Everyone loves taste-testing different beers, and doing it at a brewery is a whole different experience than a typical bar. There’s the unmistakable smell that every brewery has of hops and foam, you’re surrounded by other beer nerds who want to talk about the differences between ales and lagers, and you always learn a little bit about the history of the city you’re in. Plus, a cold, fresh beer just can’t be beat. Is your mouth watering too? Check out the list of breweries around the world that you should definitely try.
Starkenberger Brewery, Tarrenz, Austria
Not only does the beer taste good enough to drink, but it’s good enough to bathe in. You read that correctly. Starkenberger Brewery is inside a beautiful castle, and deep within the bowels you will find a Turkish bath-like spa where you can literally get into any of seven 13-foot beer-filled baths. The baths are supposed to have healing powers and is supposedly very good for your skin. (Flickr)
Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany
Crates of wheat beer are pictured at the Weihenstephan brewery on November 16, 2009 in Freising, Germany. Located outside Munich, Germany, Weihenstephan is the world’s oldest brewery. The former monastery brewery of the Benedictine monks was founded 1040 and was burned down four times since its founding. It sits on top of a beautiful hill and has a beer garden that offers beautiful views of the surrounding area. The Bavarian state brewery claims to be the oldest existing brewery in the world. (Photo by Miguel Villagran/Getty Images)
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Yueling Brewery, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Speaking of old breweries, the Yuenling Brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, is America’s oldest brewery. While there, you can check out hand-dug fermentation caves that were used for storage before refrigeration. Established in 1829, the brewery has survived both war and peace. (Wikipedia)
LeVeL33, Singapore
LeVeL33 is named for the floor that it is on. The brewery claims to be the world’s highest urban craft brewery. Found in Singapore, the very hip, urban brewery and restaurant is set inside “Asia’s best business address” in the Marina Bay Financial Centre, according to Insider. It has a great skyline view and five craft beers. (albedo20/Flickr)
Church Brew Works, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Beer brewing tanks sit at the former altar of The Church Brew Works, an old church renovated into a brewery, in Pittsburgh. Breweries opening in renovated churches are winning fans but earning disapproval from clergy and worshippers across the U.S. The trend started after the 2007 recession as churches merged or closed because of dwindling membership. Church Brew Works lets people sit in the pews, and beer is poured directly from the altar like you see here. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)
Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren, Vleteren, Belguim
Supposedly, Belgium’s Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren has the best beer in the whole world.
The Trappist monks who live there started brewing the beer back in 1839 and started selling to the public nearly a century later in 1931. But then RateBeer.Com named them their dark, quadrupel-style 12 the best beer in the world, and they became famous. The monks still only brew about 126,000 gallons of beer a year, and so it is hard to come by. There is a limit of one case per car, and you have to pick it up at the Abbey front gate, and you must call to order the case. Every hour the “beer phone” gets about 85,000 calls, so best of luck! (Flickr)
Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro Bend, Vermont
Hill Farmstead Brewery in Vermont has been named the Best Brewery in the World by RateBeer.Com two years in a row. Seven of its beeer were listed in the top 100 beers in the world, according to Insider, and six of those beers were in the top 50 in the world. Plus, with sprawling countryside around the brewery, the view cannot be beaten. (Flickr)
Kiuchi Brewery, Naka, Japan
Not only does Kiuchi Brewery have the award-winning Hitachino Nest Beer (pictured), but you can create your own beer, including the recipe, label and all. A brewer will walk you through the whole process as you decide the flavor palette, design the label, and brew the beer. It shows up on your doorstep three weeks later. (Flickr)
Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Brewery Vivant is set in a former funeral parlor, which sounds a little creepy, but in fact, has gorgeous stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings and features “to die for” French and Belgian inspired brews, according to Insider.
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