30th Birthday - Brewery Trip

Agree with above said , plus add Bearwaters brewing in Waynesville

 

Could do a lot worse than a trip to Boston.

You got:
-Trillium/Night Shift/Lord Hobo/Meadhall/Publick House
-A quick drive out to Jack's Abby/Tree House/Armsby Abbey
-VT for HF/Alchemist/Lawson's/Fiddlehead, etc.
-Portland for Bissell, Maine Beer, and a million others

 

I love how much hometown bias there is - but at the same time they are all such good ideas

 

True, true! I'd like to point out that I live in Tampa but didn't include it in my suggestions. Am I a Tampa hater? No way. I just wouldn't wish this place -- even with the great beer available -- on anyone at the end of July (which is when @govlady said this trip would be). Now, if the trip were scheduled for January or February ...

 

Problem with Vermont in my opinion, is you'll spend so much time driving backroads to get to these awesome breweries here.

 

Vermont for sure, it's one of the most scenic states aside from utah, colorado, oregon, and it has hill farmstead, alchemist, as well as lawsons in close proximity to each other. Oregon would be a close 2nd but it's on the other side of the map.

 

I agree with the Grand Rapids suggestions. You have plenty of awesome beer in Grand Rapids. Plus, HopCat (beer bar) and Stella's (burgers) are solid. You're close to OddSide, Bell's, and New Holland. Dark Horse is a bit of a drive, though. You would also be close to the Third Coast (Lake Michigan is awesome in the summer). And if you enjoy baseball, the West Michigan Whitecaps are just north of the city.

 

Delaware. Cuz, why not?

 

Sara, Ale Apothecary, De Garde...

 

Go to Austin. Awesome little city. great food. good local beer scene.

 

Jester King....an awesome place to hang out....

 

New England or Portland/Bend.

The former (very broadly) has Trillium, Other Half, Alchemist (truck sales only), Lawson's, Stoneface, Hill Farmstead, OEC, NEBCO, Tired Hands, Bissell Bros., Fiddlehead, Maine, Allagash, Night Shift, Jack's Abby, Tree House, and more.

The latter has Hair of the Dog, Upright, Logsdon, Ale Apothecary, De Garde, Cascade, Deschutes, Boneyard, and more.

 

The only city I can really recommend from personal experience is Cleveland. I need to travel more.

 

St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay.

 

I am actually planning a beer trip that includes a stop in Cleveland, should be great. Love Fatheads and Great Lakes among others.....Cheers!

 

nice try. we're still coming. you'll have to try harder than that.

 

From experience I can recommend:

Burlington/Waterbury- Amazing beer and scenery.
Chicago-fun city in the summer
Charleston, S.C.-decent beer/amazing food/decent beaches
Tampa-great beaches/good beer
Asheville-beautiful mountains/great beer
and gotta recommend my city Columbus (something like 20 breweries in or around town)

My wish list:
Denver area
San Fran-Santa Rosa (been there, just wasn't a beer trip)
San Diego(I know you lived there, but I was 2 last time I was there)
Maui-not really for the beer, but hey, while you're there

 

You'd be crazy not to go to Minneapolis. July is the best weather month, dozens and dozens of top notch breweries, light rail to whisk you around. You could even check out Target Field, an unreal ballpark.

 

Depends on how much driving you want to do or if you even want to rent a car.

Vermont is top of my list. A lot going on there but fair amount of driving. Fantastic scenery!

I live in Northern NJ, so the Carton/Kane recommendation for the summer, with the Jersey shore is a great one. Other Half in NYC is not too far. A lot of others nearby (Peekskill, etc.) You could go to Dogfish or you could go up to CT (NEBCO, maybe get lucky with SOS). If you are even feeling adventurous, you could go to Treehouse.