Top Big Breweries

Top Five Big Ass Craft Breweries

I've been to lots of breweries, mostly in the USA but around the world as well.  Most of them are just small places trying to stay afloat in the middle of all this competition. And I really like to visit these places. I visit them once or twice and try to support tham anyway I can.  But there are now some big craft breweries that just call to me and so then I go to them.

Sam Adams Brewery- Boston, MA- In 2012, I spent three days in activities related to this brewery.  On Friday night, we took the brewery tour and went back to the tasting room.  Afterwards, we took a trolley to Doyle's Pub which served exclusive SA beers and they gave us thier signature glass.  The next day, we spent the afternoon in the tasting room again and tried different beers.  Then on Sunday, we went to three pubs in Boston that each poured a distinctive SA beer.  And then I took the bus back to Philly.

Dogfish Head Brewery- Milton, DE- I have a soft spot for Sam, the owner of this brewery.  He fought a hard battle 20 years ago to get in to the main stream beer market and he has continued to fight for and promote small batch breweries.  He makes great beers.  He had lots of signature beers and he makes a huge variety of seasonal beers.  So I can easier go to the brewery a few times a year and still taste a variety of high quality beers.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company-  Chico, CA- It was my sister's 40th birthday party in 1996.  My BIL was serving Pale Ale.  It's the first time I tried this beer and it was the last time I drank a domestic beer.  Never again.  So I was so damn excited to visit this brewery.  They serve 2 oz pours.  I had 12 different pours and I was so damn happy.

Southern Tier- Lakewood, NY- I have always loved their pumpkin ale.  So I decided to drive 5 1/2 hours to try this year's batch right there in their brewery.  And I was not disappointed.  They had the pumkin beer and the pumkin stout.  I was so damn happy. And to add to the joy of this visit, several of their beers were on sale for 1/2 price.  So I left with too much beer!!

Goose Island Brewery- Philly- I know this is a Chicago brewery.  But they opened a brewery in Philly and I was so damn happy because I have liked this beer fro years. I went to the brewery in 2018 when I was visiting my 100th brewery.  I told the waiter about my milestone and he sent out the brew master and the other wait staff and I was treated like a queen.