67 Best Sights in USA

The love for beer of all varieties is evident in the selection of award-winners at this employee-owned brewery in the Jack London Square area. Original Pattern consistently produces the most satisfying and compelling offerings of any brewery in this beer-loving town. Hazy IPAs are the specialty, but the tap list always has a variety of lighter beers and stouts or porters, too.

Head out to Abita Springs to see where this popular beer is made—the area has long been known for its artesian spring water, which is used in their brewing process. Half-hour guided tours ($10) are on Monday through Thursday at 1 and 3 pm, on the hour Friday noon–3 pm, as well as weekends noon–4 pm. Tours include one pint of beer, though you can upgrade to a flight of four different 4-ounce brew samplings for an additional $5. There is also a craft soda tour option, which can be fun for anyone who doesn't drink alcohol. Note that closed-toe shoes need to be worn on all tours. The Tap Room on premises features 30 taps, including Abita mainstays and beer only available on-site.

The brewery that launched a beer revolution in Vermont with its Heady Topper welcomes guests to its shop, tasting room (known as the Beer Café), and seasonal beer garden. Tours of the brewery last about 40 minutes, and include insight into the brewery's impressive sustainability mission as well as how the beer gets made, a commemorative tasting glass, and a can of beer.

It's appropriate that one of Yakima Valley's top breweries is surrounded by hop fields. First planted in 1932 by the great-grandparents of the three siblings who now own it, the fields supply fresh hops to the beloved Topcutter IPA, Bottomcutter double IPA, and several other classic and seasonal brews. The "Dealer's Choice" sampler is a great reasonably priced way to sample a range of beers, either in the taproom, the heated glass-walled sunroom (it’s dog-friendly), or out on the patio and grassy lawn, complete with games and rotating food trucks doling short-order comfort fare.

Back in 2009, the three brothers who founded Bayou Teche Brewing wanted to create beers that would complement their favorite regional eats in Cajun Country. You can find a few of this popular brewery's flagship beers in all of Louisiana's major cities, but visitors come here to try as many as 15 brews—most of which can only be tasted at this location, just 8 miles from Grand Coteau. They also feature tiki drinks for those who want an alternative to beer. Fantastic live local music on weekends attracts big crowds, and wood-fired pizza (including a great boudin topping option) is available every day the taproom is open.

Thousands of beer lovers make the pilgrimage to the venerable Coors Brewery each year. Founded in 1873 by Adolph Coors, a 21-year-old German stowaway, today it's the largest single-site brewery in the world and part of Molson Coors. Only guided tours with reservations are available; the tour explains the malting, brewing, and packaging processes. Informal tastings are held at the end of each tour and are included in the price of admission; for half the price of a tour, you can just sample beers. Reservations are required for tours and sampling, and you can buy souvenirs in the gift shop. A free shuttle runs from the parking lot to the brewery.

Central Oregon’s first and most famous brewery produces and bottles its beer in this facility separate from the popular brewpub. Join one of the four daily tours and learn from the beer-obsessed staff; be sure to make reservations online or by phone, as tours fill quickly. The tour ends in the tasting room and gift shop, where participants get to try samples of the fresh beer; stick around for an extra pint in the adjacent outdoor beer garden.

When they opened in 2016, Dovetail was just the second lager-focused brewery to open in Chicago (following the now sadly closed Metropolitan Brewing). Working from a small taproom in North Center, they quickly developed a reputation for well-crafted European-style beers like their creamy hefeweizen and smoky rauchbier. It didn’t take long for them to stretch into other types of lager like the roasty Czech dark or a hearty dunkelweizen. Their brewery tours are reliably among the best in the city: tourgoers get to sample different types of water to learn how the chemistry of H₂0 can affect the overall taste of a beer, then see the brewhouse which uses a century-old tank originally built for Germany’s Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan to help create their intricately crafted beers. You’ll also get to see the barrelhouse and coolship, where their spontaneously fermented wild beers age and take on even more complex flavors.

Acclaimed brewer Todd Haire spent 13 years at Magic Hat Brewing Company and another two years at Switchback Brewing Co. before opening his own Burlington operation alongside fellow co-founders Bobby Grim, Sam Keane, Jon Farmer, and Dani Casey in 2016. Since then, Foam has gained international praise, including a spot as one of the world's 10 best new breweries—bestowed by BeerAdvocate—the year they opened. The brewery sources more local ingredients than just about any other beermaker in the state: all their beers have at least a portion of local hops, all the barley is grown regionally in New England, and all the wheat is grown in Vermont. Some limited edition brews even incorporate produce, in a collaboration with area organic farms. A limited menu of charcuterie and bar snacks is available for noshing either in the family-friendly taproom or on the outdoor patio with stunning views of the Lake Champlain waterfront. Attached sister restaurant Deep City has the best brunch in town.

