Very similar to we loved writing about these under-the-radar beer states, we’re additionally highlighting these under-the-radar beer cities. Every impressed us with their depth, breadth, and variety of beer types.
As we talked about, this 12 months we actually had the possibility to get on the market and discover once more. We’re inspired and impressed by what we discovered.
And for individuals who don’t belief our anecdotal proof, right here’s some strong stats from the Brewers Affiliation. The business group not too long ago reported in its Yr in Beer 2022 that regardless of continued challenges, breweries survived with 500+ openings and solely 200+ closings in 2022. We now formally stand at greater than 9,500 breweries working in america. 🤯
From the forests of Bend, OR, to the historic streets of Philadelphia, PA, these are the craft beer cities which have impressed us over the previous 12 months.
Hop Tradition’s 10 Favourite Beneath-the-Radar Beer Cities of 2022
Philadelphia, PA
In a metropolis as passionate as Philadelphia, the place individuals bleed inexperienced and silver (fly, Eagles, fly) and Philly cheesesteaks and Cheez Whiz run via the streets, it ought to come as no shock to search out an equally vibrant and pulsing craft beer tradition. One thing Hop Tradition Founder Kenny Gould found first hand when he found the very best breweries in Philadelphia for Untappd’s new YouTube journey present.
In Philadelphia, Gould traveled down a again alley to a rolled-up storage door with just a little inexperienced gentle on to go to one among Hop Tradition’s 12 Greatest Breweries of 2021.
He additionally challenged the top brewer of a lager-loving business hidden gem to a foam chugging race.
And drank at one of many high 5 locations on the earth to have a beer.
Philadelphia is a metropolis filled with ingesting traditions, however we really feel prefer it’s cousin to the West, Pittsburgh, has gotten a bit extra love previously.
No extra! We’re right here to place Philadelphia within the ring with any craft beer metropolis contender.
Greatest Breweries in Philadelphia
Bend, OR
Initially named Farewell Bend, the beautiful metropolis of Bend, OR, discovered its title shortened when the Put up Workplace Division in Washington, D.C., thought the moniker too lengthy. However whereas the title could have been shortened, the city takes no shortcuts with regards to two issues: the outside and craft beer. A few of our favourite breweries will be discovered amongst the plush forests and towering mountains of Bend, OR.
Usually described as “picturesque,” the most important metropolis in Deschutes County is understood for a wholesome, lively out of doors neighborhood, thanks largely to the spectacular Deschutes River and breathtaking Central Cascades. Initially a logging city, Bend now focuses on lagers, porters, IPAs, sours, and just about any fashion of beer that tickles your fancy. In reality, the realm even launched its personal Bend Ale Path in 2010 to showcase all of the native watering holes.
Lots of the breweries inside Bend, OR, make the most of the city’s magnificent environment, providing plentiful out of doors seating and hearth pits that enable customers to sip whereas having fun with the views. From an emerald gem of a brewery within the forest to one among our favourite new breweries of 2020, these are the taprooms which have made Bend the subsequent beervana.
Nashville, TN
As Hop Tradition Freelance Author Andy Krump tells it, “Town planner answerable for architecting modern-day Nashville and giving it form will need to have been ingesting on the job; the place is a hodgepodge, as if put collectively utilizing jigsaw puzzle items procured from totally different units. Up and coming residential zones abut business districts subsequent to disused streets and weathered industrial areas that, in a minimum of one occasion, sit smack dab throughout the road from a cemetery. Getting round is its personal problem, too. Nashville is hostile to automobiles and foot visitors alike.”
He continues, “However, when the music is that this good, and the beer this different, who cares? Nashville hosts an array of breweries with distinct character, every slinging beers that vary from traditional to modern—they usually’re all actually, actually implausible. Listed below are our seven picks for the Music Metropolis’s greatest breweries.”
Cincinnati, OH
We wager if we requested you to call the very best beer cities within the nation, Cincinnati would hardly break your high 5.
However that doesn’t imply it is best to give the chilly shoulder to the Queen Metropolis. In reality, it is best to in all probability give her highness some royal respect.
“Cincinnati just about has one thing for everyone,” says Brian Hatheway, Chief Folks Officer at Metropolis Brew Excursions and host of Brewvana’s Brews Much less Traveled podcast, which focuses on uncovering the very best uncharted beer cities throughout america. “There are massive breweries, nano breweries, breweries that do traditional types rather well…breweries specializing in types like fruited sours, breweries that do a mixture of each…breweries with stay music, a brewery with a volleyball league, and a brewery with a circus in it, form of!”
Which is why Hop Tradition Founder Kenny Gould crossed the Pennsylvania border with Hatheway to discover Cincinnati within the latest episode of Untappd’s free YouTube journey present, Subsequent Exit.
There he discovered an eclectic mixture of breweries serving nearly each beer fashion conceivable. From the long-lasting Rhinegeist to the extra modern Asian- and Black-owned Esoteric Brewing.
We suppose with a nickname like “Queen Metropolis” it could be onerous for Cincinnati to remain below the radar for lengthy. Contemplate this your coronation, Cincy!
Baltimore, MD
Right here is Baltimore in a nutshell: harbor views, blow-your-mind barbecue, and an unpretentious beer scene.
In reality, most individuals in all probability don’t keep in mind that thirty years in the past Baltimore was really the place to go for craft beer on the time.
“Within the early ‘90s in the event you wished a craft beer you needed to come to Baltimore,” says Isaac Bell, a information for Metropolis Brew Excursions, who has been giving brewery excursions in Baltimore for the final six years. “There was no place you may go… Folks had been going to Baltimore solely to hop round and take a look at locations.”
