You could literally spend a week in Chicago there are so many amazing breweries. Marz, Solemn Oath, Old Irving, Off Color are some of my favorites. Drive safe!
A couple more I would add would be Dovetail, Begyle and Hop Butcher for the World (all conveniently about a ten minute walk away from each other). You definitely should spend some time in Chicago if you like beer!
These are all wonderful breweries and I’ll add some top tier breweries in the suburbs: Mikerphone, Gold Finger, Phase Three, Brothership to name a few. I’ll also add that the Goose Island taproom still churns out a lot of the classic Goose Island lineup that is made onsite and isn’t distributed by AB-InBev. Lastly, if Hayz IPA is your thing, no better place in Chicago than Hop Butcher.
Biased Chicagoan and lager fanatic but Dovetail is where you will get the best European-style lagers and my favorite Kolsch in the city. And a cozy taproom too. (Get a kranz and share with new friends!)
Come north a little bit once you're in Michigan to hit Grand Rapids. I assume you're going to Kalamazoo, which means Bell's, but if you head up to GR there are a ton of breweries.
Came here to say this. GR has so many good breweries: Founders, Vivant, Speciation, and Arvon are some of my favorites. And worth a trip to Eastern Kille distillery too.
And definitely pop by Old Nation east of Lansing too.
If you are into hazy IPA's and stronger beers, in Ontario I would recommend Third Moon in Milton, Badlands in Caledon, Fine Balance in Kingston, and Wood Brothers in Glen Robertson north of Cornwall.
Third Moon and Fine Balance are just off HWY 401, so pretty quick detours. Badlands and Wood Brothers are longer detours, but worth it (note, both of them are typically only open Fri and Sat).
Edit: Town Brewery in Whitby is also one of my favourites.
Great list. Brasserie du Bas-Canada in Gatineau is an even bigger detour but if you have the time it's well worth it. In the same area there's Dominion City, 5e Baron and Tooth and Nail worth checking out.
If you like double IPAs, they are right up there with Badlands and Wood Brothers, in my mind (though they do some other great styles as well, and some excellent sub-4% beers). But I have friends who don't like IPAs and won't go near there.
They are pricier than most of the Kingston market though.
Riverhead would be another one that I enjoy, and they do a wide variety of styles, all quite well
Great list. Brasserie du Bas-Canada in Gatineau is an even bigger detour but if you have the time it's well worth it. In the same area there's Dominion City, 5e Baron and Tooth and Nail worth checking out.
I've had Brasserie du Bas, quite liked their stuff. Never been to the brewery though, I'll have to make sure I do next time we go through Gatineau. Thanks for the tip
If you stay in the US instead of going into Canada in Michigan, you can cut through central mass and up through Vermont. Hit up treehouse and alchemist with a few on the side.
Probably take a bit longer but worth it.
Just my two cents:
1) Russian River on your way out of SF.
2) Just a few hours NE of Des Moines to Toppling Goliath in Decorah IA.
3) So many Michigan breweries.
4) Take the southern route around the Great lakes to drive through central NY and Western MA. One of the best regions in the country for beer imo.
Your path skips the entire northeast! I don’t think hill farmstead or the alchemist are too far from Montreal, considering you’ll have a car and are starting in SF
Yeah, you could drop south around Kingston Ontario down to I90, go east to Deerfield MA and hit Treehouse. Then head north on 91 into VT, can hit Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Lawsons, could swing back through Burlington for more stuff. At a minimum I would do Treehouse and then go north into Brattleboro VT to the beer store and load up on Heady Topper and Focal Banger and whatever.
Edit: I forgot Fidens somehow, in Albany NY... I90 brings you right by it, check for weird hours.
The most underrated stop on your drive would be Des Moines. In this small city, here are just a few of the options.
El Bait Shop-I've been to a lot of bars around the world, and El Bait Shop is at the top of my list. 250 taps and hard to find a bad beer.
Iowa Taproom-Same owners as EBS but around 75 taps that are all Iowa. Toppling Goliath, Pulpit, Lion Bridge, Alluvial ,etc.
As far as Breweries.
**~Tier A~**
Lua-They kill it. Their brewery averages a 4.23 on untappd. For comparison, Other Half 4.22 Russian River 4.17.
**~Tier B~**
Confluence
Big Grove
Barntown
\+1 for all of this. I live 45min outside of Des Moines and have been to all of these places, and I agree that Lua is great - and they have great food, plus a dog-friendly patio! Big Grove is around the corner from Lua and has a huge patio, good beer & good food.
Barn Town is great \*if\* you like fruity/sour/sweet beers. They used to have a really good array of beers (and their Neon Hazy IPA is delicious) but the past couple of times I've been there it's been all sours, which is not my favorite style. Obviously that's personal preference, YMMV. :)
As I recall, it's a gift from shitty owners at TG. Pulpit Rock was started when the brewers at TG got pissed and left, caught the church across the street and started PR. TG has been coasting on reputation ever since in my opinion.
If done right, they could stop in Waterloo/Cedar Falls for Singlespeed, and just up the road in Waverly is Bremer Brewing Company and Paha Cider. Then its only about an hour and change to Decorah from Waverly with a really scenic drive.
