Top 5 breweries you have been to

I've been to more than I can even remember, but I think these are the five standouts:

New Belgium (Ft. Collins) - Such a fun place and amazing tour (with a lot of samples).
Stone (both the Escondido and Liberty Station locations) - Almost over-the-top in terms of how much money they spent on these places; gorgeous both inside and out
Brooklyn (NY) - Really enjoyed the vibe and the beers
Arizona Wilderness (Gilbert, AZ) - Throwing in the local love here....super friendly folks that are passionate about beer and local ingredients and always something interesting to try beer-wise.
Brouwerij de Halve Maan (Brugge, Belgium) - Historic location and brewery with an interesting tour that would never pass OSHA standards here in the US!

 

Free State
Blackacre
Bell's
Dark Horse
Founders

 

No particular order.

Ommegang
The Lost Abbey
Iron Fist
The Belching Beaver
Pizza Port (various locations)

 

I might choose:

1. Russian River (Great beer. Great food. Cool town)
2. Ska or Steamworks (Gotta love being in Durango)
3. Cigar City (it's very close to airport + great beer)
2. Fullers (have to include a big old one)
5. Jester King (Nice Hill-Country setting - but not in Summer - too hot)

Ask me tomorrow, and I might choose different ones.

 

These are the ones that come to mind for both atmosphere, food, service, and beer:

1) Tommy knocker--Beautiful old mill building. Excellent food.

2) Atlantic--Great atmosphere with really good BBQ on site. Right in the middle of Mt. Desert Island so there is beautiful nature all around.

3) Two Roads--Another brewery in a really cool old building. Brewers really personable.

4) Courtyard--Personable service. Local, low-key, atmosphere in the heart of New Orleans.

5) Hill Farmstead--Nice and scenic countryside.

 

In no actual order - from just the past 2 years...

Russian River (Santa Rosa, CA) been going there off and on for the past 8 years.. never gets old.

Sierra Nevada (Chico, CA) This is also the college town for my wife ... besides the fact on our tour we actually had the Tour Manager from Mills River learning the ropes - so we obviously got one amazing tour!

Crooked Stave (Denver, CO) Awesome sours and the building they are in is cool in and of itself...

Lost Nation (Morristown, VT) - Obviously lots of good stuff comes out of VT but these guys were super nice and I thought they had a great place and good variation of beers - also good food to match.

Lickinghole Creek (Goochland, VA) - nicest brewer I have ever met. I ended up there on a cold night with just my wife and 3 other local people. The brewer went out of his way to let me try pretty much everything he had and then some.

Honorable Mention: Lagunitas (Petaluma, CA) - Awesome outdoor space and you can bring your dog...then there is the beer.

Visits on tap:
Stone
Pizza Port
Lost Abbey
Ballast Point
The Bruery
Firestone Walker
Anderson Valley
Ommegang

 

Cycle's cool, but I'd go with the original (Peg's Cantina) because of the food and the queer little town of Gulfport - lol. And what, no Coppertail? One of the best up-and-comers in the US!

 

Stone Brewing (Escondido, CA) - Finally made it there last summer after years of longing. Ate lunch outside on a beautiful San Diego day (which ones aren't, amirite?) with an 8 beer flight. Then, we finished the meal with a pint of W00tstout 2.0 while strolling through the garden and watching Greg Koch film an interview.

Founders Brewing (Grand Rapids, MI) - I've been there a bunch of times, so I have too many memories to list. However, this year's Black Party was just amazing. The weather was perfect and the beers were delicious as well. I was also there all day for the BrewDogs filming, and got to watch them film both the beginning scenes and ending scenes on the same day. The magic of TV! Lastly, I attended a party in the Centennial Room last year, and I was able to drink all the Breakfast Stout and Harvest Ale as I wanted for free (not including tip, of course!).

Cigar City (Tampa, FL) - Took the tour and got to taste the Jai Alai Humidor Series straight from the fermenting tank. Talk about fresh!

Arizona Wilderness (Gilbert, AZ) - An unassuming place from the street. The beer was quite different, but delicious. The tacos we had for lunch were excellent. The bartender was very nice and helpful and made the experience that much more fun.

