagunitas
Anchor
Elliot Bay
O'Dells
New Belgium
Fort Collins
Mountain Sun - Boulder
Avery
Tommyknocker
Dam Brewery - Dillon

I'm sure I forgot a few, but my favorite is still New Belgium. Coolest. Tour. Ever. I drank 2013 La Folie straight out of the foudres. You really can't beat that.

Last weekend was awesome.
I saw a new nano-brewery in the next neighborhood, so I gave them a try (192 brewing in Kenmore).
They turned me onto another a couple miles down the road (12 bars brewing in Woodinville).
They turned my onto another (Foggy Noggin brewing in Bothel).
They were all great beers manufactured at a home brewer level.
The one in Bothel was literally out of his garage at a residence.
I had no idea.
Sorry, a little off topic since I didn't actually get a tour.

Great lists! My next assignment will take me up and down the east coast, but if I ever get out west, I'm interested in seeing Stone and New Belgium.

acidrain said:

Last weekend was awesome.
I saw a new nano-brewery in the next neighborhood, so I gave them a try (192 brewing in Kenmore).
They turned me onto another a couple miles down the road (12 bars brewing in Woodinville).
They turned my onto another (Foggy Noggin brewing in Bothel).
They were all great beers manufactured at a home brewer level.
The one in Bothel was literally out of his garage at a residence.
I had no idea.
Sorry, a little off topic since I didn't actually get a tour.

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Still a cool trip. We have that type of "brewer's bond" here too. You can sit in a nanobrewery and get talking to the brewer and he turns you onto another close one and so forth. I spent two days one weekend just hitting small pubs in a 100 mile radius.

I did a brew tour weekend in Asheville NC this fall. They pride themselves on being "Beer City" already and with New Belgium and Sierra Nevada coming they may have a point.

I toured
Highland Brewing
Asheville Brewing
Pisgah Brewing
Craggie Brewing
Lexington Avenue Brewery
Thirsty Monk
Wedge Brewing

Peticolas - Dallas
Deep Ellum - Dallas
Franconia - McKinney (Dallas)
Rahr - Ft Worth
Live Oak - Austin
Hops and Grains - Austin

Rahr - Fort Worth
Shiner (Spoetlz) - Shiner, TX
Ranger Creek - San Antonio, TX

De molen
The halve mann
Het anker
Cantillon
Huyghe
Tiris
Ca´l Arenys.
La gardenia

Ballast Point is the only one I've taken a "tour" of. I personally don't feel like there's a lot more to see unless I got to a Belgian/sour brewery or somewhere that had a radically different brewing technique. It's mostly just big tanks sitting around while all the people on hand are cleaning kegs.

Troegs- Both locations also.
Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY

Both awesome. The cafe at Brewery Ommegang is a Must do!!!

Enjoy!

mooshimanx said:

Ballast Point is the only one I've taken a "tour" of. I personally don't feel like there's a lot more to see unless I got to a Belgian/sour brewery or somewhere that had a radically different brewing technique. It's mostly just big tanks sitting around while all the people on hand are cleaning kegs.

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Yup except for some particular case (like when I toured Cantillon) all the breweries are about the same. And the tours are not that great.
I am the only one that thinks that the guys in charge of the tour know a lot less about beer than yourself?

Schlafly Bottleworks
Schlafly Taproom
Bud-Busch Gardens
Morgan Street Brewery

Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY
Victory in Downingtown, PA

Both were great, but I really enjoyed Ommegang.

mooshimanx said:

Ballast Point is the only one I've taken a "tour" of. I personally don't feel like there's a lot more to see unless I got to a Belgian/sour brewery or somewhere that had a radically different brewing technique. It's mostly just big tanks sitting around while all the people on hand are cleaning kegs.

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I think I look forward more to the tasting room at the end than the tour itself. And I think that is why Yeungling is a great tour, because of the story behind not so much the brewing process.

doc5md said:

Troegs- Both locations also.
Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY

Both awesome. The cafe at Brewery Ommegang is a Must do!!!

Enjoy!

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Some of the sites we are turning up will be all over New York. If I'm close I'll definitely check it out.

Boulevard- Kansas City
Great Divide-Denver
AB
Coors

Dogfish Head

16 Mile Brewery
Evolution Craft Brewery (both locations)
Eastern shore Brewery
Burley Oak Brewery
Weyerbacher
Barley Creek Brewing
Ruddy Duck

Yea- do nanos count? They don't give a tour but I can stand inside them and see the whole place!

Pecafaced said:

Dogfish Head

16 Mile Brewery
Evolution Craft Brewery (both locations)
Eastern shore Brewery
Burley Oak Brewery
Weyerbacher
Barley Creek Brewing
Ruddy Duck

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I forgot about the Ruddy Duck. Visited it back when I was out there visiting the naval base for work.

St. Arnold - Houston, TX

Spoetzl - Shiner, TX

I will be visiting Rahr & Sons this weekend, and hopefully a few places in Dallas (Firewheel, etc.)

daksin said:

Yea- do nanos count? They don't give a tour but I can stand inside them and see the whole place!

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I'm compiling a list to hit if I'm in that city, so if you remember the city, fire away.

I should probably purchase some homebrewtalk.com swag and pose it for a picture from each location I hit. Hmmmmmm... another thread idea

New Belgium (Fort Collins, CO) <-- Must-see when you visit Fort Collins
Odell (Fort Collins, CO)
Funkwerks (Fort Collins, CO)
Anheuser-Busch (Fort Collins, CO) <-- Very interesting to see such a giant operation, though I suspect nothing compared to St Louis
Big Beaver (Loveland, CO)
Oskar Blues (Longmont, CO)
Tommyknocker (Idaho Springs, CO)
Guinness (Dublin)

If you're ever in Denver, the Stranahan's whiskey distillery is also worth a visit!

Sam Adams outside of Boston
Pilsner Urquell brewery in Pilsen Czech Republic
Weihenstephan brewery outside of Munich in a town called Freising..I was very excited to go to this brewery. It is the oldest working brewery in the world from 1040. Cool tour too.
Budweiser in Merrimack NH
I've also been to a bunch of nano's here and abroad.