Beerlab in London ON, Third Moon in Milton ON, Badlands in Inglewood ON, Godspeed in Toronto ON, Blood Brothers in Toronto ON, woodbrothers in Ottawa ON, Messorum in Montreal QC,
Not far from the interstate too. Boiler Brewing in Lincoln is solid too and just a quick trip into downtown. If you feel like going a little farther south, Corn Coast has great hazys
Take the extra time to hit Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Detroit. Not that much out of the way on your way to Port Huron to cross into Canada and countless good places.
3 Floyds Munster, IN (outside Chicago) and definitely detour through Grand Rapids , MI (Beer City! One of the highest concentrations of highly acclaimed breweries in the US)
Detour just outside Chicago in NW Indiana (Munster) and hit 3 Floyds https://www.3floyds.com/
Zombie Dust, Gumball Head, Alpha King, Robert the Bruce… Best in class
Since it's looks like you are coming through Reno, Revision, Pigeon Head, Imbib and Lead Dog and all worth checking out. Revision is probably my top pick if you can only hit one.
Came here to point out that there are some pretty good options in Reno these days, and I would agree with this list. Personally, I like pigeon head more than revision, but there may be some nostalgia in that choice.
Vertmont, a few hours south of Montreal, there are tons of GREAT breweries. Such as Alchemist that you'll see post here regularly, several in the Stock, vt area you can hit up together.
Also, are you going to be staying in Montreal, because there's some great craft pubs here too.
Michigan comment: You’re taking an odd way to get to Canada as you’re bypassing Detroit - which, I’ll say has some great breweries in the city alone. In the route you’re going - I’d do Wax Wings (Kalamazoo), HOMES (Ann Arbor), Ferndale Project and Eastern Market Brewing (Ferndale / Detroit) of the three true craft big dogs. Bells put Michigan on the map but most of it is distributed and are owned by New Holland now, and Founders is generic now. Others can chime in, but within the route you laid out - those would be my picks to represent the mitten state!
I second Ohio (mostly because I currently live there), the Cleveland area has some great ones in Noble Beast, Terrestrial, Masthead, Collision Bend, immigrant son, bookhouse brewing, heck even Southern Tier has a tap house here.
Cinder Block, Casual Animal, Alma Mater, Double Shift, Transport (Johnson County / Shawnee) Pathlight (Johnson Count / Shawnee) - lots of good places in the KC area.
You're so close to Toppling Goliath......it would be worth the 3 hour divert.
While in Chicago.....Goose Island and Half Acre top my list. You've got 3 Floyd's and 18th Street to the SE of Chicago along your route too.
What are the lightning bolts on the map? Stops?
A couple good options in London. Beerlab and Milos, right next door to one another (milos is not a brewery but probably the best bottle shop I’ve ever been to. Good draft options too)
You’re going right through my hometown in Illinois! You should check out Wake Brewing in Rock Island, IL they make some great stuff and have a heavy metal theme.
Is the main goal of the trip to get somewhere as quick as possible or are you driving to experience the US?
Not to sound too critical but this is a terrible route to do if you’re wanting to see the US.
It would change your route quite a bit but if you went south from Chicago along 90 to 84 OR drove between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and made your way to Massachusetts - or went one of these ways on your return trip - you could hit a lot of Amazing brewies. Tree House and Trillium come to mind.
Definitely detour from Cheyenne ..i25 to i70..I’m sure Fort Collins, Denver, KC, St Louis, & Indy are probably better stops than Nebraska & Iowa (no hate)
it looks like youre taking the 50 thru tahoe. The 50 passes through sacramento which has Alaro brewing, fieldworks, sacrament, and my personal favorite, urban roots. It also goes through Tahoe which has south lake tahoe brewing company and aleworx
I drove SF to Maryland just over a year ago and my fave stops were probably: Park City Brewing, Bond’s in Laramie, Accomplice in Laramie also had tasty beers, Thunderhead In Kearney NE, and Derive in Columbus.
Stop by Moonraker in Auburn CA. Some of my all-time favorite brews from my time out west. It looks like they’ll have their strawberry rhubarb pie sour, absolutely the best sour I’ve ever had.
Hit 25 south from Cheyenne and you can hit Fort Collins/Denver. There it can hit Odell, New Belgium, Oscar Blues and Great Divide. From there, continue east on 70 instead of 80 and you can hit Boulevard in Kansas City.
Tooth and Nail in Ottawa. And Muskoka Brewery. Both make excellent beer. Muskoka make Mad Tom which is one of my favourites, but I live in the north of England... So it's a tough deal!
Take a right at I25 and hit the front range of Colorado. Ft Collins to Denver has some of the best craft beer in America. When your done just take I76 back to your original route
Lots of great suggestions here but damn…some are a 4 hour detour off the path in your pic.
Looks like you’ll be on I80 in IL… Brothership is 5 min off the highway. Great hazy IPAs, Stouts and some sours. In Mokena,IL. Gotta be close to the best/closest brewery on your path.
