Some choking state laws have snuffed out most microbreweries
in
*
Industrial and ugly, but an admirable struggle against restrictive
*The Mill Bakery and Brewery
Decent beer, and a lovely atmosphere, but oddly "guest beers" are
prioritized.
Get used to strip mall breweries….the dominant species.
Just OK beer, but the tacky overdone Frisco décor is somehow appealing.
Bandersnatch Brewpub
Cute rambler of a brewpub with fascinating door, good beer, and black and white movies.
Barley Brothers
Literally overlooking
Beaver Street
(Whistle Stop Café)
Poor beer and the floor is (literally) mice-infested. And yet…fun nevertheless.
BJ's Pizza,
Grill, and Brewery - Chandler
3155
Large and sleek, with towering brew kettles. Both food and beer are generally excellent.
Black Mountain
Brewing (Crazy Ed's Satisfied Frog)
6245 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, December 2003 (The Grackle Tour)
Unique brewery with unique (bad) chili beer, all randomly rustic but inexplicably charming.
Smoky dive inside a strip mall. Although friendly and unassuming, the beer was disappointing.
The Cowboy (formerly The Unlikely Cowboy)
?,
Excellent beer with remarkable attention to authenticity, and a wonderful bartender (Ian).
16 E Route 66,
Total college haunt with only OK beer (not much variety either) but hot staff.
Four Peaks Brewing
1240 E Eighth St, Tempe, December 2002 (The Whitechapel Tour)
Large warehouse decorated with flags…excellent ambiance in spite of the (awful) peach beer.
Gentle Ben’s
Brewing
865 E University Blvd, Tucson, December 2002 (The Whitechapel Tour)
Friendly laid-back student dive with good (cheap) food and good beer.
Gordon Biersch
420 South Mill #201,
Lively, student-dominated part of town, but the beer (esp. the Winter Bock) is boring.
Hi-Tops (Leinenkugel’s)
Large modern brewery dominated by sports. Despite enormous capacity, only 2 beers are brewed.
Mogollon Brewing
Another college dive with the usual live bands, but now brewing their own vodka.
Mudshark
Excellent IPA (10%!) and very friendly wait-staff. This brewery cans rather than bottles.
Nimbus Brewing
Hidden in an industrial wasteland, but super-friendly, and armed with an excellent pale and IPA.
Papago Brewing Co (brewing process contracted out)
7107
Excellent variety—all good (no crap on tap) and super staff. One of my all-time favorites.
Heavy western theme with curious tie & business card décor, but poor beer (Vegetarians beware).
1520
Unlikely location, but wonderfully friendly staff, charming space, and a fantastic Redzilla.
Rock Bottom
– South
Quieter than some Rock Bottoms, but still rather cookie-cutter.
Large, inside vast charmless mall-complex.
Rock Bottom -
North Scottsdale
8668
Friendly bartender, and an interesting cask-conditioned Xmas beer.
Rock Bottom -
7640 W.
Nice outdoor area, but still rather boring
3601 N
Small but friendly/intimate brewpub with excellent beer, food, and a very accommodating staff.
Despite being in a mall (and so-so beer), this manages a cute ambience with memorable quotes.
Uptown Brewery by the
Streets of
1470 Southern Ave,
Uptown Brewery (Streets of
6910 E
Large overhead copper kettles make for pleasant scenery to enjoy while sampling the many beers.
*Vino’s Brewpub
Pleasantly grungy place with good pizza, good beer, and unpretentious feel.
As expected, California has a massive array of breweries with vast variety. In general, we found the beer generally very good, and gets better as you head north, but there are some exceptions.
The Block at
Outdoor mall brewery with colorful tables
and a really good Pale Ale.
Alesmith Brewing Co.*
9368 Cabot Dr., San Diego, CA, January 2001 (The Amethyst Tour)
Industrial Estate Brewery. Later-sampled beer was OK.
Anacapa Brewing
472 E Main St, Ventura, April 2003 (The Canary Tour)
Lovely brick brewery with good beers (esp. Attitude Adjustment ale) and friendly atmosphere.
Anchor*
1705 Maiposa St, San Francisco, CA, October, 1999 (The Emerald
Tour)
Excellent beer and a long (for microbreweries) history, but big and
difficult-to-tour.
Babes BarBQ and Brewery
71800 Highway 111,
Rancho Mirage, November 2006
Large
and a little fancy, but good pale and an interesting trippel, with nice outdoor
area.
Back Street (Lamp Post Pizza)
Cute bartender, but even cuter names for
the various (good) beers on offer.
Ballast Point Brewing
Wonderful beer served by colorful friendly staff,
with adjoining brew-shop.
Bayhawk (inside McCormick and Schmidt’s)
Not very good beer set a little strangely in an upmarket seafood restaurant.
Bear's Lair
Brewpub (beer made locally exclusively for them)
Student Union pub…good beer and cozy fireplace but otherwise too sports-oriented
Bear Republic
345 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, July 2008
Slow service but well worth it. Includes a Rye PA, one of the best beers ever made!!!
Somewhat upmarket brewpub with lovely view overlooking the beach.
Big Trees*
110 Bronson St, Santa Cruz, CA, October, 1999 (The Emerald
Tour)
Hidden in a maze of an industrial park--difficult to find but decent beer.
Bison Brewing*
Very small and hidden behind coffee shop, now (sadly) specializing in Hard Tea.
BJs (
600
Popular establishment with rather good beer and huge menu.
BJs Pizza and Brewery
(
?,
Looks like any other BJs.
BJs (
Formerly a Gordon Biersch with reasonably good beer but little atmosphere.
BJs Pizza and Brewery
(Pasadena)
?,
Crowded sports-oriented brewery with “valet self-parking” and uninviting beer.
BJs (
2917 E Eastland Center,
Waitress a little confused about “brewed here” vs. “on tap here.”
Bonaventure
404 S Figueroa St Suite 418A, Los Angeles, April 2003 (The Canary Tour)
Super-ritzy brewpub in posh skyscraper-hotel in downtown LA with cute gazebo-brewery.
13040 Highway 9,
Tiny town brewery that looks more like a cafe. Nice bartender.
Brewbakers
Fantastic bakery/brewery with excellent beer, comic atmosphere, and affable host.
Brewery at
3542 South Lake Tahoe Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe, March
2004 (The Tickle Tour)
Residential-ish brewery with OK beer and staff but stunning backdrop
Brewhouse
229 W Montecito, Santa Barbara, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
On the other side of the tracks, so to speak. Bohemian feel with medium beer and loud music.
Brew-It-Up (brewery and U-brew)
Enormous variety of beers (also u-brew capability) both in terms of number and quality.
*Brewmeisters of
Pity this one closed. Guess all those golfers don't like breweries much.
Brewski’s
Brewpub
Surprisingly charming interior (brick and stainless steel) close to beach, but beer just OK.
Stock California brewpub with excellent food but fruity seasonal beers.
Callahan's Pub and Brewery
8280-A Mira Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA, January 2001 (The Amethyst Tour)
Quasi-Irish style pub (not very) with borderline beer
inside a mall.
Central Coast
1422 Monterey St, San Luis Obispo, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Locally popular glass brewery that will (as well as beer) serve wort on demand.
*Compass Creek
Brewing—closed (location later purchased by
Good food but atmosphere is poor, beer is awful, and service is abysmal.
Coronado Brewing Co.
170 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, January 2001 (The Amethyst Tour)
Unfriendly manager despised by his (likeable) staff,
but pretty good beer.
Creekside
1040 Broad St, San Luis Obispo, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Nice food and nice people in two-storey establishment with idyllic balcony seating.
Dale Bros*
1495 W
Bit of a mess, but the brewers are friendly with a great sense of humor.
Del Mar Stuffed Pizza and
Microbrewery
Friendly, generous, and well-informed bartender dispensing good beer.
Downtown Brewing (at same location as the now-closed SLO brewing)
1119 Garden St, San Luis Obispo, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Very large, with two floors. Quite loud (live music) downstairs, with pool hall/student dive atmosphere
Drake's Brewing
Lively, locally-popular brewery hidden behind Wal-Mart with friendly laid-back staff
Dunbar Brewing
22720-A El Camino Real, Santa Margarita, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Small brewery essentially built from scratch by owner/brewer, specializing in Irish style beers.
E and O Trading
314 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA, October, 1999 (The Emerald
Tour)
Very posh. Felt a little underdressed in our jeans. Heavy beer, but quite good.
El Toro
17605 Monterey Rd, Morgan Hill, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Stubborn brewery that was not especially friendly or helpful.
English Ales
233 Reindollar Ave, Marina, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Bizarre and eclectic brewery specializing in--you guessed it--English Ales. Tasty and welcoming.
Faultine*
Typical suburban chain-brewery . . . low on character.
Firestone
1400 Ramada Dr., Pasa Robles, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Large brewery/factory with not especially generous tasting room and rather lame staff
Gordon Biersch
5010 Mission Center Rd,
San Diego, CA,
January 2001 (The
Amethyst Tour)
Typically insipid beer in charmless strip mall
parking lot chain-brewery.
Gordon Biersch
41 Hugus Alley,
Besides consistency, there is nothing to recommend this place.
Gordon Biersch (San Jose)
33 E San Fernando, San Jose, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Yes, it's dreary and dull, but at least this time the staff is quite good looking. One might say hot.
Former U-brew only opens if knockers “look interesting.” Reading the walls is a must.
Hogshead Brewing
Has to knock hard to demand entrance, but worth it. Excellent beer in basement setting.
Hollister
6950 Marketplace Dr, Goleta, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Strip mall parking lot brewery with endless tapline that improves dramatically as you go along.
Hoover's 101
6900 El Camino Real, Atascadero, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Half brewery, half diner. Just so-so beer, but friendly staff and a quirky unique feel.
Hoppy
6300 Folsom Boulevard,
Creative designs, yummy beers, top-notch bartender, and a delightful atmosphere. A must!
Hops! Bistro and Brewery
4353 La Jolla Village Dr.,
A mall brewery, but better-than-expected beer.
Otherwise uninspiring.
Sort of a cross between yuppy and grungy, but with good beer, food, and sunsets.
Island Brewing
5049 6th St, Carpinteria, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Absolutely adorable near-beach brewery taproom with a buy-your-friend-a-beer board. Locally popular.
JT Schmidt’s
600
Rather grand interior with huge kettles (and kitchen) behind plate glass.
Jupiter
2181
Unpretentious, lively brewery (also huge beer garden) with excellent array of beers
Karl Strauss (Old
1157
Early closing chain brewery with not-very-good beer,
but surprisingly charming.
Karl Strauss (
1044 Wall
A chain brewery, but pretty good atmosphere (same can
not be said for beer).
Karl Strauss (
The brewpub itself is not so bad, but the location….
Magnolia
Cafe-style brewery. Small and cozy with a beatnik feel. Good beer too.
?,
Loud and disorganized front room, but pizza and beer in bar area are great!
Small, narrow, lovely brewery right next to the beach with six decent beers.
1751 Hancock,
Contract Brewery not open to the public, wedged
between two freeways.
Monterey Coast*
165 Main St, Salinas, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Looks like the type of place that closes on a Sunday...and sure enough it was
Morrow Bay*
280 Harbor St, Morrow Bay, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Small but cute enough, in a little coast enclave, with super cheap pint nights
Mount Tallac Brewing
One of the friendliest (also hard-working) brewers ever, and excellent beer as well.
Murphy's Custom Brewing
Brilliant bartender, excellent beer, in unassuming
setting (also can brew your own)
Beach town brewery with outdoor area and fine beer.
Small elegant and stylish brewery in yuppy town with a rather limited beer offering.
Oggi’s Pizza
and Brewing (
Another strip mall brewery with little to distinguish it.
Oggi’s Pizza (
23641 Via Linda,
Better than expected beer (even a not too bad honey beer)
Old Baldy
Bit of a dive with awful peach beer (others good), but home made potato chips!
Compass Creek’s old locale, revamped with better beer and service, but a ways to go
Great staff, great beer, great ambiance…and a great write-up of Arrogant Bastard Ale.
*
5055 Calle San Raphael,
Unremarkable.
Peter B's
2 Portola Plaza (part of hotel), Monterey, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Hotel based restaurant/brewery with sunny outdoor area, good food, and medium beer
PH Woods Diner and Brewery
Strip mall brewery with friendly bartender but beer is generally boring or overly-sweet.
Potrero
535 Florida, San Francisco, CA, October, 1999 (The Emerald
Tour)
Nice breakfasts. Nice outdoor deck too. Hidden away in warehouse-zone, but
worth the trip.
Pyramid Alehouse
Large, sleek, and clean, with charming bartender and wide variety.
Pyramid (
Bad habit of closing early, but the usual array of reasonable beers and food.
Raxx BBQ and Brewery
Interesting semi-outdoor area, but ultimately disappointing beer and negligent service
Red Car
Adorable wooden “jackets” for brewkettles, charming historic building, excellent beer.
Neighborhood mediocre-beer brewpub with kettles directly behind the bar.
545 (possibly 454)
Semi-outdoor mall brewery with lovely garlic fries and refreshing, if not tasty, beer.
Rock Bottom (San Diego)
401 G St, San Diego, CA, January 2001 (The Amethyst Tour)
Another chain . . . this one doubling as a disco on
weekend nights.
Rock Bottom (
8980
Nice waitress, but nothing else to recommend this
place.
Rock Bottom Brewery (
Queen Mary (the ship) visible from the beer deck in an otherwise cookie-cutter brewery.
Rosen Brewery and
Restaurant
Sophisticated sushi-brewery in Korea Town. Unique atmosphere mitigates unremarkable beer.
Rubicon Brewery
Neighborhood brewery with small outdoor area. Friendly enough but beer tasted off.
Russian River
725 4th St, Santa Rosa, July 2008
Popular dark student dive with impressive selection focusing on bitter and dark beers.
Decent food and lively atmosphere, with better beer than their Sunrise extension.
San Diego Brewing
Another strip-mall brewery, but with over 50 beers on
tap, including four of their own.
Excellent dive near
San Marcos Brewery and Grill
1080 W San Marcos Blvd, San Marcos, CA, January
2001 (The Amethyst Tour)
Agressive ID checkers, but essentially friendly staff
and decent beer.
San Pedro Brewing Company
Cute neighborhood brewery with upbeat staff, excellent beer, and surprisingly smalltown feel.
Santa Barbara Brewing Co.
