The Hands-Down Best Brewery Tours In The US

With thousands of breweries scattered across the U.S., beer lovers have no shortage of places to get a taste of some seriously good beer. Even better, many breweries welcome guests into the facilities to see how the beer is made, from milling to fermentation and packaging. For beer geeks, it's a great way to see how certain breweries use unique processes to give the beer distinctive flavors. And for casual drinkers, it's just cool to see how things work behind the scenes. But with so many brewery tours on offer, which ones are worth going out of your way for?

Certain breweries consistently earn accolades for their lively tours that go well beyond just a quick walk-through. Some have striking facilities that are impressive all on their own. Others are steeped in history, and many offer great storytelling that gives you in-depth insights into how the beer and the brewery came to be. To narrow down which tours are true gems, we pored over recent reviews and took note of awards and praise from national publications. If you want a bit of background to go along with your freshly brewed beer, these are the absolute best brewery tours in the U.S.

In 1997, brothers John and Chris Trogner founded Tröegs Independent Brewing and got to work creating what would become some of Pennsylvania's most popular beers. Today, you can tour the brewery to see how fan favorites like the Perpetual IPA are made and sample unique beers that you won't find in stores. The tours get rave reviews from visitors and earned the brewery the number one spot in USA Today's 10 Best Brewery Tours 2025.

The tours at Tröegs take place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and start with a welcome beer and a tour of the art gallery, where you can see artworks made from beer caps, cans, and labels. Then you'll get to see where all the magic happens in the hops cooler, mill room, and fermentation cellars. At the end, you'll get to sample more beers and get a unique souvenir glass to take home.

https://troegs.com/

(717) 534-1297

200 Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, PA 17033

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has come a long way since Ken Grossman founded the operation in 1980 and hustled to sell individual bottles of his Pale Ale to bars in Chico, California, out of a cooler. Today, the company boasts two state-of-the-art breweries: one in Chico and another in Mills River, North Carolina. People consistently call out the gorgeous facilities at both Sierra Nevada brewery locales, as well as the stellar beer and great food. 

You can visit both to take interactive tours to learn more about the history and the brewing process. The tours are very hands-on with opportunities to handle the hops and explore the facilities and grounds. And, of course, you get to sample some of the beers Sierra Nevada is famous for, including hoppy IPAs and the OG Pale Ale.

https://sierranevada.com/

(828) 708-6176  

100 Sierra Nevada Way, Fletcher, NC 28732

(530) 899-4776 

1075 E 20th St, Chico, CA 95928

Founded in 1909, the K. Spoetzl Brewery is the oldest independent brewery in Texas, where Shiner beer is made. The first beers were crafted in a tin shed by Bavarian brewer Kosmos Spoetzl, and today the brewery stays true to those early traditions — while also experimenting with modern methods and flavors. 

According to visitors, the Spoetzl brewery tour guides offer a wealth of interesting facts, like how the company was once run by the only female brewery owner in the country and how hippies helped propel the beer's popularity. You can also try the award-winning beers and indulge in barbecue eats after the tour. 

Tours take place every day of the week, and include beer tastings and merch. Tours of the distillery run once an hour, and brewery tours start every half hour.

https://shiner.com/

(361) 594-3852

603 East Brewery Street, Shiner, TX 77984

Brothers Jim and Russ Kilch sold their first barrel of beer in 1987, and just 12 years later, they moved their thriving operation from Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood into the space of the old Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company building right on the water. Today, Lakefront Brewery produces over 20 varieties, including unique gluten-free beers. It also welcomes over 80,000 visitors a year to its renowned brewery tours.

The tours at Lakefront Brewery take place daily and include 50 minutes of exploration, along with plenty of jokes and interesting facts from the tour guides. You'll also get to try beers throughout the tour and take home a souvenir pint glass, as well as a coupon for a free beer at participating local bars. As an added bonus, Lakefront made our list of the top breweries serving awesome food in the U.S. for its tasty beer hall bites like beer-battered cheese curds and sausages.

https://lakefrontbrewery.com/

(414) 372-8800

1872 North Commerce St, Milwaukee, WI 53212

The seeds for New Belgium Brewing were planted when Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch biked through Belgium and were inspired to brew Belgian-style beers in Colorado. In 1991, the couple set up brewing equipment in the basement of their home. Since then, the company has grown into two full-grown breweries in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Asheville, North Carolina. Both offer brewery tours that visitors say are very informative and full of good vibes.