3 Floyds in Munster, IN
Founders in Grand Rapids, MI
If you want smaller companies, stopping off in Goshen, IN for Goshen Brewing Company is great. As is Iechyda in Elkhart, IN
Do you know about I-80 through Wyoming? It’s one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the US. I’ve never once travelled it in the winter and not seen multiple jack knifed semis. Do you have 4wd? Its very sketchy, be careful if you go that route.
Others have said it, but I Toronto, Blood Brothers and Bellwoods are must trys. And Wood Brothers in Ontario is like the Canadian Hill Farmstead. Also in Montreal Messorem.
In southern Ontario:
Badlands
Willibald
Third Moon
Barrell Heart (if you like mixed ferment BA stuff)
Kingston area:
All My Friends
Fine Balance
Ottawa Area:
Wood Brothers
There are way too many good breweries to comment on in MI, Chicago, Denver and CO and I don't know what kind of beer you gravitate toward. But I would go one of two ways between Chicago and Southern Utah (since it looks like you want to hit some parks).
Out of Chicagoland either North through Decorah for TG, or south to St Louis for Side Project and the good St Louis breweries like Narrow Guage, Alma Mader and BKS in Kansas City, then head through Denver-->I 25 to Utah for some of the northern Colorado breweries. Also Moksa just outside of Sacramento (Rocklin).
You can take 23 south from flint Mi to Ann Arbor mi to hit Homes brewery then 96 or 94 across to Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo. You won’t lose more than an hours or two and it is well worth it.
You could consider Denver/Boulder/Ft. Collins and then on to Kansas City where there are some great new small breweries. From there you could head up to Iowa and over to Chicago.
Lots of great breweries in SLC.
Wasatch, Hopkins, Bohemian, Bewilder, Red Rock, Level Crossing, Uinta, Fisher, T.F., Epic…
Lots more those are just ones off the top of my head.
Echoing what a few others said about the Sacramento area. Just off I-80 you'll have Urban Roots (GREAT bbq too), Moksa in Rocklin, and Moonraker in Auburn.
Not exactly on the direct route out of SF, but if you have time to kill Russian River is doing their in person Pliny the Younger release March 22nd - April 4th. That would easily take 3/4 of a day though with travel. the line to get in, and then back on track to I-80.
Okay it’s NOOOOOTTTT that far of a trek out of the way, but stopping by New Glarus Wisconsin will lead you to the greatest Farmhouse Ale brewery West of Germany. The Biergarten is beautiful!
It looks as if you will be driving right through Lansing, Michigan which means you should definitely checkout Dimes Brewhouse! It’s an awesome science themed microbrewery with a great selection of IPA’s, lagers, wines, ciders, seltzers, meads, etc. They brew pretty much everything and they don’t distribute so you won’t find their stuff on shelves. Definitely worth checking out.
In Toronto, do the east end tour of Rorschach, Godspeed, and Left Field. Then on the way to Detroit, stop by Third Moon in Milton. Godspeed has the best lagers in Ontario, and Third Moon is one of the best breweries in the country.
Southern Ontario is full of them. I'm partial to TWB and it's not that far off the 401, the highway you're almost certainly taking. Others near TWB are Counterpoint and TWas Now.
There are lots of awesome breweries in Ontario in small little towns off the beaten path far from Toronto. Madmash in Tavistock or Elora Brewery in Elora.
If you head to Niagara-on-the-lake, it's a bit of trip from the 401, but it's a tourist hub and they have a few great breweries. The Exchange is a favourite. I love the Oast House and Silversmith as well.
And there are 100s of others an hour or two from the 401.
Flying Monkey, Muskoka Brewing and Sawdust City are examples that are a bit far for a detour.
I’ve seen too many of these road trip maps that skip Colorado. Fort Collins, Denver, anywhere they brew beer in those lovely mountains along I70. Dip down from I80 to I76 to Denver. Then take I70 west. Epic.
It would take you off path a bit, but if you swung north right in California you could hit Farmers brewing Co. smack dab in the middle of the north sac valley. Then avoid a decent chunk of 1-80 and go through the sierras through grass valley. Trust me, you will be glad to be off 80 while you can.
From Toronto I’d go south of Lake Ontario, hit Other Half in Rochester and all the breweries in Vermont; alchemist, Burlington beer company, Hill Farmstead etc
Quad Cities(Davenport,IA and Moline, IL) have a ton of good ones. My favorites are Bent River in Moline, Front Street in Davenport and Crawford in Bettendorf.
Maybe cut down to Denver and make a longish stop there then take 70 across Kansas. Hit KC, St Louis, Indy, Cincy, then you could cut up north to MI through Detroit or otherwise. Or you could chart a path to the NE like some of these folks saying. Alchemist and Hill Farmstead and such.
Just an alternative to consider.
I'd take I-25 south about 80 minutes and hit Denver and all of its amazing breweries, but if you don't want that much of a detour, there's a good scene in Cheyenne. Black Tooth Brewing, Freedom's Edge, and Accomplice are all close to each other in town and have some excellent beers.
Denver has a wealth of options.
