Continuous lockdowns and uncertainty because of the pandemic have been a source of mental stress for everyone. A beer road trip with your buddies is just the thing you might need to relive all the pandemic anxiety. Here is a list of affordable cities and breweries you can explore while your beer getaway is on the run!
1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
The capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, has a collection of breweries you would love to explore. Appalachian Brewing Company is a household name with a great collection of beers, the specials being craft root beer or the Trail Blaze Organic Brown Ale. From Harrisburg, head north for Selinsgrove for the Selin’s Grove brewery or east towards Easton’s Weyerbacher Brewing Company.
2. Bend, Oregon
Bend offers some fresh beer flavors with their famous Deschutes Brewery. You would love to try the Fresh Squeezed IPA or Pacific Wonderland Lager. Worthy Brewing Company can be your next stop with their observatory and a vast selection of delicious beers. The lodging is also affordable in case you plan to stay overnight. However, before hitting the road, don’t forget to put a universal roof rack on your car so that you load all your luggage and have ample space inside the car to enjoy the trip.
3. Brooklyn, New York
The name of Brooklyn brewery is well-known throughout the country, and a beer trip without visiting it would be unfinished. The tasting room event on Fridays (6 pm to 11 pm) can get you a full beer for 4$. You can continue your road trip from Brooklyn towards Long Island’s Southampton Publick House microbrewery for stunning beach-side scenery.
4. Asheville, North Carolina
The historically rich city of Asheville has an amazing collection of breweries to stop by. Wicked Weed Brewing offers strong flavored beers as well as fun free tours. Green Man Brewery is another popular brewery which has a collection of barrel-aged sour beers or Snozzberry.
5. Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Known as New Hampshire’s brewing capital, Portsmouth is a scenic and affordable beer road trip destination. The Portsmouth Brewery is located right along the coast and offers a large selection of drool-worthy beers. Black Cat Stout or the upcoming Oatmeal Stout is a delectable winter pick to grab while in town. Additionally, Smuttynose Brewing Company’s award-winning brown ale called the Old Brown Dog Ale is a reason enough to stop by.
6. Boston, Massachusetts
Harpoon Brewery in Boston is well-known for its creative and unique beers with frequent new recipes. You can even visit for free tasting from Monday to Friday from 2 pm to 4 pm. A little 10 minutes towards Charles River Basin is an excellent brewpub Cambridge Brewing Company. A good 30 minutes into Natick, you can find Barleycorn’s Craft Brew, where you can make your batch of beer.
7. Portland, Maine
With abundant natural resources, Maine is an excellent location for both a trip and a beer tasting. With its tasty Belgian-style beers and free everyday tours or tastings, Allagash Brewing Company should be on the top of your list. Additionally, you can drive two hours north towards Marshall Wharf Brewing Company for a beer with a side of savory seafood, especially the oysters.
Conclusion
A fun beer road trip with friends can be an excellent stress buster and the ideal vacation you have wished for. Most breweries offer pickups and a safe environment so that you can enjoy your trip without worrying about the pandemic!
Special Thanks to Rebecca Siggers for this Great Beer Now guest post!
Oregon is a great place for beer road trips for sure!
My brother loves beer and would love to do a beer road trip his friends. Definitely gonna pass this along to him.
Those are great suggestions! I’m a big fan of the Brooklyn ones myself.
Really great suggestions about Beer. I haven’t been PORTLAND, MAINE yet so that’s on my bucket list.
Portland, Maine is a great beer city! Most people have no idea that so many breweries exist in this relatively small city.
I love beer and on every trip of mine if there is a factory or museum I visit it, in the USA now at least I know where to go without fail!
I’d love to visit every one of these with my husband. We love finding new beers. It’s a lot of fun to discover new flavors.
Beer travel is a regular part of life for me. The fun, like you said, is discovering new and unique beers, plus the often new and unique facilities and interesting people you meet.
These sound like amazing places to visit if you love beer. I have a friend who lives for finding new beers and exploring breweries. It’s a passion for him.
These all sound like great places to sample beer. It is fun to go on a themed road trip!
Very cool! We have some great beer road trip cities in Texas! Shiner and Fredericksburg.
Yes, Fredericksburg and Shiner are great for small city beer excursions. Austin is arguably the best large Texas city for beer.
Asheville is definitely on my bucket list. There are so many cool breweries there, plus it’s driveable for me and it’s got the Biltmore as well!! So many cool things.
Asheville is a lot of fun! People are often shocked at the large number of breweries that exist in a city this size. And yes, gotta make sure to visit Biltmore Estate while you’re there!
This is look like great adventure and fun for hunting good beer. I’d love to visit those are place and try all the beers. Maybe I will find my favorite taste.
You got me at Beer Road Trip. I will consider Pennsylvania when all this pandemic stuff is over because it is not too far from home.
oh, how cool that Ashville is on that list, what a beautiful city! Next time I get there, I need to take that tour – blessings
Nnniiiccceeee….thank you for sharing this list! I believe my brother could use it, most “appropriately”, if you know what I mean!