Best Destinations for Beer Lovers

Beer lovers rejoice - thanks to the craft beer boom there are plenty of places to travel to and enjoy a cool glass of local beer. But where do we recommend making sure are top of a beer lovers travel wish list? Read on to find out!

We’ve split our recommendations into continents, so that it’s easier for you to find, and given you some tips on which beers and breweries we think that you should be sampling.

Europe

 Photo credit: Wikimedia

Wrocław, Poland

Beer fact: Polish beer is good and cheap! Look to pay around £1.60 GBP/$2.20 USD for a pint of draught domestic beer.

What to drink:

Some of the top craft breweries in Poland include:

• Piwowarownia
• Twigg
• Pinta
• Targowa (local to Wrocław)
• Hopium
• Browar Maryensztadt
• Stu Mostów (local to Wrocław)
• Brokreacja
• Profesja (local to Wrocław)

How to get there: Fly to Copernicus Airport Wrocław (WRO) with Air France, Wizz Air, Ryanair, KLM, Eurowings, and more.

 Photo credit: Anthony O'Neil

Bristol, UK

Beer fact: Bristol and the city’s surrounding area is home to over 20 breweries.

What to drink: Some of the top craft breweries in Bristol include:

• Lost and Grounded
• Arbor Ales
• Moor
• Bristol Beer Factory
• Wiper And True
• Left Handed Giant

How to get there: Fly to Bristol Airport (BRS) with Aer Lingus Regional, Aurigny, easyJet, TUI Airways, KLM, Flybe and more

 Photo credit: Vito Pietri

Munich, Germany

Beer fact: The oldest brewery in Munich, the Augustiner brewery, was founded by monks in the 14th century. The brewery is now privately owned.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Munich include:

• Schneider Weisse
• Augustiner (Helles is one of their must-try beers!)
• Giesinger
• Hacker-Pschorr
• Crew Republic
• Spaten
• Hofbräu
• Paulaner

How to get there: Fly to Munich International Airport (MUC) with Aegean Airlines, Condor, Eurowings, Lufthansa, TUI Fly Deutschland, United Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, SunExpress Deutschland, and more

Antwerp, Belgium

Beer fact: Despite not being as packed with craft breweries and Trappist tasting rooms as other Belgian cities, Antwerp is the capital of Flanders and serves as an excellent showcase of what the region has to offer.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Antwerp include:

• De Koninck
• Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie Seefbier
• Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat (the brewery is a 20 minute drive from the city, well worth a visit)
• ‘t Waagstuk Zeppelin
• Westmalle

How to get there: Fly to Antwerp International Airport (ANR) with Air Antwerp, TUI Fly Belgium, and Flybe

North America

 Photo credit: Adam Bruderer

Denver, USA

Beer fact: Denver has around 150 breweries - there has been a recent slowdown, including some brewery closures, however, there continues to be a strong brewery culture in the city.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Denver and the surrounding area include:

• The Grateful Gnome
• Oasis Brewery
• Crooked Stave
• New Belgium Brewing
• Denver Beer Co
• Cerveceria Colorado (a Mexican inspired offshoot of Denver Beer Co)

How to get there: Fly to Denver International Airport (DEN) with Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Express, Boutique Air, Air Canada, Westjet, Alaska Airlines and more

 Photo credit: Marco Verch @ Flickr

Chicago, IL, USA

Beer fact: You might have heard of Goose Island, which put Chicago beer on the map, however, there’s lots of great other breweries in the Windy City.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Chicago include:

• Goose Island (well, of course)
• Half Acre Beer Company
• Pipeworks Brewing
• Spiteful Brewing
• Off Color Brewing
• Revolution Brewing
• Marz Community Brewing

How to get there: Fly to O'Hare International Airport (ORD) with American Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Air India, Aeromexico, Iberia, Spirit Airlines and more

 Photo credit: traveljunction

Vancouver, Canada

Beer fact: Vancouver is easy to walk around, allowing for fun tours of the city’s brewpubs, bars, breweries and taprooms.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Vancouver include:

• 33 Acres Brewing Company
• The Parkside Brewery
• Steamworks
• Red Truck Beer
• Brassneck Brewery
• Parallel 49 Brewing Company
• Brewhall

