America’s craft beer scene is so widespread that every single state in the union has at least one incredible brewery and typically many more than that. What a time to be a hop head!
We set out to find the best brewery in each state by consulting websites like BeerAdvocate and RateBeer, relying on old-fashioned research and testing our own knowledge of the national beer scene.
So, pony up to the bar and grab a pint at any one of these breweries where you’re guaranteed to have one of the most incredible beers in the U.S.
Alabama: Fairhope Brewing
Location: Fairhope
Established: 2013
Popular beers: Painted Black IPA, Judge Roy Bean, (Take the) Causeway IPA
Food options: Nothing on site, outside food allowed
Coolest highlight: Taproom housed in a red-brick building, featuring locally made furniture
Why Fairhope Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Before this brewery came around, Lower Alabama had no craft beer options and there were fewer than 10 craft breweries statewide. The husband and wife behind Fairhope thankfully changed that and are now known for their creative labels and names.
The couple was originally inspired to start a brewery after living in Alaska and spending considerable time at Alaskan Brewing Company’s taproom.
Alaska: Anchorage Brewing Co.
Location: Anchorage
Established: 2010
Popular beers: A Deal With the Devil, Endless Ending, Darkest Hour
Food options: Onsite restaurant
Coolest highlight: A beer garden with fire pits
Why Anchorage Brewing Is a Must-Visit
This brewery quickly gained a reputation for excellent barrel-aged and high-octane stouts and darker beers when it opened in 2010. And due to its remote location, Anchorage Brewing has been distributing globally since its launch.
It also has a unique business license in Alaska that allows it to sell beers from around the country out of its taproom.
Arizona: Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.
Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. / Facebook
Location: Gilbert and Phoenix
Established: 2013
Popular beers: American Presidential Stout, Lil Gye (Guy) Rye, The Roosevelts
Food options: Onsite restaurants at both locations
Coolest highlight: An earnest commitment to naturalism and conservationism by the founders
Why Arizona Wilderness Brewing Is a Must-Visit
As the name suggests, this brewery takes inspiration from nature. Beers are made with sustainable practices, and the brewers use local produce in their creations.
If that doesn’t impress you, maybe this will: RateBeer named Arizona Wilderness the best new brewery in the world in 2013.
Arkansas: Bike Rack Brewing Co.
Location: Bentonville (three locations)
Established: 2014
Popular beers: Angus Chute, Slaughter Pen, Epic Trail
Food options: Bring-your-own and food truck options
Coolest highlight: Beers are named after bike trails in the area
Why Bike Rack Brewing Is a Must-Visit
When five beer and biking enthusiasts opened this brewery — a bike rack is a meeting place, similar to a water cooler — it was the only one in the city of Bentonville. They now have multiple locations around town, including a beer and coffee bar and an outpost along a bike trail in the city’s arts district.
Not at all surprisingly, the local biking community loves this brewery.
California: Sante Adairius Rustic Ales
Location: Capitola and Santa Cruz
Established: 2012
Popular beers: Bernice, West Ashley, Spots and Dots
Food options: Onsite restaurant at Santa Cruz brewpub
Coolest highlight: Guest kegs and bottles from some of the best breweries around the country
Why Sante Adairius Is a Must-Visit
California has an incredible abundance of breweries, making this a difficult decision. But we like SARA, as it’s known to its fans, for its experimental and uncompromising approach to brewing. SARA specializes in barrel-aged saisons, Belgian-style ales and mixed-fermentation brews. It also boasts a top-notch IPA program.
Plus, it has not once but twice been named among the top 10 breweries in the world by RateBeer.
Colorado: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project / Facebook
Location: Denver and Fort Collins
Established: 2010
Popular beers: Wild Sage, St. Bretta, Von Pilsner
Food options: No onsite food options
Coolest highlight: Launched The Brettanomyces Project thanks to the research of brewmaster Chad Yakobson
Why Crooked Stave Is a Must-Visit
Colorado, like California, is another brewing powerhouse, but Crooked Stave stands out among a dense and talented field. The brewery is known for its sours, especially those employing the funky, wild and unpredictable Brettanomyces yeast.