501 State St, Santa Barbara, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Decent beer on a rather yuppified street
Santa Maria
112 Cuyama Lane, Nipomo, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Rustic brewery off rural highway, with trash/junk decor (and porta-potties), but friendly with tasty beer
Santa Cruz Brewing Co (Front Street Pub)
516 Front St, Snata Cruz, CA, October, 1999 (The Emerald
Tour)
Long thin interior with outdoor patio. Pleasant but slow staff. Beer just OK.
Good fries.
Seabright
Lots of beers on tap, with nice beer garden. Drunk waitresses lighten the
atmosphere.
*Six Rivers
?,
Badly short-staffed, but decent beer, and the decor is posters of other
American breweries
*SLO Brewing Company (now closed, but Downtown Brewing opened at
same location)
1108 Pine St, San Luis Obispo, CA, April 2002
"Pool hall" feel with ten varied beers on tap (none awful, some
excellent) in idyllic town setting.
Solana Beach Brewery and Pizza Port
135 N Highway 101,
Kind of like Chuck E Cheese: lots of video games,
picnic tables, kids, pizza, and OK beer.
Small-ish contract brewery in unlikely kitsch-ville, with adjoining German-style beer hall.
Sports City Cafe and Brewery
Inside a mall, TVs everywhere, beer on par with yak
piss--possibly my least favorite ever.
Stadium
Sports oriented and a little corporate, with wide variety of unexceptional beers.
Steelhead (
353
Flashy touristy brewery with so-so beer.
Steelhead (
Campus Drive,
Definitely student-centered, but with good food, beer, and chairs.
Steelhead Brewing -
333
Much the same as previous one…so hygienic it’s almost sterile. But nice high-backed chairs
Stumpton Brewery
15045 River Road, Guerneville, July 2008
Limited selection (good pale), but an expansive beer deck overlooking Russian River.
Stuft Pizza and Brewing
12840 Carmel County Rd, San Diego, January 2001 (The Amethyst Tour)
Another chain, this one barely counting as a brewery at all.
Sudwerks
2001
Lots of lagers and foreigner-friendly brewpub tucked away in a college town.
Curious Egyptian-themed dimly lit brewery with slightly disappointing beers
Taps
Huge and grand, with jazz brunches, awesome beer, and a truly fabulous bartender!
Telegraph
416 N Salspiuedes, Santa Barbara, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Small factory brewery with friendly (but hop-shy) brewers aiming for balance in their beers
Terrific Pacific Brewery and Grill
721 Grand Ave, San Diego, CA January 2001 (The Amethyst Tour)
Sub-par beer, decent food, definitely worth it for the beach view from rooftop
setting
The Beach Chalet
1000 Gt. Highway, San Francisco, CA, October, 1999 (The
Emerald Tour)
Unique brewery in unusual location in historic building on the beach; crowded,
but worth it.
Third Street Aleworks
610 3rd St, Santa Rosa, July 2008
Medium plus beer, but excellent food and service in a lively downtown establishment.
Thirsty Bear
661 Howard St, San Francisco, CA, October, 1999 (The
Emerald Tour)
Fairly posh, but a smaller-than-usual array of beers.
Tied House
65 N San Pedro St, San Jose, April 2009 (The Sleeves Tour)
Quite big, and utterly dominated by women. Beer is fine but food is rather poor.
German-style turreted tourist trap on the outside, but laid back with good beer inside
Triple Rock Brewery
Uncannily like Big Time,
Trumer Brauerei Berkeley
Big industrial brewery making a single, Austrian beer (sadly, not a very good one)
Twenty Tank
Large 2-storey brewery, very spacious. Unpretentious atmosphere.
Twenty-First Ammendment
?
Nice building but disappointing beer, somewhat cold staff,
and not much else to recommend it.
A truly excellent state for beer. Enormous numbers of independent breweries, many of them with outstanding beers in spectacular scenery. It's not all Coors...
*
8405
Unremarkable beer in carefully themed brewery, all wrapped up in a very posh
mall.
Anheuser Busch
2351 Busch Dr, Ft Collins, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Gigantic brewery with predictably atrocious beer, but amazingly friendly and generous staff.
Arctic Craft
Friendly, with ambitious emphasis on (not very good) Belgian style beers.
Avery*
Tiny but cute tasting room smelling of doughnuts hidden behind an auto-repair.
Back Alley –now closed
Tiny tasting room, but good beer (with creative names) and devoted local following.
*Backcountry*
More a restaurant than a brewery.
Big Nose Brewing (at Marlowe's)
?, Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Brewed off-premises but on premise-specific contract. Not sure if it counts as
a brewery.
BJ's Pizza and Brewery
1125 Pearl, Boulder, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Another chain-brewery. Dependable, but low on character.
Blick's Brewing*
625 Paonia,
Tiny tasting room on outskirts of town in difficult-to-find warehouse.
Large-ish brewery with wide circulation and a good name.
Breckenridge
471 Kalamath, Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Tasting room, decent beer, very well known.
Breckenridge
2220 Blake St., Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
The brewpub restaurant version, near to baseball stadium with nice deck.
Bristol
1647 S. Tejon, Colorado Springs, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire Tour)
Moderate tasting room with unfriendly waitress. Bottles available only in
stores.
Broadway Brewing (Flying Dog)-now closed
2401 Blake St, Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Funky decor with friendly staff and unassuming atomosphere. A real shame it
closed.
Cooper Smiths
5 Old Town Square, Fort Collins, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Large, popular, and yet mellow downtown place with good food and decent beer.
*Coors
?, Golden, CO, May 1992
Huge and predictable.
Crabtree
625D 3rd St, Greeley, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Affable Mom and Pop operation by the railroad tracks. Relaxed and low-key.
Denver Chophouse and Brewery
1735 19th St. #100, Denver CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Near baseball stadium, another typical chain-brewery-restaurant.
*Dillon Dam
100 Little Dam Road, Dillon, CO, September, 1999
Decent restaurant with a modest collection of good beers. Lots of puns.
Dixon's Downtown Grill
16th and Wazee, Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Looks more like a pool hall, but the beer is quite good.
*Estes Park Brewery
470 Prospect Village Dr., Estes Park, CO, September, 1997
Tasting room largely aimed at tourists. Fantastic backdrop makes up for
mediocre beer.
Fort Collins
1900B E Lincoln Ave, Ft Collins, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Small operation (with limited glassware) but some great beers (with great names too!)
*Glenwood Canyon Brewing
402 7th St, Glenwood Springs, CO, September, 1999
Good food and beer with a lovely backdrop. Easy to spot from interstate.
Gordon Biersch
1 W Flatiron Circle #427, October 2006 (The Elmo Tour)
Inside a semi-outdoors flashy mall. Garlic fries are excellent. Alas, not the beer.
Great Divide*
2201 Arapahoe St., Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Tasting room of another well known brewery. Somewhat awkward hours.
*Great Northen Tavern and Brewery
91 River Run Rd, Keystone, CO, September, 1999
Struggled to find it. Unimpressive beer, but might be better during the ski
season.
Heavenly Daze
208 S. Kalamath St., Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Slow staff, but large impressive array of beers, some quite tasty. Casual
atomsphere.
Hops Restaurant and Brewery
975-A N. Academy Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire Tour)
Chain brewery in mall parking lot. Poor selection. Worse beer. Super-shiny
(unused?) kettledrums.
Hops (
311 W
Cut from the same dreary cloth as every other Hops, with ever-worsening beer.
*Hubcap
143 E Meadow Dr, Vail, CO, September, 1999
Unfriendly staff but good beer, with lovely outdoor area.
Il Vicino
11 S. Tejon, Colorado Springs, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire Tour)
Hip restaurant with several excellent beers served by young and friendly staff.
*Il Vicino
Good food, good beer, and--it must be added--attractive staff in a scenic town.
*Jarre Creek Brewery
Large house-like brewery near factory outlet malls with excellent eggplant
fries and interesting Weiss.
Judge Baldwin's
30
Sports-bar like atmopshere in hotel building. Beer marginal.
*Kaltenberg Castle Brewery
PO Box 815, Vail, CO, September, 1999
Elaborate entrance resembles disneyland castle. Beer somewhat anti-climatic.
Left Hand Brewing
Cabin-styled brewery with many impressive beers and a warm generous bartender.
*Lone Wolf Brewery
Rustic saloon-like interior. Unremarkable beer and a little rough.
Moffat Station
?, Winter Park, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Literally in a hotel, associated with (smelly) restaurant. Poor, overpriced,
over-chilled beer.
Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery
1535 Pearl St., Boulder, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
"Cool" alternative brewery. Excellent beer served by congenial staff.
Hippi-friendly atmosphere.
New Belgium
500 Linden St, Fort Collins, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Hugely successful brewers of Fat Tire: big, generous, pleasantly quirky, and eco-friendly
New Orleans Redfish
2027 13th St, Boulder, CO, September, 2000 (The
Sapphire Tour)
Somewhat yuppy in appearance, but the beer makes up for it. No cover if you
flirt with doorman.
Oasis
1095 Canyon Dr, Boulder, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
More good beer in large, fancy restaurant/brewery.
Odell
800 E Lincoln, Ft Collins, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Large array of good beers, including an interesting smoked alt, but odd ordering rules.
Only the Best*
170 Weaverville, Divide, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Tiny brewery in tiny building in tiny town. Utterly un-corporate. Enormously
cute.
Oskar Blues
Two-story eclectic brewery with bad ceilings, young staff, nice food and beer.
Palmer Lake
25 W Cimarron, Colorado Springs, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire Tour)
Crazy artwork on outside of building. Otherwise unremarkable.
Phantom Canyon
2 E Pikes Peak Ave, Colorado Springs, CO, May 1996 (also done on Sapphire Tour)
Trendy popular interior with small outdoor area. Most beers very good, but poor
wheat.
Pint's Pub and Brewery
221 W. 13th Ave, Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
British-style brewery. Fantastic beer and the anglo-feel is relatively
authentic.
Pitchers
2501 11th Ave, Greeley, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Dreary sporty smelly establishment with dim staff and beer that tastes like wet socks.
*Pug Ryan's
104 Village Pl, Dillon, CO, September, 1999
Mediochre beer in an easily forgettable establishment.
Pumphouse
Fire-station themed brewery with hydrant pump handles, good nachos, and good beer.
RAM Big Horn or C. B. and Potts (Fort Collins)
1427 W Elizabeth St, Ft Collins, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Somewhat more rustic-looking than the usual mold, but with the same atmosphere. Two Buildings!
*Ram Big Horn (
Overcrowded (why?) chain bar with nothing special to notice.
RAM (
1257 W
The usual formula: large, crowded, sports-oriented, and utterly boring
RAM (
Marooned in a shopping mall parking lot, but with an admittedly good IPA.
Rock Bottom
1001 16th St. and Curtis, Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire Tour)
Chain-brewery, pretty much like all other Rock-Bottoms.
*Rock Bottom
9627 County Line Rd, Englewood, July 2001
Another Rock Bottom in a mall parking lot, but with the dependably decent beer.
Rock Bottom (Loveland)
6025 Sky Pond Dr, Loveland, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Utterly unexceptional, but the beer and food are dependably decent.
Rock Bottom (
Some reasonably good beers, but the stale format of the place is difficult to overcome.
Rock Bottom (
Loud and box-like, but at least the décor is different from other RBs.
*Rockyard
Modern ordinary looking brewery with pretty good beer.
*Rockslide Brewpub
407 Main St, Grand Junction, CO, September, 1999
Dark brick interior. Beer just OK, but good food, and well priced.
San Luis Valley
631 Main St, Alamosa, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Smalltown America, but food is good, beer decent, and mountainous backdrop great!
Shamrock
108 Western
Southern Sun
607 S Broadway,
Wide variety of excellent beers served by the friendliest of staff. A MUST!!!
*Thunderidge-now closed
?,
Large interior with pool area and dancefloor. Sparsely populated, possibly
because of beer.
Tommyknocker
?,
Large-ish restaurant and brewery in small town--good beer and food.
Trinity
Garden of the Gods Rd, Colorado Springs, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Pleasant Belgian-themed beers in this Bohemian Vegetarian-oriented place, an oddball for CS
Twisted Pine
Tasting room surprisingly expensive, but a nice brewmaster and mostly good beer.
Walnut Brewpub (Rock
Bottom)
Rock Bottom with a little character and Boulder beers complementing the usual array.
Wynkoop
1634 18th St., Denver, CO, September, 2000 (The Sapphire
Tour)
Nice bar area, and loads of homegrown beer possibilities on tap (even root
beer).
Tasty and cozy atmosphere in the middle of no where.
City Steam
Dreadful beer (especially cinnamon one), but vibrant student/downtown atmosphere
Cottrell*
Difficult to find and open to public by appointment only
Hops (
One of our least favorite chains…nevertheless, this one managed excellent service and decent beer
John Harvard’s
(
1487 Pleasant
Successfully de-emphasized the chain aspect with friendly staff and good beer.
Olde Burnside*
Looks cute, and ice-making business is unique, but opening times are unreliable.
Race Book
1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville, December 2005 (The Clover Tour)
Buried deep in a casino…beer tastes pretty bland, but is free if you pretend to gamble.
Thomas Hooker
Shares a building with a nightclub. Very very small but a lovely smell of fresh beer.
Willamantic Brewery
One of the best breweries ever. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!!!
We couldn’t
find any consistently good brewery here….some approached average, others
fell well short. All empty as well. Does anyone actually live in this state?
3801 Kennett Pike #E-220,
Cute wooden brewery tucked away in tiny mall, but with haltingly bad beer.
Nice outdoor drinking in livelier part of
Iron Hill Brewery #4
620 or 710 South
Posh new complex with great riverside drinking, but over-kitschy soulless neighbors.
John Harvard's Brewhouse –
303 Rocky
Reasonable beer in pleasant brick establishment, although the honey beer is Too Much.
Stewart's
Brewing
219 Governor's Square, Bear, April 2004 (The Bounce
Tour)
Dark and scarily empty strip-mall brewery in no-where,
Delaware.
A logical destination for a brewery tour. If you includes
sites in
Capitol City Brewery
An old Post Office converted into a brewery. Bizarrely unfriendly staff, but a
grand setting.
Oddly addressed establishment, but with a super friendly staff and surprisingly good beer.
District Chophouse and Brewery
Another yuppy place, with a posh chain-brewery feel (partly because it is, in
fact, a chain).
Gordon Biersch
A converted bank, replete with marble pillars and posh feel. Otherwise unremarkable.
John Harvard’s
Brew House
Small upscale brewery tucked into out-of-the-way basement. Limited variety, but good beers.
A large number of breweries on paper, but most of these are chain breweries, generally cookie-cutter and not very interesting. The beer, more tilted towards hot-weather lagers, is sometimes disappointing.
