When we first started out, it was a very good beer. It was a very good beer for nomadic types On soft summer nights. We’d try specialty flights paired with pub food bites, In our very First Year.
When in our Second Year, it was a very good beer. It was a very good beer for joyful treks To festivals and fairs, Sharing IPA pairs. Sure wish you’da been there, In our Second year.
When in our Third Year, it was a very good beer. It was a very good beer for sojourners on the trail for new brews, towers frothing good news. It was so hard to choose. When our Third year.
When in our Fourth Year, it was a very good beer. It was a very good beer for wanderers and good local suds served with decent grub. “We should start a pub.” When in our Fourth year.
When in our Fifth Year, it was a very good beer. It was a very good beer for rubber trampers Living on the edge blowing every keg before the next leg. When in our Fifth year.
When in our Sixth Year, it was a very good beer. It was a very good beer for living the dream beside a campfire in brewery attire with a trip to conspire. When in our Sixth year.
When in our Seventh Year, it was a very good beer. It was a very good beer for pilgrimage to Great North terrain. With God and propane The brew kept us sane. When in our Seventh Year.
Now, in our Eighth Year, it’s still a very good beer. We think of our life as a barrel aged stout, Nitrogenated. Uncomplicated. Emancipated. Yes, it is a very Good Year.
We brake for microbreweries.
Locally owned breweries are a safe place to enjoy the ancient elixir and make new friends.
Since we’ve been on the road, the number of breweries in America has almost doubled. In 2016 there were 5,780 breweries – last year there were 9,709.
The neighborhood brewery is an unofficial visitor information center. Most are owned and operated by long-term residents who name the brews after the local lore, claims to fame and natural wonders.
People love to talk about their hometown – especially over a beer.
Over a beer, people are more likely to open up and share their deepest insider secrets about the best places to see, eat and shop.
Chatting over a frosty beer has revealed some not-to-be-missed sights that most online tour guides completely miss.
Short History of Beer
Beer has a rich, and varied history which began at the dawn of civilization.
It is even hypothesized that beer may be a byproduct of the “Big Bang,” although I can’t seem to find a reference for this theory. 🤪
But it is well documented that beer has remained a part of human culture from the get-go.
A new study finds evidence of beer drinking 9,000 years ago in southern China. The findings are based on an analysis of an ancient pot found at a burial site at Qiaotou.
In addition to Ninkasi, the Sumerians also had Kubaba. She is the only woman on the Sumerians’ list of kings. She earned her ruling role not through her birth-line, but through her art as a brewer.
Queen Kubaba
The Egyptians worshipped the goddess of beer, Menqet, and celebrated sun god Ra’s daughter, Sekhmet, whose bloodthirsty ways were calmed by beer.
Goddess Sekhmet
A Stanford researcher may have found evidence of beer making paraphernalia dating back more than 13,000 years.
Under a microscope, Professor Li Liu of Stanford University finds and records ancient starch grains.
St. Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th century German abbess, is the source of the earliest surviving writings on the use of hops in beer, and for that she is the unofficial patron saint of beer.
Patty Hamrick, a writer with a master’s in archaeological anthropology, teaches a class called The Archaeology of Beer.
Hamrick points to the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi from Mesopotamia, one of civilization’s first set of written laws, as evidence of women’s authority in beer.
The monks made and served beer for pilgrims and travelers since it was safer to drink than water.
The oldest continually working brewery, Weihenstephan Brewery, started in 768 AD and officially opened in 1040 AD.
Weihenstephan’s Taproom
Modern Craft Micro-Breweries
On a beautiful Autumn day on October 14, 1978, craft brewing experienced a renaissance when President Jimmy Carter signed H.R. 1337
President Jimmy Carter signing a bill in October 1978 (maybe H.R. 1337)
The bill contained an amendment sponsored by Senator Alan Cranston creating an exemption from taxation of beer brewed at home for personal or family use.
So, here it is, a list of the 259 breweries (update 11/30/23 – 264 breweries) we have, so far, visited since we started traveling full-time in July 2016. Now, if you’re thinking, “What, 259 breweries!?!?” Remember, we have been on the road more than 2,600 days, so that averages one brewery visit every 10 days. I call that restraint! 🍻🤪
The list is broken down by year and then alphabetized.
