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Best Breweries
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Summertime Brews

 

Mixing hops at the Tröegs Brewing Company in Harrisburg, Pa. // Courtesy Tröegs Brewing Company

Think theres nothing better than a cold beer when its hot out?  Sip some warm weather brews at these American brewery tours and tastings.

By Bret Stetka for MSN City Guides

After years of internal debate, Ive come to the conclusion its OK to plan a vacation solely around visiting a brewery. Theres nothing wrong with, say, driving six hours to Maine just to sip an Allagash White Ale in its natural habitat or planning an entire extra day in San Francisco to get the most out of the Anchor Brewing Company. This sort of behavior is fairly common when it comes to things like lobster rolls and sourdough, so why not beer?

For those of you on board with my new revelation, Ive compiled a list of some of the countrys most worthwhile brewery tours and tastings, but with a seasonal catch. Ive selected breweries not only offering a great visitor experience, but also producing some of my favorite summer beers. So in the interest of seasonality, Ive featured one warm weather beer from each brewery, guaranteed to be crisp, refreshing and highly drinkable, without comprising flavor. Im sure there are plenty more tour-worthy breweries out there filled with hops, malt, boilers and tasty summer brews, so let us know your favorite in the message boards.
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Allagash Brewing Company Portland, Maine
Most beer lovers would agree the Belgians make the best beer in the worlda point not lost on Rob Tod, who started Allagash in 1995, and whose Belgian-inspired beers are among the finest produced stateside. At the time, Americans had firmly accepted German, Czech and English-style brews, but general knowledge of Belgian brewing was limited to vague monastic associations (many Belgian beers are brewed by monks) and puzzled queries: I thought the Belgians were known for waffles? But these complex, often very strong beers have caught on big, and now lines of eager drinkers form every Monday through Friday to tour Allagash and sample their White, Dubbel and hearty Triple brews.

Summer Beer: Allagash White (5.0%) - This American interpretation of a Belgian-style whiteor witbeer is bright, citrusy and has a pleasing bite thanks to the brewers own special blend of spices



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Harpoon Brewery Windsor, Vt.
Bostons best known  brewery that isnt named for a founding father was started in 1986 when Rich Doyle and Dan Kenary, after traveling through Europe, realized American beer didnt have to taste like seltzer water. While their Boston brewery offers frequent tastings, its Harpoons second location in the obscenely green fields of Windsor, Vermont thats most worthwhile. The Windsor outpost offers tours on Fridays and Saturdays, plus an outdoor beer garden complete with beer samplers and a lunch menu featuring loads of cheese from Vermonts Cabot Creamery.

Summer Beer:  Harpoon Summer Beer (ABV 5.0%) - A German Kölsch style ale, this straw-toned refresher has the light drinkability and moderate hoppiness of the real thing.

Great Divide Brewing Company Denver, Colo.
According to brewers advocacy group The Beer Institute, Colorado is the nations largest supplier of beer.  The state produces an astounding 23 million barrels a year, 9,000 of which are made by Great Divide. GD was an early player in the Denver craft beer scene and has earned just about every brewing award and accolade imaginable. Visitors can hang out in the tap room glugging the brewerys standard line-upalong with specialty brews only sold at the baror take the free tour and make do with tasting samples.

Summer Beer: Samurai Ale (ABV 5.1%) - This unfiltered beer brewed from barley malts and rice is hazy and hoppy, and has a subtle fruity tartness characteristic of rice beer.


Tanks at Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco // Courtesy Anchor Brewing Company

Anchor Brewing Company San Francisco
The Anchor Brewing Company dates all the way back to the gold rush, but officially got its name in 1896 when German brewers Ernst F. Baruth and Otto Schinkel Jr. bought and renamed the brewery from Gottlieb Brekle, another German brewer with an equally beer-y name. Anchor managed to survive both Prohibition and the rise of major national breweries (we wont mention any names), and played a huge role in igniting the micro-brewery craze in the early 1980s that makes this list possible. Brewery tours are free, offered weekdays and extremely popularso its best to call ahead and make a reservation.

Summer Beer: Anchor Steam Summer (ABV 4.6%) - First brewed in 1984, this simple, crisp and lemony ale was supposedly the first American wheat beer in modern times.



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Summertime Brews

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Beer garden at Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, Mich. // Courtesy Bell's Brewery

Bells Brewery - Kalamazoo, Mich.
Bells brewed its first beer in 1985 in a 15-gallon soup kettle, and before long was producing 135 barrels a year. Their annual output has since expanded to over 90,000 barrels and Bells has become one of the most respected craft breweries across the beer-loving Midwest. While the brewery doesnt offer tours, their Eccentric Café hosts live music and serves all of Bells standard brews, along with many small-batch specialty beers not available anywhere else.

Summer Beer: Oberon Ale (ABV 5.8%) - This seasonal summer brew is all wheat and bready yeast infused with soft and subtle fruitiness.

Tröegs Brewing Company Harrisburg, Pa.
Chris and John Trogner claim the word Troeg refers to an aura of complete enjoyment and can be used as an adjectiveas in, "My, you look Tröegy this morning." I cant verify or disprove the claim, but lets just say I havent been able to find the word in any dictionary and it sounds suspiciously like their last name. Regardless of name derivations, the Trogner brothers established Troegs Brewery in 1997 and, along with a number of other impressive breweries, have helped establish greater Philly as one of the countrys best local beer scenes. Stop by Saturdays for free tours and tastings, then take home a case, keg or two-liter growler.

Summer Beer: Sunshine Pils (ABV 5.3%) - Sharp pilsner taste with a bold, hoppy finish that keeps on going. 
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Brewery Ommegang Cooperstown, N.Y.
When Don Feinberg opened a brewery in 1997, he built it on a former hop farm and opted for Belgian farmhouse architecturefactors which pretty much guarantee beer-making successand was soon producing one of the most respected lines of American beer (though his brewery is now owned by the Belgian brewery Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat). Ommegang offers daily tours and tastings which, thanks to the brewerys scenic Susquehanna River Valley surroundings, are worthwhile even for the less hop-inclined. And if you can tear yourself away from the tasting room for a few hours, the nearby National Baseball Hall of Fame is almost as fun as drinking beer. 

Summer Beer: Hennepin Farmhouse Saison (ABV 7.7%) - Saison or farmhouse beers are a style of Belgian ale typically brewed in fall or winter and meant for summer consumption. Ommegangs take blends hints of citrus and banana held together by a pleasing, earthy funkiness.

Bret Stetka is a science and food writer based in Brooklyn, NY. He's obsessed with all things doughnut but is happy eating burgers.



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What? No Budweiser?

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There is a joint in Superior called "The Thirsty Pagan", that brews there own stuff. It's some good tasting shit, and seems to fuck you up quick!

The Lake Superior Amber kind of tastes like Lysol though...

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