An eagerness to experiment and a passion for a pint (or three) put these cities on top.
by Christian DeBenedetti and Seth Fletcher
1. SAN DIEGO
San Diego isn’t just surfing and LaDainian Tomlinson anymore — it’s the new beer capital of the U.S. Stone (maker of our number one ale) exemplifies the local approach, with aggressively hopped but completely drinkable brews. The variety of beers across the city is the most eclectic in the country.
Where to Drink: Thirtieth Street in North and South Parks is easily the nation’s best beer boulevard. Start with any of former firefighter Pat McIlhenney’s range of tap-only ales at the laid-back Hamilton’s Tavern (which taps special casks every Friday), then head to the beer-focused Linkery restaurant, which has frequent beer-pairing dinners. For your after party, hit the Toronado. The beer lists at all three are deep, stacked with the freshest local beers and exotic imports.
Beer Culture: The sheer number of breweries (33) blows us away. (It has crept past Portland, which has 29.) Visit almost any of them and you’ll find the brewmaster on hand, happy to chat over a pint.
Best Brews: Alpine Ale, Lost Abbey Duck-Duck-Gooze
2. NYC
America’s alpha city is home to more young, finicky drinkers than any other city in the country. The result: the greatest beer-bar scene in the U.S. More than 20,000 bars and restaurants operate within the five boroughs, and even dives carry great imports such as Jever and Hoegaarden.
Where to Drink: Brooklyn. It’s perhaps the best place in America for a pub crawl. Start with Gaffel Kölsch at the cavernous “middle European” beer hall Radegast. Continue the binge a 10-minute walk away at Spuyten Duyvil for smartly chosen Belgian brews. Then either finish the night on the patio of Park Slope’s extreme-beer-focused the Gate or sipping magnificent, wallet-busting rarities (think $50-plus bottles) at nearby Beer Table.
Beer Culture: Nearly every week, the Blind Tiger in the West Village lets brewmasters from around the world hijack its taps to pour their own creations; it’s the only bar we know of where this happens.
Best Brews: Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA, Brooklyn Intensified Coffee Stout
3. PORTLAND, OR
Portland brewers — once the anarchists of Craft Beer Nation — are now practically the establishment. But the Rose City’s festivals and a new vanguard of innovators haven’t let the city get all fusty yet.
Where to Drink: Deschutes, one of the world’s most inventive breweries, is now serving its genre-bending stouts at a new pub in the Pearl District. Look for its Hop Trip Ale, made with hops brewed the same day they were picked.
Beer Culture: Two festivals here rival any in the world: America’s first organic beer festival (naobf.org) and the OBF, a huge outdoor summer event along the waterfront (oregonbrewfest.com).
Best Brews: Hopworks Urban Crosstown Pale, Deschutes Hop Trip
4. PHILADELPHIA
The City of Brotherly Love boasts a huge crop of emerging microbreweries, an upsurge in beer-focused events, and a strong brewing tradition dating to before founding beer godfather Ben Franklin and the Revolutionary War. But what earns Philly its status as one of the country’s best beer cities is its abundance of truly world-class micro-pilsners.
Where to Drink: Monk’s Cafe, a dim downtown beer hall, is headquarters of the local suds intelligentsia, with a Belgian-focused list stocked with just about any beer you’ve ever tried, a speakeasy-style back room, and the only restaurant we know of where you can get trout baked in Saison Dupont, the Belgian ale we called the Best Beer in the World in 2005.
Beer Culture: Within an 80-mile radius of the city center, Stoudt’s, Victory, and Sly Fox breweries cook up creatively hopped pilsners and experimental pale ales that are pushing the limits of these traditionally mild styles.
Best Brews: Stoudt’s Pils, Victory Storm King Stout
5. CHICAGO
The neons may say Old Style, but now that Chicago has become the epicenter of the Midwest’s microbrewing revolution, most bars stack the chalkboard tap list with craft beers brewed an L ride away. As a result, the Windy City has become one of the country’s best places for small-batch beer you can’t get anywhere else.
