Questions About My Second Beercation to USA.

You should consider Bamberg even though it's not in the US.

 

you should definitely consider denver. meets a lot of your criteria and would be quite a bit cheaper than a CA trip for example.

 

Seattle, WA or Portland, OR... or both.

 

Definitely visit the other Portland, in Oregon. Getting around PDX is a snap and there are a ridiculous amount of great breweries and beer bars. You might even be able to snag a ride from a local out to Hood River if you're lucky.

 

Yeah seriously dude, there's Germany, the UK and the Czech Republic too.

 

I think I was in Bamberg in 2003. It absolutely has that beautiful atmosphere and is a "pretty village" to use the OP's terms. Amazing breweries and walkable too. I'd love to go back. It's less than ideal if you don't care for German beer of course.

 

Most of the small and moderate-sized cities in the US with a great beer culture are going to have some to none public transportation, so you'd have to rely upon taxi or Uber service. Here in Michigan, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo have city buses, but I can't tell you how much they would help. Grand Rapids has 7 breweries that I can think of that are within a two mile walking distance in the downtown area (including Founders and Brewery Vivant as the big two, plus HopCat which is a great beer bar/small brewery), and Kalamazoo has 8 breweries in or near downtown that I can recall (including Bell's plus another HopCat location) that are within a similar 2-mile radius. GR probably has another dozen breweries in the city or surrounding area, and Kzoo has several others in the area. Both cities are about 50 miles apart, so both are doable for a great experience within a week.

Traverse City in northern Michigan also has a great beer culture, but only a few breweries are downtown and walkable. Downtown Detroit has been up-and-coming with some new breweries in the downtown area that are good to very good, with many other breweries in the outlying areas. Most are pretty good. Columbus, Ohio, also has a really good beer scene in the downtown area and surrounding suburbs. Cleveland and Indianapolis can also be considered as places to enjoy the beer scene. And the list goes on.

 

The only real answer here is PDX.

But, you could extend it out to a trip from Vancouver BC down to Eugene OR. There's plenty to do outside of beer, and you'll never be more than 30 minutes from a new brewery.

 

Consider joining the American Homebrewers Association depending on which city you pick as well. Many places offer discounts to members and the the membership may pay for itself. The AHA site offers a page where you can see what discounts are offered where.

 

Chicago would love to have ya!

 

Portland, OR has the things you're looking for, but I'm not sure about lodging prices. If you wanted to see more than Portland bus or train transport to Bend, OR or Seattle, WA shouldn't be too difficult.

Asheville, NC is a much smaller city that hits your criteria. However, depending on the length of your trip, Asheville might be too small. I know you said tourist attractions aren't your thing, but the Biltmore Estate near Asheville is impressive and worth an afternoon side trip.

You need a car or large cab/uber budget for places like Vermont or San Diego. Chicago is a very sprawling city and although it has public transit options it still takes a while to get around.

And I agree with some of the other suggestion above that if you're flying over an ocean you might as well compare to other countries, like Canada, Germany, UK, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Australia, etc. I've heard rumors that Ecuador is becoming a craft beer hot spot and lodging should be cheap! There's good beer to be found in many places...

EDIT: I just remembered Colorado... The brewery options in cities like Denver, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs could keep you very busy and there will be views of the Rocky Mountains all along the way.

 

I would look at cities that you enjoy the beer from or know the beer to be excellent. Then I would use the internet, that is the easiest way to find cheaper rates and also map out your breweries of choice. Maybe cost up a few cities and see what provides you with an affordable trip. Like others stated try and avoid the TRAVEL season for that area because rates double or triple pending what time of season. That to me would be a sure fire way to find a trip for your budget and beers that you want to try, the data base online is vast so group beers by location and wham you have a trip....
Good Luck and Enjoy your Adventure

 

Personally not understanding the Pittsburg recommendations.
Visited a friend there this past summer... We visited a couple breweries that were just okay, but it seemed like none of the bars ANYWHERE cleaned their lines. I member being stoked to finally try Hop Hunter and being so ridiculously underwhelmed it wasn't even funny- then checked with a buddy (whose opinion I trust) and he said its definitely not some over-hyped beer, so that was my logical conclusion. And that wasn't my only experience, just a notable one.


All that being said and based on where I've personally visited-
Portland, ME
Fort Collins (homer)
Denver
Asheville


All great options. Have heard Albuquerque is great for beer too. Only been there for a bowl game, but there was so much great food, the desert Southwest is great, and I certainly had some tasty beers around town.

 

Just based on the info in your post, it seems like you are making quite an assumption about dirty lines.

 

Do you mean Head Hunter? Figure you'd have Hop Hunter in Colorado.

What bars? I live in Pittsburgh, am interested.

 

Yeah, I am wondering about that as well. Also, did you (ManBearPat) hit any of the actual breweries? Or were you by any chance mostly on the Southside? (I am thinking Fatheads...)

 

Yeah- it was Fatheads Head Hunter... sorry, BroAhs.

Mainly hung out in Lawrenceville and the strip district. Don't remember specific bars though..

Hadn't had a Straub's in forever- easily the most enjoyable beer I had in the 'burg!

 

There's some pretty cool stuff going on in Pittsburgh these days:

The Hofbrauhaus (a replica of the "real" one)

VooDoo brewery (Homestead)

East End brewery (great beer, but not the best neighborhood)

Brew Gentlemen brewery (in historic Braddock)

My favorite bar - Independent (features locals)

Draai Laag (Belgium style)

HopFarm and Round About breweries (Laurenceville)

Southern Tier is going to open a place here in the future

... there is more