At the Fort Collins brewery, you can opt for a free 45-minute tour that includes details about New Belgium, beer samples, and a ride down the brewery's slide. There's also a 90-minute production tour available at both breweries that goes in-depth on how the beer is made and includes beer samples. Reservations are highly recommended for the production tours.

https://www.newbelgium.com/

(970) 221-0524

500 Linden Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524

(828) 333-6900

21 Craven Street, Asheville, NC 28806

Allagash Brewing Company began in 1995, when Rob Tod rented a corner of a warehouse in Portland, Maine, and started brewing what would become the gold-medal-winning Belgian-style wheat beer, Allagash White. Today, the company creates a slew of award-winning products, including IPAs, golden ales, ciders, and lambic-style spontaneously fermented beers. You can get a glimpse of how it all comes together on one of the brewery's much-lauded tours.

If you're looking for a traditional brewery tour, the Taste of Allagash is a 30-minute guided tour through the brewery that ends with a drink in the barrel room. If you want to go more in-depth, the Signature Beer & Barrels Experience is a one-hour session in the wild and sour barrel aging space that includes six samples of seasonal specialty beers. Guests say the tour guides offer up a wealth of information — and that the beers are on point.

https://www.allagash.com/

(207) 878-5385

50 Industrial Way, Portland, ME 04103

With a motto like "off-centered goodness for off-centered people," it's pretty clear Dogfish Head is no ordinary brewery. In fact, it's considered one of the most unique beer breweries in the world thanks to its experimental approach to brewing. Since 1995, Sam and Mariah Calagione and their team have been experimenting with innovative techniques, such as continual hopping and working with a molecular archaeologist to resurrect ancient recipes. The brewery also offers several interesting tours.

If you're strapped for time, you can take a quick 30-minute tour through the brewery to see behind the scenes and sample beers. The 60-minute tour gives you the same walk-through, but you also get to sample trial beers and see the 44-foot-high Steampunk Treehouse. For more lore, the Vintage Tour pairs you with a veteran tour guide who will regale you with fun facts and stories about the brewery and beers.

https://www.dogfish.com/

(302) 684-1000

6 Cannery Village Center, Milton, DE 19968

Established in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996, SweetWater Brewing Company is the brainchild of Freddy Bensch and Kevin McNerney. The duo decided to focus on West Coast-style hop-heavy beers, and the company became famous for creations like the 420 Pale Ale and Atlanta's OG Pale Ale. The big, bustling brewery is a popular spot with beer enthusiasts, and the engaging tours earned SweetWater the number three spot in USA Today's 10 Best Brewery Tours 2025.

The standard tours at SweetWater take place from Tuesday to Friday and run for 30 minutes, offering insights into how the beer is brewed. But if you want a complete run-down of the operation, the High Gravity tours on the weekends give you 90 minutes to explore the facilities with a guide and learn about the various steps of the brewing process. Throughout the tours, you'll get to taste what sets SweetWater's beers apart from the mainstream.

https://www.sweetwaterbrew.com/

(678) 679-1622

195 Ottley Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30324

When Eberhard Anheuser took over the Bavarian brewery in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1860, it was a small operation focused on German-style lager. His son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, helped him grow the business exponentially, hence the name change to the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association in 1879. Today, the company is part of AB InBev, the largest beer producer in the world, with numerous commercial and craft beer brands under its umbrella, including Budweiser, Corona, Elysian, and Goose Island.

If you're in St. Louis, a tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery is an absolute must. The grounds are gorgeous, the brewery is steeped in history, and there are several different immersive experiences. The most popular is the Day Fresh Tour, which includes an hour and 15 minutes of exploration into how the beer is made. On other tours, you can sip on flights at the Beer School, try fresh beer straight from the tanks, and meet the Budweiser Clydesdale horses.

https://www.budweisertours.com/

(314) 577-2626

1200 Lynch St, St. Louis, MO 63118

Asheville, North Carolina, is one of the top cities every beer lover should visit in the U.S., as there are over 50 breweries in the metro area alone. According to USA Today readers, Burial Beer Co. is one of the best, earning the number five spot in the 10 Best Brewery Tours 2025 poll. Since 2013, founders Tim Gormley and Doug and Jess Reisner have been offering a wide range of styles, including IPAs, lagers, and imperial stouts.

Guests have great things to say about Burial's 60-minute walking tour, from the cool decor and vibes to the passionate tour guides and the tasting sessions on the patio. The tour takes you around the Forestry Camp production facility and the Visuals winery, which is run by the same folks and produces natural wines. In addition, you'll get beer and wine tastings and special glassware to take home.

https://burialbeer.com/

(828) 475-2739

10 Shady Oak Dr, Asheville, NC 28803

Founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1989, Boulevard Brewing Co. grew from a small operation in an old converted railroad building into one of the Midwest's largest specialty breweries. The company now produces a vast array of beers, hard seltzers, hard teas, and canned and bottled cocktails. The Tours and Rec Center also offers several bars and lively tours where you can learn all about the company and processes.

Boulevard offers a variety of tours every day of the week. The daily brewery tours are an hour long and offer insights into how the beer is made, along with samples. If you visit on a Friday or Sunday, you can take the two-hour Unfiltered tour for more behind-the-scenes action. Foodies can join the Smokestack tour on Mondays and Thursdays to visit the brewery and enjoy guided food-and-beer pairings.

https://www.boulevard.com/

(816) 701-7247

2534 Madison Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64108

If it's history you're after, you can't go wrong with a tour at Yeungling Brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. German brewer David G. Yeungling established the brewery in 1829, making it the oldest brewery in America. Six generations later, it's still run by his descendants today. The brewery moved only once in 1931 after a fire at the original operation, and you can tour that second location today to see some of the original features.

The tours at Yeungling Brewery start at the museum across from the brewery, which was once a creamery built by the Yeungling family as an alternative business during Prohibition. After you peruse the vintage photos and paraphernalia, your tour guide will take you over to the brewery. There, you can explore underground caves where beer was once stored, as well as the more modern parts of the facility. The tour ends with samples of Yeungling beer in the tasting room.

https://www.yuengling.com/

(570) 628-4890

420 Mahantongo St, Pottsville, PA 17901

You wouldn't know it today, but Bell's Brewery started with founder Larry Bell brewing beer in a soup pot. That was back in 1985, and now the company has two breweries in Kalamazoo and Comstock and sells its beers in 50 states. You can join brewery tours at both locations to learn about how Bell's grew into the beloved brand it is today.

Although visitors say both Bell's breweries are impressive, Comstock is the larger location and offers more tours. You can take the one-hour tour to see how the beer is made and sample some of the top-selling beers. The Behind The Scenes tour is 1 hour and 45 minutes and includes visits to the yeast-harvesting plant, barrel warehouse, and production floor. There are also monthly tours that feature special beers, such as rich holiday stouts.

https://bellsbeer.com/

(269) 382-2332

355 E Kalamazoo Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49007

(269) 382-2338

8938 Krum Ave, Galesburg, MI 49053

Samuel Adams began when Jim Koch found a beer recipe in his father's attic that belonged to his great-great-grandfather. After brewing the formula at home, he decided to go into the beer business in 1984. Now, Samuel Adams is a household name on the East Coast, particularly in Boston, where the brewery is located. Many locals say a visit to the brewery in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood is a must for any beer lover.

You can choose from several tours at Samuel Adams, from the signature tour that walks you through the brewhouse and explains the processes, to more in-depth experiences that introduce you to other areas, like the sour barrel-aging facilities. There are also flight tastings and food-and-beer pairings on offer. And if you want to see new beers that are in the works, the VIP tour brings you into R&D spaces where you can sample beers that aren't on the shelves yet.

https://www.samueladams.com/

(617) 368-5080

30 Germania St, Boston, MA 02130

Named after the Deschutes River that winds through Bend, Oregon, Deschutes started as a simple brewpub where people could grab a bite and freshly brewed beer. Founder Gary Fish probably never dreamed that one day he'd be selling over 225,000 barrels of beer a year all over the country. The brewhouse is still there, and you can now also visit the center of production at the brewery, which has a tasting room and beer garden.

If you've never been to the Deschutes facilities before, the standard brewery tour is a good place to start, as you'll learn about the company's history, see where the beer is brewed, and get to sample beer from the source. The Barrel House Tour gives you the opportunity to try rare beers straight from the barrels. Then there's the R&D Brewhouse Tour for those who want to see small-batch production and sip experimental beers.

https://deschutesbrewery.com/

(541) 385–8606

901 SW Simpson Ave, Bend, OR 97702

To narrow down the absolute best brewery tours in the U.S., we pored over reviews on social media platforms like Reddit and Instagram, as well as hot takes on travel blogs, and awards and accolades from local and national publications. We looked at the tours that get glowing reviews from visitors for their great guides, fun vibes, and fantastic beer. These are the spots that people say have stellar guides who are enthusiastic, entertaining, and knowledgeable. In addition, people love these breweries for their interesting characteristics, such as stunning facilities, historical intrigue, and innovative behind-the-scenes happenings.