What was your favorite brewery visit?

Near you?
Half Acre
Elsewhere: hmm..... Reuben's Brews or Stoup in Seattle. (though Holy Mountain had great beers, the vibe was.... different).
0-o

 

1 Sierra Nevada in Mills River NC
2 Sierra Nevada in Chico CA
Great Tour Great Beer Great Food

 

3 Fonteinen/Lambik-O-droom. Besides the obvious reasons of a great on-site list and the occasional rarities to-go, as well as the regular specials always available, the staff are just genuinely, friendly folks. Armand is always up to chat and with some luck will pull something out from the cellar.

 

My favorite brewery visit would have to be Summit. The reasoning is simple, the owner Mark handled the tour personally, and made it the most fun and informative tour I have ever been on. And on top of that we did a sensory training course that was really well executed, and eye opening. It was an absolutely fantastic experience. And of course the beer is top notch, and with free pours I was in liquid heaven.

 

Shout out to brown iron brewery. They only keep a handful of their own beers on tap, but they have 65 taps total, tons of great guest beers. Super organized, key levels shown online. Their peanut butter stout kills too, they brew beer that competes with the guest taps in quality. Underrated, non distributed, but worth a visit. Oh yeah, they do good barbecue too.

 

New Belgium Fort Collins is pretty damn cool.

 

Hill Farmstead probably would have been if we would decided to have sat outside and not right in the room where everyone is ordering. Kinda hectic and loud in that spot, but if you can sneek out back around where its quiet, place is perfect in every way. Split a 2014 Lou Pepe bottle there as well.

Laguinitas was superb as well. Great food, vibe, establishment is well laid out. And all of the beers and brewery only options were all top shelf. Had two 5 oz pours of a NEIPA and a 14% brandy barrel aged stout and my bill came to only $4!!!! Yes four dollars. I rated both beers over a 4.5 as well. What is not to like.

 

I judge a brewery tour on the volume of free beer included, in which case Thornbridge wins hands down..

 

Interesting....I have no issues at all with Holy Mountain's vibe, personally. I think I get where you are coming from though.

I have to go with Jester King for my pick.

 

Brewport in Bridgeport, CT.

 

New Glarus for the overall experience. They're in a beautiful setting and had a huge selection of bottles.

Founders had a ton of brewery only draft options though.

 

Wow the best.

HF, it's remote , but IMO the beers are so worth the pilgrimage.

Haw River. It's remote even in NC, but all their beers are terriffic.

Resident Culture. I'll be there tomorrow, the best hoppy shit in NC. By far.

 

Manhattan Brewing Company, late 80’s.

https://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/06/beer-history-manhattan-brewing-company-lost-craft-beer-pioneer.html

 

Boulevard's Beer Hall comes to mind quickly.

Big upgrade from the old taproom (although I miss it), but the bigger space with games, board games, and a few comfy chairs is great. Plus the patio is perhaps one of the better views of the downtown skyline in town. Not to mention, the bar staff handles long lines well. It's a well oiled operation. Except the kitchen, which pretty much just serves up meat slices and cheese.

 

I really enjoy Lost Abbey

 

Honestly, my instinct is to say Hill Farmstead, but really I think it's probably Maine Beer Company.

 

The Snow Goose Restaurant & Brewery, Anchorage, AK. It was my first trip to Alaska, and I was enjoying the sights in the downtown area. I had visited several shops, then decided to stop in at the brewpub for a bite and a flight. Good food, good beer, a magnificent view, and a memory that will live forever.

 

My local brewery is Sierra Nevada (Chico) and they have an amazing tour that is free. The company is about brewing beer first but the tour goes on to show that they have many other priorities including the community and the environment.

The only other place that comes close was visiting Treehouse but that was due to it being the first week the new location was open and being the main destination of a cross country beer trip.