The 15 Best Breweries
I have actually visited
Apparently, people like lists. My article, The 15 Best Music Documentaries, was one of my most well-received weekly updates. In fact, a friend asked me to publish a list of my favorite craft beers. There’s a plethora of popular platforms dedicated to ranking beers (I’m looking at you Untappd and BeerAdvocate), and let’s be honest, craft beer is experiential. I mean, no great story starts with hard seltzer or wine coolers. So, I thought it would be fun to share some of the best breweries I have actually visited.
Truth be told, I’m spoiled. I grew up in New England, lived in Northern California, and now live in Fort Collins, Colorado—The Napa Valley of craft beer. There are over 20 breweries in Fort Collins proper. I have lived here for almost six years and still haven’t been to all of them.
The breweries are an integral part of the culture here, and they come in different shapes and sizes, but do share a common thread. They are all family friendly, pet friendly, and music friendly.
Some are even sustainability innovators and have forged creative ways to recycle spent grain and other ingredients. For instance, Odell Brewing partners with a local farmer to repurpose its grain. They named a chocolate milk stout after him called Lugene. Check out this wonderful short film, The Dairyman, to learn more about Lugene.
Like The 15 Best Music Documentaries, I didn’t use the scientific method to ascertain my results or use any newfangled artificial intelligence. However, I did have a handful of considerations:
The Quality of Beer (of course)
The Location / Vibe
The Staff
The Food / Food Trucks
The Music Scene
It’s also worth noting that there are some amazing breweries that I have never been to—Tree House in Charlton, MA, Toppling Goliath in Decorah, IA, and KCBC in Brooklyn, NY—just to name a few. With that said, let’s jump right in. Here are the 15 best breweries I have actually visited.
15: Able Baker Brewing (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Las Vegas isn’t a mecca for craft beer nerds, but there are hidden gems to be found off the strip, and the Arts District is a gem. Atomic Duck is Able Baker’s flagship IPA, and it’s legit. Not to mention, the Elote salsa & chips are to die for.
14: Maui Brewing Company (Honolulu, Hawaii)
A warm, tropical breeze drifting through the open-air restaurant. Ocean views. Surfing. Hawaiian Slack guitar playing in the background. Sipping a Double Overhead IPA. God, I wish I was there right now.
13: Deschutes Brewery (Portland, Oregon)
The original Deschutes Brewery was founded in Bend, Oregon. I visited the second location in the Pearl District of Portland, the city where young people go to retire, and let me tell you, the dream of the 90s was alive and well.
12: Faction Brewing (Alameda, California)
Faction sits on the edge of the San Francisco Bay and has the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen. Evah. And the beer is pretty outstanding too.
11: Funkwerks (Fort Collins, Colorado)
Funkwerks specializes in experimental beer, sours, and barrel-aged beers. Their Level 13 and Dark Prophet are absolutely delicious. It’s also a super fun place to hangout. Especially, during Halloween season when they show Hocus Pocus in the taproom.
10: Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, Florida)
Tampa has a cool brewery scene and Cigar City is my favorite. The brewery has a cool industrial vibe and their flagship IPA, Jai Alai, is absolutely delicious on tap.
9: Guinness Storehouse (Dublin, Ireland)
Visiting the Guinness Storehouse was a dream come true—a total bucket list item. We did a self-guided tour of the brewery and it was fascinating. I could have spent the entire day there. The Gravity Bar on the seventh floor is the best rooftop bar in the world and features 360-degree views of Dublin. If the Storehouse served Heady Topper or Pliny, it would certainly be number one on this list.
8: The Alchemist Brewery (Waterbury, Vermont)
In full transparency, I have never been to the new brewery in Stowe. However, I’m old school and used to frequent the original cannery in Waterbury. It certainly wasn’t the most attractive venue, but for a time, you could buy unlimited Heady Topper. Unlimited. Heady. Topper.
7: Outer Range Brewing Company (Frisco, Colorado)
Outer Range is one of my favorite Colorado breweries. Frisco is technically part of the Breckenridge and is situated right next to the Dillon Reservoir. It’s a beautiful town, and Outer Range is an exceptional brewery. There is nothing like a sip of In the Steep, their flagship IPA, after a long day of snowboarding.
6: Jessup Farm Barrel House (Fort Collins, Colorado)
The Barrel House is my favorite Fort Collins Brewery. This one has it all. World-class beer, a beautiful barn that’s perfect for date night or happy hour, friendly staff, delicious charcuterie, and live music on the patio. It’s also where I met my partner in crime, Patrick Caldwell, who designed the covers for both Acapulco and The Potato Puff Surprise.
5: Tilted Barn Brewery (Exeter, Rhode Island)
Rhode Island's first farm brewery was the Tilted Barn. The new facility opened in 2020 and is absolutely stunning. The Chosen One Imperial IPA is amazing, and they named most of the beers after Phish and Grateful Dead songs. You can’t beat that.
4: Long Live Beerworks (Providence, Rhode Island)
Long Live is my favorite ‘Lil Rhody brewery. They consistently produce world-class beer, and I try to swing by every time I visit Rhode Island. The newish location is on the West Side / South Side of Providence in a beautifully restored mill and the taproom features a cool mezzanine with great views of the brewery.
3: Knotted Root Brewing Company (Nederland, Colorado)
Nederland is home to Eldora Mountain, a frozen dead guy, and super dank DIPAs. Ned is also one of the quirkiest towns in Colorado and the brewery is a scene. It’s like being on Shakedown Street after a Dead show. Similar to the Tilted Barn, most of the beers are named after obscured Phish references. If you’re a beer nerd and or a hippie, Knotted Root is the place to be.
2: WeldWerks Brewing (Greeley, Colorado)
WeldWerks specializes in New England style IPAs, and for a small town in Greeley, Colorado, they nail it. Their award-winning flagship IPA, Juicy Bits, is on tap daily, but you can expect new beer releases every weekend. Also, their triple IPAs are second to none. WeldWerks is a brewery run by beer nerds, for beer nerds.
1: Russian River Brewing Company (Santa Rosa, California)
Amazing wings, delicious pizza, surly beertenders, and Pliny the Elder. What more could you ask for? I used to live twenty-minutes from the brewery and miss the annual Pliny the Younger releases. Last year's release brought an astonishing $6.1M into the local community. If you ever decide to visit, I recommend the downtown Santa Rosa pub over the new, boujee Windsor campus in Wine Country.
So, do you have a favorite brewery? Have you been to any on this list? Leave a comment and let me know.
Thx!
This must have been a tough list to compile. You had to leave off Stone - any of them! and the Napa one is closed now, but that one was really cool. Let's get a San Diego trip on the books (and maybe we can squeeze in a stop at Monkish!)