*Big Bear
Recently fire-damaged and banished in suburbia, but good beer and friendly
staff.
*Big River Grille
Boardwalk, Walt Disney World (2101 N Epcot),
Decent beer, but atmosphere falls flat. Still, it is Disney
World…
*Brautech Brewing Company
10170 NW S River Dr., Medley, FL, March 2001
Industrial (apparently soon-to-close) brewery hidden in warehouse wasteland.
*
Boca Raton
Flashly modern somewhat overpriced brewpub with good beer and pizza.
*Hops (Coral Springs)
2600 University Dr, Coral Springs, FL, March 2001
Terrible, over-chilled beer served in soul-less establishment.
*Kelly's Carribean Bar, Grill, and Brewery
Excellent atmosphere (especially at night), good beer, and a lovely setting.
*
Difficult to find brewery (not brewpub) hidden behind a mall.
*Miami Brewing
9292 MW 101 St, Miami, FL, March 2001
Another struggle to find, smothered by a nearby railroad yard.
*Sporting Brews Brewery and Grill
Nice setting on a lake, beer OK, decent food, staff pretty nice, lots of TVs.
*Titanic
5813 Ponce De Leon Blvd, Coral Gables, FL, March 2001
Excellent brewery with friendly staff, unpretentious atmosphere, and good beer.
Georgia
*Dogwood Brewing Company
1222
Three somewhat ordinary beers on tap, but quite pleasant.
*Gordon Biersch Brewing
848
Like any other Gordon-Biersch.
Hawaii
The beer in Hawaii tends to be weaker and less tasty than the continent, but the settings are idyllic.
*Big Wave Brewing-now closed
Sign on establishment reads: "Owners can be found in the bottom of
the bay."
*Brew Moon
1200
Expensive chain brewery with mediocre food. Doesn't feel like
*Fish & Games Sports Grill
4405 Honoapi`ilani Highway #217, Kahana (
Oddly posh brewpub, with moderate beer but somewhat overpriced and over-stuffy.
*Kona Brewing Co.
75-5629 Kuakini Higkway, Kailua-Kona (
Wide assortment of beers, some quite good, with sunny beer garden and good
pizza.
*Mehana Brewing
275 East Kawili Street, Hilo (Big Island), March 2002
Small friendly tasting room in otherwise grim town. Poorly named
"Beer" as bad as it sounds.
*Sam Choy's Breakfast Lunch & Crab
Nimtz Highway, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 2002
Beer and service not great (food only slightly better), but delightful all the
same.
*Waimea Brewing Co.
Westernmost brewery in the world! Just OK beer, but lovely setting.
*Whaler's Brewpub
Fantastic view of the ocean and beach makes up for lackluster beer.
Big Horn Brewing
709
Another large sport-oriented conglomerate, but with excellent beer deck.
Couure D'Alene Brewey (T.W. Fishers)
209 Lakeside St, Coure D'Alene, ID, August, 1999 (The Gold
Tour)
Dark seedy (in a good way) interior. Marginal beer but friendly atomosphere.
Falls Brewing (Casey's Pub)
315 N Ross Point Rd, Post Falls, ID, August, 1999 (The Gold
Tour)
Small house-like charmless building but great beer and a friendly enthusiastic
staff.
*
No-where brewery with spectacular backdrop for this eponymous beer.
Harrison Hollow Brewhouse (now Highlands Hollow)
2455 Harrison Hollow,
Practically in the hills, with cool eclectic interior, great beer deck, and sordid legal past.
Nice beer garden, great cajun fries. Pretty good beer, too, with beautiful
views.
Sockeye Brewing
2513
Large friendly low-key brewery with good beer (also good nachos).
Tablerock Brewpub And Grill
705 Fulton,
Diverse and tasty menu of beers (available in 20 oz pints!) with good fries as well.
Alcatraz
49 W Maryland St, Indianapolis, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Missing the usual overhead bridge, but otherwise down to the usual pattern.
Barley Island
639 W Conner St, Noblesville, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Rustic and small-town, but with great beer and a phenomenal host!
Bloomington
1795 E 10th St, Bloomington, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Small, kind of dark, and not terribly good beer. The food, however, is decent.
Broad Ripple
840 E 65th St, Indianapolis, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Old (relatively) brewpub with excellent food and beer in delightfully hip part of town.
Brugge Brasserie
1011 E Westfield Blvd, Indianapolis, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Unique shabby chic brewpub brewing only Belgian beers and serving Belgian food to match it.
New Albanian (Rich
O’s)
One of the best ever! Enjoy an oak-aged IPA in the Red Room with no Bud in sight!
Oaken Barrel
50 N Airport Parkway, Greenwood, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Excellent beer (except the Razz Wheat) and super-cool staff to go with it.
Power House
322 4th St, Columbus, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Literally the smallest brewery in the US with nice but dumb and dumber staff.
RAM (Fishers)
12750 Parkside Dr, Fishers July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Drearier than most RAMs, smoke-infested, and in a soul sapping suburb.
RAM (Indianapolis)
140 S Illinois St, Indianpolis, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
The usual RAM complaints, but their Rye Pale is admittedly superb.
Rock Bottom (College Park)
2801 Lake Circle Dr, Indianapolis, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
Nestled in suburbia with an artificial lake and a new rather snazzy look.
Rock Bottom (downtown)
10 W Washington St, Indianapolis, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
In contrast with above, the "old look" with nothing particularly memorable.
Turoni’s
A badly run-down town, but the beer is good, the pizzas enormous, and the staff helpful.
Upland
350 W 11th St, Bloomington, July 2008 (The Rudolph Tour)
College dive with all female (slightly negligent) staff, but
the beer is a let down.
Court Avenue Brewing
309 Court Avenue,
Charming refurbished old building in the “happening” part of Des Moines, for what it’s worth.
Beer varies from excellent pale to very poor light, but
decent enough (and quite popular).
Spacious, over-air-conditioned interior with live music and reasonable beer.
Rock Bottom (
Surprisingly individual (yes, a Rock Bottom with character!) with rather excellent beer.
Kansas
Blind Tiger
417 SW 37th St, Topeka, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Cute from the outside, and certainly popular, but from the beer it is not obvious why.
Flying Monkey*
311 N Burch St, Olathe, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Virtually anonymous brewery in distant industrial site.
Free State
636 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Superb brewery and restaurant with excellent beer, food, staff, and wide-ranging patrons.
Granite City (Olathe)
15085 119th St, Olathe, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Good beer and food, but soul-destroying cookie-cutter ambiance.
Granite City (KC)
1701 Village W Pkwy, Kansas City, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
See above notes, since there really is no difference.
23rd Street
3512 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Student sports-oriented dive with curious circular architecture and decent beer
BBC (DBA
636 E Main,
Just a tap room, but the beer is reasonably good.
Staff is rather dim (and stingy with boxes) but no complaints about the beer.
Brownings
401 E Main (by stadium),
Good selection of beer, cavernous ceilings, and excellent nomenclature.
Cumberlands Brews
Student hangout staffed exclusively by women with pretty
good food and beer.
Louisiana
Not many breweries, but the ones they have are excellent.
*Abita Brewery
Brilliant beer in a cozy friendly well-out-of-the-way setting.
*Acadian Brewing
201 N Carrolton Ave, New Orleans, LA, December 2000
A very tasty dark pilsner makes up for unfriendly bartender and meager
selection.
*Crescent City Brewhouse
Nice restaurant in French Quarter. Five decent beers, but nothing original.
Maine
*Atlantic Brewing
34-36 Rodick St, Bar Harbor, ME, September, 2000
Tasting room aimed largely at tourists (lots of souvenirs available), but the
beer is quite good.
*Belfast Bay
Utterly incompetent waitress and forgettable beer, but
served up in these adorable boats.
*Gritty
McDuff’s (
A knowledgable bartender, but the beer is rather so-so.
*
Located on the river in classic bucolic
*Liberal Cup
Popular and adorable wooden brewery in the downtown area with a devoted following.
*Sea Dog Brewing
Pleasant cozy interior with view of artificial waterfall. Friendly
relaxed atmosphere.
*Sea Dog Brewing
Idyllic setting in old revamped watermill overlooking the river, and with great beer.
Warehouse converted into friendly neighborhood brewery, now specializing in lagers.
Brewer's Art
Unique posh brewery in converted elegant urban townhouse, serving Belgian-style beers.
The hip waterfront location makes up for the otherwise chain-like feel to this place.
Castlebay Restaurant
Irish-pub that brews a single beer (Triple Nun) with good authentic Irish taste.
DuClaw Brewing
Snazzy brewery with tall kettles and fantastically-named beers (quite good, too).
Fordham Brewing Co (Ramshead)
Good beer, nice (although slow) staff in brewery with live music and cheery atmosphere.
Red Brick Station / White Marsh Brewing
Old fire station, now a huge and very popular restaurant with excellent IPA.
Rock Bottom
7900 Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, July 2002 (The Picadilly Tour)
Not very excited about going to this one, but the new state was a draw.
Ryleigh’s
Lively establishment with good beer and raucous (rather bawdy) crowd.
Wharf Rat
Old brick feel is great, as is the beer, but plastic cups
kind of spoil it.
Massachusetts
Like every other state, it seems, Massachusetts has strange beer laws (for example, beer can not be sold on Sundays except for the ten weeks leading up to Christmas and New Years), but the survivors have worked admirably around them to produce some fine beers in a variety of different establishments.
Boston Beer Works
61 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA, May 2001 (The Lemon
Tour)
Next to Fenway Park and thus very busy, but decent beers and friendly staff.
Boston Beer Works
Flashly stainless steel decor with upstairs pool hall . . . good beer and very
welcoming.
Brew Moon
115
Better than expected, but still with chain-brewery tendencies. Particularly
good IPA.
Brew Moon
Located in an atrium courtyard, surrounded by office windows. Odd, but not
unpleasant.
Cambridge Brewing Co.
Bartender doesn't drink beer! Despite this, beer was pretty good and atmosphere
friendly.
Commonwealth Brewing Co.
Fish decor and lots of copper. The service: slow but friendly. The beer: only
OK.
Harpoon Brewery
306 Northern Ave,
Industrial brewery (large for a micro) off the beaten track, but worth a visit.
John Harvard's Brew House
Colleigate atmosphere in pleasant basement brewpub. Friendly and generous
staff.
John
Harvard's Brew House - Framingham
Another John Harvard’s this one marooned in a mall with huge helpings of food.
*Main Street Brewing Co.-now closed
Although possibly not a chain brewery, it felt like one.
North East Brewing Co.
1314 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA, May 2001 (The Lemon
Tour)
Wonderful waitress, good beer (except not the Light), in a decent if
forgettable setting.
Owen
O’Leary’s
Inside a hotel, with varied beer (e.g. IPA light) and a robustly friendly owner
Rock Bottom
The usual bore.
Witch-themed decor and beer names. Fascinating blueberry beer resembles a lava
lamp.
Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company)
30 Germania St, Boston, MA, May 2001 (The Lemon
Tour)
Smaller than expected complex in residential area with elaborate tour and free
beer.
Wide variety of beer and a cute part of town, but none of them really leap out.
Arbor Brewing
Cute college-town brewery with staff that look like soccer players (also good beer).
Wooden Montana-style brewpub with a multitude of tasty beers on tap.
Leopold Bros. of
Beer selection limited and uninviting—but because of staff and ambience, I recommend it anyway.
The parking lot tasting room might make you nervous, but the beer is good.
Traffic Jam and Snug (Detroit and Mackinac Brewery Ltd.)
4268
Excellent establishment with excellent food, yummy beer, friendly staff, and cute kitchy décor.
Great Waters
Chips a little stale, but the waiter, the beer, and the price were all excellent.
Rock Bottom (
800 LaSalle Plaza,
All the character and soul of a Wal-Mart. Nevertheless, the beer was admittedly delicious.
Town Hall
Student dominated on a lively corner with generally good
beer (served, alas, in plastic cups).
Amerisports
8201 NE Birmingham, Kansas City, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)]\
Deep in the bowels of a casino, offering atrocious beer.
*Anheuser Busch
Huge, with an overpowering stench, but you have to go there.
Boulevard
2501 SW Blvd, Kansas City, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Large successful local craft brewery with popular free tours and wide array of good beers.
Gordon Biersch (KC)
100 E 14th St, Kansas City, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
This one is located in semi-outdoor mall area, heavily emphasizing sports.
Granite City (KC-Missouri)
8461 NW Prarie View, Kansas City, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
See notes for KC-Kansas brewery, since they are all identical.
High Noon
206 Choctaw St, Leavenworth, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Large, cheap, cluttered, and friendly but not very good beer.
McCoy's
4057 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Quite large, with separated restaurant/pub/club areas and quite a young crowd.
*Morgan Street Brewery
721
Touristy, somewhat over-priced and bursting with obnoxious people. But a nice
brick look.
*Route
1820 Market Street
Wide variety of beer (some good, some not) adjoining the immensely
crowded Union Station.
*
2100 Locust Street, St.Louis, February 2002
Lots of good beer, a nice bartender, and a huge interior in somewhat seedy part
of town.
75th Street
520 W 75th St, Kansas City, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
An excellent unpretentious dive with large variety of great beer (four IPAs!)
*Trailhead Brewing
Decent beer in a nice-but-yuppy establishment on the scenic riverfront.
Weston (O'Malley's Pub)
500 Welt St, Weston, October 2009 (The Firestar Tour)
Pub is deep in the earth (literally) in stone dungeon--a real
trip. Worth seeing despite beer.
Montana
*Big Sky Brewery
120A
Small tasting room. Cute beer names. A devoted local following.
504 North Broadway,
Another tiny local struggling against draconian MT blue laws (must close by 8)
*Kettle House (formerly Beargrass)
603 Myrtle St.,
Tasting room in partial u-brew-it. Lots of good beers on tap, locally popular.
113 North Broadway,
Relatively charming old electric building and a nice IPA. Nice boardwalk (summer)
417 North Broadway, Red
Small cheery brewery in quaint tourist trap, beer surprisingly inventive.
Arrived 8:05PM…alas too late in this state. Seemed nice enough.
Just a tasting area (sometimes with events), but good beer in god-forsaken town.
Empyrean Brewing
Company (Lazlo’s)
Relaxed, friendly, attentive atmosphere; several good beers with mystic names.
Jaipur
Yes…it truly is an Indian restaurant that is also a
brewer of ales…in the middle of no where.
Misty’s
Steakhouse and Brewery
Aesthetic dessert plate is enticing, but not enough to redeem the awful beer.
