Best brewery tours?

Drunk slide at the end of the tour FTW.

 

though it's been yrs since I was a Yuengling fella, I once was and found myself in Pottsville PA. I'd go back..even Now.. it was Awesome.
So much history, just down right Sweet...all the Original works Still, from 1829. The Underground tour & taproom was Really cool..I'd suggest it to Everyone, if you find yourself in the same Area of town..
unlikely I know, but none-the-less...

 

New Belgium tour is very good but one must remember that reservations are generally needed and New Belgium is "beer Disneyland." It is a big, beautiful place that looks more like a high end modern winery in Napa than a brewery. It is always excessively crowded and there is nothing at the bar (that is usually about 8 deep) that you can't get in a bottle. ( There may be exceptions to the immediate foregoing but I've been by there about 6 times over the past 3 years and have never seen anything at the bar that was not in a bottle). Great place that I avoid only because of the crowds and because there's nothing unique about the brews on tap - which is the only reason I generally will go to a brewery.

Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams) tour in Boston is probably my favorite. I've been 3 times. A fanstastic brewery; a historic venue for more reasons than one; incredible beer tasting; great lecture and just great facility. This is one of the best tours in Boston (and the country) period. Not terribly long; frequent tours and you taste multiple beers and get to keep a good tasting glass. All in all this one is highly recommended.

Now, having said the foregoing I'm perhaps going to be a bit hypocritical but what I'm about to say is really very different from above. (And, I fully admit that I'm a complete beer snob and I never drink Coors.) HOWEVER, the Coors tour outside of Denver about 20 minutes is fantastic. It is hands down one of the best tours I've ever been on and my wife loves "factory tours" so I've been on many.

It is one of the largest brewing facilities in the world. The information that you're given and what you see dwarfs every other brew tour you've been on. Truthfully, if nothing else, it is fabulously wealthy with information and just a gas to see. At the end of the tour you are given a choice of a few beers to try. The regular, original Coors Banquet Beer that you get is about a day to 2 days old and right from the brewery. Truthfully, it is like something you've never had. Again, this is not my beer and I don't think I've purchased or consumed a Coors since college (about a hundred years ago!) But, the beer from the tap at the brewery tastes and smells like the best and freshest piece of white bread you've ever tried.

I'd actually even go back. Great tour. During the summer there is a personal guide; during winter months it's a self guided tour. Both are worth the effort.

 

I went to Brooklyn and had a good time. I went during the week, on the Small Batch Tour, so the only people allowed in there were the people on the tour. It was nice and intimate, and not overly hipster, like most of their market is. Our guide was working his beer advocacy, talking about great beer, "not only at Brooklyn, but around the world." He wasn't overly talking up Brooklyn's beers, either, like some breweries do. It was 10 bucks, but I got a Brooklyn snifter (worth $8, I think) and probably a 16 oz. worth of tastes. I thought it was well worth the money. If you don't want to pay, I think the tours on the weekend are free, you just have to beat the crowd.

 

cool - will give it a shot. doing heavy seas (yet again) next weekend