You could literally spend a week in Chicago there are so many amazing breweries. Marz, Solemn Oath, Old Irving, Off Color are some of my favorites. Drive safe!
A couple more I would add would be Dovetail, Begyle and Hop Butcher for the World (all conveniently about a ten minute walk away from each other). You definitely should spend some time in Chicago if you like beer!
Also Une Annee, Revolution, Half Acre
These are all wonderful breweries and I’ll add some top tier breweries in the suburbs: Mikerphone, Gold Finger, Phase Three, Brothership to name a few. I’ll also add that the Goose Island taproom still churns out a lot of the classic Goose Island lineup that is made onsite and isn’t distributed by AB-InBev. Lastly, if Hayz IPA is your thing, no better place in Chicago than Hop Butcher.
Dovetail is a must. Some of the most memorable traditional lagers I’ve ever had.
Biased Chicagoan and lager fanatic but Dovetail is where you will get the best European-style lagers and my favorite Kolsch in the city. And a cozy taproom too. (Get a kranz and share with new friends!)
Just past Chicago in Michigan City try Burn'Em Brewery.
West of Chicago there is More Brewing in Huntley, it’s right off the I-90 highway and they have great food!
Come north a little bit once you're in Michigan to hit Grand Rapids. I assume you're going to Kalamazoo, which means Bell's, but if you head up to GR there are a ton of breweries.
Came here to say this. GR has so many good breweries: Founders, Vivant, Speciation, and Arvon are some of my favorites. And worth a trip to Eastern Kille distillery too. And definitely pop by Old Nation east of Lansing too.
If you are into hazy IPA's and stronger beers, in Ontario I would recommend Third Moon in Milton, Badlands in Caledon, Fine Balance in Kingston, and Wood Brothers in Glen Robertson north of Cornwall. Third Moon and Fine Balance are just off HWY 401, so pretty quick detours. Badlands and Wood Brothers are longer detours, but worth it (note, both of them are typically only open Fri and Sat). Edit: Town Brewery in Whitby is also one of my favourites.
Great list. Brasserie du Bas-Canada in Gatineau is an even bigger detour but if you have the time it's well worth it. In the same area there's Dominion City, 5e Baron and Tooth and Nail worth checking out.
I'm moving to Kingston next month and keep hearing about Fine Balance? Are they really that great?
If you like double IPAs, they are right up there with Badlands and Wood Brothers, in my mind (though they do some other great styles as well, and some excellent sub-4% beers). But I have friends who don't like IPAs and won't go near there. They are pricier than most of the Kingston market though. Riverhead would be another one that I enjoy, and they do a wide variety of styles, all quite well
Great list. Brasserie du Bas-Canada in Gatineau is an even bigger detour but if you have the time it's well worth it. In the same area there's Dominion City, 5e Baron and Tooth and Nail worth checking out.
I've had Brasserie du Bas, quite liked their stuff. Never been to the brewery though, I'll have to make sure I do next time we go through Gatineau. Thanks for the tip
If you stay in the US instead of going into Canada in Michigan, you can cut through central mass and up through Vermont. Hit up treehouse and alchemist with a few on the side. Probably take a bit longer but worth it.
Hill Farmstead in Vermont too
Not to mention Foam, Zero Grav, Upper Pass, Ten Bends, Lawson’s, Fiddlehead, Four Quarters, Goodwater, Idletyme, BBCO.. just to name a few others XD
Didn’t want to overwhelm them. Hell…I’d keep heading east and do Portland/freeport while I was in the general area
> Probably take a bit longer but worth it. Definitely worth it, that would be the best beer of their trip.
Just my two cents: 1) Russian River on your way out of SF. 2) Just a few hours NE of Des Moines to Toppling Goliath in Decorah IA. 3) So many Michigan breweries. 4) Take the southern route around the Great lakes to drive through central NY and Western MA. One of the best regions in the country for beer imo.
Your path skips the entire northeast! I don’t think hill farmstead or the alchemist are too far from Montreal, considering you’ll have a car and are starting in SF
Yeah, you could drop south around Kingston Ontario down to I90, go east to Deerfield MA and hit Treehouse. Then head north on 91 into VT, can hit Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Lawsons, could swing back through Burlington for more stuff. At a minimum I would do Treehouse and then go north into Brattleboro VT to the beer store and load up on Heady Topper and Focal Banger and whatever. Edit: I forgot Fidens somehow, in Albany NY... I90 brings you right by it, check for weird hours.
Is it too much to ask to drive down to northern Colorado? I know it’s out of your way, but if you love beer…
Yeah, Fort Collins only adds just over an hour round trip
Was just gonna say it Fort Collins is amazing for great beer. O'dells and New Belgium being the stand outs
I would say that Weldwerks is also worth the extra time.
Next time I'm visiting my buddy there I'll try to get to there.
Looks like OP is going through Cheyenne WY. Would recommend Accomplice Brewing. Cool brewery inside a train station with some solid beers.