In fact, brewmaster Chad Yakobson is known as the “Brettanomyces Guru” because he wrote his master’s thesis on the stuff.
Connecticut: Fox Farm Brewery
Location: Salem
Established: 2016
Popular beers: Double Burst, Daylily, Viridescence
Food options: Nothing on site
Coolest highlight: Located on a former dairy farm
Why Fox Farm Brewery Is a Must-Visit
The serene setting of this brewery is like taking a trip back in time to old New England. And it helps that the beer is exquisite.
Fox Farm is known for its IPAs and farmhouse ales, along with barrel-aged sours. But its biggest fans know that whatever beer style Fox Farm churns out is going to be a hit.
Delaware: Dewey Beer Co.
Location: Dewey Beach
Established: 2015
Popular beers: Hangry Eyes, Wootermelon Rancher, Secret Machine
Food options: Onsite restaurant
Coolest highlight: Located in an old diner one block from the beach
Why Dewey Beer Is a Must-Visit
The Delaware beer scene used to be Dogfish Head and nothing else, but now there’s a lot more going on in the First State. One of the most interesting breweries is this small outfit located along the coast.
Dewey is the brainchild of three longtime friends and the beers are so popular that lines form hours before their can releases.
Florida: Cigar City Brewing
Location: Tampa (3 locations) and Asheville, North Carolina (CANarchy’s Collaboratory)
Established: 2009
Popular beers: Jai Alai, Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout, Guayabera
Food options: On site at all locations
Coolest highlight: Part of the CANarchy craft beer collective, based in Asheville
Why Cigar City Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Cigar City aims to capture the sunshine of the Sunshine State in all of its beers. And judging by its popularity, it seems to be doing something right.
It holds an annual beer release party in March for its Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout that’s attended by thousands of people and the top beer brands in the world.
Georgia: SweetWater Brewing Co.
Location: Atlanta
Established: 1997
Popular beers: 420, Goin’ Coastal, Hop Hash
Food options: Onsite restaurant
Coolest highlight: Has a members-only beer club called Woodlands Circle
Why SweetWater Brewing Is a Must-Visit
The college buddies behind this Atlanta institution are known for their affinity for all things cannabis-related. Yes, that includes a giant festival held annually on the plant’s unofficial birthday, April 20 (better known as 420) and beers named after strains of weed.
Beyond that, the beer is just plain excellent.
Hawaii: Beer Lab
Location: Honolulu, Waipahu, Aiea
Established: 2015
Popular beers: Omakase Series, Nimbus, Ollie
Food options: No food on site
Coolest highlight: Brewery’s Department of Zymurgy brews kombucha and jun, which is similar to kombucha
Why Beer Lab Is a Must-Visit
Most beer brewed in Hawaii never makes it out of the state, but that’s not surprising considering the remote location and low number of breweries on the islands. In fact, when you drink Kona beers on the mainland, they were made on the mainland.
Beer Lab is not widely distributed, but it has three locations around Oahu that are all beloved for their modern styles with Japanese influences.
Idaho: Boise Brewing
Location: Boise
Established: 2014
Popular beers: Cafe Mule, Syringa, The Wee and the Heavy
Food options: No food on site
Coolest highlight: Was originally launched through a crowd-funding campaign
Why Boise Brewing a Must-Visit
Community-supported beer is a real thing, and Boise Brewing is one of only a few around the country in which a collective of individuals and businesses own the brewery.
As part of this, they brew beers to benefit various local causes and, in general, make big, experimental and modern styles of beer.
Illinois: Marz Community Brewing
Location: Chicago
Established: 2013
Popular beers: Jungle Boogie, Duchess De Bridgeport, The Machine
Food options: Light food options on site
Coolest highlight: They also make seltzers, sodas and shrubs.
