Urban Beer Nerd

Allagash Brewery in Portland, Maine

TripAdvisor, which bills itself as “the world’s largest travel site,” today released a list of the 10 most popular American brewery tours, based on its user “popularity index.” I’ve been on a number of brewery tours, including one at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, which is ranked fourth in TripAdvisor’s list. Unless you’re a brewer yourself and you appreciate the actual brewing equipment, a brewery tour is a brewery tour is a brewery tour. Sure, some of the facilities might be nicer, one brewery might make better beer and/or give out more samples and some have better gift shops. But in my experience, brewery tours are not particularly exciting.

Here’s TripAdvisor’s list, starting with the most popular brewery tour:

1. New Belgium Brewing – Fort Collins, Colorado
2. Allagash Brewery – Portland, Maine
3. Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour – Saint Louis, Missouri
4. Samuel Adams Brewery – Boston, Massachusetts
5. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company – Chico, California
6. Heinzelmannchen Brewery – Sylva, North Carolina
7. New South Brewing – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
8. Boulevard Brewing Company – Kansas City, Missouri
9. D.G. Yuengling and Son Brewery – Pottsville, Pennsylvania
10. Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. – Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin