Top 10 Best Places to Travel for Beer Lovers

Top 10 Best Places to Travel for Beer Lovers For a quality cold (or room temperature) one… it’s worth the trip! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Best Places to Travel for Beer Lovers . For this list, we’ll be looking at cities that have the most to offer beer connoisseurs, enthusiasts and craft brewers. Whether you’re looking to expand your palate, add some exotic or regional varieties to your beer-tasting journal, or find inspiration for your next batch of homebrew, these are the destinations you’re looking for. #10: Mexico City, Mexico When you think “Mexican Beer,” a few obvious exports come to mind. Modelo, Sol, Dos Equis, Tecate, Corona - these are all enjoyable, easy drinking beers,, but Mexico is a veritable treasure trove of diverse unexported domestic beers, just waiting to be sipped! And there’s no better place to taste these many regional varieties than in the cultural hub of Mexico City. Craft brewing has rapidly expanded in the city in recent years, with plenty of small-scale operations now offering up their own unique spin on imperial stouts, IPAs and more. Add to that the plethora of regional beers offered at local watering holes, and you’ll find yourself swimming in options. #9: Chicago, USA America boasts many great cities to visit if you’re interested in beer. Philadelphia, for example, is particularly known for its beer culture, as celebrated at their yearly Beer Week Festival - the largest in the country. But from the east coast to the midwest, no city embodies both the history and future of beer quite like Chicago. In addition to countless excellent craft breweries, the city boasts one of the country’s few botanical breweries, dedicated to the largely lost art of brewing using foraged herbs, flowers, spices, stems and the like. And the booming brew culture has inspired a number of guided beer-tasting tours. #8: Tokyo, Japan Japan has long been best known for light lagers, such as Sapporo, Kirin and Asahi. But in recent years, the country’s craft brewery scene has slowly but steadily expanded to become a truly noteworthy one, with the Tokyo, unsurprisingly, leading the charge. Beginning in 1994 with the legalization of microbrewing, an ever-growing number of craft brewers have popped up, and they’ve distanced themselves from the German-inspired type of brewing that had long defined Japanese beer. Perhaps as reaction to the once limited varieties offered in the country, the craft brewery scene in Tokyo really pushes the envelope in terms of creativity and flavor. #7: Hanoi, Vietnam Travelling through Southeast Asia is one of the most affordable beers trips one can take, but rarely are the beers more affordable than in Vietnam, or more diverse than in its capital city, Hanoi. If you’re just looking for a cheap, easy drinking beer, the big names like Bia Saigon are sure to satisfy. However, it’s the craft brewery scene that really makes Hanoi stand out. Rebelling against the ever-popular lager and pale ale, these young craft breweries are bringing international varieties to the table, but with the added twist of local ingredients. Of course, while there you’ll still want to try old-school Bia Hoi, an unpasteurized, low alcohol “fresh beer” that’s brewed daily. #6: Brussels, Belgium Belgium. It’s a country synonymous with quality beer. And though you’d be hard-pressed to find a bad beer anywhere within its borders, travellers looking to really take a deep dive into the very best brew the country has to offer should head to either Bruges or Brussels. Bruges, with its fairytale-like atmosphere, long history of brewing and countless casual beer bars, will make for a dreamy long weekend of tastings. But Brussels is arguably the mecca of Belgian beers. Boasting the greatest variety of beers likely to be found anywhere in the country, here you can sample the many regional varieties of high percentage, richly flavored beers that Belgium has come to be known for. #5: Portland, USA Chicago might be the leading beer destination in the midwest, but when talking about the greatest beer city in America, Portland remains unmatched. Home to the iconic Oregon Brewers Festival, Portland has been micro-brewing since long before most of us had even heard of such a possibility.The city’s culture is steeped in this long tradition of beer-making - one that champions diversity, experimentation and risk-taking. As a general rule, if you can dream it up, a brewer from the state of Oregon has already brewed it. Good beer isn’t just available, it saturates the market. You can get quality craft beer at the gas station and grocery store. It’s truly a beer lover’s city. #4: Prague, Czech Republic It’s been estimated that the Czech people drink more beer than any other population, and at an average of 36 gallons per person - by a wide margin. In past years, Czechs drank even more, well above 40 gallons. But who can blame them: their beer has always been both cheap and delicious, with a rich, long and storied history of brewing. Any proud Czech beer fan will tell you how Czechs actually invented the first Pilsner! All that to say, beer is ingrained in the Czech DNA, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Prague. Visit the city, and you’ll find beer spas, brewery hotels, and enough brewpubs to warrant multiple repeat visits. #3: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Though this city may be best known for another type of substance, we would be remiss in overlooking its booming beer culture. The Dutch have given us such iconic beers as Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel, but these are just the mass market options. Step into one of the numerous beer stores in Amsterdam, and prepare to be overwhelmed by the selection. It’s not uncommon for them to offer well over 500 beer varieties for you to choose from. Then there’s the many local taprooms, beer cafes and breweries - who offer up classic beers for every season, including lentebier, witbier and bock. You’ll likely have a hard time deciding when to visit! #2: Munich, Germany While many of the cities on our list landed a spot through recent innovations in craft brewing, Munich is steeped in tradition; and we wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s a reason why the city, and Germany as a whole, is considered to be a world-class leader in beer. With over 5000 brands of beer from 1300 breweries, this nation has mastered the art of beer making, and has a strong sense of identity when it comes to the types of beer they brew. Visit one of the city’s countless beer halls or gardens, or live the beer lover’s dream by visiting during Munich’s legendary Oktoberfest. #1: Dublin, Ireland Few cultures in the world are more strongly associated with beer than the Irish, and few beers spoken about with more reverence than Guinness, the iconic Irish stout that’s been brewed at St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin since 1759. You owe it to yourself to try Guinness brewed on home soil. But after that…one should really branch out and appreciate all of the beer that Dublin has to offer. Its distinct pub culture is a remarkable social experience in its own right, but the various beers you’ll find on tap, both of the classic and craft variety, speak to a long history and rich brewing culture. Cheers!