Cross Country Road Trip - Need Ideas!

Karben4 in Madison comes to mind. Stopped there to try Fantasy Factory on the way to Darkness Day. Highly recommend it! Ale Asylum in Madison also has great food. Also 18th Street in Gary Indiana, not too far from Floyds. Revolution should be a must stop in Chicago!

Cheers

 

If you are already in Denver visiting Great Divide, you should probably make it over to Crooked Stave. It's not far from Great Divide. There are lots of other breweries on the way: River North, Epic, Our Mutual Friend, Black Shirt, etc. It's a very fun walking day.

 

I think you're wise to stick to more places in the really good beer cities. Spend more time in Denver, Chicago, etc. Don't worry so much about the lesser states/cities in between. Just my .02.

 

Here's an idea that nearly contradicts your "no other states" doctrine, but could be helpful, maybe.... Jump off I-80 near Fremont, IN and head north on I-69 to Marshall and hit Dark Horse, (40 miles), then head west on I-94 to hit Arcadia in Battle Creek (20 miles heading west) then head to Kalamazoo for Bell's (another 20 miles or so). Continue on I-94 to get to Chicago. I know, I know, you said no other states, but I felt it necessary to at least inform you of a Michigan brewery trifecta within reason....

 

Your whole day in Denver really may be a short afternoon/evening with a whole day of driving first. There are 10 hours between KC and Denver. Factor in stop for a meal, gas, checking in and out of hotels etc.... That will leave you about enough time for a late dinner and a night cap when you get into Denver

 

I'd make time for Marble while in Albuquerque. Il Vicino is no slouch either. Also, passing through without trying New Mexican food is almost criminal. I can give you plenty of recs if you're interested.

 

Half Acre is my favorite Chicago brewery for sure, they have been hitting home runs all year long

 

Arcadia has their new production brewery open in Kalamazoo about 1/4 mi from Bell's. Convenient. Was at both on Saturday.

 

Awesome. Usually visit once a year and that nugget of info makes my brewery tour easier. Just have to make sure they have a café at the K-Zoo location. From what I recall, the Cuban sandwich at Arcadia was pretty damn solid.

 

They have a taproom, and food service in the next room is from several food trucks. The wife and I had some decent pulled pork and sides.

Bell's is putting in a full kitchen in the room just to the east of the cafe. They used to brew in there before the Galesburg facility opened.

 

If you go the Kansas City route, and are only going to be there in the evening, your best bets are probably:

Cinder Block Brewery in North KC (recently hit their one-year anniversary and have really taken off)
KC Bier Co in Waldo (also really new, but pretty popular--focused on German styles)
Bier Station also in Waldo (not a brewery or brew house, but a bottle shop that is probably the best beer ambassador in the city)

You could potentially do both KC Bier Co and Bier Station, since they are pretty close proximity. If you do Cinder Block, that's probably a one-stop, as it's North of the river.

Boulevard doesn't do tours/taproom in the evening unfortunately. There are a couple other brewpubs that aren't bad--McCoy's and 75th Street Brewery--but I think the two I listed above are better.

PS - Cinder Block is a "byof" type of place (bring your own food)

 

Definitely add 18th Street to your itinerary. It's maybe 15 minutes before you would get to FFF.

If you're a hop head get some Unsessionable. I got a case of it at Binny's and they had it on draft at the pub. In ABQ I liked La Cumbre but I had a better time at Marble. On the way to Denver drop into Gellas/Liquid Bread in Hays, KS. They made some stellar stouts.

 

Man, if you're near Denver and you do not jaunt over to Fort Collins to visit Odell, you are doing yourself a disservice.

I find myself referencing Odell more often than not in posts here, and for clarity's sake I have no affiliation with them other than appreciating their products, but in many years of sampling as much different beer as possible, I believe them to be the best American brewery today in several categories. I have not tried everything that's out there, your mileage may vary - all the usual disclaimers apply, but they go yard on just about everything they do.

I stopped by there last year after climbing around the Front Range for a week, and it was the happiest five hours I spent in 2013. I would be remiss if I didn't emphatically recommend a visit.

 

The beers are the only things that are the same at both Arcadia locations. The new Kzoo place has BBQ like Battle Creek does, but I think it's a little different. The new place also has some extra meat/seafood selections too, and it is ordered by weight, and you choose the sides. Bread is available at the cashier station if you want to make a sandwich. So if you want a Cuban sandwich, you'll have to hope that you can build it yourself from the ingredients that you select at the meat counter. The sandwiches and the wood-fired pizza that you experienced in BC are not available in Kzoo.