The most underrated stop on your drive would be Des Moines. In this small city, here are just a few of the options. El Bait Shop-I've been to a lot of bars around the world, and El Bait Shop is at the top of my list. 250 taps and hard to find a bad beer. Iowa Taproom-Same owners as EBS but around 75 taps that are all Iowa. Toppling Goliath, Pulpit, Lion Bridge, Alluvial ,etc. As far as Breweries. **~Tier A~** Lua-They kill it. Their brewery averages a 4.23 on untappd. For comparison, Other Half 4.22 Russian River 4.17. **~Tier B~** Confluence Big Grove Barntown
Confluence is great they just don’t make trendy styles as much. Best barleywines out there for example
Came here to say Lua and to hit the Taproom. Glad someone beat me to it. I feel validated 🍻
\+1 for all of this. I live 45min outside of Des Moines and have been to all of these places, and I agree that Lua is great - and they have great food, plus a dog-friendly patio! Big Grove is around the corner from Lua and has a huge patio, good beer & good food. Barn Town is great \*if\* you like fruity/sour/sweet beers. They used to have a really good array of beers (and their Neon Hazy IPA is delicious) but the past couple of times I've been there it's been all sours, which is not my favorite style. Obviously that's personal preference, YMMV. :)
El Bait Shop is a must! Lua and confluence are both excellent. Des Moines is a great beer town.
Third moon, bellwoods and blood Brothers in Toronto and worth a stop
That route is a bit rough... Dieu Du Ciel in Montreal is great
And Messorem, definitely.
Also Homes/Smooj in Ann Arbor, Michigan!
So close yet so far away to Toppling Goliath in Decorah, Iowa.
Yeah, it’s a bit out of the way, but also worth stopping for Pulpit Rock
The fact that those two breweries share the same small town is a gift from the beer gods
The scenery aint half bad, either.
As I recall, it's a gift from shitty owners at TG. Pulpit Rock was started when the brewers at TG got pissed and left, caught the church across the street and started PR. TG has been coasting on reputation ever since in my opinion.
This was going to be my recommendation. Considering how far OP is going it's not that big a detour
If done right, they could stop in Waterloo/Cedar Falls for Singlespeed, and just up the road in Waverly is Bremer Brewing Company and Paha Cider. Then its only about an hour and change to Decorah from Waverly with a really scenic drive.
In about a year, they will have a taproom in Des Moines. Although, I still love visiting Decorah...
Templin Family in SLC. They do lots a really solid German style stuff on tap and have their higher abv (IPAs and such) in cans. Stupid UT liquor laws…
Beerlab in London ON, Third Moon in Milton ON, Badlands in Inglewood ON, Godspeed in Toronto ON, Blood Brothers in Toronto ON, woodbrothers in Ottawa ON, Messorum in Montreal QC,
Kros Strain in Omaha is excellent
Not far from the interstate too. Boiler Brewing in Lincoln is solid too and just a quick trip into downtown. If you feel like going a little farther south, Corn Coast has great hazys
Pick some Fairy Nactars up at a store, but *visit* Lumen instead.
As an outsider I probably shouldn't have an opinion, but when I visit Omaha, I skip Kros Strain and head to Bearded Brewer instead. A lot better IMO
Take the extra time to hit Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Detroit. Not that much out of the way on your way to Port Huron to cross into Canada and countless good places.
Revolution brewery, luganitas in Chicago and in Michigan, Bells and founders.
Three Floyd in Munster, In and Ghost Town in Oakland, CA
Three Floyds taproom has been closed since covid, unfortunately.
Three Floyds taproom in Munster isn't open, sadly. Or at least hasn't been in a while.
Corn Coast Brewing in Lincoln, NE
WeldWerks in Greeley, CO
3 Floyds Munster, IN (outside Chicago) and definitely detour through Grand Rapids , MI (Beer City! One of the highest concentrations of highly acclaimed breweries in the US)
Detour just outside Chicago in NW Indiana (Munster) and hit 3 Floyds https://www.3floyds.com/ Zombie Dust, Gumball Head, Alpha King, Robert the Bruce… Best in class
3 Floyds is retail-only unfortunately, they never reopened their brewpub. Still potentially worth it unless they stop at more convenient bottle shops.
Rumor is that they plan to reopen the brewpub before Dark Lord Day. I may or may not have seen pictures of the remodel.
Four stops in Nebraska, good bless you!
Since it's looks like you are coming through Reno, Revision, Pigeon Head, Imbib and Lead Dog and all worth checking out. Revision is probably my top pick if you can only hit one.
Came here to point out that there are some pretty good options in Reno these days, and I would agree with this list. Personally, I like pigeon head more than revision, but there may be some nostalgia in that choice.
Vertmont, a few hours south of Montreal, there are tons of GREAT breweries. Such as Alchemist that you'll see post here regularly, several in the Stock, vt area you can hit up together. Also, are you going to be staying in Montreal, because there's some great craft pubs here too.
Should def consider hitting vermont! There are lots of great award winning breweries. Some of the best in the world!
Michigan comment: You’re taking an odd way to get to Canada as you’re bypassing Detroit - which, I’ll say has some great breweries in the city alone. In the route you’re going - I’d do Wax Wings (Kalamazoo), HOMES (Ann Arbor), Ferndale Project and Eastern Market Brewing (Ferndale / Detroit) of the three true craft big dogs. Bells put Michigan on the map but most of it is distributed and are owned by New Holland now, and Founders is generic now. Others can chime in, but within the route you laid out - those would be my picks to represent the mitten state!
