All About Beer Magazine - Volume 29, Issue 2
May 1, 2008 By

Beer drinkers are particular not only about what they drink, but also where they drink. We all have our favorite places to enjoy a cold one. Some are laid back and relaxing. Others are loud and rollicking. Because beer is such a social beverage, our favorite places to sip a brew are often where our friends gather, or a pub where you can make new friends almost from the minute you arrive.

All About Beer Magazine has been chronicling great watering holes for nearly three decades. In the process our writers have come up with a few favorite places of their own. The following list is an attempt to bring together the 125 best places in the world to have a beer. The Growler List, if you will. With any list of this sort, we fully expect it will cause some debate and even a few arguments. More art than science went into constructing this list, but we can assure you that having a beer at any location on this list is a special experience.

We hope your favorite place is on the list. If its not, let us hear about it. After all, we are always in search of the next great place to have a pint.

1. Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO

2. Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium

3. U Fleku, Prague, Czech Republic

4. Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London, England

5. Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany

6. Augustiner Keller, Munich, Germany

7. Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval, Orval, Belgium

8. The Gravity Bar, Guinness St. James Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland

9. Monk’s Café, Philadelphia, PA

10. The Great Canadian Beer Festival, Vancouver, BC

11. Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany

12. The Brickskeller, Washington, DC

13. Rick’s Café, Negril, Jamaica

14. The Market Porter, Stoney Street, London, England

15. Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD

16. Seats on top of the Green Monster in Fenway Park, Boston, MA

17. Mondial de la Bière, Montreal, Quebec

18. Horizon’s Café, CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario

19. Clubhouse box seats at the Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, NY

20. Beer Club Popeye, Tokyo, Japan

21. The Publick House, Brookline, MA

22. Infield at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL

23. Henry’s 12th Street Tavern, Portland, OR

24. The Hopleaf, Chicago, IL

25. World Beer Festival, Durham/Raleigh, NC

26. French Quarter during Mardi Gras, New Orleans, LA

27. Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy

28. Zum Uerige, Dusseldorf, Germany

29. Toronado, San Francisco, CA

30. The Olde Mitre Tavern, Ely Court, Hatton Garden, London, England

31. Turn 4 Suites at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, IN

32. Rogue Brewery, Newport, OR

33. The Wynkoop Brewery, Denver, CO

34. Spuyten Duyvil, Brooklyn, NY

35. Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, OH

36. McMenamins Kennedy School Hotel, Portland, OR

37. Atelier am Dom, Cologne, Germany

38. Anchor Brewing Tasting Room, San Francisco, CA

39.The Flying Saucer, NC, SC, TN, AR and TX

40. Arend’s Nest, Amsterdam, Holland

41. Blues Bar, Stone Town, Zanzibar

42. SandLot Brewery, Coors Field, Denver, CO

43. Clark Street Ale House, Chicago, IL

44. Tailgating at a Southeastern Conference Football Game

45. Selin’s Grove Brewing, Selinsgrove, PA

46. The Great Lost Bear, Portland, ME

47. The Map Room, Chicago, IL

48. The Blue Tusk, Syracuse, NY

49. Woolwich Arms, Guelph, ON

50. Beach Bar at the Atlantis Hotel, Paradise Island, Bahamas

51. The White Horse Pub, Parsons Green, London, England

52. Redbones Restaurant, Somerville, MA

53. Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, Sydney, Australia

54. Falling Rock Tap House, Denver, CO

55. Sleeping Lady Brewery/Snow Goose Restaurant, Anchorage, AK

56. In de Wildeman, Amsterdam, Holland

57. Andechs Monastery, Andechs, Germany

58. Charlie’s Bar, Copenhagen, Denmark

59. PINT Bokbierfestival, Amsterdam, Holland

60. Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA

61. Krčma, Ceske Krumlov, Czech Republic

62. Sapporo Beer Garden, Higashi-ku, Japan

63. Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, MI

64. Sail and Anchor Brewpub, Fremantle, Australia

65. F.X. Matt Brewery Tasting Room, Utica, NY

66. Delerium Café, Brussels, Belgium

67. Birreria l’Orso Eletricco, Rome, Italy

68. Gösser Bierklinik, Vienna, Austria

69. Bariloche Ski Resort, Rio Negro, Argentina

70. d.b.a., New York, NY

71. Brewer’s Art, Baltimore, MD

72. Au General Lafayette, Paris, France

73. Schlenkerla Brewery Tavern, Bamberg, Germany

74. De Hopduvel, Antwerp, Belgium

75. Mr. Sancho’s Beach, Cozumel, Mexico

76. City Tavern, Philadelphia, PA

77. Die Weisse, Salzburg, Austria

78. Halve Maan Brewery, Bruges, Belgium

79. Tinkoff, Moscow, Russia

80. Le Bier Circus, Brussels, Belgium

81. TY Harbor Brewery, Tokyo, Japan

82. Irseer Klosterbrauerei, Irsee, Germany

83. Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival, Stockholm, Sweden

84. Goose Island Brewing, Chicago, IL

85. Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

86. Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY

87. Deschutes Brewery & Publick House, Bend, OR

88. Baumgartner’s Cheese Store & Tavern, Monroe, WI

89. Icebergs Bar, Sydney, Australia

90. Cantillon Brewery and Gueuze Museum, Belgium

91. Dogfish Head Ale House, Rehoboth Beach, DE

92. Belgo Central, London, England

93. Bruxellensis Festival of Characterful Beers, Brussels, Belgium

94. Felix in The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong

95. Brasserie Federal, Bahnhof Zurich, Switzerland

96. Heineken Brewery, Amsterdam, Holland

97. Clark’s Ale House, Syracuse, NY

98. The Shakespeare, Aukland, New Zealand

99. Mahar’s, Albany, NY

100. Steamworks Brewing, Vancouver, BC

101. Cooter Brown’s, New Orleans, LA

102. McSorley’s Ale House, New York, NY

103. Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Grill & Brewery, Key West, FL

104. Rose & Crown Pub, Epcot Center, Orlando, FL

105. The Church Brew Works, Pittsburgh, PA

106. Brick Store Pub, Decatur, GA

107. Sunset Grille & Tap, Boston, MA

108. The Ghost Bar at the Palms Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

109. Norwich Inn/Jasper Murdock’s Brewery, Norwich, VT

110. The Gingerman, Austin, TX

111. Library Ale House, Santa Monica, CA

112. t’Bruges Biertja, Bruges, Belgium

113. beerbistro, Toronto, Canada

114. The Dubliner, Washington, DC

115. John Barleycorn, Chicago, IL

116. Anchor Bar, Buffalo, NY

117. Gritty McDuff’s, Portland, ME

118. Top of the Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Chapel Hill, NC

119. The Bell, Aldworth, Berkshire, England

120. The Golf Tavern, Edinburgh, Scotland

121. Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington, DC

122. 5 Seasons Brewing, Atlanta, GA

123. Tim Schafer’s at Lake Norman, Sherrills Ford, NC

124. Stumbling Monk, Seattle. WA

125. The Happy Gnome, St. Paul, MN