Council Brewing Company - San Diego, CA

Our final brewery visit after Societe in San Diego..since the rest of our trip consisted of delicious bottles, growlers, and Toronado visits...was to Council Brewing. This place is newer and upcoming. Industrial park location. It was pretty empty and I tried a sampler...shocker.

One or two of the IPAs weren't bad, but none of the beers blew me away except the bourbon barrel aged stout.

It is only minutes from Societe Brewing so it is worth a visit if you're in the area. Check them out...http://councilbrew.com/

Marble Brewing - Albuquerque, NM

Our second stop in Albuquerque was Marble Brewing. I heard a lot about them, so I figured we had to stop. It isn't in too much of a busy area and the building itself was nothing special. By this time it is later into Tuesday afternoon and the place was packed.

We grabbed a table and of course I went with a sampler. I went with the Amber, IPA, Oatmeal Stout, Imperial Red, Pumpkin Noir and the Stout.  Sadly...nothing blew me away. The Pumpkin Noir was real tasty, the IPA wasn't bad but the rest fell flat with me. I was surprised after hearing such praise..I just much preferred La Cumbre personally.

But if you're in the area it's only minutes from La Cumbre and no reason not to check it out!
http://www.marblebrewery.com/

Station 26 Brewing - Denver, CO

Not too far from Comrade is Station 26 Brewing. I usually am weary of places I don't know much about this place delivered! The brewery was really nice inside, obviously an old fire station. Lots of seating and great service.

I got a sampler. Red IPA, Double IPA, IPA, and Milk Stout. These were ALL fantastic. Typically with a brewery I know nothing about, at least 50% of my sampler sucks. These were all great. This place knows how to make an IPA and all 3 of us agreed it was hands down the best Red IPA we have ever had.

We didn't stay long sadly since the winter weather was picking up and we wanted to get a move on. But if you are in Denver be sure to go here and to Comrade..they are within minutes from each other. Check out their site for more info..http://www.station26brewing.co/

Toppling Goliath - Decorah, IA

After New Glarus was our next stop I was most excited about...Toppling Goliath! I have had plenty of their brews through trades, and knew this was good stuff. I won't lie I was surprised by the size of the place...very small for the love it gets. But hey it was Sunday, the football game was and the place was dead..PERFECT.

I got a sampler with Psuedo Sue, Zeelander, Golden Nugget, and Rover Truck. Damn this place makes good IPAs. Zeelander is one of the finest examples of the Nelson hop.

I can't say much else here about this place...they are making some of the best beers in the country. They sell bottles and growler...I got some PSuedo Sue bottles and Golden Nugget, also a snifter glass and some posters. Service was great.

I love this place, wish they were in my neighborhood. Check them out..http://www.tgbrews.com/site/

Karben4 Brewing - Madison, WI

After a great day in Chicago, we headed up to Madison, WI to the new and upcoming fantastic Karben4 Brewing. This place did not disappoint.

Good sized brewery and restaurant. Plenty of parking. For a Saturday night it was actually kind of dead...plenty of open tables for the taking. As always, I did a sampler. I tried the Fantasy Factory IPA, Tokyo Sauna Pale Ale, Undercover Session Ale, and Block Party Amber. The only stand out here was Fantasy Factory...which I had heard of before heading here so I wasn't too shocked.

Not much else to say here...great place, great service, good beer I would like to try other offerings from them, but if you are anywhere near Madison this is the brewery you need to go to! Check them out..http://www.karben4.com/

Dry Hop - Chicago, IL

After Lagunitas we stopped for lunch at a great place called Dry Hop. It was crowded, but got a table instantly. This is a brewery, but really just looks like a nice lunch place.

Below is a picture of the beers I got, I am not discussing them 1 by 1 because honestly none stood out. None were gross...but it was all average for my taste.

The highlight here is the food. This lunch was incredible. I split meals with my father. I got the burger with fries which was an incredible burger. I am usually not a big fan of burgers, but this was done to perfection and the fries were fantastic as well. My father got the french toast that was crusted with Capt'n Crunch. It was a little on the sweet side..but probably the best french toast I've ever had. Here is the description of these two items to get your mouth watering:

THE CAPTAIN’S FRENCH TOAST: Fresh Challah bread dipped in a Rum-spiked egg and cream batter, ‘crusted’ in Captain Crunch cereal, and accompanied by Liquid Cheesecake, Blueberries, and warm Bourbon Maple Syrup.

THE BURGER: Our Custom Blend with Ancho Chile-Tomato Jam, Arugula, Pickled Sweet Onions, and Raw Milk Cheddar (option: add Applewood Smoked Bacon).
If you're out and about in the city, come stop here for a beer and lunch you will NOT regret this decision. They also fill crowlers which have a very unique and fun design.

 Check them out for yourself! http://www.dryhopchicago.com/drink/beer/

Lagunitas Brewing Company - Chicago, IL

I can't say our first stop was Lagunitas on day 1. It actually was 18th Street Brewing for a bottle release of Imperial Blud (which was all cinnamon, wasn't a fan), and Deal with the Devil Citra Pale Ale which was delicious!
After the release we moved into the city to the new Lagunitas Brewing Co...originally out of California but now operating also in Chicago. Was a little tough to find with 1 way streets everywhere, but in no time we were parked in front of this MASSIVE brewery.

Upon entering we were greeted by 4 people...1 actually working and the others lingering. Checked ID's and then on our way down a very long hallway. Can you say Willy Wonka? They had the Chocolate Factory music playing (Pure Imagination) with flashing colored lights. At the end of this hallway you are greeted by a poster made entirely of bottle caps.

You then make a left and walk down another hallway. At the end of this hallway there is another worker sitting at a desk telling you to take the stairs (a sign would do just fine, but hey not my brewery). After a few stairs, finally you get into the taproom. GIANT taproom. Lots of tables with a great view of the entire brewing process below.

We ordered our beers at the bar and grabbed a table with a nice view. A waiter came over, and sternly said if we were sitting there we should of asked because we need a waiter to be sitting there. There was probably 30 open tables...no idea we had to ask permission..but whatever.

I have had their beer before, never a HUGE fan but a fan. I got a sampler that included Born Yesterday which was a hopped up Pale Ale, Lil Sumthin' Sumthin', Sucks, and Hop Stoopid. All I can say is nothing even came close to Born Yesterday. Hands down the best beer they have ever made..it was powerful, delicious, hoppy, smelled fantastic, just wow. I then decided to get a second sampler..which is shown below also and I honestly don't even remember them. The stout was good I recall, but Born Yesterday just killed it.

Before we left we did a self tour in which you can walk all around outside the taproom and look down at the brewing process. Quick stop at the gift shop and we were on our way.

If you are in Chicago, it is worth checking this place out. They had a food menu (we didn't eat), a giant gift shop, and plenty of space. Check them out..https://lagunitas.com/taproom/chicago/

Gritty McDuff's Brewpub - Portland, ME

While wandering around downtown Portland we tried the last brewery we hadn't tried yet...Gritty McDuff's.  It was the USA World Cup game and the place was SLAMMED.  I barely could get a tiny spot at the bar but we ordered a sampler and found a seat at a picnic table next to a man reading a book drinking out of his Gritty Mug Club mug. 

I can't even discuss this place, the beer was horrible. Like top 3 WORST brewery visits..it brought me back to Schmoz brewing from the summer past (check out that review).  So I will keep this short..skip it! If you just want some lunch, maybe go check it out.  But all the beers were kinda warm and lacked flavor.  How this place has a mug club blows my mind..although I have realized most breweries with mug clubs typically aren't very good (Schmoz had a mug club). 
But if you did insist here is their website, don't say I didn't warn you...grittys.com/

Allagash Brewing Co - Portland, ME

Started off our second day in Portland with a stop to Allagash Brewing Company. I didn't know much about Allagash but I had heard good things. I knew it was heavily a Belgian type of brewery.  They open early daily which is fantastic since we had a full schedule and got to start our day off with a beer!

 

 

It was only minutes from the hotel so we got their right around open.  A decent crowd who were waiting for the tour.  We had already been on 3 tours this trip and were hoping to just sample..which they allow! I will say that this is the best FREE beer sampler I have ever seen. Just look below...

We had Victoria, Florence and I sadly forget the other 2. For a guy who isn't into Belgians, I did like these..they were refreshing and had a nice bite to them. The owner was out there talking and he was a really nice guy.  They have a giant gift shop and a beautiful bar all in one big room.  They also sell plenty of beer in the coolers.  I purchased a collabo beer between them and two other local breweries (Rising Tide and Maine Beer Co.  It a Belgian IPA called Prince Tuesday and I enjoyed that a lot once I was home after the trip.

 I also usually would find it weird to take pictures of a bathroom, but this one is really cool.  They found a great way to re-purpose old doors.

I would HIGHLY recommend stopping here. A fantastic free beer sampler, great people, and I assume a great tour if you like tours. Plus their hours are really nice, check them out...www.allagash.com/

Maine Beer Company - Freeport, ME

I must start off by saying this was by far one of my best brewery visits ever! About 20 minutes north of Portland is Maine Beer Company. I have had plenty of their beers in the past, most notably Lunch and loved them all! Except in Buffalo we are getting most their beers...not so fresh. So I was ecstatic to get to go right the source.  Of course I came just days after Dinner had tapped out sadly.

We arrived around 1:30 on a Tuesday..place was pretty dead.  Not tons of seating but a decent amount of picnic tables.  Just like their bottles labels, the room just felt empty but very clean.  We ordered two samplers with all 8 beers they had on tap. Before I go into beer by beer I will say this is probably the overall best sampler I have ever had because the worst beer was better than most beers I've ever had.
Peeper was light and had a good hop flavor to it.
A tiny beautiful something was missing a little something, pun intended, for me.  It just didn't blow me away like I hoped it would.

Mean Old Tom is just a great stout.
Weez was great.
Another One IPA was great..I wanted another one.
Red Wheelbarrow was one of the best red ales maybe the best I've ever had.
Lunch..speaks for itself fantastic.
Mo is a great great Pale ale.

To make things even better, I went to buy bottles since they sell them in house and Lunch was dated THAT day. Along with half the other beers..bottled THAT day..I find that very impressive.  I picked up a case worth of beer and we were on our way.

I will say sadly Lunch was not as great as I hoped once we got home and had it in the bottle.  I would say maybe the fact it sit in my car made it bad, but the other beers were just as good as I remembered.  I won't whine about it because Lunch is always solid, maybe just a bad batch or who knows?

I will say that if I ever go back to that area, I will drive an hour out of my way to come back here.  The whole place just feels clean, fresh and the beer is incredible.  Do yourself a favor and go visit them if you are within an hour or so from the brewery..you won't regret it! www.mainebeercompany.com/