Why Marz Community Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Chicago is stuffed to the gills with exceptional breweries, but Marz stands out from the pack. Its take on beers is decidedly modern and out of the box.
That includes using products like mushrooms for a stout that’s then aged in brandy and soy sauce barrels. There are about a dozen folks involved with some aspect of the brewery, making it a true collective.
Indiana: Bad Dad Brewing
Location: Fairmount
Established: 2017
Popular beers: Socks & Sandals, Tapestry of Obscenity, Ask Your Mother
Food options: House-made Neapolitan pizzas
Coolest highlight: Started by an actual father and his two sons
Why Bad Dad Brewing Is a Must-Visit
This is Northern Indiana’s go-to spot for pints and pizzas and it’s easy to see why. Bad Dad takes much pride in both its food offerings and brews, taking cues from the most popular beer styles around the country and putting extreme detail into its culinary creations.
Bad Dad was also voted Indiana’s best brewery in 2019 by locals.
Iowa: Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.
Location: Decorah
Established: 2009
Popular beers: Pseudo Sue, King Sue, Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout
Food options: Onsite restaurant
Coolest highlight: A 100-barrel brewhouse with an event center
Why Toppling Goliath Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Toppling Goliath is easily one of the most hyped breweries on the planet.
That’s thanks to the brewery’s jaw-dropping beers and the demand that surrounds them, including an imperial stout released once a year. It costs an unbelievable $100 for a 12-ounce bottle and has attracted a cult following of those lucky enough to snag one — yes, you can only buy one at a time.
Kansas: Free State Brewing Co.
Location: Lawrence
Established: 1989
Popular beers: Ad Astra, Stormchaser, Copperhead
Food options: Onsite restaurant
Coolest highlight: In 1989, Free State was the first legal brewery to open in Kansas in over 100 years.
Why Free State Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Free State is your neighborhood hangout and that’s the way the owners have always wanted it. Plus, it helps that their core beers and seasonal offerings are among the best in the state.
Fans love the cheddar ale soup and black bean quesadillas as well, proving that good beer can be better with good eats.
Kentucky: Against the Grain Brewery
Location: Louisville (two locations)
Established: 2011
Popular beers: Bo & Luke, 70K, Citra Ass Down
Food options: Barbecue on site (Smokehouse location), burgers and snacks (Public House location)
Coolest highlight: The brewery’s original business plan was drawn up on a yellow legal pad.
Why Against the Grain Brewery a Must-Visit
Looking for a healthy dose of (bathroom) humor with your suds? Against the Grain beers pack a wallop and so do the irreverent stories behind the brews and the founders.
The team originally set out to make Louisville beer less boring. While they’ve achieved that and then some, they’ve also become a part of the community and garnered accolades from around the world.
Louisiana: Great Raft Brewing
Location: Shreveport
Established: 2013
Popular beers: Commotion, At Arm’s Length, All My Tomorrows
Food options: Nothing on site
Coolest highlight: First brewery to open in Shreveport since the end of Prohibition
Why Great Raft Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Great Raft seems to know exactly the right recipe for great beer, but also how to market that beer and how to make the in-house consumption experience memorable.
They make beer that complements the cuisine of Louisiana, which tends to be spicy and rich.
Maine: Maine Beer Co.
Location: Portland
Established: 2009
Popular beers: Peeper Spring Ale, Lunch,
Food options: Pizza on site
Coolest highlight: Partners with more than a dozen wildlife and nature preservation organizations
Why Maine Beer Is a Must-Visit
The motto at Maine Beer Co. is “do what’s right.” That means not only making good beer, but also respecting your community and the planet.
This brewery is a passion project between two brothers that was years in the making before opening with a one-barrel system in 2009 — long before the term “nano-brewery” was ever uttered. Nowadays, you can find these tall bottles with simple white labels around the country.
