Art galleries, museums, and landmark tours are great, but what if you’ve already “been there, done that?” Try something new – like a local brewery tour. Here are some of the best in the country, to help you add a sip to your next trip.
Everyone has a preferred beer, or two. It can be a sense of local pride: “Boston’s best lager,” “the beer that made Milwaukee famous,” or “the taste of the Rockies,” etc. A great way to get acquainted with your favorite bar call, and pay homage to its history, can be a tour of its brewery. Nearly every beer company offers some way to give their customers a closer look behind the brand. Here are some of the best brewery tours in the country that GO Airport Shuttle can recommend. Cheers!
Big Beer Buddies
First, let’s get the big boys out of the way. Anywhere near St. Louis demands a visit to the original Anheuser-Busch facility. They don’t just offer one tour, you have several to choose from, including Beer School and the grand King of Beers Tour. Some are all-family, some over 21 only, and some even include a visit with the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses.
If you want to see the largest single-site brewery in the world, head for Colorado. Just outside Denver sits the giant Coors brewery in Golden (a nice town to explore and hike along the stream). Coors takes great pride in the source of their water, so they never liked to brew their beer anywhere else. Remember when you couldn’t get Coors east of the Mississippi? You’ll learn everything about the great Coors’ legend during their 90-minute tour. Followed by a tasting, of course. This is beer on a very big scale.
Boston Revolutionary
One of the pioneers in craft brewing in the U.S. was the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston. They offer a “Sam Signature Experience” or a special artisan cheese and beer tasting experience, and even just drop-in Lager Tours for a quick peak and taste, whenever available. Sam Adams was a revolutionary, and this beer is no different.
Miami Suds
Once you get away from the big brawny industrial breweries, beer can become much more personal. Take Miami, for example. It’s kind of surprising to see a headline that reads: “The top 10 breweries in Miami.” Really? Yet, they have many small production facilities and taprooms around town where you can get a good feeling for the people behind the beer. One interesting brewery is Cerveceria La Tropical. Like many Miamians, La Tropical got its start in Cuba (actually Cuba’s oldest brewery) in 1888. They reimagined in Miami a few years ago. Their taproom is huge, the beer selection is vast, the menu is rated, and to add to your enjoyment, they have a 10,000 square foot botanical garden. Oh, music, too!
Hoosier Brewer?
Another unusual local example is Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis. Actually, they’re really all over Indiana with several public taprooms featuring local favorite beers like “Play Hard” lager (for Purdue) and a wheat ale called “Hoops There It Is.” Sun King really brought the local craft beer craze to all of Indiana, and kept on growing, now even in Florida.
Milwaukee’s Brewers
When your baseball team carries the Brewers name, and proudly refers to themselves as “The Brew Crew,” you can expect to find a few good beer taprooms in town. By one count, there are 9 “must-see” breweries in Milwaukee, sometimes referred to as “Beer City.”
If you’re into beer history, the “best” place to start is Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery tour. (It’s named for the the Pabst founder, Alfred Best.) For just $14 you’ll get a 90-minute tour, one pint of beer or soda, and all the original Pabst memorabilia you can absorb. The original copper kettle is awesome.
But, if you’re more the Fonz-type of beer drinker/lover, you must head to Lakefront Brewing for one of the most entertaining brewery tours in the world. Guaranteed, you’ll laugh. Guaranteed, you’ll sample four beers along the way. And guaranteed, you’ll need a reservation. There’s great food, too. (Award-winning cheese curds.) You could easily spend all afternoon at the brewery. There’s even patio seating overlooking the Milwaukee River. But the highlight is singing along with Laverne and Shirley at a simulated beer can production line at the end of the tour. Everyone, all together.
Windy City Brews
Not to be outdone, Chicago can boast about having nearly 40 breweries around town. Many are small batch, with limited production facilities, sporting Trivia and/or Game Nights in their taprooms, outdoor patios with food trucks, or exceptional in-house menus. A great example of this format would be Old Irving Brewery in the North-Center neighborhood. They also have a separate production facility, if you’re interested in hardware.
However, the original Chicago craft beer was Goose Island, named for the island that sits in the middle of the backward flowing Chicago River, but long since moved to the hip Fulton Market area. Tours are available, and you’ll get a good dose of Chicago beer history along with your Honker’s Ale. They also have an indoor/outdoor facility called the Salt Shed Pub located near that music entertainment venue.
To give you some global beer cred, you might consider Dovetail Brewing, which specializes in European-style brewing techniques more reminiscent of Munich, with their hefeweizen and rauchbier varieties. Or the newly opened Guinness location, which brings the taste of that Irish favorite to the city known for its green river on St. Patrick’s Day.
And one newcomer that quickly established itself in town is the Burning Bush Brewery. If that sounds religious, it’s meant to be. It was founded by a beer-loving ex-priest who wanted to share his passion with the community. A share of profits is donated to local charities. They have nights for live music, trivia or games, and something called “Lobsters & Literature.” They also specially brewed “Da Pope,” which was delivered to the Vatican for Chicago-born Pope Leo. Amen.
Cleaveland? Brewing?
Named for its founder General Moses Cleaveland, the city of Cleveland has come along way since 1796. Relating to its location on the southern shore of Lake Erie, Great Lakes Brewing is Ohio’s original craft brewery. They take their brewing seriously, offering not only public and private tours of their huge facility, but classes, like “Beer Hop 101,” as well as Cleveland beer history. Whatever the season, you’ll find sports-oriented events and great tasting brews named for historical Midwest figures like “Elliot Ness Amber Lager” and “Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.” Look ‘em up, if you’ve never heard of them.
A Little Aloha Spirit
On the Big Island of Hawai’i you’ll not only discover a newly active volcano, but Hawai’i’s only brewery. Kona Brewing Company was founded in 1994 and they’ve been good business for Hawai’i ever since. Very mindful of the island’s natural resources, their production facility is sustainable in every way possible. Tours actually begin at their local pub location with a short bus ride to the plant. There’s probably a “Longboard Island Lager” or a “Big Wave Golden Ale” waiting for you on your 30-minute tour. Live music back in the pub, too.
The Best of the Rest
Here’s the conundrum: Many of the best brewery tours in the country aren’t located in major cities. America’s oldest brewery, Yuengling, is located in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, nearly two hours from Philadelphia and the original Deschute’s Brewery is located in Bend, Oregon, three hours from Portland, although they do have a smaller facility in Portland. Both are excellent beers with top-rated touring experiences.
But, if you want a taste of beer heaven, you’re going to have to head to Asheville, North Carolina, approximately two hours from Charlotte. A few years ago, Sierra Nevada, a popular beer from Chico, California (two hours from Sacramento) opened up their east coast distribution and production center. Located on several acres of land, this facility offers tours, an excellent restaurant, huge gardens, with room for concerts, and an entire playground for kids. You’ve never seen anything like it! (There’s also a New Belgium in Asheville, too, among many other small beer brands to discover.)
Before you go anywhere, check out the GO Airport Shuttle airport list to plan for swift, convenient transfers to and from your destination. We’d love to hear about your favorite beer-experience to add to our list. Let’s toast to your next trip!