Where to Drink: Map Room, famous for its vast, intelligent tap list of American micros (with plenty of Midwest breweries such as Bell’s and Three Floyds) and hard-to-find Euro beers like De Ranke XX Bitter, is the best bar in the Midwest.
Beer Culture: The city has more than 20 breweries and brewpubs, many of them award winning. At World Beer Cup champion Piece Brewery & Pizzeria in Wicker Park, the Dysfunctionale India pale ale perfectly matches the New Haven–style pizza. The 13,000-square-foot Revolution Brewing brewpub, opening in Logan Square this fall, will serve promisingly attitudinal ales such as a pale ale called Iron Fist.
Best Brews: Goose Island Matilda, Two Brothers Cane and Ebel Red Rye
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Click here to return to the America’s Best Beers main article.
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This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
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October 6th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Wow - you guys messed up big time! It looks like Portland actually has over twice the breweries as San Diego and less then half the population, giving Portland not only the most breweries, but 5 times as many as San Diego per capita.
http://portland.daveknows.org/2009/10/05/mens-journal-gets-its-best-beer-town-facts-wrongs-and-slights-portland/
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Mikey Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Quality, not quantity, Kim.
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KimJSCP Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Mikey - if you re-read the article, you will see that they seemed to base their rating of SD as #1 on on quantity over quality - “sheer number of breweries (33) blows us away” - and that is what I was addressing. Because I am sure when it comes to quality, there is no question in the mind of anyone who has sampled beer in both cities, that Portland is tops.
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dbellis Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Yeah, 30th street in north park (San Diego) is really coming up. It’s not just beer either - wine bars and great food are the other reasons for this areas success. It all works!
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October 6th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Having lived for 12 years in San Diego and 6 in Portland I can confirm that this is beyond ridiculous. SD has a lot more sun in January, but when it comes to breweries it’s not even close.
The SD brewers guild covers all of San Diego county. Using that geographic criteria Portland could include Hood River, Salem and the coast. That would probably get the number of breweries here closer to 70. They are counting Karl Strauss (terrible metalic-tasting beer) 5 times, Pizza Port (good beer and pizza) twice, and including out of town distributors (Rock bottom and Gordon Biersch) to get to that 32 number.
I wish there was an ounce of truth to this article as I may find myself living in San Diego again one day. In the meantime, anyone visiting SD should go to Pizza Port and then try and find a bar that serves Stone ales. Stone makes great beer but Escondido is vile and a very, very long drive.
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Migs Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
As a San Diego resident/beer advocate, I got pretty riled up about this claim: “The variety of beers across the city (San Diego) is the most eclectic in the country.” Actually no, it’s not. A good 90% of the craft brews in San Diego are either heavily hopped PA’s/IPA’s and the other 10% are occasional/dismal attempts at a handful of other styles. It’s good that I can find Stone on tap most places, but why does it always have to be their PA or IPA??? South Hampton Publick House in NY has more (successful attempts at) different styles of beer in it’s single brewery/restaurant than all of San Diego combined. Though I must say, Pizza Port, Avery, Stone and Green Flash do make some amazing beers.
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dbellis Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Sherwood,
You’ve been gone a while. The article is talking about an area that has just recently exploded and is now being covered in articles and various media outlets. Also, San Diego as a whole has completely changed if you’re talking about higher end beer, wine, and food.
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Ruben Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
quality over quantity…go San Diego!! If you are in La Mesa, then try Hoffers. It has over 24 PREMIUM beers on tap (mostly over 8%) and has a good variety of cigars to try. It’s a classy little joint that I cant get enough of.
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October 6th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Folks, trying to take down the number 1 on the list is always a task, but, let’s not get carried away.
Is anyone wondering (or at least surprised) that Denver did not make it on the list but NYC did?
Take it with a grain of salt, I’m glad SD is #1 (yes, I’m from SD) but I’m sure there will be an article soon saying that another city is # 1, oh well, it is just ratings… As long as you are happy with your local beer and have plenty of it, what’s the problem?
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October 6th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I have to say I find it odd that San Diego is listed so high. Also to mention San Diego and not mention Stone? Come on!
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T Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Mike, Stone was mentioned in the first paragraph.
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October 6th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Oh yeah and where is Denver or Boulder?