Jolly Pumpkin Old Mission (Traverse City, MI) - We went there on a winter weeknight, so it was pretty slow. The bartender was great and we spent almost all of our time there talking with him. Greg Hall, the head brewer for North Peak then (maybe still today, not sure) was hanging around to give a private tour to a large group and he stopped by behind the bar and talked with us, also. He ended up bringing a bottle of Furry Black IPA off the bottling line for the four of us to share. As corny as it sounds, I still have that empty bottle.

I guess that's five. I could go on, but I'll stop here.

 

Avery - Boulder, CO
La Cumbre - Albuquerque, NM
Odell - Fort Collins, CO
New Belgium - Fort Collins, CO
Left Hand - Longmont, CO
Crow Peak - Spearfish, SD

 

My top 5

• Hill Farmstead (Greensboro, VT) - mostly because of the incredible beer, but the drive was beautiful
• Cellarmaker (SF, CA) - delicious beer in comfortable (when not crazy crowded) urban setting, great staff
• Maine Beer Co (Freeport, ME) - tasty beers, nice staff, clean-feeling place
• Sante Adarius (Capitola, CA) - great saisons in a real chill environment
• Kern River (Kern, CA) - rad little town nestled in the desert mountains, great beer, good pub food

Runners up:

• Societe (SD, CA)
• Noble Ale Works (Anaheim, CA)
• Russian River (Santa Rosa, CA)
• Alpine (Alpine, CA)
• Berryessa (Winters, CA)

 

Cantillon- Brussels, Belgium
Russian River- Santa Rosa, CA
Cascade Barrel Room- Portland, OR
Drie Fonteinen- Beersel, Belgium
New Glarus- New Glarus, WI

 

Dogfish Head
New Belgium
Left Hand
Avery (orriginal location)
Stone (while not one of my favorite breweries, most of their beers are just too damn hoppy for my taste, their brew garden outside of San Diego is spectacular!)

 

Peg's is fine, but this topic was about breweries. My understanding is that Peg's now only has one of Doug's pilot systems , and is rarely used, so I wouldn't count them as a brewery anymore. Regarding Coppertail, it's just in an area of Tampa that I rarely make it to. I've had plenty of their stuff, just never at the brewery. I'll make it over there one of these days.

 

Wicked Weed
Cigar City
Foothills
Mother Earth
Duck Rabbit

 

Lakefront Brewing Company Milwaukee, WI- Best tour ever. Really funny.
New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI - Beautiful new facility. Excited to go again and see the latest sours/wild ales they are cooking up now.
Sierra Nevada, Mills River, NC - It's like craft beer's version of Willy Wonka's factory.
Independence Brewing, Austin, TX - The parties that had on the first Saturday of every month were awesome. Just tons of folks bringing their dogs, playing some games, and enjoying good beer.
Indeed Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN - A fantastic happy hour. Food trucks. Shuffle board. What more could you ask for?

A special shout out goes to the original Tree House location in Brimfield. That spot was the most cozy brewery I've ever been to, and filled with some of the nicest folks.

 

Hill Farmstead
Crooked Stave
Other Half
Great Divide
That's all, sorry, I'm still learning.

 

Some of my favorites in no particular order:

Founders - Grand Rapids, MI - food was good plus they had CBS on tap when I was there.
Banger Brewing - Las Vegas, NV - owners are really cool and location is perfect.
Great Lakes - Cleveland, OH - again, food and great beers.
Market Garden - Cleveland, OH - nice tap list plus their courtyard is awesome in the summer.
Fat Heads - North Olmsted, OH - great beer plus best smoked wings I've ever eaten.
Snake River - Jackson, WY - love the location and outside tables.

Honorable mentions: Revolution, 3F, Greenbush, 18th Street.

Dead but not forgotten: Thirsty Dog, Centerville, OH. This is the one that got me started.

 

1. Surly
2. Surly
3. Surly
4. Surly
5. Surly

 

Societe
Ithaca
Council
Saint Archer
Pizza Port OB

 

1. New Glarus
2. Rhinegeist
3. Burial
4. Tin Man
5. Revolution