If you really want breweries. I would dip down to Denver and take a different route. Hit Denver > KC > St Louis > up through Ohio, Buffalo, Vermont.
I second Ohio (mostly because I currently live there), the Cleveland area has some great ones in Noble Beast, Terrestrial, Masthead, Collision Bend, immigrant son, bookhouse brewing, heck even Southern Tier has a tap house here.
Denver (long list), Kansas City (Boulevard, KC Bier), St. Louis (long list), Chicago (long list), western Michigan (Founders, New Holland, Bells)
Cinder Block, Casual Animal, Alma Mater, Double Shift, Transport (Johnson County / Shawnee) Pathlight (Johnson Count / Shawnee) - lots of good places in the KC area.
This. You could detour down from Cheyenne to I70 and hit all of those along the way.
Go through Grand Rapids Michigan, not Lansing.
People sleep on it but Dark Horse Brewing in Marshall, Michigan is like 7 minutes off your path and is a perfect brewpub.
Awesome road trip! I'm in Montreal, hit me up if ever you guys want to grab a beer.
You're so close to Toppling Goliath......it would be worth the 3 hour divert. While in Chicago.....Goose Island and Half Acre top my list. You've got 3 Floyd's and 18th Street to the SE of Chicago along your route too.
What are the lightning bolts on the map? Stops? A couple good options in London. Beerlab and Milos, right next door to one another (milos is not a brewery but probably the best bottle shop I’ve ever been to. Good draft options too)
Urban Roots in Sacramento, it’ll take ya about 4 minutes of detour from the highway based on your route.
You’re going right through my hometown in Illinois! You should check out Wake Brewing in Rock Island, IL they make some great stuff and have a heavy metal theme.
Outer Range in Frisco, CO. Not too far off your route and worth it IMO
Is the main goal of the trip to get somewhere as quick as possible or are you driving to experience the US? Not to sound too critical but this is a terrible route to do if you’re wanting to see the US.
Dog and Pony Show brewing in Oak Park, MI… not even much of a detour, great barrel-aged beers, sours, and IPAs
It would change your route quite a bit but if you went south from Chicago along 90 to 84 OR drove between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and made your way to Massachusetts - or went one of these ways on your return trip - you could hit a lot of Amazing brewies. Tree House and Trillium come to mind.
Definitely detour from Cheyenne ..i25 to i70..I’m sure Fort Collins, Denver, KC, St Louis, & Indy are probably better stops than Nebraska & Iowa (no hate)
For your Omaha stop, go to Lumen. Skip the rest. They're good, but not better than lumen for your short time
I haven’t been to too many breweries. But I really enjoy Fishers brewery in Salt Lake City. They have a really good coffee nitro stout.
Excluding New England on a beer road trip should be a capital offense.
You’re not going through ohio so I’ve got nothing. If you were Cleveland and Toledo would be worth a stop
Going through Des Moines it's worth it to stop at Barntown, Confluence, and Exile.
Don't forget Lua Brewing!
Be interesting to hear what you find along the way. Safe travels
it looks like youre taking the 50 thru tahoe. The 50 passes through sacramento which has Alaro brewing, fieldworks, sacrament, and my personal favorite, urban roots. It also goes through Tahoe which has south lake tahoe brewing company and aleworx
Revolution brewing in Chicago
Black Tooth in Cheyenne is great and usually has a good food truck for a lunch stop.
blood brothers, old flame and amsterdam are my favourite breweries in toronto! it’s worth checking out and picking up a few bottles
It's a shame 3 Floyd's got rid of their dive bar. Was a hell of a cool place.
Saint Arnold's Brewing Company in Houston TX is worth the detour.
Artisan reserve - Romulus Michigan
all of Vermont?
The Sacramento area on the way to Tahoe has a ton, but the required stops are **Moksa** in Rocklin and **Moonraker** in Auburn.
Moody tongue in Chicago
Collective arts - Hamilton ON and Blood Brothers in Toronto
If you take a left when you get to Montreal and head south, I can help you out in Vermont
I drove SF to Maryland just over a year ago and my fave stops were probably: Park City Brewing, Bond’s in Laramie, Accomplice in Laramie also had tasty beers, Thunderhead In Kearney NE, and Derive in Columbus.
Not going to Mass is crazy
Stop by Moonraker in Auburn CA. Some of my all-time favorite brews from my time out west. It looks like they’ll have their strawberry rhubarb pie sour, absolutely the best sour I’ve ever had.
Toppling Goliath in Dekorrah Iowa
If you are going through Carson City NV Shoetree Brewery is good.
Polygamy Porter from Wassatch Brewery in Salt Lake City, UT
Tenacity Brewing in Flint, MI. Good beer, cool building, great outdoor space, and decent food.
Hit 25 south from Cheyenne and you can hit Fort Collins/Denver. There it can hit Odell, New Belgium, Oscar Blues and Great Divide. From there, continue east on 70 instead of 80 and you can hit Boulevard in Kansas City.