Maryland: Heavy Seas Beer
Location: Baltimore
Established: 1995
Popular beers: Loose Cannon, Pounder, Powder Monkey
Food options: Onsite food options
Coolest highlight: The family behind Heavy Seas helped get Maryland to change state law to allow brewpubs to operate.
Why Heavy Seas Beer Is a Must-Visit
Owner Hugh Sisson wanted to be an actor, but his father gave him a bar to run out of grad school and it forever changed his life.
It was 1980 and Hugh decided to make Sisson’s a beer-focused bar. But he wanted it to be one that put a premium on high-quality imports that, at the time, were rare in the U.S. This eventually led to Heavy Seas and the rest is history.
Massachusetts: Tree House
Location: Charlton
Established: 2011
Popular beers: Julius, Haze, Eureka
Food options: Onsite food options
Coolest highlight: They are building a sustainable farm to protect the land and provide produce for their beers.
Why Tree House Is a Must-Visit
Tree House is an exacting company — they make their own coffee and grow their own ingredients for beer — and it shows in their head-turning sudsy creations. Few breweries in the world are surrounded by such hype.
Can releases are two-day affairs if you count the overnight camping just to get a chance to purchase anything.
Michigan: Bell’s Brewery
Location: Comstock and Kalamazoo
Established: 1985
Popular beers: Two Hearted Ale, Amber Ale, Original
Food options: Onsite restaurant in Kalamazoo
Coolest highlight: Before it became a brewery, Bell’s was a general store that sold homebrew supplies.
Why Bell’s Brewery Is a Must-Visit
The founder of Bell’s, Larry Bell, first became interested in fermentation while working at a bakery in Kalamazoo after graduating from the local college. A few years later Bell’s would become one of the first craft breweries east of Colorado.
Since then, it has become a Michigan institution and among the most respected brewers in America.
Minnesota: Fair State Cooperative
Location: Minneapolis
Established: 2014
Popular beers: Pils, Mirror Universe, FSB Series
Food options: Only pretzels on site
Coolest highlight: A bottle club with experimental offerings
Why Fair State Cooperative Is a Must-Visit
As the name suggests, this brewery is a co-op currently owned by more than 1,500 individuals. In addition to many beer-related perks, these folks get to vote on happenings at the brewery or run for the board.
Despite so many voices, Fair State consistently turns out impressive and creative brews.
Mississippi: Southern Prohibition Brewing
Location: Hattiesburg
Established: 2013
Popular beers: Crowd Control, SoPro Light, Mississippi Fire Ant
Food options: Pizza on site
Coolest highlight: A location in a part of downtown where drinking is legal on the streets
Why Southern Prohibition Brewing Is a Must-Visit
This brewery opened the year after Mississippi changed state law to allow beers to be brewed at more than 5 percent alcohol by volume, which ushered in a new era of craft down south.
Southern Prohibition has several core offerings but is also focused on making small batches that bring new and different twists to classic beer styles.
Missouri: Side Project Brewing
Location: Maplewood
Established: 2013
Popular beers: Merci Blend, Punchdown Pinot Noir, Coconut Vibes
Food options: No onsite food
Coolest highlight: The co-founder is a winemaker by trade and focuses heavily on barrel-aging beers
Why Side Project Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Side Project’s inventive and irreverent brews have earned it a pedestal among the world’s most respected beer brands and locals go gaga over the brewery’s taproom.
Few beers anywhere are as sought after as Side Project’s sours and barrel-aged offerings. In the bar, the taps are meticulously controlled, so each style of beer is served at the optimal temperature.
Montana: Big Sky Brewing
Location: Missoula
Established: 1995
Popular beers: Moose Drool, Trout Slayer, Powder Hound
Food options: No food on site
Coolest highlight: An amphitheater that hosts big-name acts like Ween and The Avett Brothers
Why Big Sky Brewing Is a Must-Visit
In the early 1990s, before opening Big Sky Brewing, the founders hosted a beer talk show on Missoula’s local cable access television station, MCAT. And when the brewery finally launched, Missoula only had one other, which specialized in lagers.