Year One – July 2016 to July 2017
4 Hands Brewing Company – St. Louis, Missouri
Alpha Brewing Company – St. Louis, Missouri
Barrelhouse Brewing Company – Paso Robles, California
Bay Bridge Brewing Company – Chula Vista, California
Big Bear Lake Brewing Company – Big Bear Lake, California
Big Bear Mountain Brewery – Big Bear Lake, California
Bluesapaloosa – Mammoth Lakes, California
Bricktown Brewery – Shawnee, Oklahoma
Coronado Brewing Company – Coronado, California
Courtyard Brewery – New Orleans, Louisiana
Covington Brew House – Covington, Louisiana
Duel Brewing – Sante Fe, New Mexico
Dunsmuir Brewery Works – Dunsmuir, California
Fogbelt Brewing Company – Santa Rosa, California
Goshen Brewing Company – Goshen, Indiana
Kathrin’s Biergarten – Rocklin, California
Lone Peak Brewery – Big Sky, Montana
Magic Valley Brewing – Buhl, Idaho
Mammoth Brewing Company – Mammoth Lakes, California
Miner Brewing Company – Hills City, South Dakota
Morgan Street Brewing Company – St. Louis, Missouri – house-made tater tot
Nature Coast Brewing Company – Crystal River, Florida
New Belgium Brewing Company – Ft. Collins, Colorado
Nivol Brewing Company – Panama City, Florida
Old Rail Brewing Company – Mandeville, Louisiana
Oyster City Brewing Company – Apalachicola, Florida
Pigeon Hill Brewing Company – Muskegon, Michigan
Russian River Brewing Company – Santa Rosa, California
Santa Fe Brewing Company – Sante Fe, New Mexico
Sick-N-Twisted Microbrewery – Hill City, South Dakota
Smokey Mountain Brewing Company – Knoxville, Tennessee
Snake River Brewing – Jackson, Wyoming
Unruly Brewing Company – Muskegon, Michigan
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company – St. Louis, Missouri
Urban South Brewery – New Orleans, Louisiana
Year Two – July 2017 to July 2018
Asheville Brewing Company – Asheville, North Carolina
Biloxi Brewing Company – Biloxi, Mississippi
Blue Ghost Brewing Company – Fletcher, North Carolina
Bosque Brewing Company – Las Cruces, New Mexico
Brewery 33 – Logan, Ohio
Calusa Brewing Company – Bee Ridge, Florida
Copper Point Brewing Company – Boynton Beach, Florida
Crooked Can Brewing Company – Winter Garden, Florida
Culmination Brewing – Portland, Oregon
Depoe Bay Brewing Company – Depoe Bay, Oregon
Florida Keys Brewing Company – Islamorada, Florida
Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Paso Robles, California
Hell ‘n Blazes Brewing Company – Melbourne, Florida
Hilton Head Brewing Company – Hilton Head, South Carolina
Humboldt Regeneration Brewery and Farm – McKinleyville, California
Karl Strauss Brewing Company – San Diego, California
Lonerider Brewery – Raleigh, North Carolina
Mad River Brewing Company – Blue Lake, California
Mills River Brewery – Arden, North Carolina
Moon River Brewing Company – Savannah, Georgia
New South Brewing Company – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Pale Fire Brewing Company – Harrisonburg, Virginia
River Rat Brewery – Columbia, South Carolina
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company – Mills River, North Carolina
Attitude Brewing Company – Chula Vista, California
Balter Beerworks – Knoxville, Tennessee
Bandera Brewing Company – Bandera, Texas
Big Lick Brewing Company – Roanoke, Virginia
Chafunkta Brewing Company – Mandeville, Louisiana
Denali Brewing Company – Talkeetna, Alaska
Distant Brewing – Mammoth Lakes, California
Dru Bru – Cle Elum, Washington
French Broad River Brewing Company – Asheville, North Carolina
Girdwood Brewing Company – Girdwood, Alaska
Grace Ridge Brewing Company – Homer, Alaska
Haines Brewing Company – Haines, Alaska
Homer Brewing Company – Homer, Alaska
HooDoo Brewing Company – Fairbanks, Alaska
Innerspace Brewing Company – Huntsville, Alabama
Iron Tree Brewing Company – Christiansburg, Virginia
Latitude 65 Brewing Company – Fairbanks, Alaska
Meanwhile Brewing Company – Austin, Texas
