America's best beer cities

Online Travel Vietnam: Boston, Seattle and Portland rise to the top. A good bar is one thing—but a great beer may be quite another.

That's the verdict from Travel + Leisure readers, who voted on the best cities in America for finding an excellent microbrew. In this year's America's Favorite Cities survey, T+L readers ranked 35 cities on things like great restaurants and lively bar scenes. And some of the winners in that bar category-New York City, Las Vegas, and Miami-couldn't crack the top 20 for good-tasting beer. In fact, readers put mojito-loving Miami in last place for microbrews.

Not surprisingly, you'll find two of the top three beer-quaffing towns in the Pacific Northwest, but the rest of the Top 10 are scattered across the U.S. It's a sign that the microbrews-made in relatively small batches, and often emphasizing quirky flavors-are becoming more mainstream, and perhaps even flourishing during the recession. Craft beer sales were up by 11 percent in 2010, according to the Brewers Association, while U.S. beer sales were down 1 percent overall.

"This is definitely an age of exploration for the American beer drinker," says Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. Loving beer can even make for a great vacation: while wine enthusiasts may head straight to Napa, serious beer enthusiasts can choose from several great beer regions, or go to beer festivals such as Philly Beer Week, Boston's American Craft Beer Fest, or the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Around the country, microbreweries increasingly offer winery-style touches such as tours, tasting rooms, and the chance to buy direct; plenty now offer their wares in half-gallon "growler" jugs.

While Gatza says that, in general, West Coast microbrews tend toward the bitter and "hoppy," and many East Coast microbrewers favor India Pale Ales, the most current brewing trend is to embrace the hometown roots. "You'll see beers with locally sourced honey or wheat," he says, "or [that] use certain fruits or spices that aren't available outside a small radius." Austin's Live Oak Brewery, for instance, makes an ale with a citrus flavor akin to Texas Ruby Red grapefruit.

Austin, meanwhile, is one of the few Top 10 beer cities that also ranked near the top for its overall bar scene. "To be a great beer city," says Gatza, "you need at least one good brewery to anchor the community." But otherwise, he says, "people have a good time in Austin-and beer just happens to go with that."

Seattle

AFC voters loved only two things more than beer in this Pacific Northwest city: coffee (No. 1) and farmers' markets (No. 2). Both are in great form at downtown's Pike Place Market, where you can also check out the Pike Brewing Company-home of the Pike Kilt Lifter, which resembles a single-malt scotch. Another locals' favorite: the Elysian Brewing Company, where you can sip a Dragonstooth Stout.

Boston

Good ol' Sam Adams can take some credit for Boston's Top 10 beer showing, but perhaps so can fictional Cheers, and memories of Cliff and Norm sitting at the bar. Beer enthusiasts can take tours at the Sam Adams brewery or go to Southie and check out the beloved Harpoon Brewery. Otherwise, AFC voters liked soaking up the culture in Beantown, by checking out the historic sights and the classical music scene.

Kansas City

AFC voters may not come to KC for its luxury hotels or wild parties, but they do love the barbecue, which ranks at No. 2 and tastes great with beer. You can take tours at the longtime leader Boulevard Brewing Company, or sit in at 7th Street Brewery, which offers live music and a beer garden where you can even check out the hops growing on vines.

Source: nydailynews.com