nicest taprooms

Founders was excellent. Incredibly friendly and enthusiastic staff, older guys playing cribbage and drinking Red's Rye, and they unapologetically played the entire "Thriller" record, which my wife loved and since she was having so much fun I got to stay for one extra glass of All Day.

 

+1 for Founders above. I have been to Bell's, Hop Cat and Founders, and Founders wins big! Hop Cat is a great experience, but Founders just has better beer all around. Hop Cat has the edge in the food area, but Founders still wins in the beer area, and that's king for me. To me, out of the 3, Bells ranks like 20th...although, they do have nice outdoor scenery.

 

I have to agree about Cigar City. It's just a counter with some stools. It's the beer and access to all their small batch stuff that makes their tasting room so great =)

 

Haven't been to many taprooms but really enjoyed Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada.

 

agreed on ccb. ive never even been able to sit there once. i've been 4 times. there is like 4 chairs in the entire place.

 

The sampling bar at Fuller's of Chiswick (London, UK) is a converted sub-croft cellar and very cosy. One of the craft breweries in St Omer (France) is in a bar off the southern side of the main square and you have to be quite sharp eyed to spot the equipment. But my favourite brewery associated bar is the Ølhallen in Tromso (Norway) underneath Mack's, the most northerly brewery and Coca Cola plant in the world (unusual but understandable combination).The gentleman with the moustache is very beer-knowing.

PS many Norwegian bars, shops and malls have stuffed polar bears in them but the very few Norwegian bears there are live on the Spitzbergen isles far to the North-West so it is a bit of a tourist con.

 

Any Zoigl Stube. Or Augustiner in Salzburg.

 

I'm diggin 38 degrees in Alhambra the most these days.

 

CCB, nice and cozy.

 

There is something about the Goose Island - Clybourn location that pushed my 'warm and fuzzy' button, and the beers are great too.

 

Wedge Brewing in Asheville is incredibly laid-back and cool. No TV, just plenty of sunshine, dogs and relaxing.

Newly opened Golden Road Brewing here in Los Angeles has a fantastic space. At the moment, their beers don't live up to their potential, but the taproom itself makes it worth visiting.

Come to think of it, both those spots are located near railroad lines. Evidently the hobo in me just enjoys drinking near the train tracks.

 

Stone (obviously number 1), Pizza Port, Russian River, Cascade Barrel House (especially when it isn't raining and the outside is open), and Drie Fonteinen, to name the few that immediately come to mind.

 

Then you would love Hair Of The Dog!

I would have to say Lagunitas and Full Sail off the top of my head...

 

Probably Cantillon or 3F (if you count their restaurant).

 

I really dig Southern Tier's tasting room. It's a tad on the small side, but not terribly small and really reminds me of a ski lodge (minus the fire place), which is fitting for how much snow Western NY tends to get. I remember their old location (right across the parking lot) and that left A LOT to be desired, which also adds to how nice the current one is.

I'll also add Great Lakes. They still have the bullet holes in the bar from the 1930's and I loved when I sat downstairs. It's a pity I didn't make it there as much as I should have when I lived in Cleveland.

 

Lagunitas is such a great space it's almost a bonus that they happen to serve amazing beers.

They're out of business now, but I loved going to the Acadian brewery when i lived in New Orleans. Beers were just so-so, but the atmosphere more than made up for it. It felt like somewhere between a speakeasy and a backyard cookout.

 

Some of the tap rooms I've found to have a great atmosphere and really enjoyed going to are.....

Deschutes (Portland, OR)
New Belgium and Odells (Fort Collins, CO)
Pyramid and Elysian (Seattle, WA)
Avery (Boulder, CO)
Great Lakes (Cleveland, OH)
Cambridge Brewing Co. (Cambridge, MA)

McMennamins Edgefield (Troutdale, OR) was pretty cool place to stay as well

 

I like the smallness and intimacy of Equinox in Ft Collins.

 

Agreed-Southern Tier works for me

 

The Fuller's tasting cellar is amazing. When I was there they pretty much let you try whatever you wanted, including Vintage Ale's from previous years. They let you drink as much as you wanted of whatever they had. They showed us the cask cellar, and let me pump my own beer. Plus the whole atmosphere of it all was awesome, and the guy giving the tour/tasting was super friendly and very knowledgeable (not just a summer student who memorized a script). The only ones I have been to that really came close, were the Steamwhistle roundhouse in Toronto (because the historic building is really cool) and the tasting room at Ommegang.