New Belgium Brewing Company – Asheville, North Carolina
NOLA on Tap Beer Fest – Metairie, Louisiana
Pinthouse Brewing – Austin, Texas
Public House 28 Brewery – Chamberino, New Mexico
Seward Brewing Company – Seward, Alaska
Skull Camp Brewing Company – Mount Airy, North Carolina
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Asheville, North Carolina
Snipes Mountain Brewery – Sunnyside, Washington
Straight To Ale Brewing – Huntsville, Alabama
The Noble Pig Brewhouse – Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Twisted Track BrewPub – Roanoke, Virginia
Zillicoah Beer Company – Woodfin, North Carolina
Year Eight – July 2023 to Now
Benford Brewing Company – Lancaster, South Carolina
Bearded Iris Brewing – Nashville, Tennessee
Common Bond Brewing Company – Montgomery, Alabama
Cooper House Project – Memphis, Tennessee
Cooper-Young BeerFest – Memphis, Tennessee
Crosstown Brewing Company – Memphis, Tennessee
The DreamChaser’s Brewery – Waxhaw, North Carolina
Fairhope Brewing Company – Fairhope, Alabama
Fertile Ground Beer Company – Jackson, Mississippi
Fire Maker Brewing Company – Atlanta, Georgia
Ghost River Brewing Company – Memphis, Tennessee
Golden Grove Farm and Brew – Piedmont, South Carolina
Gypsy Road Brewing Company – Kernersville, North Carolina
Hidden Gate Brewing Company – Greensboro, North Carolina
High Cotton Brewing Company – Memphis, Tennessee
Inner Voice Brewing Company – Decatur, Georgia
Iron Hand Brewing – Mobile, Alabama
Joy Mongers Brewing Company – Greensboro, North Carolina
Lore Brewing Company – Fort Mill, South Carolina
Memphis Made Brewing Company – Memphis, Tennessee
Monday Night Brewing – Nashville, Tennessee
Oden Brewing Company – Greensboro, North Carolina
Outrun Brewing Company – Stone Mountain, Georgia
Pig Pounder Brewing Company – Greensboro, North Carolina
Siluria Brewing Company – Alabaster, Alabama
South End Brewing Company – Greensboro, North Carolina
TennFold Brewing – Nashville, Tennessee
Three Taverns Brewery – Decatur, Georgia
Wiseacre Brewing Company – Memphis, Tennessee
Yazoo Brewing Company – Nashville, Tennessee
Yee Haw Brewing Company – Knoxville, Tennessee
As time goes on, we will update this post with new breweries.
Let us know in the comment section below if you’ve visited any of these breweries, or let us know of any breweries you think are worth the drive or, hey let’s just talk beer.
*photos in this post (unless otherwise noted) were taken and copyrighted by Living In Beauty.
28 thoughts on “It Was A Very Good Beer”
We’ve been on the road for just over 2000 days (as of Nov 1) and I don’t think we’ve visited 259 of anything, except maybe grocery stores and gas stations. Thanks for taking the time to put all this info in one place, I know what a chore that can be. Phil and Tricia – TwoPeasAndThePod
Phil and Tricia, congratulations on your more than 2000 days on the road. Carmen and I enjoy your blog, http://www.twopeasandthepod.com. I have been working on this blog post for months, compiling the photos and tracking where we visited. It did take a long time to put together. Thanks for your comment. Jim 🍻
Bonnie, we loved Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa. Great beer, especially Pliny the Younger when it is available. We agree, the west coast is filled with great breweries. Pliny the Younger. Can’t wait for it to come back! Jim 🍻
I met you two one July day in 2016 at Fiddler’s Cove Campground on San Diego Bay as you were preparing for your long awaited for retirement trip
of a lifetime. I was surprised with the calmness in the air once you related
your plan for an open-ended trip in Beauty. I wished the two of you a
Vaya con Dios and peddled my bike back to Coronado thinking this couple,
as eager as they were, won’t be celebrating Christmas in Beauty.
This fellow trailer camper, though a mere teardrop, sends much admiration
and congratulations!