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October 6th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
No Boston love? C’mon now…
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October 6th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Also in Oregon you miss Eugene which has 5 breweries in a town of 150,000 people. It also has one of the best beer stores http://www.myspace.com/thebierstein in the world with over 1000 choices. We also have brew pub style outlets for another 3-4 breweries from the area. Come visit Eugene if you like good beer!
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October 6th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
San Diego Beer Week: November 6-15, 2009
There has never been a better time to enjoy craft beer in San Diego!
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October 6th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
This list is dumb.
Portland should be #1, Denver #2, Seattle #3, and then the next two should be either San Diego or San Francisco.
East Coast beer just sucks (with notable exceptions).
Even though there is good beer out in the East, most Easterners have no idea, because their bars don’t sell it. Go to any bar in Oregon or Washington and you can find dozens of taps featuring dozens of styles.
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Audry Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Actually I just got back from the East Coast for vacation. I didn’t think I would find any good beer but Portland Maine has some of the best beers I’ve ever had and I am from Seattle where I think we craft the best beers in the world!
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boo boo Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
right on, Aud
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Mike Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
You think East Coast Beer sucks. You obviously have not tried any. Try a Magic Hat Roxy Rolles, Dogfish Head 60 or 90 minute a Victory Prima Pils, or a Brooklyn Brew IPA or any of the Weyerbacher’s. Some of the best beer made in America is on the East Coast. I will say that Stone Ruination is awesome. Also Oskar Blues in a can is a champion.
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Alex Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Mike: Thank you for giving several notable exceptions.
Fact is, no area has as many breweries per capita as does the West Coast and Colorado.
We’ve got clean water. You don’t.
We’ve grow all the hops. You grow none.
We grow all the barley, wheat, and rye. You grow none.
You go into any gas station here and you can get a six pack of at least Deschutes. On the east, you get a six pack of Bud or if you’re lucky, Old German.
The West isn’t just the place where all the good beer is made, it’s also where it’s consumed. It’s easier for me to find Dogfish Head here in the West than it is in most East Coast states. Try finding decent beer in Florida or South Carolina… it ain’t happening.
Sorry, but overall, East Coast beer sucks.
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Mike Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
“Weve got clean water. You don’t.” Have you tried NYC tap water? Better than most bottled water, right out of the tap. I have just happily moved back to my hometown of San Diego from NYC, but if you really think “East Coast beer sucks,” then either you don’t know what you’re talking about, or you’re a troll.
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Alex Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Guess I’m a troll then. Thanks for the grub. Yum.
ron Reply:
February 13th, 2010 at 1:25 am
your moronic comments display your ignorance not only in the subject of beer, but in geography, agriculture, and the eastern region of the country in general. you also sound like a teenager arguing with another about how much some band sucks and how much your favorite band rulez. grow up.
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Alex Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Just had this year’s Hop Wallop. Damn fine Fresh Hop Ale. Takes a lot of guts to make a fresh-hop beer in The East.
Like I said, notable exceptions. Philly-area probably has more exceptions than most.
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Bhurv Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Dude, you have clearly never been to San Diego. Did you read the article? 33 breweries! Believe it, we have some of the best beer in the States and we do have the best brewery in the world in Stone brewery…yeah, it won for that. Sorry, but you little list here shows ignorance. Come to the D and enjoy a brew, there will be plenty of options at every corner. Hamiltons is my favorite place in the country, the entire ceiling is full of old keg taps. Effing awesome.
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October 6th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Obviously, you tell a man his town is no longer ranked First in Suds after five straight years on top, and it raises some hackles. First, let us clarify: You’re right. According to the San Diego Brewers Guild, San Diego has 33 brewing locations (for 23 brewing companies), but that includes all of San Diego County, including locations you’d have to drive a ways to reach. The Oregon Brewers Guild, meanwhile, gave us a number of 29 for Portland (now 30) — but that’s just within city limits. Include the ‘burbs, and greater Portland’s number is 41. So there of course ARE more breweries per capita in the greater Portland area than there are in the greater San Diego area. We humbly apologize for this obviously spirit-crushing unfair comparison.
That said, our ranking of beer towns wasn’t based on the sheer number of breweries — if a brewery is spewing swill, it hardly helps that city’s rep as a beer mecca. Our ranking was purely subjective (as we explain up top, the main criteria were “an eagerness to experiment and a passion for a pint (or three)”), based on a full year of exhaustive research drinking the best brews the country has to offer. The greatest weight was given to the quality of the beer , and San Diego is home to Stone, whose Levitation Ale is our unanimous pick for top ale in the country, not to mention an unbelievable variety of beer types.
We’re all splitting hairs here — this is a celebration of the best beer towns in America, commending them all for their achievements, and whether you live in Portland or San Diego (or New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago, for that matter), you should consider yourself lucky — and thirsty. Try a few pints from our list, and let us know what you think of the beers we’ve selected — and, more importantly, what beers we haven’t yet discovered that have to make it onto next year’s list.
We now return you to the bottom of your respective pint glasses.
- The Editors
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Geoff Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Charles - out of curiousity, how much time did you spend exploring San Diego and Portland? And, did you get to make trips to places like Seattle, Denver and San Francisco?
You’re right though, in the end these are all great places. Splitting hairs.
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Beer Rep Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I humbly disagree with your assessment that Denver is not in the top 5 as well. Not only is it host to the Largest beer festival on earth in terms of beer poured. CO is home to more award winning beers than any other state and produces more beer in US then any other state (total! not by per capita). San Diego deserves to be up there but NYC? come on now…..
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Hydie Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
The fact that you chose Hopworks as one of PDX’s best brews suggests that you have poor taste in beer.
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BRIAN PETERS Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
You’re kidding, right? HUB has great beer and just won a gold medal at the GABF for its Ace of Spades. The GABF judges have ‘poor taste’?
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boo boo Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
because, of course, yours is the best, right Hydie?
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October 6th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
The listed cities are fine; however, the order should be:
Portland
NYC
Philadelphia
Chicago
San Diego (really San Francisco)
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T Reply:
October 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Good call Jobo, because San Fran and San Diego are basically twin cities. I can tell you’ve spent a lot of time in both
What part of California are you from?
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October 6th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
If “the main criteria were ‘an eagerness to experiment and a passion for a pint (or three)’” then I’d suggest Rehoboth Beach, DE, should be at or near the top on the basis of a single establishment. And you should all know which one I’m talking about.
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Ryan Reply:
October 9th, 2009 at 9:47 am
agreed
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October 6th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Chicago definitely deserves to be on the top five list & it’s great to see props for Two Bros Cane & Ebel!
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October 7th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Um, Jever and Hoegaarden are not “great imports,” they are like the finding a Budweiser in Belgium. That is kinda sweet, and maybe impressive for a dive, but I’d be way more impressed to see a bottle of Stone or Dog Fish Head.
Props on putting Philly on the list. Monk’s may be the granddaddy of the scene but the kids are flourishing, too, and aren’t insanely crowded. Next time you’re in town check out the Pub on Devil’s Den, The Pub on Passyunk East, Standard Tap, Beneluxx… I could go on for a while.
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albert Reply:
October 7th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Exactly, in Philly you can find Hooegarden in the biggest shithole. I have a couple friends here who don’t like hoppy beers and it’s getting difficult to find a bar that serves anything but microbrews. Plus, Beer Week is the second biggest beer festival, http://www.phillybeerweek.org.
NYC on the other hand, is awful. You have to go to a beer bar to get anything more exotic than Heineken.
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GGoo Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 8:34 am
I think a comparison of the ballpark beer selection in both Philly and NYC is indicative of each city’s beer culture on the whole. Philly, micros abound (and at nice price). Good luck finding anything but a macro at both NYC ballparks.
NYC’s vast scale ups the number of joints with good beer, but I have a hard time believing that beer geekery there has permeated the culture as fully as it has here in Philly. Bars, even in outlying neighborhoods can no longer get away with serving only macros. Most in Center City and many other neighborhoods sell ONLY micros. NYC? Not even close. Macros are everywhere. Philly is a WAAAAY better beer town that NYC. Brooklyn is close, but not quite.
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sabes Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Last time I checked, Brooklyn is a part of NYC. You can’t say that NYC sucks, but Brooklyn is close to Philly in beer quality. It makes no sense.
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October 7th, 2009 at 9:01 am
To not include any Colorado town like Fort Collins, Denver or Boulder in this list is blasphemy. They would have been better off doing a top 10 instead of a top 5. Just like that Pace Picante Sauce ad… New York City? A top beer town should not only have avid beer drinking fans but also some of the top breweries in the country within it’s boundaries.
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October 7th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
What Alex said. Word for word. NYC’s inclusion on this list is a complete joke, especially at the expense of Denver and Seattle.
The quality/variety of beer being produced on the East Coast/in NYC may be vastly improved in recent years, but the beer culture is still light years behind that of the West Coast.
Too many average East Coast beer consumers still equate that microbrew = Sam Adams.
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GGoo Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 8:45 am
“East Coast” is a pretty broad area. Been to Philly lately? Best beer bars in the country (that’s right, you heard me), great local breweries (Yards, Dogfish Head, Victory, Sly Fox, Stoudt’s, Flying Fish, Weyerbacher), budding brewpub scene, long brewing history, amazing beer distribution (many breweries’ only outside distribution area is Philly…..Russian River comes to mind) and a complete saturation of beer loving citizenry that I’d argue rivals anything on the West Coast. I love West Coast beer snobbery. Makes me laugh. Great stuff out there, but as you blink we are passing you quickly.
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Jimmy Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Fair enough, GGoo. I had a Victory quadruple out here in Seattle recently that was truly outstanding, so I can acknowledge that Philly maybe should have been excluded from the broad brush of “East Coast”. But I stand by the idea that NYC, Boston, DC shouldn’t even register on the charts of something like this.
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October 7th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
What a fucking joke. Do your writers even drink beer? Fucking clowns.
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chunka Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
yeah, I bet they wear big red noses…
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October 7th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Hey tools — SD is NOT a beer destination. Go ahead, censor this again, you fucking clowns.
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October 7th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Hey clowns, SD is NOT a beer town, you fucking shills. Go ahead, mod this up, tools.
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October 8th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Nope, Boise is the shizzle above all others…
Oh, and SLC is last on the list.
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Martineaux Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Gotta disagree here about SLC: the limit on alcohol content means the brewers can’t hide lousy beer behind lots of alcohol. Less bang for the buck, but when I’ve visited Utah, once I’ve been able to find the craft beers, they’ve been excellent
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October 8th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I don’t want to say Mens Journal got it all wrong because it is a matter of opinion, but I do want to state what I think. NYC as #2? Come on people! That is a disgrace to great beer towns across the US. Denver or Boulder should have made top five and NYC maybe in the top 10.
As for the San Diego vs. Portland controversy, I think San Diego deserves it this year. Although Portland was shafted in the number of breweries, that is not the only thing to take into consideration. In the last three years San Diego has grown exponentially in terms of quantity and almost (almost being a key word) every brewery has focused closely on quality and creativity. Almost every suburb has there own brewery and the main pub crawl streets are hard to beat anywhere in the world. I have been to over about 10-15 breweries in both Portland and San Diego and although Portland has at least 2 beers in my personal top 5, I would say this year San Diego is #1 and Portland #2. Just look at who is up and coming: Stone, Ballast Point, Lost Abbey, Port Brewing, Alesmith, Coronado Brewing, Green Flash, Mission Brewery, just to name a few. All are well known around the US as some of the best craft brew. And in reference to drinking in Copenhagen, I lived their for 5 months and San Diego beer is all over the place. Both are worthy of the #1 spot, but someone has to take it.
Here is my 5: #1 San Diego, #2 Portland, #3 Denver, #4 Chicago, #5 San Francisco. I have to admit though, I haven’t gone to any breweries in Philadelphia but the simple fact that SF has Toronado makes them a top 5 for me.