How to get there: Fly to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) with Air Canada, Air Canada Express, Air Transat, Harbour Air, Pacific Coastal Airlines, Westjet and more

 Photo credit: Karen Neoh

Portland, OR, USA

Beer fact: Portland is known as the world’s best beer city and local beer is #1 - Oregon breweries brew over 50% of the draft beer served in the state.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Portland include:

• Level Beer
• 10 Barrel Brewing Co
• Sunriver Brewing Company
• Barley Brown's Brew
• Wolf Tree Brewery
• Heater Allen Brewing
• Ancestry Brewing
• Deschutes Brewery

How to get there: Fly to Portland International Airport (PDX) with Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada Express, American Airlines and more

 Photo credit: cjmechoso

Miami, FL, USA

Beer fact: Miami might be better known for cocktails, but it has recently seen a craft beer revolution.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Miami include:

• J Wakefield Brewing (Star Wars themed taproom? Count us in!)
• Funky Buddha Brewery (known as South Florida’s beer Disneyland!)
• Wynwood Brewing
• Biscayne Bay Brewing
• Miami Brewing Company
• Veza Sur
• Lincoln’s Beard Brewing

How to get there: Fly to Miami International Airport (MIA) with American Eagle, Frontier Airlines, Interjet, Bahamasair, Alitalia, United Airlines, American Airlines and more

South America

 Photo credit: cerveceriamaestre on Instagram

Medellín, Colombia

Beer fact: There are over 30 different craft breweries in Medellín, with many of them being one person set ups.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Medellín include:

• Cervecería Maestre
• TorreAlta Brewing Project
• Metamorphosis
• Sierra Blanca
• Aburrá Valley Brewing Co.
• La Cerveceria Libre
• 20 Mission Cerveza
• Tres Cordilleras (one of the bigger breweries and they do tours!)

How to get there: Fly to José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) with Avianca, Air Panama, Copa Airlines Colombia, LATAM Colombia, Wingo, Air Europa, Iberia, Interjet, JetBlue and more.

 Photo credit: meplusbrew on Instagram

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Beer fact: Buenos Aires is known for Malbec, but a recent beer boom has caused it to be full to the brim with craft beers - the Palermo area of the city has some great bars, and probably has more than one craft beer bar on every block.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Buenos Aires include:

• Antares
• Grunge
• Berkeler Cerveza
• Bierlife
• Juguetes Perdidos
• Patagonia
• The Sexton beer Company

How to get there: Fly to Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) with Gol Transportes Aéreos, Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Austral Líneas Aéreas, British Airways, Emirates, and more

 Photo credit: boicotcafe on Instagram

Mexico City, Mexico

Beer fact: Craft beer is still pretty under the radar in Mexico, however, Mexico City is home to craft ale beer gardens, artisanal beer companies and microbreweries, fuelling a growing trend for the rest of the country.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Mexico City include:

• La Graciela
• Escollo
• Cerveza Cosaco
• Cervecería Texcoco Mystic Ales
• Taller de Cerveza la Graciela
• Cerveza Cru Cru

How to get there: Fly to Mexico City International Airport (MEX) with Interjet, VivaAerobus, Volaris, Air Canada, Aeroméxico, China Southern Airlines, Lufthansa, Volaris Costa Rica, and more

Asia

 Photo credit: wowmom_kwonkja on Instagram

Tokyo, Japan

Beer fact: Japan has a strong drinking culture and beer drinking is a widespread social bonding activity. Beer is enjoyed by men, women, young, old, rich and poor, and can be found pretty much everywhere - including from vending machines.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries to enjoy in Tokyo include:

• Baird Brewery
• Ginga Kogen
• Minoh Beer
• Swan Lake Beer
• Yo-Ho Brewing
• Abashiri Beer Brewery
• Kiuchi Brewery

How to get there: Fly to Haneda Airport (HND) with All Nippon Airlines, Japan Airlines, Starflyer, Jeju Air, Peach Aviation, Qantas, China Southern Airlines, Cathay Pacific, AirAsia X, Air France and more

 Photo credit: zagovorbrewery on Instagram

Moscow, Russia

Beer fact: Did you know that until 2011, Russia didn’t classify beer as alcoholic? Until then, anything with less than 10% ABV was considered a foodstuff.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Moscow include:

