Best Beer-cation cities

I'm originally from the western US and have a background in linguistics so I am now very curious: is there a difference to you guys (people that live there) between "New England" and "the East coast"? If so, what?To me it is all "back east" but that is about as vague as you could get.
Because you are right, VT is only better for Boston, et al. AFAIK. Although I went down 87 last month and there is enough great beer to justify that route as well!

 

1. Charleston, SC....awesome beaches, history, and food. There is some world class beer being produced down here....

2. Washington DC....I grew up there so I am a little based but it's a cool city to be a tourist...not to mention great beer and food everywhere...

 

I'll do my homer shout out.... If you want to plan ahead, in June of every year Philly Beer Week in Philadelphia is a thing to behold. There are so many beer festivals, special tappings, casks, brewery events, throughout the city that one cannot possibly go to them all. Philadelphia distribution is phenomenal too, so you go to Philly Beer Week and all the best beer in the world comes to you. Philadelphia has many US historical sights for non-beer stuff too.

 

We have been vacationing in Charleston/Folly Beach area the past few years, and I have to say Charleston is definitely a great option for a beercation. With Charles Towne Fermentory and Lagunitas Taproom opening up recently, along with Westbrook, Coast, Holy city and all of the other established breweries, you can find something you like. And then of course the food and scenery as you mentioned.

 

"New England" is the 5 northeastern-most US states, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The "US East Coast" is all states along the Atlantic coast, from Florida to Maine (excluding southern "Gulf states" on the Gulf of Mexico, and not to be confused with "Eastern US" which is all states east of the Mississippi River).

 

some of us would take the 401 from Windsor through Toronto. Saves a lot of miles if you are in MI. My geography lesson.

 

Good point... I honestly thought about that, but I don't know those roads off the top of my head and was too lazy to look them up.

 

Chicago and NYC absolutely rock because of public transportation. Lots of breweries and bars within walking distance of subway/L stops and not a single worry about getting back to the hotel afterwards.

 

Agreed. It's a little harder to get around via public transportation, but cabs (Uber, etc) are readily available and most beer-related attractions are within a pretty convenient radius.

As to those who mentioned Denver, there's lots to do in LoDo and the surrounding area and you can take the Light Rail to get there. Problem? There's A LOT of "can't miss" stuff in the outlying areas and nearby cities, like Colorado Springs, Boulder, and Fort Collins that require driving.

 

Hmm. Good to know thanks. I honestly have always included NY as part of New England. The rest I was ok on. One thing I have definitely learned living here is that I have no concept whatsoever of geography for the Northeast US.

 

I absolutely agree on Charleston. It is an excellent city by any measure. I loved my trip there and between the beer, food, people and history it is hard to beat (even including cities that might be more beer-saturated, like Asheville).

 

It's not a single city, but it's a brewery vacation we've done a few times now and it's been absolutely perfect.

Start in Miami or Ft Lauderdale and just drive up the coast all the way up near cocoa beach, then end over in Orlando.

It's a 3-3.5hr drive straight through, but a 2 day even if you're hitting lots of breweries. There's pretty much one brewery every 10 miles or less off of 95. Ones we love to hit are below.

Starting from Miami, working north

--Miami--
J. Wakefield

--Ft Lauderdale--
Funky Buddah
26 Degree

--Boynton/Boca--
Due South
Devour
Nobo (new)
Saltwater
Barrel of Monks (all belgians)
Copperpoint

--Jupiter--
Civil Society
Twisted Trunk

--Pt St Lucie/Ft Pierce/
Side Door (smallest, but our favorite overall and usually where we get a hotel for the night)
Sailfish
Pareidolia

--Orlando--
Ten10 Brewing
Deadly Sins
GB's Bottleshop and Beer bar

Usually we just take a long weekend for that trip, rent a convertable, and enjoy.

 

Yes! There are so many places in the LES alone where big whale beers are always swimming....

 

Many people mistakenly include New York in New England, but it's technically part of the "Mid-Atlantic" states. Although, it doesn't sit well in any classification because for a relatively small state it has significant regional differences...metropolitan New York City in one corner, the Adirondacks to the north (very "New England-ish"), and Great Lakes heritage/history to the west.

 

I'll bite on this - I believe that New England (-ers) are a separate entity....I think they want to be associated with New England and New England alone....I think....

 

Not to discourage people from visiting Charleston, because it's a fantastic city, but . . .

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...lose-charleston-location-indefinitely.526364/

 

Coin flip my favorite NorthAmerica spots for me between:
- SD - stay in OB and soak up surf culture in between trips to North Park and Alpine. See if they still have Nelson but don't be surprised if they don't. Somebody forgot to order hops last year. Hit OB Noodle house and dream it was your local.

- SF - stay near GGP or Haight/Ashbury and use Toronado as your base pub and Rosamunde sausage next door for lunch and dinner. Plan a night or two for Cellarmaker. Day trips to Santa Rosa and the original DIPA brewery. Anchor Stream still a must tour.

- Portland OR - stay near Baily's and Mary's as your base. Enjoy the incredible beer culture - Hair of the Dog remains my favorite spot. Hit some JackShacks and Pine St biscuits if it suits you. Go to Pok Pok. Stay away from the tourist trap donut place which lends its name to hideous beers brewed by the PacMAn brewery.

I think Portland ultimately wins due to the shear volume of quality local beer and food choices. Mary's is the cherry on the Sunday for me.

 

Sounds like a visit (Beer-cation) is in order here?

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the link. I guess we timed it perfectly. Our first visit to the taproom came at the end of June. On the same day that Born Again Yesterday hit the lines!

 

I'll add a little more food for thought. These are some destinations easily worthy of mentioning.

Domestic US - Large Cities

• San Francisco
• San Diego (haven't gone, but geez I have bought from so many online shops in the area plus it's huge on beer goodies)
• Portland OR (just overwhelming)
• Minneapolis/St. Paul
• Boston
• Chicago
• Philadelphia
• Baltimore
• NYC
• Washington D.C.
• Raleigh/Durham NC

Domestic US - Medium/Small Towns to Areas

• Centrally located Vermont
• Fort Collins CO
• Portland ME
• Asheville NC (haven't been badly want to go)
• Bend OR (haven't been badly want to go)
• Austin TX
• Charleston SC (heard good things)

International

• Copenhagen
• Montreal
• Quebec City
• Bavaria/Franconia region Germany
• Brugges Belgium (desperatley wanting to go here)
• London (someday)