Bruce, wow! we met you almost 7 ½ years ago! We remember that day, and you, as if it were yesterday. The day we actually started traveling full-time. Thanks for following us all these years! Stay safe out there! Jim 🍻
Without a doubt one of your best blogs. Once I got over my initial disappointment that it was not Carmen’s voice I was hearing I realized that a blog post about beer had to be done in the dulcet tones of Jim’s voice (especially since I was not available)
Let me offer you praise, admiration and several atta boys (girls!) for the incredible job of compilation and editing you undertook to complete this quite worthy missive. Secondly, I truly appreciated the abundance, the plethora, nay even the whole bunches of humorous inclusions (I think my favorite was changing milk into beer!)
I was hoping for an ultimate ranking. Maybe a top five all time breweries and what qualifies them as such
Lastly, I am as proud and pleased as punch (although I’m never sure what punch has to be pleased about) to be included in your rogue’s gallery while partaking at The Copper Brothel Brewery (although as I recall, I was drinking hot chocolate).
Keep up the good work, enjoy the South and looking forward to seeing you back in Paradise next year
P.S. Still trying to sell Sam on the move but not having much luck
As always, obediently yours
Funniest Man in S.D.
Karen, Agreed! Many of the breweries we have visited offer non-alcoholic beverages. Many are actually family friendly with food for everyone, games to play, and lots of outside places for the youngsters to run and play while the adults watch them from a safe distance. We have sat at tables for hours and have never been told to leave. Jim 🍻
Great list, I found just 3, where we have been as well. Many still to discover.
Didn’t you miss Elevation Beer company in Poncha Springs, Colorado in your summary. We stopped there this summer because we saw it in one of your blogposts some time ago. Nice beer and barfood as well.
Claudia, for a minute I was “Oh my, how did I forget Elevation, but thankfully it is there. Whew! We did list Elevation Beer under our 4th year between July 2019 and July 2020. Loved their beer AND they let us spend the night behind the brewery! Hope you enjoyed your stop as much as we did! Stay safe out there! Jim 🍻
What joy I had in reading this! My husband and I (of 43 yrs) also enjoy traveling and visiting breweries 🍻. We have had our airstream almost 1.5 years and have been to many breweries! We live outside of Memphis and enjoy all the locals y’all visited! Great beer in Memphis 🍺. Thank you for sharing…such a rich treat…CHEERS!
We loved all of the breweries we visited in Memphis. It would have taken more than another week or so to visit them all, but we sure enjoyed the ones we did visit. Jim 🍻
Dean, great to hear from you! Glad you enjoyed the humor we tried to insert into this blog post. Nothing quite as good as great food and great beer. Stay safe out there! Jim
Wow, you guys! This is crazy. In so many ways. But, mostly in a good way. Did you ever visit Belgium? Beer capital of the world? There is a joke going around that I’m the only Belgian who doesn’t drink beer. Sorry! But, your post cracked me up, especially all the little quotes. And, I had to think “Thank, God we have Starlink now, or your post would have never loaded with all those photos!!” 🙂 Proost!
We do not have a blog post exclusively about our visit to South Padre Island, but we do mention some of the things we enjoyed there in our blog post: Texas Border Wrap-Up. Jim 🍻
We’ve been on the road for just over 2000 days (as of Nov 1) and I don’t think we’ve visited 259 of anything, except maybe grocery stores and gas stations. Thanks for taking the time to put all this info in one place, I know what a chore that can be. Phil and Tricia – TwoPeasAndThePod
Phil and Tricia, congratulations on your more than 2000 days on the road. Carmen and I enjoy your blog, http://www.twopeasandthepod.com. I have been working on this blog post for months, compiling the photos and tracking where we visited. It did take a long time to put together. Thanks for your comment. Jim 🍻
Was pleased to see so many along the west coast that I am familiar with. Santa Rosa, CA my home. So many more here.
Bonnie, we loved Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa. Great beer, especially Pliny the Younger when it is available. We agree, the west coast is filled with great breweries. Pliny the Younger. Can’t wait for it to come back! Jim 🍻
I met you two one July day in 2016 at Fiddler’s Cove Campground on San Diego Bay as you were preparing for your long awaited for retirement trip
of a lifetime. I was surprised with the calmness in the air once you related
your plan for an open-ended trip in Beauty. I wished the two of you a
Vaya con Dios and peddled my bike back to Coronado thinking this couple,
as eager as they were, won’t be celebrating Christmas in Beauty.