Upstream Brewery
(Downtown)
Crowded, with spacious-yet-charming interior split between multiple levels. A good IPA, also.
Upstream (west)
17070
Large, flashy, and essentially brand new when we were there.
But the beer is sub-par.
The ability to drink outside is a huge plus, and we were also able to fulfill a long-time fantasy by taking a limo to the suburban breweries, somehow appropriate for Vegas. But having said all that, Vegas is largely a cocktail town, and it showed with mostly mediocre beer.
Barley's Casino and Brewery
4500 Sunset Rd #30, Henderson, November 2001 (The Blackcurrant
Tour)
Large and suburban, in a huge strip mall, with nice accommodating staff and
decent beer.
Big Dog Brewing
A surprising gem in the desert. Excellent beer, wide variety, and warm generous staff.
Boiler Room (
Set in a fake boiler room a fake boat in the
Adorable space (and not a casino!) with array of beers, shandys, and even snakebites.
Brew Brothers (Eldorado Hotel and
Casino)
345 North
Over-rated, overcrowded brewery with not overly good beer or food, sunk deep in a casino.
2201
Brick walls,
4178 Koval Lane, Las Vegas, November 2001 (The Blackcurrant
Tour)
Small (for Vegas), dark, truck-stop-esque, and super cheap. You get what you
pay for.
Gordon Biersch
3987 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, November 2001 (The Blackcurrant
Tour)
The flagship brewery of this chain, fairly nice, but with the usual beer
complaints.
Excellent (mostly) beer and fantastic garlic fires, personally presented by engaging brewer.
Holy Cow Casino Cafe Brewery –
now closed
Eclectic brewery with good food, excellent beer, great staff, and cute unusual
atmosphere.
The beer and food were only medium, but the staff and setting were top-notch.
Main Street Casino, Brewery, and Hotel
200
The "best" (read: only) brewery in downtown Vegas. Nice atmosphere,
but poor food.
Monte Carlo --no longer brewing
Enormous flashy modern brewery that doubles as a disco. OK beer served in
brilliant "giraffes."
Silver Peak Restaurant and Brewery
Wonderful place with good beer, food, staff, and rooftop dining….planning to expand downtown.
Silver Sage Brewery
2244
Remote brewery in the middle of no where with a wide variety of beer.
Tenaya Creek
Good food, nice atmosphere, and oh-so-cute sampler sets. The beer is a little
lacking.
*Millies Pub and Restaurant
Cute subterranean brewery adjoining small bakery in industrially bygone town.
Porstmouth, NH, May 2001 (The Lemon Tour)
Small but lively place with good beer and food in cozy English-like town.
*Seven Barrel Brewery
Plainfield Road, Route 12A at I-89 Exit 20, West Lebanon, June 2003
Offbeat brewpub with non-thematic décor and family friendly atmosphere.
*Smuttynose
Eclectic, somewhat chaotic brewery with excellent beer,
chatty brewer, and a thoroughly warm welcome.
Blue Corn
5046 Cerrillos Rd, Santa Fe, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Good food, so-so beer, part of the same company as Chama River.
Chama River
4939 Pan American Freeway, Albuquerque, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Busy, even mid-week at 11, with some so-so beers but a truly excellent Imperial Red
Corralles Bistro
4908 Corralles Rd, Corralles, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Clearing house for NM breweries (with some of their own). Friendly and unpretentious, but lacking.
Eske's A Brewpub
Very tasty food with a lovely beer garden, in center of town. Excellent back drop too.
Il Vicino
4000 Vasser NE, Albuquerque, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
The gritty brewery for the restaurant chain (no food here). Friendly, cheap, and easy-going.
Kelly's
3222 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Fun student dive with vast (color-coded) list of any type of beer imaginable. Recipes available!
Marble Brewing
111 Marble Ave NW, Albuquerque, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Unlikely location...lots of broken glass on the floor, but the beer is good and the staff hot.
Santa Fe Brewing
35 Fire Pl, Santa Fe, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Longtime brewery on outskirts of town. Friendly beer-loving (bombed by lunchtime) staff.
Second Street
1814 2nd St, Santa Fe, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Grungy relaxed (spacious) dive in the heart of Santa Fe, with great beers
Turtle Mountain
905 36th Pl, Rio Rancho, May 2009 (The Velvet Tour)
Sports-oriented flashy brewpub. Beer is good, but there is little to distinguish this place.
*Heartland Brewery
Friendly pleasantly rowdy establishment with good beer and good food.
*Rattlesnake Creek
2 West Villard #1475,
The décor heavily promotes Budweiser and other god-awful brands…but otherwise all right.
Barley's Brewing #1
No non-smoking areas, but beer is good anyway (so are the veggie burgers).
Barrel House Brewing
Hip brewery with live music, colored lighting, and altogether excellent beer.
Columbus Brewing/Hagen’s Ale and Tee
Somewhat tricky to find, but good beer and a good beer garden in “brewery district.”
Elevator Brewing*
Nice looking, long, thin establishment with stained glass windows and German look.
Gordon Biersch
Arena District,
About what you’re expecting, but welcome all the same.
Jump Cafe and Bar (
Extremely posh 4-star restaurant with bathroom attendants and all (dress nicely!).
27 Broadway,
Huge complex, located in historic charming brick building in otherwise dump of a town.
Nicholson’s
?,
A slightly uppity atmosphere, and only one specially-brewed
beer, but nice all the same.
Rock Bottom
The usual Rock Bottom look, possibly with more (sports-oriented) TV screens.
Teller's of
Converted bank (seating available in the vault) with decent beers in charming part of town.
Watson Brothers Brewhouse (
Good beers in plush suburbarn brewery. Part of the elaborate
Belle Isle
50 Penn Mall #44,
Cute and quiet (despite mall setting), with good food but so-so beer.
Bricktown
Young, loud, absolutely enormous, decent beer, all in the hip like-named part of town.
Coach’s (
102 W Main,
Wide range of beer (almost all excellent), sporty-themed, and super friendly/helpful staff.
Huebert Brewing
Self-named small brewery with minimal open hours, malty lagers, and a hard root beer.
Royal
Well out of town, faux-German brewery with overpriced food
and horrendous beer.
Arguably the best state for beer, Oregon boasts such names
as Rogue, Deschutes, and Full Sail which between them brew several of the
finest beers available in America. Considering its modest population, the beer
density is wonderful, and even the local chain brewery, McMennamin's, is
inoffensive and easy-going, with an obvious and appreciated effort to
individualize their breweries. The fact that
Alameda Brewhouse
4765 NE Fremont, Portland, OR, February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
Large warehouse-like brewpub. Pretty good beer with friendly, helpful staff.
Amnesia Brewing
832 North Beech,
Small with long-ish picnic tables…very quirky and casual, but excellent beers
Baghdad Theater and Pub
3702 SE Hawthorne,
Movie-theater idea is original and popular. Poor films, but who cares? Beer is
good.
Bend Brewing Co.
Dwarfed by their neighbor,
Big Horn of
320
Large, clean, and sport-oriented, but with a wonderful deck overlooking the river.
Big Horn Brewing Co. (
Smaller (for a Big Horn), but still noisy and over-sports-oriented.
Big Horse
Climb a lot of stairs for a great view and great beer (strong, too).
Bill's Tavern and Brewhouse
188 N Hemlock, Cannon Beach, OR, February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
A little touristy, but a small cute brewery in a
small cute town with decent beer.
BJ's Pizza, Grill, and Brewery
Just north of
Another chain, but the pale ale is good and the chocolate chunk pizookie is
quite a draw.
BJ's Pizza, Grill, and Brewery
825 NE Weidler St., Portland, OR, February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
Not as bad as most chains, and with a wide variety of
beers, but still unremarkable.
Blitz-Weinhard's--now closed
1133 W Burnside St, Portland, OR 97209, October, 1996 (The Red Tour)
Large brewery that's awkward to tour.
Blue Mountain-now closed
1610 Jefferson Ave, La Grande, OR 97850, May 1998 (The Purple
Tour)
Converted auto-shop with crazy booths. Unique, and the beer is not bad.
Bridgeport
131 NW Marshall, Portland, OR 97209, October, 1996 (The Red Tour)
Top-notch beer liberally provided by friendly knowledgaeble staff. Highly
informative tours.
Caldera
540 Clover Lane, Ashland, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Small and somewhat snippy microbrewery with rather unremarkable beer.
Cascade Lakes Brewing Co.
Lots of fruity beers, friendly bartender. Parking lot may be underwater.
Next to theater and pub with virtually the same name
Cornelius Pass Roadhgouse (McMenamin’s)
Charming wooden brewpub with several brwery-related buildings on the same site.
Brilliant beer in a snazzy brewery. Home to some of my favorite beers.
Edgefield Brewery
Large complex with vineyard, hotel, multiple cute pubs (esp. red firehouse), and a brewery.
Eugene City (Rogue)
844 Olive St, Eugene, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Now a Rogue brewery, but also brews their own. Long (though vague) tapline and trivia night.
Fearless Brewing
Beer and food are fine…water (or dropping pool ball on floor) is expensive
Fields Brewery--now closed
?,
Stylish interior with OK beer and good, but slightly overpriced food.
Full Sail at the River Place
307 SW Montgomery,
Barely a brewery, but the beer is magnificent, and the river view outside is
lovely.
Full Sail Brewery*
A tasting room for a very large brewery. Detracts a little from the
"microbrew" feel.
Fulton Pub and Brewery
618 SW Nebraska St, Portland, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
Tiny grungy brewery with friendly stoner brewer and affectionately named brewkettles.
Golden Valley Brewpub
Interior ivy looks a little odd, and the beer is just so-so. Good cajun fries,
though.
Hair of the Dog Brewery
4509 SE 23rd Ave, Portland, OR, February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
Small, industrial, delapidated brewery that couldn't
look less welcoming, but nice beer.
Highland Pub and Brewery
4225 SE 182nd Ave, Gresham, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
McMennamin’s with vast chandelier but an otherwise unremarkable place.
High Street Cafe & Brewery
Residential-feel to this McMennamins with separate rooms and excellent Cajun fries.
Hillsdale Brewery
1505 SW Sunset Blvd, Portland, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
McMennamin’s again, this time with red interior lighting.
Hop Valley
980 Kruse Way, Springfield, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Lively restaurant with pretty good beers and food, and a great Imperial Red
*Hopworks Urban
Brewery
2944 SE Powell,
Excellent beer in a hip urban setting, with emphasis on sustainability.
John Barleycorn’s
14610 SW Sequoia Parkway, Portland, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
McMennamin’s pleasant interior, especially when wood-burning stove is in operation.
Karlson
Industrial Way,
Excellent beers (especially Scottish), friendly bartender, shuffleboard, and free popcorn
Enormous old school with several creative interesting
drinking areas (e.g. detention)
Klamath Basin
1320 Main St, Klamath Falls, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Former creamery with great beergarden. Odd sizes (14 and 16 oz) and cute names (butt crack brown).
Laurelwood Brewery
1728 NE 40th Ave, Portland, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
Delightful brewery and bakery with excellent food and beer, plus charming view of brewkettles.
Liberator
20101 NE Sandy Blvd, Fairview, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
Curious “truckstop” brewery. Spartan and charmless, but nonetheless interesting as an oddity.
Lighthouse (McMenamin’s)
N US-101,
Pleasant upstairs space with views of the sea and the usual array of decent beers
Lucky Labrador
915 SE Hawthorne,
Good beer in a hip, large, modern setting.
Mash Tun
Newly brewing, off to a great start (currently many good guest beers)
Mia and Pia's Pizzeria and Brewhouse
3534 Summers Lane, Klamath Falls, August, 2000 and also June 2009 (The
People Eater Tour)
A true mom-and-pop dive-brewery. Pizza just OK but beer is good quality with a wide
variety.
Mona Lisa's
Maybe a little too posh, but every beer—without exception—is truly excellent.
87304 Goverment Camp Loop, Goverment Camp, OR 97028, May, 1998 (The Purple Tour)
Idyllic setting for brewery, small and very cozy (best when snowing).
Ninkasi
272 Van Buren St, Eugene, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Firendly, hard-working staff serve a truly excellent array of beers...deservedly successful.
Nor'Wester-now closed (but Nor'Wester beer still brewed by
Tucked away under a bridge, but worth hunting for. Decent beer, but meager free
tastes.
Oakshire*
1055 Madera St, Eugene, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Closed for a local beer festival, unfortunately.
Old Lompoc Tavern and Brewery
Excellent beer in a small, friendly establishment (good soup too).
Poor building, but brilliant beers, great staff, and musically talented locals “jam” the blues.
Awkward hours for associated deli (even worse for actual brewery)
Pelican Brewpub
Huge brewpub right on the beach with very good award-winning beers (good pizza too)
Philadelphia’s Steak and Hoagies
6410 SE Milwaukie Ave, Portland, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
Yes, it really is a brewery, despite the (truly awful) berry beer and the icy barmaid.
Port Halling Brewpub
333 N Main St, Gresham, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
Large modern classy brewery with wide array of good beers and fancy desserts.
Portland Brewing--now a non-brewing Rogue pub
1339 NW Flanders, Portland, OR, October, 1996 (The Red
Tour)
Smaller-than-expected brewpub with wide variety of dependably good beer.
2730 NW 31st Ave, Portland, OR, February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
Somewhat renmote three-acre site that brews all
Portland, Saxer, and Nor'Wester now.
Raccoon Lodge
7424 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Portland, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
Smoky pick-up dive with horrendous beer and (if interested) virtual sex on the dancefloor.
Renegade Brewing
Somewhat redneck, and several beers had gone off, but still friendly with a scenic backdrop.
Ringler's Brewpub (McMenaamin's) also known as Crystal
Ballroom
Large multi-floor complex (and cute accompanying
annex).
Rock Bottom
210 SW Morrison, Portland, OR 97204, October, 1996 (The Red Tour)
Classy and crowded, much like every other Rock Bottom.
Rogue Brewery
Newport Marina at
Yummy beer in a tasting room with fascinating view of bottling line below.
Roots Brewery
Good beer and relaxed atmosphere, dominated by a young crowd.
Roseburg Station (McManamin's)
700 SE Sheridan St, Roseburg, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
A charming converted railway station with the usual beer/food but truly great staff!
Southern Oregon
1922 United Way, Medford, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Clean, slick taproom with front-and-center views of shiny kettles, but beer falls short.
The Southside Speakeasy & Brewpub
Semi-industrial curiously decorated place with local feel. Friendly, but too many fruity beers.
Standing Stone
101 Oak St, Ashland, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Popular and large, with excellent food. A hit with an older, footloose crowd on weekends.
