here's my list of top Beer vacation spots:
San Francisco - there are 2 breweries, 6 brew pubs, a dozen craft beer centric bars and you don't have to drive to see them. the list? Anchor Steam, Speakeasy, 21st Amendment, Thirsty Bear, Magnolia, Social Kitchen, Beach Chalet, Gordon Beircsh, Toronado, Monks Kettle, Lucky 13, Public House, and on and on. okay so if you get bored of the city take the ferry to Marin Brewing or BART over to Triple Rock or train down the peninsula. finally zoom up north to Bear Republic and Russian River. oh yeah, I live here but you know every day is like a beer festival so I try to make the most of it.
Portland - there's more beer here should be the tag line. if I didn't live in SF this is where I would land. Green Dragon, Lucky Lab, Ringler's Annex, Deschutes, and then it's a blur because every time I go there it's jump, jump, jump from one place to another to try and cover it. it's not fair that I only get there once a year.
San Diego - if you only went to Stone and Hamilton's you could go home happy. the suck thing about SD is you have to drive every where. although when I was there a year ago we managed not to drive. while you are there stick around to visit Lost Abbey, Port Brewing, Green Flash, Pizza Port and O'Brien's.
Seattle - it seems like every single place I went in the greater Seattle area had at least 20 taps loaded with things I'd never heard of ever. on my first visit I ordered blind saying "I'll have an IPA..." and got a curt "we have 5 IPAs on tap...." oh snap. after that I paid attention. and good thing too. some of that beer was horrible. check out Elysian, Big Time, Maritime, Snoqualmie, West Seattle Brewing, and like 14 others that I'm forgetting.
Denver, Colorado - tour some breweries like Left Hand, Oskar Blues, New Belgium and (why not) Coors. park it at Falling Rock.
Kalamazoo, Michigan - Bells beer is here. sorry, it's hard to get to on the West Coast.
Boston, Mass - I love the food and the impossible to understand accent. back in the day when I travelled here twice a year I used to hate hate Boston. that was until I learned that you ditch the car (if you get one at all) and jump on the T. this train comes in colors taking you to anywhere you need go. skip the Sam Adams fake-o-brewery instead bar hop. everything is old, crusty and awesome. it's been a while since I've toured here but this is a must destination for me to get back too sooner.
Las Vegas - I hate this place but I have to go here at least once a year because of some conference. finding beer here is a challenge. but make the effort and you get rewarded. the good news is that more places have opened each time I find my way here. part of your challenge is based on where you stay, if you have a car or how much time you have. personally I'd rather take the dam tour and play pinball.
