Tiny Craft Beer Towns to Explore

Sure you’ve done beer tours of Denver, Portland, and San Francisco. Who hasn’t? But have you tried going on a beer tour in Santa Fe, New Mexico? (Did you even know New Mexico is a state?) Well, you might be missing out. According to Thrillist, there are 9 up-and-coming little towns with a craft beer problem.

Asheville, North Carolina: Tapped Life has had the good fortune of visiting Asheville, and it is one hell of a town. We definitely recommend Wicked Weed and Asheville Brewing. The Wedge has unforgettable atmosphere. The town also has an amazing amount of used bookstores. Just sayin’.

Bend, Oregon: It’s the home of Deschutes, people. Who, unfortunately stopped brewing Bachelor Amber. That was one hell of an amber. They still brew other good things, and they aren’t the only ones. There are 19 breweries in town that we bet are worth trying.

Burlington, Vermont: We know people who travel from Utah to Ohio just so they can meet up with people from Vermont and pick up cases of Heady Topper from Alchemist. Alchemist is so craft they only brew 1 beer. Thankfully, there are a lot of other breweries in Burlington, so you don’t have to drink only 1 beer while you’re there. 

Hood River, Oregon: No one at Tapped Life has ever been to Hood River. They are the home to Full Sail, and we assume many fine other breweries, so we are currently planning our next road trip. Watch out northern Oregon.

Longmont, Colorado: Left Hand has a Nitro Milk Stout to die for and Oskar Blues has probably never brewed a bad beer. Drive outside of Denver and there is a plethora of beer awaiting you. 

Missoula, Montana: Moose Drool. That is all we have to say about Missoula.

Portland, Maine: the other Portland. Tapped Life is now planning another beer tasting trip. We know this is going to spark a huge east-coast beer-sampling extravaganza of our fine beer-brewing country.

Santa Fe, New Mexico: Located between Texas and Arizona—no really!—New Mexico has a lot going for it. Albuquerque and Santa Fe are brewing up a storm. Tapped Life will personally vouch for Second Street Brewery and Santa Fe Brewing Company. We’re partial to SFBC’s Black IPA, and SS’s Rod’s Best Bitter, and Pivotal IPA.

Traverse City, Michigan: Sadly, Beer Sofa has yet to visit this 15,000-person town that is home to 13 breweries, but we like the odds. We’ll probably head up during The Traverse City Microbrew & Music Fest in August. Because nothing goes better with beer than music.

But don’t take our word for it. Go check out these tiny beer towns for yourself. Better yet, find more tiny beer towns. And make your own list of amazing beer towns we should all go to. Let us know where we should travel to next. Tiny craft beer towns to explore.