Born in a small brewpub in 1988, the Goose Island brand has spread worldwide, with pubs in China, Brazil, London, and South Korea (thanks to the help of their owners, Anheuser-Busch, who took over in 2011). Goose Island made their name on fan-favorite beers like their Honkers Ale (a mellow, toasty, English-style bitter) and 312 Wheat Ale, a sweet and lightly citrusy thirst-quencher that is perfect for a hot summer day. 

Their original location on Clybourn Avenue finished its 35-year-run at the end of 2023, but their Fulton Avenue taproom remains a destination for lovers of the brewery’s many beers, including their famed line of barrel-aged brews: Bourbon County Brand Stout. Every year’s release of BCBS is different, with variants through the years including a bananas foster beer and an Earl Grey tea beer. Barrel-focused variants feature beers aged in casks from distilleries like Old Fitzgerald, Eagle Rare, and Elijah Craig.

Harpoon Brewery holds Massachusetts's first-ever brewing permit, obtained in 1986 by three college friends who wanted to create a fresh beer culture in their hometown. Today, Harpoon's Boston brewery features 25-minute guided tours and tastings for beer lovers from around the globe. Harpoon's on-site beer hall pours a rotating lineup of limited-edition and pilot beers, non-brand beers, and ciders—try a flight of UFOs or Clown Shoes. It also serves handmade pretzels and pizza.

It is difficult to quantify owner and master brewer Shaun Hill's contribution to the international explosion of craft beer. Hill Farmstead has won Best Brewery in the World eight times since 2012, and it's a key player in Vermont tourism, where beer contributes as much to the state economy as skiing and hiking. Since opening in 2010, Hill's eighth-generation family farmstead off a rural mountain pass, miles from cell service, has drawn millions of local and international travelers pilgrimaging for a coveted pint and a growler to-go. A beautiful bar is surrounded by acres of woods and lawnspace, and a small pond sits at the bottom of a sloping field—a nice spot for pondering over a pint.

The mission of founder and master brewer Nile Zacherle, who works at a Pritchard Hill winery when he's not at the brewery, isn't merely to make great beers. He and his wife, Whitney Fisher, succeed at that, but they also create what they call "origin specific beers," with each label listing every ingredient's source, from hops to barley to water. The beers' label art and names, among them The Wind and the Sun and The Donkey and the Thistle, derive from a centuries-old Aesop's Fables edition. Tastings take place where the barrel-aged beers are brewed.

Master brewer Nile Zacherle opened this pint-sized tap house to showcase the barrel-aged, unfiltered, naturally carbonated lagers and ales he and his wife, Whitney Fisher, produce. Both winemakers at ultrapremium labels, they apply the same concepts of terroir (how climate, geology, and other factors influence wines) to their hops, barley, and water sources, providing the information about each brew. With more than a dozen beers on tap or in bottle, there’s a style for most tastes. Mad Fritz also sells “origin coffee” and serves espresso on-site. Check the website or call to reserve a tour of Mad Fritz’s St. Helena brewery.

Two guys who met while on Sonoma State University's rowing team opened this craft brewery, named for a rugged redwood-lined road in West Sonoma County. It's worth the 10-mile drive south from Santa Rosa to Rohnert Park, where enthusiastic staffers pour beers from kettle sours and a Czech-style pilsner to a rye IPA and an oatmeal-milk stout. Old Caz ferments smaller specialty brews at its family- and pet-friendly indoor-outdoor brewpub but makes most of its beers at a production facility nearby.  The kitchen opens for weekday lunch; diverse food trucks appear for dinner on weekdays and all day on weekends.

After the founders realized that the country's best water supply for sake was in the Pacific Northwest, they built their brewery in Forest Grove in 1997. It's one of only six sake brewing facilities in America and produces award-winning sake under three labels, in addition to importing from partners in Japan. The tasting room offers three different flights, including one with a food pairing. Be sure to catch one of the tours, offered on weekend afternoons, where your guide will walk you through every phase of the sake-making process, from milling the rice to final filtration and bottling.