Steelhead Brewing
Company
Cozy comfortable brewery with excellent food, good beer, and lovely high-backed chairs.
Thompson Brewery And Public House
Another McMennamin’s, but feels like someone’s home.
Tuck’s Brewery
?,
Undecorated taproom, but with excellent beer and novel inside-a-barrel seating.
Tugboat
711 SW Ankeny St, Portland, OR 97205, October, 1996 (The Red Tour)
One of my favorites. Laid-back endearing brewery with constantly-changing
beers.
Walkabout
5204 Dobrot Way, Central Point, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Australian-run garage-based brewery (literally), all very informal. Beer is pretty good.
West Linn Pub and Brewery
2090 8th Ave, West Linn, OR, November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
Low on character (unusual for McMennamin’s) but with good beers and nice staff.
Wet Dog Cafe (Pacific Rim Brewery)
11th Ave, Astoria, OR, February 2001 (The Strawberry Tour)
Large pub with dance floor, pool hall, good view,
good beer, and good food.
Widmer
More than just a good hefeweizen, although it is smaller than expected.
Widmer Gasthaus
929 N Russel, Portland, OR, February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
Medium-sized pub, but enormous accompanying brewery
with several good beers.
Wild Duck Brewpub
169 East 6th,
Sprawling brewpub with high ceiling and flying duck models….lots of OK beer.
Wild River
595 NE E St, Grants Pass, June 2009 (The People Eater Tour)
Residential-esque place with high ceilings. Friendly enough, but the beer is atrocious.
*Wild River Pizza and Brewery
Table-and-bench restaurant with good-value pizzas. Beer largely a sub-plot.
Yamhill Brewing
Industrial-area brewery looking somewhat dodgy from
the outside.
Pennsylvania
The Church Brew Works
2525 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Although the beer is not great, the magnificent ecclesiastic setting makes this a must!
East End
6923 Susquehanna St, Pittsburgh, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Small, cluttered, with loyal fan base, great IPA, cute bartender, and a gose style beer.
Iron City*
3340 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Aggressively unwelcoming industrial brewery with historic but dreary beer.
Somewhat yuppy (downtown crowd), but beer is very good, as are the shrimp Po Boys.
John Harvard's (Pittsburgh)
3466 William Penn Hwy, Pittsburgh, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Nice waitress, and a broad selection of good beers in this sizeable suburban chain.
Johnstown
942 Pinegrove Lane, Johnstown, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Large and busy brewpub overlooking valley with wide range of beers and dim staff.
Pennsylvania (also called just Penn)
800 Vinial St, Pittsburgh, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
German-themed (food, beer, ambiance) beer-hall in historic architecture.
Red Star
101 Ehalt St, Greensburgh, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Charming converted train station with elaborate (somewhat expensive) menu.
Rivertowne
312 Center Rd, Monroeveille, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Nineteen different beers, some (e.g. plum) disastrous, others quite good.
Rock Bottom (Pittsbuirgh)
171 E Bridge St (Waterfront), Pittsburgh, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Super-friendly staff made this somewhat dreaded stop truly delightful.
Coastal Extreme*
Small, industrial, and tucked away near a rural airport
Coddington
Reasonably good food in
Trinity Brewhouse
Friednly and grungy brewpub with a god-awful kolsch, but a fantastic pale and several great IPAs.
Union Station Brewery
36 Exchange Terrace,
Good food and a really good Christmas beer in basement-brick-themed brewery.
*Firehouse Brewing
Hip establishment with wide variety of rotating beers
(medium quality), but somehow forgettable.
Tennessee
*Big River Grille and Brewing
Large wooden brewery with good food and decent beer.
Big River (
111 Broadway,
Another obvious chain, but the beer is not bad and the part of town is hip.
Black Horse
Vanilla, light, and raspberry beers are atrocious, but the rest improve dramatically.
Blackstone
1918 West End,
Nice food/beer, but dull interior (though brewing equipment is rightly prominent).
Boscos
Loud, unattractive chandeliers, but an impressive array of especially hoppy beers.
*Boscos Squared
Excellent IPA (and get a flu shot while you wait). Take time to banter with witty host.
*The Chameleon*
Small scary-looking establishment where decor is difficult to discern from
grafitti.
Dreadful part of town, awesome building, devoted local following, spunky brewers.
Big Buck
Built like a wooden cathedral with lots of antlers and a
wide array of excellent beer.
Bitter End
Fancy and somewhat
upscale brewery-restaurant with excellent beer.
Blue Star Brewing
Brewery and art
gallery complex near the
Copper Tank
Large,
sports-oriented foodless brewery-bar open only for the night crowd.
Covey
3010 S Hulen St, Fort Worth, April 2007 (The Ernie Tour)
Sleek and new with ultra-yuppy menu but good food, and
highly accommodating staff.
Dodging Duck Brewhaus
Utterly charming
grandma-style house brewery with eclectic (hilarious) brewer and great beer.
Draught House Pub and Brewery
English-style
brewpub (dark, smoky, somewhat cluttered) with an excellent double IPA.
Faust Brewing
Hotel-brewery with
limited array of (not very good) beer, hamstrung by technical difficulties.
Faux-German
beer-hall in similarly-themed tourist town with marginal beer and food.
Humperdinks
Opposite the theme park, with the classic Ram Big Horn look.
Humperdinks
A nice bartender, and a better feel than most RAMs, but still disappointing.
Humperdinks
2208 W NW Hwy,
Yet another cookie-cutter rendition of the RAM Big Horn
franchise.
Live Oak*
3301-B
Industrial
microbrewery which, alas, was not open when we visited.
*Lone Star
600 Lone Star Boulevard,
Texan, and everything that goes with that.
Lovejoy’s
Hippi-grungy brewpub
in thick of night-life-Austin with excellent beer and a happy drunk crowd.
Miller
7001 S Freeway, Fort Worth, April 2007 (The Ernie Tour)
Colossal brewery with almost military fencing which we still
managed to penetrate.
North by Northwest
10010 N Capital of
Grand brewery in the
suburbs, complete with good beer, friendly staff, and falling chandeliers.
Rahr and Sons
701
Free beer every Saturday from 1-3 attracts a huge loyal
crowd to this dodgy hood.
Real Ale
Dirty, disorganized,
and yet completely endearing. The beer and staff are superb.
Two Rows
Pleasant outdoor area and good veggie pizza, but the beer is rather disappointing.
Two Rows
17225 N Dallas Toll,
This one’s rather flashy, with good looking waiters
and some reasonable beer.
Utah's intractable and bizarre laws forbid beer over 3.2%, presenting brewers with a sometimes insurmountable obstacle. There are several noble efforts, but the strain usually shows. Having said all that, you simply must visit the state to see its incredible National Park splendor, and the brewers we met in Salt Lake City were among the nicest, friendliest, and most generous we have ever encountered...
Bohemian Brewery and
Grill
94 East Fort Union Boulevard, Salt Lake City, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Cute, clean, and friendly brewery with excellent Czech-style lagers and charming owner (Joe).
Desert Edge (at The
Pub)
273 Trolley Square, Salt Lake City, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Lively brewery in converted trolley lot (now a pseudo-mall) with poor beer but good food.
*Eddide McStiff's
57 S Main,
Bad beer in a low-in-character establishment, but doing the best they can with
UT laws.
Hoppers Grill and
Brewery
890 E Fort Union Blvd, Midvale (Salt Lake City), January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Wide array of beers served on a colorful pin-wheel by friendly staff, but all a bit lacking.
*
Wide variety of beers in friendly place, but beer leaves an unsatisfied
feeling.
Red Rock Brewing
254 S 200 West, Salt Lake City, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Pleasant atmosphere with ten different beers on cute sampler tray, but none very remarkable.
Roosters
253 Historic 25th St, Ogden, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Easy-going eclectic brewery with tasty beer, good food, and fascinating chairs.
Ruby River Steakhouse
and Brewery
4286 Riverdale Rd, Ogden, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Overpriced “rustic” place…despite chipper bartender, beer is on par with dirty dishwater.
Squatters
147 W Broadway, Salt Lake City, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
A little yuppy with small “tavern” area (i.e. otherwise required to order food), but decent beer.
Tracks
1641 North Main, Tooele, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Part restaurant (with good food), part pool hall, but the
usual
*Uinta Brewing
389 W 1700 South, Salt Lake City, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Industrial brewery competing with Wasatch/Squatters for six-pack market (some success here).
Utah Cooperative
1763 S 300 W, Salt Lake City, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
The industrial version of Squatters/Wasatch with easily the best staff we have ever encountered.
Wasatch Brewpub
250 Main Street, Park City, January 2003 (The Oriole Tour)
Alpine-lodge look to brewery blends with scenic (if
overpriced) mountain resort.
*Long Trail Brewing
Routes 4 and 100A,
Medium sized brewery in the middle of no where…good beer, friendly people, cute beer labels.
*Shed Restaurant and Brewery
Horrendous beer mitigated only slightly by nice brick kettles and ski-sampler set.
*Three Needs Brewery and Taproom
Loud, smoky, with poor service. Never made it as far as the bar to try the beer.
*Vermont Pub
and Brewery
Tasty beer, pleasant beer garden in lovely lakeside town. Also attractive staff.
*Bardo's-now closed but may merely have moved.
?, Arlington (near DC), June, 1997
Utterly enormous. Converted car dealer, easily the largest (floorspace) brewery
ever.
Old Dominion Brewing
44633 Guildford Dr., Ashburn, July 2002 (The Picadilly Tour)
Strangely located in a corporate office park, but a genuine brewpub with 23 beers on tap.
Sweetwater
(Merrifield)
3066
Small brewing capacity located in strip mall parking lot, but endearing anyway.
*Sweetwater (
45980
Flashy parking lot type with gaggle of chipper females to welcome you.
Virginia Beverage
Company
607 King Street, Alexandria, July 2002 (The Picadilly Tour)
Hip and apparently popular brewery (with dim staff) in cute
part of town. Good food too.
I may be accused of bias because this is my home state, but the beer selection here is excellent. Lots of breweries, lots of different types of beer, and most of them good. The beer is also fairly evenly distributed throughout the state . . . even remote and thinly populated regions.
Annacortes Brewhouse (Rockfish Grill)
320 Commercial Ave, Annacortes, WA 98221, October 1997 (The Green Tour)
Disappointing beer for such an out-of-the-way establishment. Interesting
Halloween beers, though.
Atomic Ale Brewpub
Converted drive-in restaurant. Friendly atmosphere, with a small number of
excellent beers.
*Baron Brewing
Tiny, tucked away brewery with equally difficult-to-find beer
Bayou Brewing
1003 E Trent, Spokane, WA 99202, WA, August, 1999 (The Gold
Tour)
Enormous complex inside mall with several dance floors, shops, and restaurants.
Mediocre beer.
Bear Creek Brewing (now mercifully closed)
?,
Modern, slightly overpriced brewpub with beer ranging from mediocre to ghastly.
Belltower Brewhouse (Windriver Brewing)
707 SE 164th Ave, Vancouver, WA February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
Three storey imitation-church brewery with very
friendly staff.
Big Al
9832 14th Ave SW, Seattle, August 2009 (The Flash Tour)
Rather uninviting tasting room with up and down beer.
Big House Brewing
11 S Palouse St, Walla Walla, WA 99362, May 1998 (The Purple
Tour)
Remote brewery with good porter, but otherwise just OK beers.
Big Time
4133 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105, March, 1997 (The Orange Tour)
Deluged with UW students and faculty. Wide variety of decent beers available
and sandwiches/pizza.
Birdsview
38302 State Route 20, Concrete, August 2009 (The Flash Tour)
Quirky circular building on tourist highway, but dreadful beer
Birkenbeier-now closed
35 W Main, Spokane, WA, August, 1999 (The Gold Tour)
Old style large interior, but sold more Leavenworth beers than ones brewed on
premises.
Black Raven
14687 NE 95th St, Redmond, August 2009 (The Flash Tour)
Snazzy new tasting room with good selection and upbeat staff
Boundary Bay
Spacipous student-dominated brewpub with excellent beers.
Captain City Brewing Co.
Tiny brewery slipped inside a tiny town. Friendly locals and good beer.
215
Strange, eclectic, and somewhat misogynist décor, friendly bartender, big TVs, and decent beer.
Cedar River Brewing-now closed
Yuppy brewery in suburban
C.I. Shenanigans
332 N Spokane Falls Ct., Spokane, WA, August, 1999 (The Gold Tour)
Posh expensive restaurant (Ram Big Horn). Beer ranges from unremarkable to
undesirable.
Dad Watson's (McMenamain's)
3601 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103, March, 1997 (The Orange Tour)
Friendly casual place with games and scotch available. Good margaritas too,
incidentally.
Diamond Knot Brewery
Cheers Too, 621 Front St, Mulkilteo, WA 98275, October, 1997 (The Green Tour)
Rustic (redneck?) brewery with "lively" locals and staff. Peanut
shells must be thrown on floor.
Dick’s
Many types of beer (and sausage). Staff, though sexist, is
very friendly and helpful.
Druids Brewing (served at accompanying Fire Creek Grill)
Marooned in a gold course, and severed over-chilled, but pretty good beer nonetheless.
Eagle Brewing
Admirably underadvertised, more of pizza joint where
the owners happen to brew beer.
Ellersick Brewing Company
Large variety of beers (ranging from very good to very not) dished out by hot staff.
Elliot Bay Brewing
Cozy and friendly neighborhood brewpub with good beers and nice food.
Elliott Bay
Brewhouse & Pub (Burien)
Space a little charmless, but beer and food are good and staff is brilliant!
Elk Head Brewing
28120 Hwy. 410, #A-10, Buckley, March 2005 (The Star Tour)
Small Tasting Room generously dispensed by friendly (creative…try Sting Ya) brewers
Elysian
Large, hip brewery on capitol hill, with diverse array of locals and excellent
beer.
Elysian #2 (Taggletown)
Smaller quieter (more family-oriented) off shoot of the original, still with good beer.
Elysian
Fields Brewery
Good brand name, but place was rented out to private party
Engine House #9
609 N Pine,
Fantastic brewery with loyal following. Drink all beers available (>900) and
get name on wall.
Far West Ireland Brewing (Celtic Bayou Cafe)
7281 West Lake Sammamish Parkway, Redmond, October 2001 (The Blueberry Tour)
Brand new brewery (oddly fusing Cajun and Irish cultures) with wide variety of
good beers.
Fish
515 Jefferson,
Free waffles on Sunday. Fish paraphernalia everywhere. Named after wife's fish
fetish.