Big Sky opened as an alehouse and has since grown to a massive brewery that distributes across the West Coast and Mountain West regions. It also cans seltzers, both hard and nonalcoholic.
Nebraska: Zipline Brewing Co.
Location: Omaha (two locations) and Lincoln ( two locations)
Established: 2012
Popular beers: Alpha Modern, Oatmeal Porter, Nut Brown
Food options: No onsite food options
Coolest highlight: Named for a backyard zipline accident that resulted in a broken arm for one of the founder’s sons
Why Zipline Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Zipline is known for its approachable, clean beers that hit all the right style-category notes. It’s the passion project of two attorneys and a surgeon who were, like many craft brewers, enthusiastic homebrewers before making it official.
They also have a line called Zoo Brews that supports animal conservation efforts worldwide.
Nevada: Revision Brewing
Location: Sparks (two locations)
Established: 2017
Popular beers: Revision IPA, Battle of the Lords, Finite Madness
Food options: Onsite food only at brewpub location
Coolest highlight: In its first year of operation, the brewery won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup for one of its IPAs.
Why Revision Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Revision has not been around very long, but in its short life, it’s become a world-renowned brewery.
Its modern take on IPAs, double IPAs and triple IPAs are the brewery’s bread and butter, but its two-year-old, barrel-aging program is gaining worldwide attention.
New Hampshire: Stoneface Brewing Co.
Location: Newington
Established: 2014
Popular beers: Schwarz Side, Full Clip, Stoneface RIS
Food options: Onsite restaurant
Coolest highlight: Innovative foods like Thai chili lime honey gochujang BBQ wing sauce or Impossible Meat burgers
Why Stoneface Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Started by a couple of friends who were gaining attention with their homebrews, Stoneface was named in as an ode to the Old Man of the Mountain rock formation that was New Hampshire’s most iconic natural feature before breaking apart in 2003.
Stoneface, however, does not hang onto the past, as its beers are decidedly modern and quirky, such as a barrel-aged black lager and juicy, cloudy New England-style IPAs.
New Jersey: Kane Brewing
Location: Ocean Township
Established: 2011
Popular beers: Port Omna, Sunday Brunch, Overhead
Food options: No food on site
Coolest highlight: Kane, along with seven other breweries, broke off from the New Jersey Brewers Association in 2017 to form the Brewers Guild of New Jersey to better suit their needs.
Why Kane Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Kane was started by a husband and wife who worked in corporate finance jobs in New York City before realizing their homebrew hobby could become their life’s work.
Their opening in 2011 was part of a craft beer wave that hit Jersey as the state tweaked its liquor laws to allow for more production and wider distribution.
New Mexico: La Cumbre Brewing Co.
Location: Albuquerque (two locations)
Established: 2010
Popular beers: Malpais Stout, Postcards from Hell, Project Dank
Food options: Rotating taco trucks at both locations
Coolest highlight: Before opening a brewery, founder Jeff Erway was a jazz guitar player.
Why La Cumbre Brewing Is a Must-Visit
La cumbre translated to English means “peak” or “summit” and that’s exactly what the minds behind these beers are going for: using their brews to reach the apex in the art of beer.
The brewery is perhaps best known for its IPAs, which the founder attributes to his wife’s enduring love of big hops.
New York: Other Half Brewing
Location: Brooklyn and Rochester
Established: 2014
Popular beers: Hop Showers, All Citra Everything, Daydream
Food options: Only snacks on site
Coolest highlight: During the COVID-19 crisis, Other Half spearheaded a fundraising effort for hospitality workers by creating a beer called All Together IPA with participation from hundreds of breweries worldwide.
