Whats the best brew pub area in the US?

[eddie]

The only problem with Sea Dog is that you have to go to Bangor to visit it.

Bar Harbor's a total tourist trap, but it's a pretty one and Bar Harbor Brewery is worth a peek if you're in the area.

True on both accounts.

 

[Livendadream]

Colorado is the beer "mecca" of the world. Just my opinion, but I am willing to bet jkarp and many others would agree.

 

[jkarp]

Colorado is the beer "mecca" of the world. Just my opinion, but I am willing to bet jkarp and many others would agree.

Livendadream <---- truly an enlightened individual. :fro:

 

[munche]

If you're able to go up the coast, that would make for an awesome trip. Taking the PCH all the way up, you'll go through a lot of major cities, see a lot of nice scenery, and hit a lot of nice brewing areas. Starting in San Diego where there's a ton of stuff, there's a few places in LA/Orange County (The Bruery is the only one really worth hitting IMO), then Firestone in Paso Robles in the Central Coast, another big cluster of breweries in San Francisco, Russian River, North Coast and Lost Coast up the northern Cali Coast, then you could hit Portland and Seattle. I actually plotted a really similar trip, but I don't think I'll have the time to do it when I go to Seattle in the fall.

That trip has the advantage of being not only great for beer but also just hitting a lot of great sights.

 

[northernlad]

How long is a string?


Oh, and I certainly don't see anyone bowing in the general direction of Denver at noon.

 

[sithspitt]

Here's a map showing the most award winning states

wow I can't believe Tennessee ranked as high as they did I guess there are worse places to live

 

[SteveM]

Wow, did this "who's the better beer city" thread just get resolved without coming to blows?!?!?

That NEVER happens!!

Well, he asked about brew pub cities. It got a bit twisted (by me and others) but in truth, it's hard to argue with Portland as far as brew pubs. Philly has plenty of them, but not like Portland.

As far as places like Missouri and Tennessee and even Denver, well, it's not worth discussing. And judging just by who wins medals in Denver, well, gee, that might introduce a tiny bit of mountain state and west coast bias.

 

[SumnerH]

Well, he asked about brew pub cities. It got a bit twisted (by me and others) but in truth, it's hard to argue with Portland as far as brew pubs. Philly has plenty of them, but not like Portland.

That's true. Portland, ME is among the top brew pub cities in the country. In particular, two of the beer bars in Portland (Novare Res and Great Lost Bear) both often rank among the top 10 beer bars in the country in various magazines (by everyone from beer-centric sources like Beer Advocate, Barleycorn, and Malt Advocate to general foodie pubs like Gourmet).

In addition to being a great current city for beer, it's got some of the most historically important breweries in the country. The Geary's cofounders (who also founded Shipyard) were among the first to travel to Europe and bring microbrewing techniques to the US, and brought the first post-Prohibition crops of Fuggles and other hops to the US to make traditional hops varietals available for US brewers.

Allagash, Maine Beer Company, and other breweries in the city are among the tops in the nation.

For fans of minor trivia, there's another city out in the Oregon territory that was founded over 200 later and named after Portland (the two co-founders actually tossed a coin to decide whether to name it Portland or Boston). They have a pretty decent beer scene, too.


(More seriously, I always find it bizarre when west coasters consider "Portland" without further specification to mean Portland, OR; to someone from the northeast, that's as weird as thinking that "Sacramento" means Sacramento, Kentucky or "Boston" means Boston, Georgia).

 

[mrgstiffler]

(More seriously, I always find it bizarre when west coasters consider "Portland" without further specification to mean Portland, OR; to someone from the northeast, that's as weird as thinking that "Sacramento" means Sacramento, Kentucky or "Boston" means Boston, Georgia).

That's because nobody cares about Portland, Maine

 

[DrinkinSurfer]

For my personal taste I dig the Southern California stuff. We have everything from The Bruery to Stone. But you can't argue with any of the other regions as well.

 

[Junkaboy]

Wow, did this "who's the better beer city" thread just get resolved without coming to blows?!?!?

That NEVER happens!!

Actually it's not about "best beer city".
Its about the largest concentration of good brew pubs and tap houses.

I'd like to see quite a few to get ideas and learn more about it.

Also a enjoyable trip with great scenery helps a lot.

 

[Junkaboy]

I hear there are a lot of great brew pups in Seattle, Washington (Naked City comes to mind) and in Portland, Oregon.

If you are going to be in New England, be sure to check out Sebago Brewing Co. in Portland, Maine and Sea Dog in Bangor, Maine.

Thanks for the tips!

I will see if I can actually strech all the way to Seattle. I think it isnt too far from Portland and might be worth it.

It will be hard to cover all this in little over a week.