Flyers
32295 SR-20, Oak Harbor, September 2009 (The Aquaman Tour)
Kitschy airplane-themed establishment with quite the range of beers.
Flying Pig Brewing Co. (no longer brewing)
2929 Colby Ave, Everett, WA 98201, June, 1998
Mostly a restaurant (nothing vegetarian), with lots of unmemorable beers.
Thorny bartender, but good beer. Visit early or late to avoid inevitable cover
charges.
One of the best…brilliant beer, excellent tour, and a thoroughly warm welcome.
Gilligans (now closed, although possibly relocating)
700 NW 42nd St, Seattle, September 2009 (The Aquaman Tour)
Possibly the world’s tiniest brewery, out of a garage on a biketrail
Gordon-Biersch
Fits in well with classy mini-mall (on 4th floor) but lacking in individual
character.
Hale's
4301 Leary Way NW,
Self-guided brewery tour available. Lots of excellent beers to be sampled, but
food just OK.
Harmon Pub and Brewery
1938 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA, February, 1999 (The Ruby
Tour)
Moderate pub with moderate beer (good salmon).
Hart (Pyramid Brewery)
1201 First Ave S, Seattle, WA, March, 1997 (The Orange
Tour)
Business skyrocketed after opening Safeco Field. Good beer but crowded.
Hazel Dell (Vancouver Brewing)
8513 NE Hwy 99, Vancouver, WA, February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
Setting lacks character, but a very wide variety of
beers, including 4 stouts.
Near Kingston-Edmonds ferry terminal,
Small drinking space, but popular with intoxicated locals. The beer is generally good.
Rustic converted
grain elevator, lively country music, and remarkably good beer.
Iron Horse Brewing
Just barely begun
when we visited, but already has 4 fantastic
beers.
Issaquah Brewhouse-now owned by Rogue, but still brewing
35 W Sunset, Issaquah, WA 98027, July, 1998 (also on the Trafalgar Tour in May 2002)
Quaint brewery with frog-themed beers. Very friendly bartender.
LaConner Brewing
Strip pine look in small brewery with good beer. Games
available, along with wood-oven pizza.
Lazy Boy Brewing
Small scale, but excellent IPA (among others) and a friendly brewer.
Laughing
Buddha Brewing Co.
Very friendly and generous, with cute tiki
tasting room, almost next to Baron.
636 Front St.,
Excellent beer in posh, touristy restaurant. Food also good, though expensive.
Beautiful scenery.
Lunar Brewing
1605 93rd St, Building E, Unit L, Seattle, May 2002 (The Trafalgar Tour)
Machine Shop brewery, with super friendly (and generous) brewer and three
excellent beers.
Mac and Jack's
22845 NE 8th St #285, Redmond, WA 98053, December, 1998
Brilliant beer, but a brewery--not a brewpub. Appointment adviseable. Brewers
v. friendly.
Maritime Pacific
1514 NW Leary Way, Seattle, WA 98107, March, 1997 (The Orange
Tour)
Tasting room with generous portions of a fantastic beer. Watch out for the
Jolly Roger Winter.
McMenamin's - Mill Creek
13300 Bothell-Everett Hwy, Mill Creek, June, 1998 and also Cookie Monster Tour
Located in a strip mall, but still dependably McMenamin's in style.
McMenamin's on the Columbia
Busy brewery on riverfront with slow service, but
good beer/atmosphere.
McMenamin's - Roy Street
Elaborately painted brew-kettles near
McMenamin's
1900 NE 162nd Ave, Vancouver, WA, February 2001 (The Strawberry
Tour)
Poor setting in strip mall, but a cozy brewery with
the usual McMenamin's characteristics.
Maxwell's Brewery
?, Port Townsend, February, 1999 (The Ruby
Tour)
Hotel/restaurant with brewery on the side. Small and cozy.
Cute brewery in tiny town. Good beer, friendly staff, and an excellent backdrop.
Naked City
8564 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, September 2009 (The Aquaman Tour)
Broad tapline…just starting to brew their own. Very friendly.
Northern Lights Brewery
1701 S Lawson, Airway Heights, WA, August, 1999 (The Gold
Tour)
Warehouse brewery in old hangar. Small and unmarked, best to call first. Good
beer.
North Fork Brewing
6186 Mount Baker Highway, (near) Deming, October 2001 (The Blueberry Tour)
Brilliant quirky brewpub (and beer shrine) with friendly eccentric staff,
excellent food, and lovely beer.
Northwest Brewerks
12437 116th NE, Kirkland, WA
Formerly just a u-brew-it. Small and struggling for character, but helpful
cheerful staff.
Olympia/Pabst Brewing-now Miller National Brewery
100 Custer Way, Tumwater, WA 98507, February, 1999 (The Ruby Tour)
Enormous brewery complete with its own railway station. As for the beer:
"it's the water."
Olympic Club (McMennamin’s)
112 North Tower Ave, Centralia, WA November 2002 (The Angel Tour)
Cozy rustic saloon-like brewery with grand bar. Women’s bathroom sink is a must-see.
Orchard Street Brewery
709 W Orchard St, Bellingham, October 2001 (The Blueberry
Tour)
Brewpub hidden in industrial estate, but generous friendly staff perfectly
compliments great beer.
Pacific Crest Brewing
10845 E Marginal Way S, Tukwila, WA, May 2002 (The Trafalgar
Tour)
Tap Room with very limited food selection. Sports-oriented and rather local,
but still pleasant.
Pacific Rim*
9832 14th Ave SW, Seattle, May 2002 (The Trafalgar
Tour)
Small industrial brewery fortified behind padlock chain-link fences.
Pike Place Brewery
1432 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, March, 1997 (The Orange
Tour)
Hip establishment with wonderful beer in Pike Place Market. Tourist-heavy, but
worth it.
Port Angeles
140 W Front St, Port Angeles, WA 98362, February, 1999 (The Ruby Tour)
Small brewery near waterfront with OK beer.
Port Townsend Brewing
330 C 10th St, Port Townsend 98368, February, 1999 (The Ruby Tour)
Just a small tasting room, but recently expanded and serving some excellent
beer.
Powerhouse
454 E Main, Puyallup, May 2002 (The Trafalgar
Tour)
Converted brick powerhouse--smaller than expected. Beer good, but food just OK.
Ram Big Horn (
3001
Chain-brewery feel might have been saved by idyllic outdoor beer area, but
entry forbidden.
Ram (Lacey)
Large, new, and aggressive ID-checkers. Broad array of mediocre to poor beers.
Ram Big Horn (Puyallup)
Another Mall parking lot establishment. Funky brickwork augments otherwise
charmless feel.
Ram Big Horn (U Village)
4730
Brewery-turned-sports-bar with lots of fraternity lads and dismal beer.
RAM Big Horn
(Northgate)
Drearily familiar, with a staff unfazed by 16 blue drunks.
Ram Big Horn (
Family-style restaurant that also serves (poor) beer.
Ram Big Horn (
?,
Sadly, much like any other Ram Big Horn.
Rattlesnake Mountain Brewing
1250 Columbia Center Blvd, Richland, WA 99352, May 1998 (The Purple Tour)
Crazy western-style brewery with rural flavor and enthusiastic following.
Redhook Ale Brewery-no longer brewing on premises
3400 Phinney Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103, March, 1997 (The Orange Tour)
Now just a pub with comfy couches and a lot of history. Did their brewery tour
18 times.
Redhook Ale Brewery
The new incarnation of Redhook, large and modern. Still quality beer,
but kind of a shame.
Rock Bottom
1333 5th Ave, Seattle, WA, March, 1997 (The Orange
Tour)
Classy downtown brewery with lots of well-dressed important-looking
people.
Rock Bottom
550 106th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA, August, 1999 (The Gold
Tour)
Much like every other Rock Bottom, but with an exceptionally nice bartender.
Rock Pasta-now closed
322 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104, March, 1998
Cute pizza/brewery with good beer, but sadly did not last.
Rock Pasta
?, Tacoma, WA, February, 1999 (The Ruby Tour)
Small chain brewery, this one noted for its pink tequila.
Rock Restaurant and Brewery-now closed
4010 196th St. SW, Lynnwood, October 2001 (The Blueberry
Tour)
Another rock pasta establishment, complete with the usual chain-brewery feel.
Roslyn Brewing
208 or 33 (?) Pennsylvania Ave, Roslyn, WA 98941, August, 1999 (The Gold Tour)
Small tasting room in idyllic "Northern Exposure" mountain town.
Salmon Creek Brewery
108 W Evergreen Blvd, Vancouver, WA, February 2001 (The Strawberry Tour)
Small diner-style brewery with odd-tasting beer, but friendly and interesting.
Small, touristy, slightly overpriced brewery, but with a fantastic garlic beer!
Schooner Exact
9320 15th Ave S, Seattle, September 2009 (The Aquaman Tour)
Small and industrial, in a cluster of like-minded breweries.
Scuttlebutt Brewing Co.
Tucked away between railway and harbor, it's not easy to find.
Silver City Brewing
Flashy brewpub with multiple floors, always crowded. Beer pretty good.
Six Arms (McMenamin's)
]300 E Pike, Seattle, WA 98122, March, 1997 (The Orange
Tour)
Unprentious brewery with large booths and the usual array of solid McMenamin's
beers.
Skagit Valley Brewing
404 S 3rd St, Mount Vernon, October 2001 (The Blueberry
Tour)
Slow service and beer not dependable, but good food and a cute establishment.
Skookum
19529 17th Dr NE, Arlington, August 2009 (The Flash Tour)
Wonderfully friendly couple (withering neighbors) with great beer amid bucolic splendor
Snipes Mountain
PO Box 264, Sunny Side, WA 98944, May 1998 (The Purple
Tour)
Another part-brewery, part-saloon, with devoted rowdy local following.
Snoqualmie Falls
8032 Falls Ave SE, Snoqualmie WA, May 2002 (The Trafalgar
Tour)
Tiny brewery hidden in the back of a truck depot, but many beers-all excellent.
.
*Steam Plant Grill
Excellent building and a wide variety of beers, but somehow unsatisfying.
?
Sleek pool hall, popular with after-work business types. Bad pale but otherwise tasty.
Sweetwater Brewing (Solicitor's Corner)
6301
Diner-style restaurant with attached brewery. Easy to mistake for a fast food
restaurant.
Thomas Kemper-now closed (operations handled by Pyramid)
22381 Foss Road, Poulsbo, WA 98370, July, 1997
Large, elaborate beer garden in forested setting for well-respected local
lagers.
Three Skulls
Same address as Baron, Seattle, September 2009 (The Aquaman Tour)
A separate label from Baron (and an improvement), with a taproom in Greenwood.
Twin Rivers Brewery (Sailfish Grill)
104 N Lewis,
Tiny brewery attached to seafood restaurant. Friendly staff, OK beer.
Waimea Brewing
Hawaii-themed expansion of original brewery on Kuaui. Chatty server, good beer.
Walking Man
Fantastic beer, idyllic Columbian gorge setting, adorable bar stools and strong beer.
Water Street
635 Water St., Port Townsend, September 2009 (The Aquaman Tour)
This is a great brewery in a town trying to temper its yuppiness with rustic charm
Whidbey Island Brewery
630B
Enthusiastic amiable owner, friendly staff and good beer.
Lovely beer garden for small but tasty brewery in tourist-town. Beautiful
scenery.
Whitstran Brewing
Tasting room with many games and kites in
Oak Harbor Brewpub
Friendly establishment near waterfront.
One of the oldest and best-known microbreweries to brighten an otherwise dull
trip to
West Virginia
Blackwater
Thomas & Williams Ave, Davis, June 2008 (The Count
Tour)
Weird newspaper decor, mediocre beer, and an almost hostile waitress.
Mountain State
1 Nelson Blvd, Thomas, June 2008 (The Count Tour)
Unpretentious rag-tag hippie-esque establishment in downtown no where, with good
IPA.
West Virginia
1291 University Ave, Morgantown, June 2008 (The Count
Tour)
College dive with surprisingly good beer, spacious interior, and kind hearted
staff.
*Adler-Brau
?,
Seventeen beers available, some quite bad, but the staff is so nice and beer is
cheap.
Altitude*
320 S 2nd, Laramie, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Hilarious anti-motivational posters. Enjoy also the sidewalk lingerie.
The Library
1622 Grand Ave, Laramie, November 2008 (The Crush Tour)
Unique setting (replete with plenty of puns), friendly atmosphere, fried food galore, and a fantastic Rye Pale.
*Snake River (
Downtown in old railway station,
The beer selection is marginal (as is the food), but the friendly service and pleasant atmosphere redeem.
*Snake River (
265 Millward,
Large and friendly (although slow) with cheap supersize-me pretzels.
*Brewsters
834 11th Ave SW,
Moderate sized modern brewpub with OK beer.
*Grizzly Paw
622 8th (Main) St.,
Local feel, with good beer and lively atmosphere, located strategically close
to
*Joseph Warner Brewery-now closed
Difficult-to-find brewery that didn't last very long.
*Wildwood Pub and Grill
2417 4th St. SW,
Basement brewery with roaring fire and nice beer.
Bizarre Canadian beer laws make brewery tours a sometimes frustrating experience, but the rewards are great. Breweries are divided very starkly into industrial-style breweries with no amenities, and brewpubs that (by law) can not serve their beer elsewhere. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of good beer to be had.
*Avalon Brewing
1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver, May 2002
Large trendy brewery with good beer, nice outdoor area, and kettles in full
view.
*Bear Brewing*
Industrial complex on a hill--snazzy new brewery, but tour hard to come by.
Big Ridge
15133 Highway 10,
Can't remember.
Big River Brewing
Touristy setting, but great beer (taste and variety) served in cheery establishment.
Large-ish brewery with wide circulation of colorful beers.
Central City Brewing
13450 – 102 Avenue, Central City Mall,
Shiny steel and glass brewery with somewhat antiseptic feel, but a truly excellent pale.
Canoe Club (Knucklehead Brewing)
Splendid interior (with a touristy feel), but beer just OK.
Champs Sports Pub
Somewhat charmlessly tucked into a hotel, and not very good beer. But great veggie pizza!
Dix's Barbecue and Brewery
Part of the Yaletown-Avalon chain, but brewing their own decent beers. Good
food too.
Granville Island
1441 Cartwright Street, Vancouver BC, May, 1998 (The Blue
Tour)
Moderate brewery in touristy-part of town. Live music and other lures.
Gulf Island
270 Furness Rd, Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 1Z7, May, 1999 (The Amber Tour)
Tiny-scale brewery with eco-friendly mantra and utterly non-corporate feel.
