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The best tour I ever had was about 20 years ago. My wife and I visited the Fuller's Griffin Brewery outside of London.

I just did a search and found this blog post of someone's tour in 2007. Looks like they had the identical tour we had! http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/fullers-griffen-brewery-tour-in-chiswick-london/

london07-00.jpg
 
Cigar City does great tours. There were only 6 people on our tour and they like to get everyone involved with Q/A's..

I would like to see DFH.

Dogfish Head is #1 on my list.

I've been to DFH as it is literally only 5 minutes from my parents campsite. It's kind of comical to see this big brewery with all 7(?) fermenters in the middle of this little quaint village that is Milton. It's a great tour though which they always have some great tasting beers at the end. Fun people that work there too. Plus they have the Steampunk treehouse out front and their bocce court. Definitely worth a visit! They do a lot for the community too.

Yuengling - Americas oldest brewery

They have hand-dug fermentation caves that were used for storage before refrigeration.
Anheuser Busch tried to sue them for the logo and they lost... :)

Saw the one in Florida.. really want to see the one in PA.
http://www.yuengling.com/over21/over21.php?referrer=http://www.yuengling.com/

N9BOW

I had no idea AB tried to sue them over the logo. It doesn't surprise me though. I believe their sole purpose in doing these things is cost them money in legal fees.

Ommegang brewery in Cooperstown was awesome.

I was waiting, as I was reading through this thread, for somebody to list Ommegang. It definitely has a unique and authentic rustic look about it. One of the best breweries too. I'd love to visit this one.

Stoudt's is a great place. The brewery itself is small, their whole operation is huge and awesome. If you don't know the history, Ed Stoudt started a restaurant, then expanded to antique sales, then he married Carol and she started the brewery. They have an awesome and authentic biergarten, the antiques seem to go on forever and the restaurant has a couple different rooms with different atmospheres.

Dogfish Head's production brewery in Milton, DE is awesome. The giant wood fermentors they age Palo Santo in are pretty crazy and then there is the giant store/tasting room, the steam punk treehouse and bocce ball courts.

The new Tröegs facility in Hershey has a brilliant self guided tour. You enter a hallway with glass on either side from the tasting room, behind the glass is the brewery on one side and a lab on the other. You walk down further and it opens into a bigger room with some tables. The bottling line is behind glass there and barrel aging is going on next to that. If you keep walking, you come out into the store. There is also the Scratch brewery right inside the tasting room along with their hop back system. They just started doing guided tours and I can't wait to go on one, but the way this is set up for self guided tours is great.

Soon as I read this thread I was like, this guy has got to be a local! Sure enough you were, I just didn't realize you'd be in the same town I was born and raised though. Troegs just opened up their new brewery in Hershey too. I can't wait until I can finally take the tour. I've been to Hersheypark enough times this year. I gotta go down the street and visit Troegs.

As far as Dogfish Head. They use those big oak wood fermentors for the Burton Baton too.
 
Went to Oneonta State 20 minutes from Ommegang. Let's say we went there a lot. The tour guides started to remember us. Over the past two years they have gone more corporate and have definitely lost their cool smaller brewery feel. However with their new building (think belgian cafe) they are now holding outdoor concerts with camping sites and if you're planning on being in the area, a tour of the brewery with tasting (now $3, but you get to keep the tasting glass) a nice outdoor concert will help make it worth it.

My $0.02.
 
Also +1 for Sam Adams in beantown. They give you grain to chew on and hops to squish And your table gets like 3 pitchers to drink at the end. Sit at the end of the row to finish off whatever's left of the pitcher after everyone at the table's filled their glass! You can write out and send free postcards to your sorry friends back home in the waiting area there.

One of the coolest spur of the moment things was when we (wife and I and inlaws) were in Breckenridge Colorado. We walked into the Breckenridge Brew Pub, asked about a tour, they seemed confused, said come back in an hour and a half. We came back and the Brewmaster took the four of us on a private tour of the place! He asked us what we liked and poured us a beer first and we went through the whole place. From the grist mill in the attic, to the lagering hall in the basement. Told us what he used for grains and hops in his brews. Best. Tour. Ever. Completely free. I felt obligated to buy two shirts, some stickers and we got some food afterwards to pay it forward. Ever since, whenever I see their vanilla porter or 471 IPA in the beer store I snag it!
 
HydroGeologist said:
whenever I see their vanilla porter or 471 IPA in the beer store I snag it!

I tried the vanilla porter about a week ago. I'd love to see the brewery/brewpub. Where is it located? I know I may be a small operation but this one is certainly on my list. Maybe they offer tours now simply because you asked.
 
Beer_me_plz said:
Where is it located? I know I may be a small operation but this one is certainly on my list. Maybe they offer tours now simply because you asked.

