Between 2017 and 2021, at the end of each year, I posted a blog entry documenting all the breweries I had visited during the calendar year. Included was one photograph from each brewery. In 2022, I did not post such an entry. I can’t quite remember why this was the case. However, I also failed to make an end-of- year posting in 2023. Anyway, 2024 is almost over and I thought I’d get back into the habit of documenting the breweries I visited.
During 2024, I visited a total of forty-five breweries. Before going any further, I should define what I am counting as a brewery. Any establishment owned by a brewery, whether beer is brewed on-site or not, is included in my list. For example, Inside The Five Brewing Company has three locations in northwest Ohio. At only one of those locations is beer brewed. However, all three locations are included in the list of breweries I visited in 2024.
Of the forty-five breweries I visited in 2024, eighteen were in my home state of Ohio, seventeen were located elsewhere in the United States, and ten were outside of the United States. Of the seventeen breweries I visited elsewhere in the United States, four were in the neighboring state of Michigan. Toledo, where I live, is located just south of the Ohio/Michigan border, so visits to Michigan breweries are fairly routine. Trips to California, Indiana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania afforded me the opportunity to visit breweries in those states. In terms of breweries outside of the United States, two trips to Canada, as well as trips to Armenia and Slovakia, meant that I visited more non-US breweries than I normally do.
Of the forty-five breweries I visited, sixteen were repeat visits. This meant there were twenty-nine breweries that I visited for the first time (indicated in bold font in the list below).
I hope you enjoy the photographs below. I wish every one a Happy New Year and hope that 2025 is a wonderful year for you.
OHIO (18)
60CC Brewing, Toledo, OH Arlyn’s Good Beer, Bowling Green, OH
Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA (Little Italy Location)
Blake’s Brewing Company, Almont, MI
Blake’s Brewing Company, Armada, MI
Brewery Saint X, New Orleans, LA
Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NV
Crescent City Brewhouse, New Orleans, LA
Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, Mishakawa, IN
GOAL. Brewing, San Diego, CA
Gordon Biersch Brewery, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant , Phoenixville, PA
Jolly Pumpkin, Romulus, MI (Airport Location) Red Hook Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT (Airport Location)
Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery, Las Vegas, NV
Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA (Airport Location)
Sun King Brewery, Mishakawa, IN TapRoom Beer Co., San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Location)
Seek Beer Co., San Diego, CA
INTERNATIONAL (10)
379 Torch & Brew, Yerevan, Armenia
Banded Goose Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON, Canada
Dargett Brewpub, Yerevan, Armenia
Fairweather Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON
Grain & Grit Beer Co., Hamilton, ON, Canada
Hostinec Brewery, Košice, Slovakia
Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada
The Beerded Dog, Harrow, ON, Canada
The Grove Brewing Company, Kinsgville, ON, Canada
The George Hamilton Restaurant & Brewery, Hamilton, ON, Canada
379 Torch & Brew, Yerevan, Armenia 60CC Brewing, Toledo, OHArlyn’s Good Beer, Bowling Green, OHBallast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA (Little Italy Location)Banded Goose Brewing Company, Kingsville, ONBlake’s Brewing Co., Almont, MIBlake’s Brewing Co., Armada, MIBrewery Saint X, New Orleans, LABrewing Green, Bowling Green, OHChicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NVCrescent City Brewhouse, New Orleans, LADargett Brewpub, Yerevan, ArmeniaEarnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Downtown Location)Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Westgate Location)Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, Mishakawa, INFairweather Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, CanadaGOAL. Brewing, San Diego, CAGordon Biersch Brewimg, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)Grain & Grit Beer Co., Hamilton, ON, CanadaGreat Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OHHosintec Brewery, Košice, SlovakiaInside The Five Brewing Co., Perrysburg OHInside The Five Brewing, Sylvania, OHInside The Five Brewing Co., Toledo, OHIron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Phoenixville, PAJolly Pumpkin, Romulus, MI (Airport Location))Juniper Brewing Co., Bowling Green, OHMaumee Bay Brewing Co., Toledo, OHOncore Brewing, Swanton, OHPatron Saints Brewery, Toledo, OHQuenched and Tempered Brewing Company,Toledo, OHRed Rock Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT (Airport Location)Seek Beer Co., San Diego, CAShawn & Ed Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, CanadaStone Brewing, San Diego, CA (Airport Location)Sun King Brewery, Mishakawa, INTapRoom Beer Co., San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Location)The Beerded Dog Brewing Co., Harrow, ONThe Grove Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON, CanadaTriple 7 Restaurant and Brewery, Las Vegas, NVTwin Oast Brewing, Port Clinton, OHThe George Hamilton Restaurant & Brewery, Hamilton, ON, CanadaUpside Brewing, Sylvania, OHWild Side Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
As per usual, I end the year with a pictorial review of the breweries and taprooms that I have visited during the previous twelve months. While the situation with respect to COVID-19 did improve during 2020, the virus did hang around, restricting my travel for significant parts of the year. While personal travel was a little easier this year, professional travel to academic conferences continued to be highly restricted. With respect to visiting breweries and taprooms, I did visit 22 in 2021, slightly less than the 26 that I visited in 2020. In a non-COVID 19 year I typically visit over 60 breweries/taprooms.
Before providing more statistics on my 2020 visits, let me explain the difference between a brewery and a taproom. The difference is quite simple. A brewery is an establishment where beer is produced, whereas a taproom is an establishment owned by a brewery that sells but does not produce beer on-site.
Of the 20 breweries that I visited, 10 were in my home state of Ohio and 10 were in other states. Outside of Ohio I visited breweries in Indiana (4 visited), Michigan (3), Colorado (2), and Texas (1). Most of the Ohio breweries that I visited were in the northwest Ohio region, the two exceptions being in Cincinnati. Both of the taprooms that I visited were in northwest Ohio. Of the 12 Ohio establishments that visited, six were ones that I visited for the first time. Of the 10 non-Ohio breweries that I visited, all but one were new visits – the exception being Hop & Sting Brewing Co. in Grapevine, TX. In the lists below, establishments that I had visited before are indicated in italics.
As per usual, I have posted one photograph from each of the breweries/taprooms that I visited during 2021. I hope you enjoy them. At the time of writing, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu , Director-General of the World Health Organization , is optimistic that COVID-19 will be “beaten in 2022“. I hope that his optimism is well-founded and that we can all look forward to a happy and healthy New Year.
So another year is about to draw to a close. And with that, it is time to look back on my brewery visits for the year. This year, I visited a record sixty-six breweries. At the start of the year, I set myself a goal of fifty-two breweries, an average of one per week. So I more than met my target.
Of the breweries that I visited, twenty were in my home state of Ohio, forty-one were in states other than Ohio, and five were outside of the United States. In addition to Ohio, I had the opportunity to visit breweries in five other states – Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, and Texas. Outside of the United States, I visited breweries in Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Of the sixty-six breweries that I visited, I had been to thirteen of them at least once before (indicated in italics in the lists below), which means there were fifty-three breweries that I visited for the first time.
This year, I also kept track of the craft beer bars that I visited. Throughout the year, I visited nine craft beer bars – three in Austin, TX, and one each in Toledo, OH and Ann Arbor, MI. I also visited craft beer bars in Rome (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal), Zurich (Switzerland), and Innsbruck (Austria).
Creating a list of craft beer bars visited did raise some interesting definitional questions. To qualify as a craft beer bar, does that mean that all beer that it sells must be craft beer? If not, what proportion of the beer must be craft beer? Does a bar that sells predominantly macro-beer, but has a couple of craft beers on tap, qualify as a craft beer bar? I did give this some thought as I set out to create this list. Here is where I ended up, from a definition perspective. To qualify as a craft beer bar, the beers available must be predominantly craft beers. It is ok to have one or two macro-beers, but no more than that. Also, it must have craft beers from more than one brewery. For example, while most of the beers available at the Brewdog bar in Rome are brewed by Brewdog, the bar does have a nice, albeit, small selection of other craft beers. While you may debate the criteria I used to define a craft beer bar, it worked for me.
Below you will find a list of all the craft breweries and craft beer bars that I visited during 2018. Following this list, you will find one photograph from each of the places that I visited. I hope that you enjoy these. They are intended to capture the beauty and diversity of craft beer.
For 2019, I will once again set a target of fifty-two craft breweries. While I am tempted to try to beat my 2018 total of sixty-six breweries, I want to keep this a fun, non-stressful, venture – fifty-two seems a reasonable target.