Horseshoe Bay-now closed
1481 Dominion St, North Vancouver, BC V7J 1B3, May, 1998 (The Blue Tour)
Friendly, ever-hungover brewer at industrial-style brewery.
Hugo's
?, Victoria, BC, May, 1999 (The Amber Tour)
Modern hip interior (converts to dance floor at night) packed with yuppy-types.
Labatt
210 Brunette Ave, New Westminster, BC V3L 4Z2, May, 1999 (The Amber Tour)
Big unattractive estate, unwelcoming to visitors.
Lighthouse
#2-836 Devonshire Rd, Victoria, BC V9A 4T4, May, 1999 (The Amber Tour)
Tiny warehouse brewery with only two beers on tap. Friendly brewers delighted
by visitors.
Marine Pub and
Brewhouse
Dismal beer served by none-too-bright staff in curious beer garden overlooking farm.
Molson
Huge brewery, closed to public after health department scandal.
*Mt. Begbie
201C
Small warehouse brewery. Beautiful town but just OK beer.
Mugs and Jugs Fantasy
Showroom
Combo hotel-brewery-strip club [sic]. Beer/atmosphere/dancers awful, but stunningly unique.
R & B
Excellent beer made by excellent brewers--knowledgeable, friendly, with a sense
of humor.
Russel*
Unit 202,
Warehouse brewery extremely hard to find.
Sailor Hagar's Brewpub
Restaurant with attached brewery. Friednly owner, good food, good beer.
Shaftebury*-now closed
7989 82nd St, Delta, BC V4G 1L7, May, 1999 (The Amber
Tour)
Large semi-famous brewery with excellent Rainforest Amber.
Spinnaker's Brewing
308 Catherine St, Victoria, BC, V9A 3S8, May, 1999 (The Amber Tour)
Lovely view over Victoria coast augments good beer and food. One of the
oldest micros.
Steamworks
375 Water St, Vancouver, BC, V6B 5C6, May, 1998 (The Blue
Tour)
Flashy hip restaurant with some good beers, but somewhat overpriced.
Storm
310 Commercial Drive, Vancouver BC V5L 3V6, May, 1998 (The Blue Tour)
Somewhat run-down warehouse brewery, casually run by friendly owner.
Swan's Pub (Buckerfield Brewing)
506 Pandora St, Victoria, BC V8W 1N6, May, 1999 (The Amber
Tour)
Really does look like a pub--lots of beers (not all good) and plenty of food.
The Creek
1253 Johnson St, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3R9, May, 1998 (The Blue Tour)
Lavish hotel-lobby with roaring fire, good food, and comfy couches. And good
beer.
Vancouver Island
2330 Government St, Victoria, BC V8T 5G5, May, 1999 (The Amber Tour)
Medium-sized industrial brewery. Friendly, organized staff complement good
beer.
Yaletown
Easy-going brewpub with spacious interior and outdoor areas as well.
*Pump House Brewery Ltd.
Lively spirited place with great staff, good food, adorable barrel-booths, and decent beer.
*Tapps Brewpub and Steakhouse
Somewhat unadorned brewery (except for several ceiling
flags), but truly excellent beer.
*Duke of Duckworth
Smoky brewpub with only a single home-brewed option and remarkably British in style.
*Quidi Vidi Brewing Co. Ltd.
Curious blend of North American microbrew with French
overtones…also a lovely location.
*Granite Brewery
Recently re-located in the heart of
The Harbourside Market, The Historic Properties,
The tiniest brewery I have ever been to in (tasteful) mall food court. A must-see for its sheer uniqueness.
*Rogues Roost (brewpub)
OK beer (better food) served on cute wooden pin-wheel in hip part of town.
Al Frisco's
133 John St, Toronto, July 2001 (The Kiwi Tour)
Downtown hip brewery with vibrant nightlife scene and modest beer.
Amsterdam Brewing
600 King St W, Toronto, July 2001 (The Kiwi Tour)
Marginal beer and equivalent food, but cute accompanying museum and store.
Black Oak Brewing
504 Iroquois Shore Rd #10, Oakville, July 2001 (The Kiwi
Tour)
Excellent beer. Friendly and delightful staff. Neat and orderly brewery. A Must
See.
Brick Brewing
Wide variety (of both style and quality) of beers, but the friendliest bar
staff imaginable.
C'est What Brewing
67 Front St E, Toronto, July 2001 (The Kiwi Tour)
Good beer in basement brewpub (especially the Rye). Lots of games too.
*Clocktower Brewpub
Fantastic wooden kettles are clearly visible in this small, cute former
clocktower.
Cool Beer Brewing*
Another industrial-estate style brewery.
Denison's Brewing
Beer rather forgettable, but otherwise cool: basement pub, upstairs restaurant,
and beer garden.
Gold Crown Brewing*
A fromer U-brew now selling beer commercially (adjacent to Lion).
Granite Brewery #2
245 Eglington Ave E, July 2001 (The Kiwi Tour)
Excellent British-style beers served in an old-timer (microbrewery-wise)
establishment.
Hogtown Brewery
2351 Royal Windsor Dr. #6, Missaugua, July 2001 (The Kiwi
Tour)
Canadian flag pinned patriotically to the brewkettle. (Mediocre) Hemp beer
heavily advertised.
Lion Brewery
Historic and cute hotel basement, but beer just a notch above undrinkable.
*Master's
Brasserie and Brewpub
Somewhat soul-less brewery in what looks like a conference room lobby. Nice nonetheless.
Old Credit Brewery
Smooth slow-filtered beers served by proud staff in off-the-beaten-track
brewery.
Pepperwood Bistro
Yuppy bistro with nice beer garden and excellent
Robinson Brewing*
2390 Cawthra Rd #3, Missaugua, July 2001 (The Kiwi Tour)
Another industrial estate brewery, with only a single beer on tap.
Sleeman's Brewing and Malting
551 Clair Rd W, Guelph, July 2001 (The Kiwi Tour)
Large facility worked by friendly staff, brewing a broad range of beers.
Steam Whistle Brewing
245 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, July 2001 (The Kiwi Tour)
Prime downtown location, cheap, and pleasant staff, but only a single (poor)
beer.
Tracks Brewpub
Quirky local brewpub with a single ever-changing beer and rustic feel.
*The Gahan House
To-die-for atmosphere (though forgettable beer) in charming
& cozy historical building.
The French influence makes mediocre lagers more preponderant than in the
western Canadian provinces. Nevertheless, the unique French flare added to the
breweries makes a brewery trip to
Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel
29 Laurier Ouest, Montréal, August 2002 (The Regent
Tour)
Small, friendly brewpub with many excellent beers available, and readily visible kettles.
*Brasserie Le
Chaudron
5710 Garnier, Montréal, August 2002 (The
Regent Tour)
Industrial brewery we could not break into in.
Brasserie McAuslan
(St. Ambroise)
4850 Rue St-Ambroise #100, Montréal, August 2002 (The Regent
Tour)
Recently moved brewery with friendly (and stressed) staff. Good pale.
Brewtopia
Excellent beers in a casual friendly setting reminiscent of
*Chez Gambrinus
3160 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, August 2002
Small residential-looking brewery with eclectic mix of
beers.
L'Amère à Boire
2049 St-Denis, Montréal, August 2002 (The Regent
Tour)
Somewhat large split-level brewery with OK beers but
oh-so-cute kettles under stairs.
La Taverne du
Sergeant-Recruteur
4650 Boulevard St-Laurent, Montréal, August 2002 (The Regent
Tour)
Curious décor in two-storey dark-but-friendly brewery.
Le Cheval Blanc
809 Rue
Somewhat yuppy narrow brewery with aluminum-siding atmosphere.
Les Brasseurs GMT (micro)
5585 Rue de la Roche, Montréal, August 2002 (The Regent
Tour)
More suitable to private functions that a regular pub, but large and polite.
*Molson Breweries
Another enormous tourist-unfriendly Molson castle.
Trois Brasseurs
?,
Rustic (but pricey) saloon-style feel with heavy smell of
malt in lively part of town
Vessels and Barrels
Rue
Strip mall brewery, but friendly atmosphere with good
buffet. Beer served at
Despite location, enormously successful brewery/restaurant/hotel with good pale.
The Brewhouse
Level 1,
Cavernous upper-level brewery with beer-barrel tables, (pricey) food, and pool.
Cascade Brewery
Friendly, historic brewery (looking the part) nestled
beneath
Emerald Hill
Microbrewery*
Tiny brewery located (literally) inside a garage.
Five
Crown & Harbor Sts, Win Entertainment Center,
Literally attached to stadium, with good beer and excellent views (of the five islands)
Holdfast Brewpub and
Hotel
Beer just OK, and cement-floor-ambiance a little lacking, but friendly.
International Hotel (formerly Cheers Brewpub)
Mediocre beer and too many pokies all forgiven thanks to generous (hot!) bartender.
James Squire Brewpub
22 The Promenade, King St Wharf, Syndey, December 2006
Expensive, but right on the wharf, with a wide selection of reasonably good beer.
James Squire Brewpub (Lion Nathan)
Despite being a chain, filled with friendly locals and a charming wood-based interior.
Lord Nelson Brewpub
and Hotel
Cozy, ancient (by Ozzie standards) brewery situated under the big bridge.
Macquarie Hotel and
Microbrewery
?
Brewery-area and bar are oddly sub-divided…beer rather poor, but fun anyway.
Moo Brew Microbrewery
More of a winery, but the fermenting beer has been granted a gorgeous view.
Redoak Boutique
Brewpub
A little spendy, but a wide variety of high-end beer served in diverse glasses.
Three Degrees
Microbrewery
Queen Victoria (QV) Center,
Disappointing over-emphasis on other beers, despite their own being quite excellent!
Queen’s Wharf
Brewpub
More a music venue, the beer is awful and the view of the
harbor somehow deflating.
7 Stern Brau
Siebbensterngasse 19, A-1070,
Seven available beers, of which the pale is quite good, the chili one quite bad.
1516 Brewing
Krugerstrasse 18/Schwarzenbergstrasse 1, A-1010,
Brewpub accompaniment of eponymous brewery…small, slow, and a little expensive
Augustiner Brau
Augustibergasse 4, A-5020,
Absolutely enormous brewpub (seating for 2700) in old monastery.
Salm-Brau
Rennweg 8, A-1030,
Conveniently right outside the palace…open bright and early with a wake-me-up beer.
Wieden-Brau???
Waaggasse 5, A-1040,
Super friendly waiter, reasonably good food, and quiet sidewalk seating (very near 1516).
Weissbierbrauerei
Virgilgasse 9, A-5020,
Popular and sizeable microbrewery with large outdoor area specializing in wheaty beers
Adjacent to airport,
Nice and modern, with tours and 10-minute all-you-can-drink at the end.
Austral
?,
Small but industrial, with a friendly gate guard who will give impromptu tours
Cervecera CCU
North Panamerican 9600,
Huge and unfriendly, best viewed from behind barbed wire.
Cervecera Kuntsmann
Camino a Niebla Ruta T-950,
Virtually indistinguishable from an charming American micro brewpub.
?
Somewhere near Tilaran on the shores of the lake, March 2005
Hotel with itty bitty brewing capacity. Not great, but the view saves the day.
*Pivovara Pinvice
Medvedgrad
Bozidara Adzije 16,
Off the beaten path, fairly large with lots of wooden tables and chairs, good beer.
*Zlatni Medvjed
Savska Cesta 56,
Sleek and modern, but only two types of beer (and a hybrid) and choppy service.
Dum
Lipova 15,
Unfortunate name, but excellent and cheap. Some odd varieties (nettle, orange blossom, etc.)
Prvni Novomestsky
Vodickova 20,
Multi-storey, popular with the locals as well as tourists, with reasonably good beer.
U Fleku
Kremencova 9,
A real trip. Huge, crowded, with shots that you have to turn down (literally) five times.
Denmark
Norrebro Bryghus
Ryesgade 3, Kobenhavn, July 2009
Popular student haunt in kettle-surrounded basement. Excellent beer.
Dominican Republic
Cervecería Bohemia
Prolongación 27 de Febrero, Las Cobas, 2470 Santo Domingo, June 2008
Not a nice part of town. Touch the barbed wire and then make your escape
Cervecería Nacional Dominicana
Prolongación Av.Independencia, Km 6.5, AP 1086, Santo Domingo
Fiercely protected and smelling a little funky.
Estonia
The Beer House
Dunkri 5, Tallinn, July 2009
Tourist-commercialized, but still appealing with wooden tables and great glass mugs.
Finland
Sveaborgs Bryggeri
Rantakasarmi, Suomenlinna C 1, Helsinki, July 2009
Basement affair with only a couple of beers available (mostly
guest), but still nice.
France
Brasserie Frog and Rosbif
116 Rue St Denis, Paris (near Pompidou), December 2008
British-style brewpub chain. Quiet, but friendly, and with good beer.
Brauerei Schumacher
Oststrasse 123, Dusseldorf, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Charming wooden-table brewery with a popular Alt
Brauhaus Alter Bahnhof Oberrkassel
Belsenplatz 2, Dusseldorf, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Converted railway station with curtain airlock. Not yet brewing their own beer, but working on it.
Brauerei im Fuchschen
Ratinger Str. 28, Dusseldorf, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Large and crowded brewpub where hat-hanging is strictly prohibited.
Brauerei Goldener Ring
Burgplatz 21, Dusseldorf, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Recently-opened expansive restaurant near the river, with enticing aromas.
Brauerei Zum Schlussel
Bolkerstrasse 41-47, Dusseldorf, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Cavernous yet still crowded brewery with large outdoor area in pedestrianized boulevard
Brauerei Uerige
Berger Strasse 1, Dusseldorf, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Your classic brewpub with brewkettles proudly displayed and excellent pretzels available on demand.
Frankenheim
Wielandstrasse 12, Dusseldorf, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
A little off the beaten track, and much less crowded, but still with the telltale Alt.
Brauerei Schlosser
Alt-Pempelfort 2, Dusseldorf, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Street-corner brewery with (unusually for Dus) multiple varieties of beer...not just Alt.
Fruh am Dom (taproom for brewery)
Am Hof 12-18, Cologne, February 2005 and also February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Enviable location under cathedral, rapid service, and a cheerful atmosphere.
Brauerei zur Malzmuhle
Heumarkt 6, Cologne, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Somewhat sassy waiter and a correspondingly spirited clientele, located near the river.
Brauhaus Reissdorf (taproom for brewery)
Keliner-Greichenmarkt 40, Cologne, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Smaller local-oriented pub with friendly (hammered) bartender and devoted crowd.
