Beer Vacation ideas

Philly is a great place that has good bars in walking distance from center city.

 

Have you done the Traverse City area of Michigan? Jolly Pumpkin, Short's, Right Brain, some great distilleries, and just great, great scenery.

Another option would be Minneapolis--Surly, Summit, Town Hall, Steel Toe, and many others. MN gets a lot of great beers in their bottle shops (of which there are many good ones in Mpls.). If you don't go too late in Oct., Minneapolis is a great place. After about the 20th, there's always the possibility of some really chilly temps.

 

san diego.

 

The other Portland is pretty nice, it's coastal, there's Alagash, Maine Beer Co, Shipyard Brewing, Sebago, a fine/rare beer bar (http://novareresbiercafe.com/), great seafood, great night life, etc, etc

 

Austin.

Direct flights from Chicago, and tons of great craft beer places and a few breweries downtown that you could walk to or take a short cab ride to. Also the best BBQ in the world (Franklins - rated #1 in the U.S. by Bon Appetit) and fantastic fall weather.

 

B E N D O R E G O N

 

Sounds like you have been to most of the beer areas in the US. Time to fly to Belgium maybe? Or go to the Tampa area for CCB and Peg's Cantina.

 

stickin' with san diego.


though belgium's a decent call too. they've got a couple breweries over there.

 

+ 1 on that Portland is a great town, really nice and crisp weather in the fall and the Allagash, Prince Tuesday, Maine Beer neighborhood of Industrial Way is a great tour to do. Allagash is a must. Great free tour.

Also, why not Waterbury, VT? really surprised this has not been mentioned yet. Lawson's, Alchemist, and Hill Farmstead all within an hour of eachother (if not sooner, if i'm not mistaken.)

 

Also, Cabot is there, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and great hiking and scenery. I've yet to find a good food scene in that area though, Prohibition Pig was such a let down (especially since it used to be so awesome as The Alchemist).

 

Do denver again, during GABF. With all the fanfare and celebration going on it'll be a whole new experience.

 

I'll keep suggesting Fort Collins! For such a small charming town, it's overflowing with fantastic breweries. You could spend a day at New Belgium alone, easily.

...plus Choice City is the greatest lunch spot on the planet. It's a fact.

 

Germany.

 

I'm going to start sounding like a broken record in these types of threads, but Bend is where I would go. Not all of the breweries are within walking distance per say, but it's a lovely city.

 

You clearly didn't go to Hen of the Wood Not a beer desitination (although, I believe they have bottles of cantillion available) but just fantastic food. The Pig's food is decent-to-good, but certainly over-priced. I'd rather go to the reservoir, honestly. Other than that, the good food's in stowe or burlington.

Seriously, come to Waterbury. You'll likely catch some foliage, unless you're here at the end of October, and all the bars are in walking distance

 

Maine in October is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Just pitch a tent in the Marshall Wharf parking lot for a few days and you'll be set!

 

Belgium is a great idea. Amsterdam also is a pretty decent destination as well, there's a growing scene there and they get in good imports from around the world.

Don't come to Germany for a beer vacation. I live here, it's not worth it.

 

Asheville, North Carolina! I know that's a long haul from Chi-town, but definitely worth a visit. Bruisin' Ales should be on every beer lover's bucket list. In addition, there are several good brewpubs in the city, plus the wonderful Thirsty Monk pub. There is an inexpensive hotel near the Thirsty Monk (name escapes me at the moment) and several other good bars, brewpubs and stores.

 

San Diego.

No brainer.


Or go international.