 

[Junkaboy]

That's true. Portland, ME is among the top brew pub cities in the country. In particular, two of the beer bars in Portland (Novare Res and Great Lost Bear) both often rank among the top 10 beer bars in the country in various magazines (by everyone from beer-centric sources like Beer Advocate, Barleycorn, and Malt Advocate to general foodie pubs like Gourmet).

In addition to being a great current city for beer, it's got some of the most historically important breweries in the country. The Geary's cofounders (who also founded Shipyard) were among the first to travel to Europe and bring microbrewing techniques to the US, and brought the first post-Prohibition crops of Fuggles and other hops to the US to make traditional hops varietals available for US brewers.

Allagash, Maine Beer Company, and other breweries in the city are among the tops in the nation.

For fans of minor trivia, there's another city out in the Oregon territory that was founded over 200 later and named after Portland (the two co-founders actually tossed a coin to decide whether to name it Portland or Boston). They have a pretty decent beer scene, too.


(More seriously, I always find it bizarre when west coasters consider "Portland" without further specification to mean Portland, OR; to someone from the northeast, that's as weird as thinking that "Sacramento" means Sacramento, Kentucky or "Boston" means Boston, Georgia).

Thank you for your tips!

Will look for all this

 

[SteveM]

(More seriously, I always find it bizarre when west coasters consider "Portland" without further specification to mean Portland, OR; to someone from the northeast, that's as weird as thinking that "Sacramento" means Sacramento, Kentucky or "Boston" means Boston, Georgia).

Actually, it's not just westies. It's probably everyone in the country from about Providence south and west. Unfair, especially since (as you noted), the one out west was named after the one up your way!

 

[Airborneguy]

Same here... I always get mad when people don't consider York, UK when speaking of New York!

 

[dummkauf]

Was just out in San Francisco a month ago, and while I didn't see a lot of "brew pubs" I had a lot of very good local micro brews served a bars/pubs/restaurants/even the hotel bar!!

 

[curlyfat]

Whatever you do, don't wander into Wyoming. We got nothing here

I gotta say, though, from my visits to Colorado, it seems there's more there than you could ever get too, and the scenery in the rockies (Wyoming and Colorado) is outstanding!

 

[dewey316]

Putting in my vote for San Diego, CA...recently passed up Portland for the amount of brewers in the metro area (31 breweries/brewpubs!)

Not to take anything away from San D (I love the city), but 31 doesn't pass up the 34 in Portland. Unless they changed the way they count, or a couple of breweries in Portland closed that I wasn't aware of.

Also, to the original poster.

If you are coming to Portland, some other things to not miss out on.

Widmer Brothers
McMenamin's (One of the larger ones, Edgefield or Kennedy School)
Hair of the Dog (this can be tricky to find a day he is open, but VERY cool)
Bridgeport
Amnesia (I actually really enjoy going here, it has a different vibe)
Raccoon Lodge

For other stuff, the Green Dragon would be good to go to, it is owned by Rogue now, but lots of drinking to be done there.

BTW, If you make it up here, shoot me a PM, I'll be happy to go do some brewery tours / drinking with you. I'll also share some homebrew.

Cheers,
John

 

[Starderup]

While it may not be the best, I know Atlanta GA has some pretty amazing pub/bars/breweries.

For highest concentration, Portland, OR might be your best bet, as has been mentioned. I lived there in 1997, and it is a beautiful, very progressive city. The Pacific Coast Highway alone would be a fantastic trip, coming from someone born and raised in the Golden State.

You might want to do some research on this site: http://brewpubzone.com/

Although they did omit The Brickstore Pub in Decatur, GA. Currently the #2 rated beer bar in the world according to Beer Advocate magazine. They have over 300 beers, and each one is served in the appropriate style glass.

 

[carnevoodoo]

Although they did omit The Brickstore Pub in Decatur, GA. Currently the #2 rated beer bar in the world according to Beer Advocate magazine. They have over 300 beers, and each one is served in the appropriate style glass.

I'm sure that place is great and all, but I really don't think taking BA's word on that sort of thing matters. They are typically slanted in ways that make little sense, and honestly the beer ratings on their site are useless.

 

[Starderup]

I'm sure that place is great and all, but I really don't think taking BA's word on that sort of thing matters. They are typically slanted in ways that make little sense, and honestly the beer ratings on their site are useless.

This place is a one of a kind. They do mention Twains, which is also good (and only a few blocks away), but when you see the beer list at Brickstore, it is amazing. It is a sort of looseleaf binder. I think it is about 5-7 pages, broken down by style.

 

[mullenite]

To be honest, I look at the Brickstore beer list online (which I've been told is updated regularly) and I'm not all that impressed. My local here in Gainesville, Fl has a better tap list and a larger bottle list.

I guess I will have to make the trip up there to really decide but from here it just doesn't seem worth it.