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October 8th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Yeah, um. The fact that Seattle is omitted is nuts. The fact is that many people here don’t drink Red Hook or Pyramid just because they are macro-beers. A buddy of mine owns a dive bar that only carried Bud/Bud Light and Red Hook. That was the biggest reason to not go there. He replaced them with Manny’s (Georgetown Brewery here in Seattle) and Diamond Knot (Multikeo, WA). And maybe that’s why Seattle didn’t make it. Perhaps they do not look at all the incredible breweries around the Seattle area.
Of course, the only reason magazines do these “lists” is to get the readers riled up and passionate. More clicks on the website (leaving comments!) means more ad dollars.
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October 8th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
There is absolutely no way anyone with genuine knowledge of the beer scenes on the east coast could ever put NYC ahead of Philly. Philly may lag behind NY in most other areas but we humiliate NY in any head-on comparison of beer bars or breweries. Hands down. NYC may be the worst big city I’ve ever been to when it comes to being able to find a good beer easily. If you walk into just about any bar in Philly - dive or fancy - you are likely to find at least one good local beer on tap. Is that so in NY? No, not at all.
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John Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
NYC has more character, more variety of beers, and more beer bars than Philly without any question. You just need to know how to find these places: http://www.beermenus.com
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October 8th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Seattle
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October 8th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Christian DeBenedetti and Seth Fletcher are morons, Seattle not on the list? Really
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October 8th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Chicago doesn’t deserve to be on this list, especially if Seattle is omitted. I’ve lived in both cities, and the Seattle area has WAY MORE microbreweries than Chicago ever has. Heck, Chicago didn’t have a microbrewery until ~1988. Also, most people in Chicago only drink Buttwiper products, Miller Shite, or Stella.
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jason Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 12:29 am
completely agree, from michigan, but spend a lot of time in chicago, the prohibition era laws have hurt microbrewing in chicago and illinois, most of the microbrews come from surrounding states, unfair to give chicago beer culture credit for another state’s innovations when other cities are standing on their own
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October 8th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
the fact that milwaukee is not even mentioned baffles me.
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October 8th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
I’d like to know how Men’s Journal (Christian DeBenedetti and Seth Fletcher) thinks it can speak about beer with ANY authority. Stick to suits and football you hacks.
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October 8th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
This author should be embarrassed! Chicago & NYC as beer towns over Denver and Seattle??? What a joke. Look at the results from the Great American Beer Fest (industry event). How did those cities do??
http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/medals/medalists.aspx
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I love the way you think Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
*industry event*… awesome…
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October 8th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
dude, hamilton’s is the shit. i was there 30 minutes ago. best beer bar in the world.
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October 8th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
I visited 34 Portland Breweries in a single day. Beat that, San Diego!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjUUH0kAeLo
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October 9th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Its a shame that the writer of this article has no clue on beer or where to find it..
Seattle was not even mentioned.. The Pacific Northwest is drowning in quality breweries with an insane amount of selections of ales and lagers. My small section in Skagit county has 5 quality breweries alone! Craft brews, created on site. Not selections from other breweries..
Perhaps, when you grow up, you might appreciate a quality brew and brewery..
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October 9th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Make this the top 10 so you don’t have to give a token nod to each corner of the country. And why is Pyramid and Redhook a minus for Seattle? Isn’t it a mark of a great beer town that it can turn two micro’s into macro’s.
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October 9th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Yay for San Diego! We love beer! And if you can’t find your beer, then you need http://taphunter.com - born and bred here in San Diego. Yah baby!
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October 10th, 2009 at 12:15 am
I don’t want to get into a debate about what city is the best beer town — it’s pretty subjective, isn’t it? That said, I am a complete hophead and San Diego is great place to live if you like hops. Coronado’s Idiot, San Diego Brewing’s Hopnotic, Ballast Point’s Dorado, AleSmith’s Summer Yulesmith (the Winter Yulesmith is an Imperial Red), Pizza Port’s Hop-15, Alpine’s Pure Hoppiness, and of course, Stone Ruination IPA. I love it all and I love that I can drive three miles from my office and hit four breweries, plus several more between the office and home. I’m sure Seattle, Portland and Philadelphia are great brew towns. I’ve probably drunk their beer. But San Diego is where I live and it makes me happy that I can get a good growler fill whenever I feel like it. This wasn’t so back when I was first legally able to drink.