Weiss-Brau
Am Weidenbach 24, Cologne, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Delightful space with curious wooden tables, brewing equipment, and three varieties of beer.
Heller
Roonstrasse 33, Cologne, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Odd interior garden room...even weirder bathroom sculptures, but the four beers are great!
Paffgen
Friesenstrasse 64-66, Cologne, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Despite much hype, the Kolsch here is much the same as everywhere else.
Braustelle
Christianstrasse 2, Cologne, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Aggresively pro-smoking student dive-style brewpub with smoked beer and racy photography
Sunner (taproom for brewery)
Salzgasse 13, Cologne, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
In the heart of the tourist sector, with a tight (but tall) drinking area.
Gilden (taproom for brewery)
Next door to Gaffel (below), Cologne, February 2005 and 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Very small but lively, and the Kolsch, as (almost) always, is great.
Gaffel (taproom for brewery)
Altermarkt 20, Cologne, February 2005 and February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
The (only) dreadful Kolsch in town, though they have a much better "tourist" beer
Pete's (?) (taproom for brewery)
Muhlengasse 1, Cologne, February 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
Lots of strange kitsch, and they have a beer box!
Sion (taproom for brewery)
Unter Taschenmacher 5-7, Cologne, February 2005 and 2009 (The Bikini Tour)
The food is not recommended (or the service), but the Kolsch was decent.
* Brauhaus
Johann Albrecht
Adolphsbrucke 7,
Large canalside brewery with nice fish and chips, good marzen, and friendly waitress
*Brauhaus Johann
Albrecht
Schwarze-Braen-Strasse 6,
Chain brewpub, but cute location in idyllic German town.
*Brauhaus Mitte
Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 13,
Conveniently just off Alexanderplatz, with a decent pilsner and coffee-ish porter.
*Groninger Braukeller
& Brauhaus Hanseat*
Ost-West-Strasse 47 or Zippelhaus 4,
Odd private brewery essentially only open to large private functions
*Holsten Brauerei—Carlsberg *
Holstenstrasse 224,
Big and difficult for public to access
Bellevuestraße 3-5,
Adorable brewpub surrounding spiral staircase of kettles in flashy Sony Center.
*Luisen-Bräu (Gasthausbrauerei)
Luisenplatz 1, D-10585
I don’t recommend the food, but the beer was pleasant and the staff friendly enough.
Weltenberg Abbey
?, somewhere near Kielhiem on the river
1000-year old monastery brewery on a bend in the Danube. Touristy, but a must!
*Cerveceria Centro
Americana SA*
3ra Ave Norte Final, Finca El Zapote, Zona 2,
Fortified like a castle, perhaps because it’s in a dodgy part of town.
Hong Kong Brew House
?,
Shameless pandering to British ex-pats, but still rather good beer, especially porter.
Gerbeaud
V. Vorosmarty ter 7,
Right in the tourist district, and an unremarkable beer, but worth it nonetheless.
Iceland
Olgeroin Egill
Grjothalsi 7-11, Reykjavik, August 2008
Large castle-like brewery with larger than life bottles for towers.
India
Kingfisher Brewery
Goa, December 2008
Had to essentially bribe the taxi driver to bribe the gate guard, but it worked. A real tour!
*Birra Peroni (SAB
Miller)
Via Rinata Birolli 8,
Vapid lager in industrial fortress setting.
Imagine Budweiser watered-down and more tasteless, and you have a pretty good synopsis of most Japanese beer. Finding them is no picnic either. Even without the language barrier, the logic-defying system of addresses (most streets are not named, and numbering is done by when the building was constructed, not by its position) renders any search for a local brewery a considerable challenge. Still, there is a wonderful rush associated with finding a brewery in Japan, and joining in the border-less camaraderie associated with sampling fresh local brews. Most of the breweries are owned by the Big Three: Asahi, Kirin, and Sapporo, although differences between them are difficult to discern.
Asahi (Shinjuku)
Shinjuku-ku,
Small brewery with typically sad, over-priced beer, but ideally located.
Hoppy
A potentially excellent microbrewery, with the best Japanese beer we had (alas,
not much praise).
Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku,
Small attempt at a faux-British pub, but ghastly beer spoils it.
Ryougoku Beer Station (Shinseien)
1-12-1, Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0006, April, 2001 (The Tangerine Tour)
A thoroughly warm welcome, and one decent beer in a German-style beer hall.
Sapporo Breweries
4-20-1, Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8686, April, 2001 (The Tangerine Tour)
Tedious beer, but a great (free) tour and museum, including virtual reality
brewing.
Sapporo Beer Hall
10-1 Ginza 7-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104, April, 2001 (The Tangerine Tour)
Terrible food accompanies terrible beer, in another German-style beer hall.
Sumidagawa Brewing (Asahi)
1-23-1, Azumabashi, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-8602, April, 2001 (The Tangerine Tour)
Great atmosphere, and unique architecture will shock you. Decent food. Pity
about the beer.
Suntory Brewery
1-2-3 Motoakasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107, April, 2001 (The Tangerine Tour)
Large brewery with accompanying overpriced restaurant and more awful beer.
*Carlsberg
Enormous industrial estate that brews Kuche Kuche (translation: All Night Long) and Carlsberg.
*Chibuku*
?,
The local beer, made from fermented maize. Looks and tastes like Italian salad dressing.
Brew Factory (Zona
Rosa)
? in Zona Rosa, June 2005
Awful beer (grape flavored in one instance), but delightful international experience.
*Cervecería
Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma*
Av. Lázaro Cárdena No.975, Z.Ind., 44940
Hard to get to, and not worth it for all but most die-hard enthusiasts.
Av.Alfonso Reyes Norte No.2202, Monterrey
Perhaps biggest brewery ever, yet surprisingly welcoming. Lovely beer garden and
multilingual tours
*Cervecería
Estrella de Guadalajara*
Av. Mariano Otero No.663,
Another virtually impregnable industrial blockbuster
Craft Lounge
Plaza de las Artesanias, Juarez #145, Tlaquepaque (Guadalajara), Feb. 2008
The best beer in Mexico, served in small tasting room in touristy craft market. Erratic hours.
*Heineken (no longer brews here because of transport
costs)
Funekade 7,
Not as big as you might expect for a beer with such name brand recognition.
*De Bekeerde Suster (Beijaard Group)
Kloveniersburgwal 6-8,
Friendly bartender…only a few brewed, but many (good ones) on tap.
Norway
Hansa Bryggeri
Kokstaddalen 3, Bergen, August 2008
The out-of-town industrial behometh of Bergen
Oslo Microbryggeri
Bogstadveien 6, Oslo, August 2008
One of the only microbreweries in Norway. Good beer, but frightfully expensive.
Ringnes Bryggeri
Thv. Meyers Gate 2, Oslo, August 2008
Old facade is in tact and welcoming, but that's just decor.
*Compañía Cervecería del Sur de
More like a fortress
with towers, barbed wire, and guards with machine guns.
*Unión de Cervecería Peruanas Backus y
A truly terrible part of town…go only in daylight in large group.
Uniao Cervejeira Unicer*
Av Marechal Gomes da
Costa 21F,
Difficult to get to…impossible without a car, and unyielding to the public.
Russia
Restoran Saltan
ul. Karpinskogo, 38/1, St. Petersburg, July 2009
Beer is passable but the food is definitely not.
Slovak Pub
Obchodna 62,
Oh-so-cute tiny rooms for drinking in this upstairs, student/wallet-friendly brewpub.
Katrochwill (downtown)
Ul. Kolodvorska 14,
Fairly small (though
a decent beer garden) and limited, but still cute.
Katrochwill (SBC)
? (huge mall area on
eastern side of
Bigger with local
music and dancing, great food, a good light beer (really!) and hot staff.
Pivovrana Union
Pivovarniska 2,
Absolutely enormous,
but not that welcome to visitors and beer is just so-so.
Castle Praha
Czech-style beer (with a lot of German influence). Clownish hats available on request.
De Bassus
Gangnam-gu, seocho-dong,
Another German-style brewery at The Golden Lattitude.
Kaiserbrau (De
Bassus)
Avatar Shopping Mall, Myung-dong,
Long narrow-ish brewery in basement of modern mall with reasonable beer.
Micropub
Jongru-gu, Heahwa-dong,
Foreign-aimed brewery with eclectic mix of western food and German food
O’Kim’s
Brauhaus (COEX)
30% off the price if you drink standing up….yards of ale available.
Oktoberfest (Insa)
Congno-gu, Insa-dong,
Nice German-style beer hall with the ever-welcoming Mr. Lee
Oktoberfest (Kangnam)
Kangnam-gu, seocho-dong,
Cute basement German brewery with salted pasta pretzels.
Platinum (apujong)
Unknown gu, apujong-dong, near
Small but flashy, specializing in metal and black, with pretty good beer.
Platinum (Gangnam)
Gangnam-gu, seocho-dong,
Large 2-storey modern brewery with high-tech feel.
200 Brauhaus
Basement small-ish brewery with the usual pilsner, hefe, and dunkel.
?
Near
Poor Hefeweizen, but interesting features: widescreen concert footage and curious balcony seating.
Naturbier
Plaza Santa Anna 9,
Large, smoky, but friendly, with decent tapas and the only microbrewed beer in Madrid.
Brew House (Airport)
South end of terminal 2,
Overpriced and no atmosphere, but what better way to wait for your flight?
Chiangmai German
345
Moo 4,
Good dunkel (though poor Hefe) banished to outer Chiangmai but worth the tuk tuk.
Londoner Brewpub
5
591 UBC II Bldg, Basement B 104,
Typical ex-pat hangout with small brewery line (two OK beers), not at all Thai.
Trinidad and Tobago
Carib
Champs Fleurs, Port of Spain, June 2009
Industrial and unfriendly, but with a surprisingly good view of the harbor.
Brasserie Les
Sans-Culottes
Looks like a garage from the outside, posh and somewhat over-priced inside….but next to a bath house.
Freedom
Brewing Company (now called
Bunker Bar?)
Flashy (but noisy) basement brewpub ideally located and mercifully uncomplicated.
Freedom Brewing
Company Ganton House
14-
Small cute tap-room brewery with limited selection but friendly atmosphere.
Haggards Brewery Limited c/o Imperial Arms
Apparently desperate to hide the brewery upstairs, this looks like a pub. Note the beer’s name.
*Kemptown Brewery
Tiny brewery with very local crowd…not your average brewery, but the beer is decent.
Mash
Retro, Jetsons-like
interior with oddly altered wall photos. Just OK beer, but fun nonetheless.
*Pitfield Brewery and Beer Shop
14 Pitfield Rd,
London, December 2002
The beer is
pleasantly murky, but alas does not taste that great.
Rocket (no brewing on premises, but organic beer is
made especially for them)
4 Lancashire Court, London W1Y 9AD, December 2002 (The Robin Tour)
Expensive, yuppie, and stifled. The
food, although good, is not worth a second mortgage.
*Sweet William Brewery
Plays down its own beers, but the tacky overdone William-mantra is somehow endearing.
Zero Degrees
Free olives at the table! Decent beer, with a pleasant feel next to the green.
Total Brewery Count:
Red 10 (Portland)
Orange 10
(Seattle)
Yellow 3
(SW Oregon)
Green 8
(Washington Islands)
Blue 10
(Vancouver, BC)
Purple 12
(SE Washington and NE Oregon)
Ruby 11
(Olympic Peninsula and Tacoma)
Amber 11
(Suburban Vancouver and Victoria)
Gold 13
(Spokane and N Idaho)
Emerald 14
(San Francisco and Santa Cruz)
Sapphire 27
(Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs)
Amethyst 19
(San Diego)
Strawberry 11
(Portland and NW Oregon)
Tangerine 8
(Tokyo)
Lemon 12
(Boston)
Kiwi 17
(Toronto and Kitchener/Warterloo)
Blueberry 6
(Bellingham)
Blackcurrant 8
(Las Vegas)
Trafalgar 9
(Suburban Seattle)
Vine 16 (
Picadilly 9 (
Regent 11 (
Angel 15 (Suburban
Whitechapel 10 (
Robin 6 (
Oriole 11 (
Canary 15 (Los Angeles)
Hummingbird 4 (
Kingfisher 7 (
Grackle 12 (
Noisy 11 (
Tickle 7 (
Bounce 14 (
Clumsy 6 (
Bump 12 (
Impossible 11 (
Heart 11 (
Star 11 (
Moon 9 (
Clover 16 (
Diamond 13 (
Horseshoe 5 (
Elmo 12
(North Denver and
Ernie 14 (
Big Bird 11 (
Oscar 21 (
Cookie Monster 9 (
Count 12 (Pittsburgh)
Rudolph 12 (Indianapolis)
Crush 11 (Fort Collins and Cheyenne)
Bikini 20 (Dusseldorf and Cologne)
Sleeves 19 (CA coast, Santa Barbara to San Jose)
Velvet 14 (Albuquerque and Santa Fe)
People Eater 12 (southern Oregon)
Flash 8 (Northern Washington)
Aquaman 9 (Seattle)
Firestar 14 (Kansas City)
Rainbow
Breweries: 649
Other
11 (with
Other
193 (without
TOTAL: 851
Possible brewery Tours on the horizon: Alaska, St. Louis, Milwaukee
States (31) and Provinces (3) covered by rainbow tours: Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ontario, Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, Quebec, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Delaware, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wyoming, New Mexico, Missouri, Kansas (states and provinces arranged in order visited)
States (13) and Provinces (5) covered independently: New York, Montana, Georgia, Arkansas, Vermont, Maine, Alabama, Hawaii, Florida, Wisconsin, Louisiana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Also Alberta, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
Countries covered by rainbow tours (6):
Other Countries covered independently (30):
States still missing (6):
Provinces still missing:
Superlatives:
Most breweries in a single tour: Sapphire (27)
Most breweries in a single day: Amethyst (18)
Most expensive tour: Robin (
Most exotic tour: Tangerine
Most participants on tour: Lemon (24)
Most decadent tour: Blackcurrant (via a stretch limo)
Most “last-minute” tour: Regent (decided to do the night before)
Most alcohol consumed by all participants: Angel
Most friendly brewers: Oriole (esp. SLC Cooperative)
Most German beer: Impossible (
Most snow: Clover (
Average breweries per tour: 11.1
Possible Claimaints to Best Brewery Ever:
Willamantic (CT)
New Albany (IN)
Ninkasi or Deschutes (OR)
Southern Sun (CO)
The Unlikely Cowboy or Papago (AZ)
Hoppy (CA)
North Fork or Skookum (WA)
For a look at the individual tours from the web page of my more talented accomplice, click here