This fellow trailer camper, though a mere teardrop, sends much admiration
and congratulations!
Bruce Davidson
Bruce, wow! we met you almost 7 ½ years ago! We remember that day, and you, as if it were yesterday. The day we actually started traveling full-time. Thanks for following us all these years! Stay safe out there! Jim 🍻
Without a doubt one of your best blogs. Once I got over my initial disappointment that it was not Carmen’s voice I was hearing I realized that a blog post about beer had to be done in the dulcet tones of Jim’s voice (especially since I was not available)
Let me offer you praise, admiration and several atta boys (girls!) for the incredible job of compilation and editing you undertook to complete this quite worthy missive. Secondly, I truly appreciated the abundance, the plethora, nay even the whole bunches of humorous inclusions (I think my favorite was changing milk into beer!)
I was hoping for an ultimate ranking. Maybe a top five all time breweries and what qualifies them as such
Lastly, I am as proud and pleased as punch (although I’m never sure what punch has to be pleased about) to be included in your rogue’s gallery while partaking at The Copper Brothel Brewery (although as I recall, I was drinking hot chocolate).
Keep up the good work, enjoy the South and looking forward to seeing you back in Paradise next year
P.S. Still trying to sell Sam on the move but not having much luck
As always, obediently yours
Funniest Man in S.D.
Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, what can I say! Thank you! Jim 🍻
I love good craft beer. Unfortunately my pancreas hates alcohol.
Gary, I understand. Hope it never comes to deciding between my pancreas and beer. Jim
Gary I know a man from Philadelphia that used to say, he had rather be a good liver, than to have a good liver.
I don’t drink beer, but lots of breweries have great food and u can sit for a long time
Karen, Agreed! Many of the breweries we have visited offer non-alcoholic beverages. Many are actually family friendly with food for everyone, games to play, and lots of outside places for the youngsters to run and play while the adults watch them from a safe distance. We have sat at tables for hours and have never been told to leave. Jim 🍻
Ours has pinball, skee ball, the claw machine and video games. Just bring lots of quarters the grands love it.
Great list, I found just 3, where we have been as well. Many still to discover.
Didn’t you miss Elevation Beer company in Poncha Springs, Colorado in your summary. We stopped there this summer because we saw it in one of your blogposts some time ago. Nice beer and barfood as well.
Claudia, for a minute I was “Oh my, how did I forget Elevation, but thankfully it is there. Whew! We did list Elevation Beer under our 4th year between July 2019 and July 2020. Loved their beer AND they let us spend the night behind the brewery! Hope you enjoyed your stop as much as we did! Stay safe out there! Jim 🍻
What joy I had in reading this! My husband and I (of 43 yrs) also enjoy traveling and visiting breweries 🍻. We have had our airstream almost 1.5 years and have been to many breweries! We live outside of Memphis and enjoy all the locals y’all visited! Great beer in Memphis 🍺. Thank you for sharing…such a rich treat…CHEERS!
We loved all of the breweries we visited in Memphis. It would have taken more than another week or so to visit them all, but we sure enjoyed the ones we did visit. Jim 🍻
Great read!
Glad you enjoyed it. We sure enjoyed doing the research for this blog post. 🤪🍻🍺🍻🍺. Jim
Enjoyed the humor and envious of your shared passion for exploring good food, beverages and adventure together.
Dean, great to hear from you! Glad you enjoyed the humor we tried to insert into this blog post. Nothing quite as good as great food and great beer. Stay safe out there! Jim
Icicle Brewing in Leavenworth, WA!
That is a town we have not yet had the opportunity to visit. Thanks for the tip! Jim 🍻
Wow, you guys! This is crazy. In so many ways. But, mostly in a good way. Did you ever visit Belgium? Beer capital of the world? There is a joke going around that I’m the only Belgian who doesn’t drink beer. Sorry! But, your post cracked me up, especially all the little quotes. And, I had to think “Thank, God we have Starlink now, or your post would have never loaded with all those photos!!” 🙂 Proost!
Liesbet, we have never been to Belgium yet. One day!! Glad you enjoyed this post. Jim
I’d like to hear about your visit to South Padre Island.
We do not have a blog post exclusively about our visit to South Padre Island, but we do mention some of the things we enjoyed there in our blog post: Texas Border Wrap-Up. Jim 🍻