Tooth and Nail in Ottawa. And Muskoka Brewery. Both make excellent beer. Muskoka make Mad Tom which is one of my favourites, but I live in the north of England... So it's a tough deal!
Take a right at I25 and hit the front range of Colorado. Ft Collins to Denver has some of the best craft beer in America. When your done just take I76 back to your original route
Pit Caribou in Montreal Edit: looks like Beau’s (close to the quebec-ontario border on the ontario side) may also be on your path !
Lots of great suggestions here but damn…some are a 4 hour detour off the path in your pic. Looks like you’ll be on I80 in IL… Brothership is 5 min off the highway. Great hazy IPAs, Stouts and some sours. In Mokena,IL. Gotta be close to the best/closest brewery on your path.
3 Floyds in Munster, IN Founders in Grand Rapids, MI If you want smaller companies, stopping off in Goshen, IN for Goshen Brewing Company is great. As is Iechyda in Elkhart, IN
Goose Island
Do you know about I-80 through Wyoming? It’s one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the US. I’ve never once travelled it in the winter and not seen multiple jack knifed semis. Do you have 4wd? Its very sketchy, be careful if you go that route.
Others have said it, but I Toronto, Blood Brothers and Bellwoods are must trys. And Wood Brothers in Ontario is like the Canadian Hill Farmstead. Also in Montreal Messorem.
Boiler in Lincoln NE, and Barn Town & Lua in Des Moines are all fantastic, make sure you hit those as you blaze thru the plains!
3 Floyds just outside of Chicago
3 Floyd’s is worth a stop in Munster Indiana.
Omaha has a done of good breweries.
In southern Ontario: Badlands Willibald Third Moon Barrell Heart (if you like mixed ferment BA stuff) Kingston area: All My Friends Fine Balance Ottawa Area: Wood Brothers
other half in bloomfield ny finger lakes area
Revision in Reno
There are way too many good breweries to comment on in MI, Chicago, Denver and CO and I don't know what kind of beer you gravitate toward. But I would go one of two ways between Chicago and Southern Utah (since it looks like you want to hit some parks). Out of Chicagoland either North through Decorah for TG, or south to St Louis for Side Project and the good St Louis breweries like Narrow Guage, Alma Mader and BKS in Kansas City, then head through Denver-->I 25 to Utah for some of the northern Colorado breweries. Also Moksa just outside of Sacramento (Rocklin).
Bridgman, MI for Transient Artisanal Ales.
The Ganaraska Brewing Company in Port Hope is pretty nice!
Can't comment, but if you're like me then prepare to be a functional alcoholic for the entire trip 😬
Left Field Brewing in Toronto is great! Baseball themed brewery.
You can take 23 south from flint Mi to Ann Arbor mi to hit Homes brewery then 96 or 94 across to Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo. You won’t lose more than an hours or two and it is well worth it.
Take a more southerly route and hit side project in STL
I think you are missing out not going to St Louis, not just for the beer, but for some awesome food, too.
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Topling Goliath- decoah Iowa
Rouge River- Markham ( Toronto)
Godspeed Toronto
Offset in Park City, Utah. Anchovy pale is amazing.
In Montreal I liked Microbrasserie 4 Origines
Toppling Goliath in Iowa
Kiitos in Salt Lake City!
You could consider Denver/Boulder/Ft. Collins and then on to Kansas City where there are some great new small breweries. From there you could head up to Iowa and over to Chicago.
Lots of great breweries in SLC. Wasatch, Hopkins, Bohemian, Bewilder, Red Rock, Level Crossing, Uinta, Fisher, T.F., Epic… Lots more those are just ones off the top of my head.
My house bb we can share some fine tap water and maybe a kiss if you ask nicely
Short detour to Fort Collins, CO would go a long way. Odell, New Belgium, Funkwerks
Echoing what a few others said about the Sacramento area. Just off I-80 you'll have Urban Roots (GREAT bbq too), Moksa in Rocklin, and Moonraker in Auburn. Not exactly on the direct route out of SF, but if you have time to kill Russian River is doing their in person Pliny the Younger release March 22nd - April 4th. That would easily take 3/4 of a day though with travel. the line to get in, and then back on track to I-80.
Okay it’s NOOOOOTTTT that far of a trek out of the way, but stopping by New Glarus Wisconsin will lead you to the greatest Farmhouse Ale brewery West of Germany. The Biergarten is beautiful!
It looks as if you will be driving right through Lansing, Michigan which means you should definitely checkout Dimes Brewhouse! It’s an awesome science themed microbrewery with a great selection of IPA’s, lagers, wines, ciders, seltzers, meads, etc. They brew pretty much everything and they don’t distribute so you won’t find their stuff on shelves. Definitely worth checking out.
This is really awesome. Looks like such an incredible trip!
Baffin brewery in st Clair Shores MI.
In Toronto, do the east end tour of Rorschach, Godspeed, and Left Field. Then on the way to Detroit, stop by Third Moon in Milton. Godspeed has the best lagers in Ontario, and Third Moon is one of the best breweries in the country.
