Best U.S. beer city: the poll

Top 5 in no particular order: Philly, Portland, Denver, San Diego, Brussels

 

I wanna say Seattle cause I live here, but I'll give to my brothers in the south, Portland has their shit together.

 

I was there back in December of '98, had a lot of fun…people were super friendly, weather was cold and so was the beer!

 

Being sensible will get you nowhere in this sort of debate, sir. But you're right.

Of places I've actually been... it'd be hard to beat San Diego. Portland? Not close. SD's got Stone, Green Flash, Port, Alpine, Alesmith, and probably lots of others I'm forgetting at the moment. And fewer hipsters.

That said, I've never been to Philly, or dozens of other cities east of Mississippi that are probably great beer towns.

 

Haha yeah everything about that place is cold, that's for sure. I was really just jabbing at St. Cloud cause they always get left out of the awesome releases - it's definitely a fun place to do the MN bar thing though! Just had my St. Patty's up there!

 

I can't believe Pittsburgh isn't getting a nod! Just about any beer I can think of is available within 10-15 miles from home...not to mention some of the best taprooms I've seen anywhere. Some very good, young, local breweries are popping up everywhere. Full Pint brewery is a must try.

 

Careful preacher man.....it looks kind of silly when you correct someone on "their" grammar (or spelling) and then you, yourself, makes multiple grammar (or spelling) errors.

 

Having lived or worked in Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Seattle, Denver, San Francisco, san Diego, grand rapids, Cleveland, Burlington and NYC...all have great breweries, some of my favorite but I find myself now living in Portland, ME and I find the beer scene here to be the best. Portland's beer scene is so inviting and easily accessible. Plus 13 breweries and my two favorite beer bar in a city of 66k can't go wrong. It does seem to me the rival cities are Pilly, 4 million ppl, Portland OR, 500k ppl or Asheville NC, 83k ppl I think I will make Asheville my next place to visit.

 

If I could be dropped into a city probably San Diego right now, but I'm thinking only of the IPA/s. You could do worse than New England with Flower Power and Heady Topper too. Then there's NC with Olde Hickory, and Duck Rabbit spitting out outstanding Barrel Aged Stouts. Kinda depends on what you like I suppose.

 

If it ain't somewhere in Mississippi I dont want to be right.

In half seriousness though, I havent been many places but Portland, OR sounds likea beer Mecca.

 

As a boston resident its pretty awesome and good enough for me. I traveled to the SF bay area and they have awesome brews (Russian River Brewery nearby!), from the sounds of it Philly has the best distribution, and San Diego has the most above average breweries.

 

Did not move to San Diego just for the beaches...

 

Would that be Brussels, Wisconsin? Or are you John Belushi?

"Fran Tarkenton: And this was another great moment. [ puts his arm around Belushi ] This is John Belushi. Until recently, John was an actor of some promise. Then drugs destroyed his mind. But your dillars have helped. Through care and dedication, John has been rehabilitated to the point where he... sees shadows, and can name three countries. Go ahead, John.

John Belushi: Belgium... Belgium... and Kansas City..."

 

chicago has my vote. Especially with another dozen breweries starting in the next year or so.

 

asheville, nc

 

I'd be perfectly content in not visiting any other "beer city" other than Ft Collins CO.

 

Living within an hour of Philly and traveling there every so often, I can say the selection there is simply amazing. I mean it's the only place besides the West Coast and Colorado that can get Russian River, not to mention all of the great PA breweries (Victory, Weyerbacher, Troegs etc.).

 

San Francisco isn't too bad. We have Toronado. Plus we are in the middle of San Diego and Portland. We get a lot of great beers here. Chicago is pretty legit too.

 

U kinding me? Its called beer capital of the world. Beervana. Pdx aka Portland hands down...its not a discussion. Next...
A-

 

it's because it's the obvious choice. it's like being in a museum and everyone is talking about the jackson pollok hanging on the wall, but everyone secretly loves that van gogh dominating the scenery.
for real though, if it isn't brewed in denver, it's usually distributed out here, or shows up at GABF, or we can trade for it. where else can you pick up a couple whales in a trade for something we got on the shelf every day?