Why Other Half Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Other Half is a world-renowned brewery that collaborates with top breweries worldwide and it’s best known for its evolution of the juicy, hazy New England-style IPA that it calls an oat cream IPA.
These beers use large amounts of flaked oats and lactose sugar in the brewing and fermentation process, and they are unlike anything on the market today.
North Carolina: Heist Brewery
Location: Charlotte (two locations)
Established: 2012
Popular beers: TooQuench’l, Citraquench’l, Big Pick’n
Food options: Onsite restaurants at both locations
Coolest highlight: Founder Kurt Hogan is a distant relative of notorious 1930s gangster Baby Face Nelson.
Why Heist Brewery Is a Must-Visit
Heist beers are among the finest in North Carolina and the brewery was the first brewpub in Charlotte when it opened in 2012.
Heist’s original location is also a well-respected cocktail bar serving more than 100 whiskeys but it’s the Belgian-style beers and modern IPAs that attract the most customers.
North Dakota: Drekker Brewing Co.
Location: Fargo
Established: 2014
Popular beers: After School Prrrt, Agent of Anarchy, Azacca Attacka
Food options: Occasional food trucks on site
Coolest highlight: The brewery is housed in a massive, historic former locomotive repair facility.
Why Drekker Brewing Is a Must-Visit
North Dakota has a large Norwegian community and Drekker takes the viking theme very seriously — making beer “for the viking in all of us.”
It all started with a dream among four friends who loved to brew at home. Their brews are heavy on IPAs and they use Norwegian kveik yeast for most beers.
Ohio: Jackie O’s
Location: Athens (three locations)
Established: 2007
Popular beers: Dark Apparition, Mystic Mama, Chomolungma
Food options: Onsite food options at all locations
Coolest highlight: The original brewpub was one of the first facilities in Ohio to ban smoking.
Why Jackie O’s Is a Must-Visit
Jackie O’s is a pioneer in the Ohio brewery world. It’s one of the first breweries in the state to launch a barrel-aged and sours program, and it makes just about every style of beer. The brewery also operates a bakery.
The name is an homage to the late mother of co-founder Art Oestrike; she died from lung cancer just as the original brewpub idea was coming to fruition.
Oklahoma: Prairie Artisan Ales
Location: Oklahoma City, McAlester and Tulsa
Established: 2011
Popular beers: Bomb!, Standard, Phantasmagoria
Food options: Brewpub at Tulsa location only
Coolest highlight: Prairie’s Tulsa expansion was financed through a crowd-funding campaign.
Why Prairie Artisan Ales Is a Must-Visit
Prairie was launched with the sole intention of brewing memorable, complex farmhouse and barrel-aged beers that the co-founders, brother Chase and Colin Healey, wanted to drink themselves.
In the beginning, Prairie eschewed the most popular styles in favor of focused and distinct offerings but has since branched out into IPA and other territories.
Oregon: Breakside Brewery
Location: Milwaukie and Portland (two locations)
Established: 2010
Popular beers: Wanderlust, Stay West, Breakside IPA
Food options: Onsite restaurants at both Portland locations
Coolest highlight: The brewery turned a 1972 Winnebago into a bar on wheels for event rentals.
Why Breakside Brewery Is a Must-Visit
Many consider Oregon the premiere beer state in the U.S. and it certainly has the history, quality and abundance to deserve that title.
We picked this relative newcomer for the simple reason that anything it touches — or brews, in this case — turns to gold. Few breweries large or small can count the number of ribbons hanging from Breakside’s proverbial neck.
Pennsylvania: Tired Hands Brewing Co.
Location: Ardmore (three locations) and Philadelphia (two locations)
Established: 2011
Popular beers: Only Void, Extra Extra Knuckle, Eviscerated Pathway of Beauty
Food options: Restaurants at each location except the Ardmore General Store
Coolest highlight: The brewery organizes volunteer events throughout the year and donates partial proceeds to various causes.