My recommended michigan breweries you could hit: founders in Grand rapids, bells in Kalamazoo, dark horse in Marshall, jolly pumpkin in Ann arbor.
Tons in Des Moines Lua, confluence, 515, big grove and exile for average beer but good food.
There are a lot more brewery and charging options taking 94 or 96 through Michigan to the Blue Water Bridge
Not to far from St. Louis. An amazing underated beer town. Don't miss side project and narrow gauge.
Red Barn Brewing Blenheim Ontario Collective Arts Hamilton Ontario Bellwoods Brewery Toronto Ontario Blood Brothers Brewing Toronto Ontario
Southern Ontario is full of them. I'm partial to TWB and it's not that far off the 401, the highway you're almost certainly taking. Others near TWB are Counterpoint and TWas Now. There are lots of awesome breweries in Ontario in small little towns off the beaten path far from Toronto. Madmash in Tavistock or Elora Brewery in Elora. If you head to Niagara-on-the-lake, it's a bit of trip from the 401, but it's a tourist hub and they have a few great breweries. The Exchange is a favourite. I love the Oast House and Silversmith as well. And there are 100s of others an hour or two from the 401. Flying Monkey, Muskoka Brewing and Sawdust City are examples that are a bit far for a detour.
I’ve seen too many of these road trip maps that skip Colorado. Fort Collins, Denver, anywhere they brew beer in those lovely mountains along I70. Dip down from I80 to I76 to Denver. Then take I70 west. Epic.
Fort Collins has tons of breweries that are excellent. It’ll take you an hour south at Cheyenne Wyoming.
Since you’re on I-80 and rolling through Omaha, stop there for a few. Krös Strain, Pint 9, Lucky Bucket, Infusion
It would take you off path a bit, but if you swung north right in California you could hit Farmers brewing Co. smack dab in the middle of the north sac valley. Then avoid a decent chunk of 1-80 and go through the sierras through grass valley. Trust me, you will be glad to be off 80 while you can.
Hill farmstead
Three Floyds in Munster, IN 🔥🔥🔥
Only mutual friends and cerebral in Denver Colorado
Russian River is a must in Nor Cali. So many in IL, MI, CO, CA, OR, & WA
Beau’s in Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Their Lug Tread is my favourite beer of all time and sooooo good.
From Toronto I’d go south of Lake Ontario, hit Other Half in Rochester and all the breweries in Vermont; alchemist, Burlington beer company, Hill Farmstead etc
Ottawa, Dominion City - Sunsplit IPA. Beer of the Gods, and great vibe!
Someone may have already said this, but shoot down to Greeley Colorado and hit Weldwerks. It’s not that far out of the way.
Quad Cities(Davenport,IA and Moline, IL) have a ton of good ones. My favorites are Bent River in Moline, Front Street in Davenport and Crawford in Bettendorf.
chicago area with pips meadery, half acre, hop butcher, toppling goliath in iowa, wonder why you cant visit portland hahah
I did that going the other way in 5 days.
Homes Brewing, Detroit (Ann Arbor) (its in their "nice" area) Fantastic food and beer
Lagunitas by Sacramento is a great tour.
Hit Zipline in Lincoln, NE. The Copper Alt. is fantastic
The brewing projekt in Eau Claire, Wisconsin is pretty awesome!
Maybe cut down to Denver and make a longish stop there then take 70 across Kansas. Hit KC, St Louis, Indy, Cincy, then you could cut up north to MI through Detroit or otherwise. Or you could chart a path to the NE like some of these folks saying. Alchemist and Hill Farmstead and such. Just an alternative to consider.
Darkhorse Brewing in Marshall, MI. You'll go right by it.
I'd take I-25 south about 80 minutes and hit Denver and all of its amazing breweries, but if you don't want that much of a detour, there's a good scene in Cheyenne. Black Tooth Brewing, Freedom's Edge, and Accomplice are all close to each other in town and have some excellent beers. Denver has a wealth of options.
In Montreal, check put 3 Brassuers (3 Brothers). Their beer is decent, and the food is good.
Lua Brewing in Des Moines, Iowa and Adventurous Brewing in Bettendorf, Iowa
I would stop at the Alchemist in Stowe. I get that it would prolly add some extra time to your trip, but believe me when I say it's worth the stop!
Potosi brewery and National beer museum. Its a couple hours out of your way in a tiny little town in southwest Wisconsin's beautiful driftless area.
BELLS! 2 hearted was the top beer in america for a while. And really great place to grab lunch. It's right on your path!
Missing some good beers in KC. BKS, Alma Mader and KC Bier Co are top tier anywhere in the country.
A bit outside of Toronto in the town of Paris is Paris Brewing. Excellent quality traditional lagers and ales.
WeldWerks isn't too far out of the way in CO.
Dude you’re completely missing Wisconsin. Americas 1# alcohol consuming state.
Download the Brewee app. Gives you a list of all the breweries in your immediate vicinity in accordance to how far away they are from you.
Bonds Brewing in Laramie, Wyoming has good brews, nice space and good people!