American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
(Courtesy Brooklyn Brewery)
If you care about beer, few things are better than an afternoon spent touring your favorite brewery. But some brewery tours are just better than others and here are mor memorable tours that you don’t want to miss.
Brooklyn Brewery – Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn Brewery in New York City offers an engaging tour that’s so much more than a couple shiny tanks and some hop jokes.
Beer lovers can stop by for a free hourly tour on Sundays from 1-6 PM, or book a weeknight Small Batch Tour to taste our latest creations and go in-depth with brewery experts.
Both tours include a walk through their brewing operations, and an historical overview but the Small Batch Tours offer a deeper dive into Brooklyn Brewery’s past collaborations along with a guided tasting of four small batch beers that you can only taste there.
While Brooklyn Brewery’s Sunday tours are free, their Small Batch Tours which costs start at $26, and are limited to 12 beer fans per party.
Small Batch Tours take place most afternoons but you’ll have book a date online, to ensure their availability.
(Courtesy Sierra Nevada Brewing)
Sierra Nevada Brewing – Mills River, NC
We’ve already showcased Sierra Nevada’s excellent brewery tour in Chico, California, but the company also has an East Coast operation just outside Asheville, NC which offers an exceptional brewery tour that delves into the history and craft of one of the pioneers in the American craft beer movement.
The tour features a comprehensive look at their state-of-the-art facilities, a peek into their sustainability practices, and a generous tasting session.
The 45 minute brewery costs $12.10 and lasts around 45 minutes but Sierra Nevada also offers a series of specialized tours that can last more than three hours and delve into different aspects of their rich history.
We especially recommend the brewery’s 2-2.5 hrs. guided nature hike ($33), where you’ll explore Sierra Nevada’s beautiful, forested North Carolina property, and enjoy the brewery’s resident chickens, donkeys, and sheep who graze freely across nearly 4 acres of pasture. The Trip Inn The Woods Tour wraps up with a sampling of a few of their award-winning brews in the Back Porch Beer Garden.
Garden stream at Stone Brewing Escondido
Stone Brewing – Escondido, California
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, offers a unique tour experience that includes a look at their impressive brewing operations, beautiful gardens that invite hours of afternoon of drinking, and a tasting session in their grand beer hall.
To ensure quality and safety, public tours which cost $15 are strictly limited to 20 people. The tour schedule has also been reduced to two hours a day, one at 2pm and one at 4pm.
Weekends and holidays are busier. If there are no passes available online for your desired tour time, you can still purchase them in person on the day of the tour, but you should arrive early!
(Courtesy Founders Brewing)
Founders Brewing Co. – Grand Rapids, Michigan
Founders Brewing Co. in Downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, offers an enjoyable tour that highlights its rise from a small brewery to a national brewing powerhouse.
The one hour costs $15.90 tour and covers Founder unique brewing process, the history behind their popular beers, and an uber-generous tasting session which, let’s face it, always a highpoint.
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