Why Tired Hands Brewing Is a Must-Visit
This lauded brewery is laser-focused on its community, from the food served in its restaurants and ingredients in its beers to charitable and volunteer efforts year-round.
And they make some incredible beers that lean toward Belgian and French styles with a healthy dose of American ingenuity.
Rhode Island: Tilted Barn Brewery
Location: Exeter
Established: 2014
Popular beers: Chosen One, Other One, Propagator
Food options: Food trucks on site
Coolest highlight: The farm-brewery grows its own hops.
Why Tilted Barn Brewery Is a Must-Visit
The husband and wife team behind Tilted Barn are a rare breed in the beer world: farmers who became brewers, instead of the more common brewer turned farmer.
They grow many of the ingredients found in their hop-forward beers, including the hops. Tilted Barn is most known for its big, bright and juicy New England-style IPAs.
South Carolina: Westbrook Brewing Co.
Location: Mount Pleasant
Established: 2010
Popular beers: Mexican Cake, Gose, Two Claw
Food options: Food trucks on site
Coolest highlight: The brewery founders threw keg parties in college with their homemade beer to help pay for tuition.
Why Westbrook Brewing Is a Must-Visit
The beers of Westbrook are a study in flavor combinations and taking classic styles in new directions.
Such is the case with Westbrook’s most popular beer, Mexican Cake. It was originally brewed for the wedding of the couple who founded the brewery, Edward and Morgan Westbrook, but was such a hit with guests that it became the brewery’s annual anniversary release.
South Dakota: WoodGrain Brewing Co.
Location: Sioux Falls
Established: 2014
Popular beers: Milk Stout, SMaSH Censored, Veneer Pils
Food options: No food on site, occasional food trucks
Coolest highlight: The brewery sources unique yeast strains from a microbiology company in Sioux Falls.
Why WoodGrain Brewing a Must-Visit
Attention to detail is the name of the game at WoodGrain, which true to its name showcases the glory of tree fibers in furniture and paneling throughout its brewery and taproom.
Many ingredients in the beers are locally sourced, including hops and barley and WoodGrain operates its own grain mill and storage facility for optimal quality control.
Tennessee: Bearded Iris Brewing
Location: Nashville
Established: 2016
Popular beers: Attention Please, Chief of Chiefs, Double Homestyle
Food options: No food on site, occasional food trucks
Coolest highlight: The brewery’s taproom is handsomely appointed with a pool table and lounge feel.
Why Bearded Iris Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Bearded Iris has won fans with its unapologetically modern IPAs and pale ales, which are big, bright, juicy and as foggy as a San Francisco morning.
And while the brewery’s motto is “cultivate variety,” they admittedly don’t make that many styles of beer. But the ones they do brew are exceptional.
Texas: Jester King
Location: Austin
Established: 2010
Popular beers: Atrial Rubicite, Montmorency vs Balaton, SPON
Food options: Onsite restaurant
Coolest highlight: The brewery grounds are expansive and inviting — like a playground for both adults and kids — and include a working farm.
Why Jester King a Must-Visit
Jester King’s beers might best be described as wine-like — and the brewery even grows its own grapes on its farm.
Like the most sought-after wines, Jester King’s farmhouse ales and spontaneously fermented beers have a true sense of place, something French winemakers call “terroir.” These beers are wild and exotic, like nothing you’ve ever had before.
Utah: Epic Brewing Co.
Location: Salt Lake City and Denver
Established: 2010
Popular beers: Big Bad Baptist, Chasing Ghosts, Elder Brett
Food options: Onsite restaurant in Denver, small plates in Utah
Coolest highlight: A change in state law that allowed for higher-alcohol beers prompted the founders to start Epic.
Why Epic Brewing a Must-Visit
Epic, which originated in Utah and has a Colorado location, is known for its massive barrel-aged stouts like Big Bad Baptist, a juggernaut of a beer.