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October 10th, 2009 at 1:32 am
You’ve missed the boat here Men’s Jourmal. You completly forgot about Seattle and Portland Maine (all the bars in Boston and NYC mostly have Maine beers on tap). I invite you to check out the Washington Brews Fest in June and then say Seattle doesn’t have the best beer.
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October 11th, 2009 at 9:10 am
When you’re looking to find the craft breweries - in these and every town in the U.S. and Canada, check out http://www.pubquest.com. Cheers!
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October 13th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Denver not on the list? You guys are way offbase. Portland and Denver are the best Beer cities in America, hands down!
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October 14th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Wank! Where is the Napa Valley of the microbrew industry? Colorado. At least do some homework!
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October 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
BeerMenus.com will help you find great beer in NYC, Philly, and Chicago. They don’t have Boston yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.
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October 17th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Sorry, but your ratings are provincial as hell. I’ve been drinking craft beers since the 70’s, & while Stone’s line is adequate, that is all, just adequate. They’ve fallen into the Gen-X trap that lots of bittering hops and high gravity makes for a better beer. Stone wouldn’t make the top ten in Colorado or the Pacific Northwest.
Saying that, San Francisco is twenty times the “beer town” San Diego is, New York has only recently discovered decent beers, and Chicago? I attended Seibel Institute, and we went to Milwaukee for good beer. Goose Island’s idea of a porter was to mix a mediocre stout with a bland bitter.
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October 18th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Where is Autin, Texas at? 6th street? Mens Journal dropped the ball there.
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October 31st, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Portland should be number one. Seattle should also be on this top 5. Go to any bar in these two cities and you will see how the taps are all filled with local brew. I have never seen more quality micro brews than in the Northwest.
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November 1st, 2009 at 12:31 pm
As someone who has lived much of my twenties (and beer drinking days) in both San Diego and Portland, I am surprised that San Diego topped Portland on that list. And where are these 33 breweries they speak of? I can barely name 10 in the city alone and I currently live in San Diego. They must be including all of San Diego county. Portland has 30 within the actual city - not 29 like they said. And there are at least 46 in the Portland Metro area.(see link below). It’s funny, because I must be such a beer snob, because I look forward to having one of my favorite Portland beers whenever I go back there, but there aren’t really any San Diego beers that stand out in my mind. Only Portland brewers have the unique creativity that makes a beer really stand out. What I’d do right now for a McMenamin’s Rubinator right now! The Rubinator is not something any old beer tourist will just stumble across in PDX though. This is because it is a special concoction of two McMenamin favorites, and one of Portland’s best kept secrets!
I understand that this poll is purely just an opinion by a select few, but I seriously have to disagree with the juxtaposition of their rankings of Portland and San Diego. Portland should clearly be #1, but then again, that’s just my opinion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oregon_breweries
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November 16th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Hahahaha! That’s awesome!
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December 9th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
This list would upset and disturb me were I not secure in the knowledge that Men’s Journal is for fags.
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December 16th, 2009 at 1:21 am
One thing that was totally ignored in the analysis of Philly was the fact that the only place in the world with more Belgian beer is Belgium. I flew home from where I now live in the Seattle/Tacoma area (great beer there, too!), and was blown away with how nearly every bar we went to had multiple Belgians on tap.
AND don’t forget that Victory, Flying Fish, Stoudts, Hammerhead and Dog Fish Head breweries are all nearby.
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January 26th, 2010 at 11:37 am
I didn’t know that San Diego is the beer capital of the US. I plan to visit there next week, so I’ll try to see …and check out your list! Thanks for posting, although I see a lot of violent reactions and comments from viewers, hhmm but then again, you can’t please everyone. But thanks anyway!
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February 19th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Maybe the article should just list the top ten cities. I don’t care who is #1. Let’s just celebrate the fact that there are plenty of cities to get good beer now.
- Flabio
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March 3rd, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Had my first Manny’s last week - it was fantastic. Seattle beers are totally under-rated.
Seattle Beer.
http://www.pacificnorthwestcoastbias.com/great-local-beer-mannys/
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