 

[Starderup]

To be honest, I look at the Brickstore beer list online (which I've been told is updated regularly) and I'm not all that impressed. My local here in Gainesville, Fl has a better tap list and a larger bottle list.

I guess I will have to make the trip up there to really decide but from here it just doesn't seem worth it.

If you got a brewpub that carries more than 130 Belgians, than you are a lucky man.
They may update the online list often, but it is not complete, I can tell you. Reading the paper menu is daunting, and very hard to make a selection because there is so much to choose from. Unless you are a professional beer aficionado, it might not be worth making a trip specifically for Brickstore, but I'd definitely recommend it if you are in the area with an hour or two to kill.

 

[mullenite]

If you got a brewpub that carries more than 130 Belgians, than you are a lucky man.
They may update the online list often, but it is not complete, I can tell you. Reading the paper menu is daunting, and very hard to make a selection because there is so much to choose from. Unless you are a professional beer aficionado, it might not be worth making a trip specifically for Brickstore, but I'd definitely recommend it if you are in the area with an hour or two to kill.

I've never counted the number of Belgians as I don't typically drink bottled beer when I go out but I do know they have over 400 bottles at any given time and in the past two months have had a number of hard to get beers on tap.

 

[Hoppocrates]

IMO it is San Diego vs Portland (OR) vs Denver area, each equally phenomenal. Philly has good Belgian Beer Bars but weak local brews...

 

[SumnerH]

If you got a brewpub that carries more than 130 Belgians, than you are a lucky man.

Brickstore is awesome. Trappeze in Athens is right up there, too.

There are a ton of places like that on the east coast, BTW. e.g. if you started in FL and drove north you could stop at a bunch of awesome spots that can hook you up with a ton of Belgians. Might make a good driving tour, actually.

Orlando, FL http://www.yelp.com/biz/redlight-redlight-orlando
GA the aforementioned pair
Asheville, NC http://monkpub.com/
Various locations, VA http://www.capitalalehouse.com
Washington, DC http://www.churchkeydc.com/
Baltimore, MD http://maxs.com/
Philadelphia, PA http://www.monkscafe.com
New York, NY http://www.spuytenduyvilnyc.com/bottles.htm
Amherst, MA http://www.moananddove.com/the-happening/
Portland, ME http://www.novareresbiercafe.com and http://www.greatlostbear.com/

And finish up at:
Lovell, ME http://ebenezerspub.net/ (35 Belgians on tap and 700+ bottled)

 

[mullenite]

If I were to do this I would change it up a bit in Florida, I don't know enough about the other areas (aside from Asheville) to make any further recommendations.

Fly in to Tampa and spend a couple days there visiting the various breweries and bars in the area. Specifically Cigar City, Dunedin Brewery, St. Somewhere, Peg's Cantina and Tampa Bay Brewing.

Go to Orlando and check out Redlight Redlight, Orlando Brewing Partners and have a nice meal at the Ravenous Pig.

Head up to Gainesville to check out Swamp Head and Stubbies and Steins (a place I much prefer to Redlight Redlight.)

Head over to Jacksonville to hit up Kickbacks, 7 Bridges and Bold City.

Then off to Atlanta...

 

[SumnerH]

If I were to do this I would change it up a bit in Florida, I don't know enough about the other areas (aside from Asheville) to make any further recommendations.

Fly in to Tampa and spend a couple days there visiting the various breweries and bars in the area. Specifically Cigar City, Dunedin Brewery, St. Somewhere, Peg's Cantina and Tampa Bay Brewing.

Cigar City is fantastic. It's almost there already, but as the rep spreads it's going to be considered one of the top American breweries.

 

[Junkaboy]

Also, to the original poster.

If you are coming to Portland, some other things to not miss out on.

Widmer Brothers
McMenamin's (One of the larger ones, Edgefield or Kennedy School)
Hair of the Dog (this can be tricky to find a day he is open, but VERY cool)
Bridgeport
Amnesia (I actually really enjoy going here, it has a different vibe)
Raccoon Lodge

For other stuff, the Green Dragon would be good to go to, it is owned by Rogue now, but lots of drinking to be done there.

BTW, If you make it up here, shoot me a PM, I'll be happy to go do some brewery tours / drinking with you. I'll also share some homebrew.

Cheers,
John

Thank you for the recommendations!

You will receive a PM as soon as I get the schedules down.
Thanks a lot for the info! Much appreciated.

 

[Thakog]

Portland is a smaller city than San Diego, and a slightly smaller city than Denver. So, if you're looking for the concentration of brew pubs, then then you'll probably find it in Portland. Also, the public transit is pretty decent. You can also take a brew bus tour. I think they run about $40 of 4-5 breweries. Ussually you make it to at least one really decent breweries- last year I we went to Hopworks, Roots, Lucky Lab, and I think the old MacTarnahhans taproom.

http://www.brewbus.com/