Dublin, Ireland
Sadly, the actual brewery is closed to visitors, but you can tour the Guinness Storehouse next door and learn everything you ever wanted to know about the world-famous stout. Be sure to stay for a pint in the top-floor Gravity Bar. Hardcore Irish beer drinkers may also want to visit Cork, Ireland, where Beamish and Murphy's stouts are brewed.
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| Guinness Storehouse's Gravity Bar, Dublin / Guiness |
Hotel Recommendations
Conveniently located near the Guinness Storehouse, The Clarence is posh and formal, hardly a reflection of its partial owner, Bono, of the rock band U2. Other nearby hotels include the distinguished The Westin Dublin and the bright, contemporary The Morgan.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Home of the Miller Brewing Co.—maybe you've heard of it?—Milwaukee also boasts such microbreweries as Sprecher Brewery and Lakefront Brewery. After you've toured and tasted to your liver's limit, head to Water Street Brewery, one of the first micro-brewpubs in the city, for dinner. Drive west to Madison to extend your Wisconsin beer tour.
Hotel Recommendations
Downtown lodging includes the contemporary InterContinental Milwuakee, where you can unwind in the dark wood lobby and on-site pub, or the lively Hotel Metro, where you can borrow bikes to explore the waterfront. For a change of pace, the historic Pfister Hotel evokes bygone days, with Victorian furnishings and elegant dining options.
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is as full of breweries as it is mountains. Take the Asheville Brews Cruise to tour French Broad Brewing Co., Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co., and Highland Brewing Co., but don't stop there. Jack of the Wood serves custom-brewed Green Man Ales, and Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria taps microbrews from all over North Carolina.
Hotel Recommendations
All those brewery tours may leave your driving abilities a bit impaired, so book a room at the Haywood Park Hotel, an easy walk from Jack of the Wood or Barley's. Alternatively, check-in to the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, with views of the historic district. Or, if you have a designated driver, stay at the Richmond Hill Inn on the outskirts of town.
Denver, Colorado
The Denver area boasts a high concentration of breweries. Coors Brewing Co. may be the best known, but it shouldn't be your only stop. The LoDo neighborhood has a ton of choices, including Wynkoop Brewing Co. Rock Bottom Brewery is a great spot to people watch. If you're there in early October, check out the Great American Beer Festival.
Hotel Recommendations
Colorful and historic Hotel Monaco Denver sits on the western edge of the LoDo district, as does the slightly more upscale Hotel Teatro. A little farther from the action, you'll find the stylish and contemporary Warwick Hotel.