• Victory Art Brew
• Zagovor Brewery
• Konix Brewery
• Selfmade Brewery
• XP Brew
• Velka Morava

How to get there: Fly to Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME) with S7 Airlines, Gulf Air, AtlasGlobal, Ural Airlines, Yamal Airlines, Nordstar, IrAero and more

Manila, Philippines

Beer fact: After water and tea, beer is the most popular drink in the Philippines.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Manila include:

• 63 North Brewing Co.
• Alamat Craft Brew
• Pivo Praha Microbrewery
• Pedro Brewcrafters
• Nipa Brew
• Turning Wheels

How to get there: Fly to Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) with Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, All Nippon Airlines, Air Juan, Turkish Airlines, SilkAir, Emirates and more

Africa and Middle East

Cape Town, South Africa

Beer fact: South Africans love their beer, consuming an average of around 60 litres of beer per person, per year.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Cape Town include:

• Devil’s Peak
• Woodstock Brewery
• Aegir Project Brewery
• Jack Black’s Brewing Company
• Darling Brewery
• Wild Clover
• Beerhouse

How to get there: Fly to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) with Air Botswana, FlySafair, Thomas Cook Airlines, Rwandair, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Airlink, Kenya Airways, Kulula.com and more

 Photo credit: Wikimedia

Windhoek, Namibia

Beer fact: Namibia is home to one of one of the top 10 beers in the world - Windhoek Lager.

What to drink:

• Namibia Breweries Limited brews a lot of the beers in Namibia, including the famous Windhoek Lager (named by some as one of the best beers in the world!), Camelthorn Weiss Beer, Camelthorn Helles Lager, Club Shandy, King Lager and Tafel.
• If you’re up to try something more traditional, Oshikundu is a thick, millet-based beer.

How to get there: Fly to Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) with Air Namibia, Airlink, KLM, South African Airways, TAAG Angola Airlines, South African Express and more

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Beer fact: Tanzania ranks as the 6th country in all of Africa in terms of beer consumption.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Dar es Salaam include:

• Crafty Dee's Brewing Co
• Kilimanjaro Premium Lager
• Safari Lager
• Castle Milk Stout
• Ndovu Special Malt
• Tusker Beer

How to get there: Fly to Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) with Air Tanzania, Fastjet, Fly540, Precision Air, ZanAir, Oman Air, AB Aviation, Coastal Aviation, Ewa Air, flydubai, Int'Air Îles and more

 Photo credit: Henning Supertramp

Tel Aviv, Israel

Beer fact: In Israel, the common measure of beer is referred to as a “Hetzi”, and is 500ml. You can also order a small, third of a glass, called a “Shleesh”, and a bottle of beer is called a “Bakbook”.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Tel Aviv include:

• Goldstar
• Maccabee
• Jem’s
• Dancing Camel Brewery
• Shapiro Beer
• Taybeh Brewing Company (the first Palestinian-owned microbrewery in the Middle East)
• Golan
• Malka Brewery

How to get there: Fly to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) with Arkia, Atlasglobal, Bluebird Airways, El Al, Alitalia, American Airlines, Air India, Sun d’Or, Ryanair, Korean Air, and more

Oceania

 Photo credit: Yelp Inc.

Melbourne, Australia

Beer fact: Despite Australians drinking less alcohol now than they have done in the past 55+ years, craft beer is still popular, as is traditional Aussie lager.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Melbourne include:

• Moon Dog Craft Brewery
• Temple Brewing Company
• Two Birds Brewery (Australia’s first female-owned brewing operation)
• Hop Nation
• Crafty Squire
• Thunder Road Brewery
• 2 Brothers
• Mountain Goat

How to get there: Fly to Melbourne Airport (MEL) with: Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Scoot, Emirates, Malindo Air, Jetstar Airways, Fiji Airways and more

 Photo credit: misshotrodqueen on Instagram

Wellington, New Zealand

Beer fact: New Zealand exports much of its beer to Australia, and it is seen as one of ten New Zealand products with high export growth potential.

What to drink: Some of the top beers and breweries in Wellington include:

• Garage Project
• Tuatara Brewery
• Black Dog Brewery
• Parrotdog
• Fork and Brewer

How to get there: Fly to Wellington International Airport (WLG) with: Sounds Air, Golden Bay Air, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Air Chathams, Virgin Australia and more

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