Now, Bell says, the Baltimore craft beer scene is, “Completely booming!” Within the metropolis you’re simply as prone to discover a mixed-culture wild ale or milkshake IPA on the shelf subsequent to Natty Boh.
Bell took us round to a few of his favourite breweries within the Baltimore episode of Gould’s journey present—Subsequent Exit.
Inside the town, you’ll discover icons like Heavy Seas Beer, but additionally gems equivalent to Mobtown Brewing Firm and Checkerspot Brewing Firm, which not too long ago received the 2022 Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Experienceship.
As we prefer to say, craft beer in Baltimore is placing the “char” and “allure” in Attraction Metropolis.
St. Louis, MO
If something, once we speak about a craft beer metropolis within the Midwest, it’s Chicago, IL. However don’t sleep on this metropolis on the Mississippi; it’s as mighty because the river working via it. And even mightier than the mighty macrobrewery-that-shall-not-be-named that arrange store in St. Louis means again in 1852.
For starters, breweries like Aspect Venture name St. Louis house. This 12 months, Aspect Venture’s Beer : Barrel : Time (Rye 2022) ranked the best of the 12 months on Untappd and made our record of “The 22 Greatest Stouts to Drink for Worldwide Stout Day.”
However different spots shouldn’t be ignored. Akin to City Chestnut, 2nd Shift Brewing, 4 Palms Brewing, Slim Gauge, and Perennial Artisan Ales.
Editor’s Tip: And if in case you have a automotive, we extremely advocate taking the two-plus-hour drive to go to Scratch Brewing in Ava, IL. This can be a vacation spot brewery making a few of the greatest beers with terroir within the nation.
Washington, D.C.
America’s capital is filled with nice beer, with D.C.’s breweries churning out brews which might be as numerous as they’re scrumptious. Which is why we thought it could be the proper place to host our second annual and first ever in-person Hop Tradition x New Belgium presents Queer Beer Fest, which came about on June third and 4th, 2022, on the Wharf in Washington, D.C.
We had been honored that this 12 months the superb and thriving Queer neighborhood in Washington, D.C., hosted Hop Tradition for this unimaginable occasion. The pageant featured thirty Queer-owned or Queer-supporting breweries. Many situated proper in Washington, D.C., equivalent to Proper Correct Brewing, Purple Bear Brewing Co., DC Brau, Denizens, and extra.
This can be a metropolis filled with vibrant taprooms, breakout breweries, and even some top-notch hidden-gem locations to drink (cough: ChurchKey).
Whoever you’re and nevertheless you establish, Washington, D.C., has a protected area so that you can drink.
Greatest Breweries Washington, D.C.
Grand Rapids, MI
That is a kind of cities that captured the limelight within the early 2010s and we really feel deserves the highlight as soon as once more. In 2012, Grand Rapids, MI, earned the nickname “Beer Metropolis, USA.” And for good motive. Some main breweries name this city house, and Grand Rapids bats properly above its weight in breweries per capita. With a inhabitants of slightly below 200,000, Grand Rapids has greater than eighty breweries. That’s loads of beer per sq. mile! And whereas different, some would possibly name them, “sexier” cities have since captured headlines, Grand Rapids has continued to humbly chug alongside.
And it’s not simply the amount of breweries that impresses us, however the high quality. Our speculation is that wholesome competitors pushes everybody to brew their absolute best beer. And we imply everybody from the small-scale homebrewer turned professional to the skilled brewer. So many individuals in Grand Rapids are making unimaginable beer.
If you happen to’re making an attempt to go to the very best breweries in Grand Rapids, observe the Beer Metropolis Ale Path to tick off your stops. You’ll discover a brewery leveraging nature’s creativity and variety as inspiration for its experimental ales in addition to a taproom in an outdated funeral house centered on finessed farmhouse ales. And in our opinion, Grand Rapids completely lives as much as its title as Beer Metropolis, USA.
Greatest Breweries Grand Rapids
Phoenix, AZ
Do you know that Phoenix, AZ, is the one state capital within the nation with over 1,000,000 individuals? That’s loads of thirsty desert residents in search of a drink. On the banks of the dry Salt River, The Valley of Solar is definitely an oasis for craft watering holes. We got down to dispel the mirage and discover a few of the greatest breweries to go to in Phoenix.
Many breweries inside Arizona’s largest metropolis use native flora, fauna, and fruit, leveraging elements like cactus fruit and desert wheat. One of many breweries on our record makes a honey blonde ale with 100% Arizona grains and native honey. And one other makes a spellbinding IPA with domestically grown Sonora white wheat. Between these and others, taprooms in Phoenix are placing the Southwest craft beer scene on the map.
Indianapolis, IN
Indiana! The birthplace of Larry Chook and the boyhood house of Abraham Lincoln. Additionally, the setting of the long-lasting film Hoosiers and the birthplace of curiously outsized breaded pork tenderloin. To not point out, the location the place automobiles race actually quick round a monitor. And previously couple of years, an more and more in style craft beer vacation spot—particularly in its capital metropolis of Indianapolis.
With 195 breweries, the Hoosier State ranks sixteenth for probably the most variety of craft breweries within the nation. And on the middle lies Indianapolis, the Crossroads of America and intersection of excellent craft breweries. From a 96-medal-winning brewery to at least one making picture-perfect pilsners, Indianapolis is on the craft beer map.