From their website: The original Breckenridge Brewery & Pub is located on South Main Street in the historic mountain town of Breckenridge. The town's most popular restaurant destination offers one of the most dramatic views of the mountains, which is best appreciated while enjoying an Avalanche Ale from our dining room or our patio.

http://www.breckbrew.com/food/breckenridge-brewery-pub
 
Bass Brewers is a must for me. Bass turned me from a BMC swilling troglodyte into a refined beer aficionado. I think I was 19 when I tried my first Bass. My first black and tan on my 21st bday. I would never again enter a party with an empty big gulp cup and sights set on devouring 15gal of light yellow fizzy liquid. Living in San Diego, Stone is the largest brewery i have seen. Those guys have their Schlitz together. I think they are expanding with a hotel soon and have recently opened retail stores around the county.
 
Bass Brewers is a must for me. Bass turned me from a BMC swilling troglodyte into a refined beer aficionado. I think I was 19 when I tried my first Bass. My first black and tan on my 21st bday. I would never again enter a party with an empty big gulp cup and sights set on devouring 15gal of light yellow fizzy liquid. Living in San Diego, Stone is the largest brewery i have seen. Those guys have their Schlitz together. I think they are expanding with a hotel soon and have recently opened retail stores around the county.

Great Story! I cant seem to see how you were inspired by bass to drink crafts? I had my first Delirium when I was 18, and was a beer snob by 21... I had a radical evolution. My first beer was a bud light when I was 14 or 15 and remember it being the worst thing I had ever tasted, lol...I was right.
 
bribo179 said:
Even though it is an evil corp. Anheiser in St Louis is amazing for shear scale...and they have clydesdales onsite!

I used to live next to the anheiser in baldwinsville ny and got a really extensive walk through when I was in the fire department. It was amazing on how big of an operation it was. Unfortunately they didn't have clydesdales there.
 
Option said:
Great Story! I cant seem to see how you were inspired by bass to drink crafts? I had my first Delirium when I was 18, and was a beer snob by 21... I had a radical evolution. My first beer was a bud light when I was 14 or 15 and remember it being the worst thing I had ever tasted, lol...I was right.

My moment of clarity was in 1991. An older coworker invited me to his bbq and he had Bass on tap. My life changed in a heartbeat. He gave me a few coasters from his trip to England and it kind of opened my eyes. I searched for those beers on the coasters for several years. Still have them in a cigar box, coasters that is.
 
Atlantic Brewing Company in Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park in Maine. They have a nice little tour, tasting room, and an outdoor BBQ. They also make their own sodas so people who dislike beer, like my wife, can still enjoy the tour and taste a few things. Its away from the touristy areas of town, so its a nice place to just get away for a few hours, learn about beer and eat some good food. Its actually the place that sparked my interest in brewing beer.

I agree. I was there for the BBQ last Saturday. Great place.
 
Definitely Stone and Russian River! I don't live too far from Stone so I go as often as I can.
 
Yuengling brewery in PA. I've been 3 times so far. We live about an hour 1/2 from there. Great place. Their cave is pretty neat and they even have a prohabition wall that the gov put up.
 
If you want to see an ultra modern brewery, check out Southern Tier in Lakewood, NY. It's packed to the gills with technology.

i was just thinking about that brewery because i'm drinking there 2XIPA. i really enjoyed troegs brewery in Hersey ,PA. i haven't yet but heard Dog Fish Heads tour is pretty good.
 
I was just at Pilsner Urquell and Cantillion back at the end of May/ beginning of June. Both were amazing experiences. The Cantillion tour is self-guided and after you're done you get to sample the lambic, gueuze and either the Kriek, Rose De Gambrinus or the Fou' Foune.
 
For the best tour: New Belgium in Fort Collins, CO

For the most impressive facility: New Glarus in New Glarus, WI

For doing the most with the smallest / most crowded brewery: Avery in Boulder, CO

For the place where I like to drink a pint: Blind Pig Brewery, Champaign, IL

+1 on the first 3. I would also head to O'Dells while in Ft Collins. They and Avery both had several taps with experimental beers that may never get distributed, but were lots of fun to try. Beer geek heaven! Their tours were also given by brewers, not some cutie who knows just enough to impress the BMC crowd, but not enough to not sound foolish. Oskar Blues, Left Hand, Tommyknocker, etc, just served their usual fare, and were a letdown after O'Dells and Avery.

New Glarus also has some novel brews, which were fun. It was built with tours in mind.

Capitol Brewing in Madison had some very tasty standards, and a tasting glass that was endlessly refillable!

(I've never been to the Blind Pig).
 
Just wanted to post to say that I would love to tour Southern Tier. Their beers impressed the hell out of me. They aren't crazy homebrew recipes. They are clearly going for mass market appeal, but every time I taste one I think, "wow! This is really spot-on for the style (and really well-made) without going overboard."

I once used the phone number printed on their sixers to leave a message for the head brewer at 3am to tell him he is doing a great job.

As a guy who appreciates hops, but doesn't always want every beer hopped to hell, Southern Tier and Goose Island are my go-to breweries when it comes to wanting something that doesn't instantly taste like the brewery it came from. The brewmasters at those two places show a DIVERSE palate and I really respect that. If I want hoppy, I know to order an IPA. Don't surprise me with a ton of hops when I order something else. If I wanted that, I would have ordered it.

Ample hops doesn't make you a craft brewer... Well-crafted beer does. And those guys really do it well.
 
Bucket list must include a few Belgian breweries. I would love to hang at Phantome for an afternoon...
 
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