This pioneer of the microbrewery movement still has a hands-on approach to beer making. The Brewhouse Tour surveys production—from sorting hops through fermentation and bottling—and concludes with a tasting. The Beyond the Pale Tour delves even deeper into creating craft beers, Sierra Nevada's history, and the company's sustainability initiatives.

Located in a historic bathhouse, this one-of-a-kind brewery—the first headquartered in a U.S. national park—uses thermal spring water to create its craft beers, including the Spring Training Blonde Ale and the Goat Rock Bock, named after a park trail and overlook. The farm-to-table food is top-notch, too, with an eclectic selection of salads and elevated pub grub.

Coastal North Carolina's best beer is brewed at this outpost by the sea that doubles as a sunset hangout (the views from the rooftop deck are stunning) and a purveyor of next-level pub grub, courtesy of its partner business, Plum Pointe Kitchen. Order a hazy IPA or a coffee Kölsch, plus a slider platter or the catch of the day, and soak up the last rays of sunlight.

With one of the largest tasting rooms in San Diego, this microbrewery offers tastings at its out-of-the-way locale in the Miramar area. Try AleSmith's popular Speedway Stout, brewed in various editions ranging from peanut butter and maple bar to German chocolate and coffee.

Brewery tours, tastings, and cornhole, boccie, and disc golf provide an entertaining, diversified, and mainly outdoor experience at the home of Boont Amber Ale, double and triple Belgian-style ales, and other brews. Local winemakers clear their palates with the Bourbon Barrel Stout, aged in Tennessee whiskey barrels.

Built in 1852, the 142-acre Anheuser-Busch site consists of nearly 150 structures, many of them brick and done in an elaborate, Germanic Romanesque–style. The Clydesdale Stables, the six-story, stone Brewhouse, and the Administration Building (the former Lyon’s Schoolhouse) are all on the National Register of Historic Places. Take a tour, sample Anheuser-Busch beers, and snap photos of the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales.

Relax in the tasting room or on the patio and soak up the buzz on this block of Fox Street, peering up to Munjoy Hill. Ales like the Original Maine and the selection of IPAs—sessions, double, and traditional—are all on tap, and cans are also available of favorites like Austin Street’s saison, Moses. Another location is found in the warehouse on Industrial Way in the Riverton neighborhood, alongside Allagash, Foundation, and Battery Steele Breweries.

Part of the warehouse complex on Industrial Way that houses three other quite-good breweries (Allagash, Austin Street, and Foundation), Battery Steele started in an old barn in South Portland and has since moved to these well-trafficked digs. The tasting room offers a roster of rotating brews on tap—usually 10 or so. Highlights include pours like the double IPA, Avalon, and sours (if it’s available, try a glass of Enjoy The Ride).

The team at Boochcraft sells canned hard kombucha juices made from whole, organic fruits at their Boochery in Chula Vista, but serves it by the glass at this Del Mar taproom; you can also take six-packs to go. Local ingredients are essential and come from places like San Diego's Dickinson Family Farms and Santa Barbara's Cuyama Orchard. Look for seasonal releases like passionfruit blood orange or try a core flavor like ginger lime and hibiscus lemonade that are available year-round.

Pull up a bale of hay in the orchard and sample a flight of refreshing hard cider made from the apple trees just steps from your table. On tap are four traditional dry ciders that rotate regularly. This barn-style tasting room on the outskirts of town is the ideal escape from the pie people.

Occupying an entire corner of the Cole Hersee Building, this taproom has signature brews, from IPAs to lagers, as well as some limited releases, on draft. In nice weather, the front garage doors open to reveal a contemporary rendezvous spot for craft beer lovers. Children are welcome if they're accompanied by adults, but it's 21 and over after 8 pm. Check the website for frequent public events, including weekly trivia on Tuesday.

The microconglomerate of Cisco Brewers, Nantucket Vineyard, and Triple Eight Distillery makes boutique beers, wine, and vodka on-site. Tours and tastings are available (fee) and the brewery hosts live music and on-site food trucks in season.

The 8,000-square-foot facility includes a tasting room and patio with a menu that features ciders (all gluten-free and hand-pressed), cocktails, and food provided by Cabin Attic. Regular events include pregame parties on Nashville SC game days, outdoor movie screenings, and a monthly drag brunch (18+). The large patio has multiple firepits, and dogs are welcome.