I was recently telling my family about my trip from Chicago to Seattle and some of the events that we did along the way. A comment I received was, “Were you on a brewery tour?”. Only because we did stop at breweries for two days of the four. So, I thought I would list off some of the breweries that I have been to and tell what I thought…

Miller (Milwaukee, WI)
-Took the beer tour. Huge facility where they show you all the inner workings on producing beer in such large quantities. Really intimate tour for being such a large brewery. You get 3 free samples at the end.

Samuel Adams (Boston, MA)
-Took the beer tour and it was just ok. The brewery in Boston is not their main brewery anymore, so its more of a sampling center. They have a few brew kettles that they mix up seasonal brews in, but none of the main production goes on here. Not as impressive as I thought it would be. You get 3 free samples at the end also.

Redhook (Seattle, WA)
-There is a brew tour here, but I haven’t taken it yet. But, the beer is good there and it has a nice restaurant/pub that you can sit outside and enjoy a beer. I will try to take the brew tour soon - they offer one every other hour.
-Update: I did take this tour and it was well worth it. For $1 you get to keep a little sampling glass, and during the tour you fill that glass up 5 times. I would recommend it if you’re in Woodinville, WA.

Pyramid (Seattle, WA)
-Didn’t do the beer tour here. Its more or less a restaurant where you can have their beer. Its a pretty decent beer though. I don’t even know if they offer a brew tour. No free samples - paying customers only.

Hale’s Brewery (Seattle, WA)
-Brew tour…well - not really. They have the brew kettles and equipment in a large room next to the bar so when you walk in you go by it. There is a self-guided tour where you can read plaques about each part of the brewing process. Wouldn’t really call it a brew tour. But a great brewery to go have a beer.

Big Sky Brewery (Missoula, MT)
-They do offer a brew tour, but it depends on if there is someone to show you around. There ’s a glass window where you can look through pass the bar and see the brewers stirring the beer and slipping (not sipping) on suds. We didn’t get the tour, but we did have over the “4″ free samples they offered. They had all their beers on tap and you could have up to 4, but they wouldn’t stop you if you asked for the 5th or maybe the 7th! A lot of locals come in around 5 pm for a quick beer before heading home.

Goose Island (Chicago, IL)
-Great beer. Never did the beer tour, but I did do a beer school there with all of their beers. They have some great seasonal beers. Go to the one off of Clybourn and not the one in Wrigleyville (tourist trap).

Snake River Brewery (Jackson Hole, WY)
-Great happy hour specials. We had an organic beer there that was really great. Also a barleywine which was like taking a shot (guys, the idea is to hide the alcohol). But, they had great beers and would love to go back to this place.

That’s all that I can think of for now - and that are worth mentioning! Feel free to comment if you have a brewery recommendation for me.