The founders focus on quality over quantity, although they do brew almost 40 different beers and hit all the categories one expects from a modern craft brewery.
Vermont: Hill Farmstead
Location: Greensboro Bend
Established: 2010
Popular beers: Abner, Susan, Society & Solitude
Food options: Nothing on site
Coolest highlight: Many of the beers are named after the ancestors of founder Shaun Hill.
Why Hill Farmstead Is a Must-Visit
It’s hard to overstate the greatness that is Hill Farmstead and that’s saying a lot for a state that has arguably the best breweries in the country. But Hill Farmstead is on a level few have ever reached.
There is simply nothing but incredible and life-changing brews coming out of this Greensboro Bend farm, which has been in the Hill family for over two centuries. And Shaun Hill, the founder, has an outsized influence on the beer world that can be felt coast to coast.
Virginia: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Location: Richmond (two locations)
Established: 2011
Popular beers: Gingerbread Stout, Kentucky Christmas Morning, The Great Return
Food options: Food trucks at both locations
Coolest highlight: The idea for the brewery came after tasting really good homemade beer during a trip to Australia.
Why Hardywood Park Craft Brewery Is a Must-Visit
Lifelong friends Eric McKay and Patrick Murtaugh spent 10 years crafting their plans for the brewery, which is named after a sheep station in Australia where they drank the beer that would change their lives and careers.
They like to say they “brew with purpose” and exacting standards that create consistently amazing beers.
Washington: Fremont Brewing Co.
Location: Seattle
Established: 2009
Popular beers: Dark Star, Coffee Cinnamon B-Bomb, The Brother
Food options: Occasional food on site
Coolest highlight: Founder Matt Lincecum was an attorney for the beverage industry before starting Fremont.
Why Fremont Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Fremont takes local to the nth degree, and it helps when your backyard is the world’s second-largest hop growing region.
But founder Matt Lincecum goes beyond locally sourced ingredients and makes sure to be a force in the community by supporting charitable causes and employing sustainable brewing practices in his facilities. Oh, and the beer is dynamite.
West Virginia: Big Timber Brewing
Location: Elkins
Established: 2014
Popular beers: Double Bit, Forest Fest, Big Timber Porter
Food options: Nothing on site
Coolest highlight: The brewery uses West Virginia–grown hops for some of its beers.
Why Big Timber Brewing Is a Must-Visit
Big Timber is a familiar story: Local boy leaves small mountain town to pursue big dreams, lands in Montana and starts homebrewing, returns to his roots and launches a full-fledged brewery. And while the story is nice, the beer is even better.
They make IPAs, porters, pale ales and lagers on the regular, along with a seasonal roster that includes barrel-aged stouts.
Wisconsin: New Glarus Brewery Co.
Location: New Glarus
Established: 1993
Popular beers: Wisconsin Belgian Red, Raspberry Tart, Thumbprint Scream IIPA
Food options: No food on site
Coolest highlight: Deb Carey became the first woman to found a brewery in the U.S. when New Glarus opened in 1993.
Why New Glarus Brewery Is a Must-Visit
With all its national and international recognition, New Glarus still only sells beer in Wisconsin, which is both awesome and frustrating for anyone who doesn’t live there.
The sours coming from this brewery really shine and their six core offerings are as good as they come.
Wyoming: Melvin Brewing
Location: Jackson, Alpine and Eureka
Established: 2009
Popular beers: 2×4 DIPA, Hubert, Citradamus
Food options: Restaurants at all three locations
Coolest highlight: The brewery was originally located in the back of a Thai restaurant.
Why Melvin Brewing Is a Must-Visit
After being crowned the best small brewpub in America at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival, Melvin grew up a bit and moved to a larger production facility. All this meant is that more people had access to their insanely delicious lineup of beers.
Melvin shines particularly bright with IPAs, both traditional and modern and experimental.
