Beer drinkers are particular not only about what they drink, but also where they drink. We all have our favorite places to enjoy a cold one. Some are laid back and relaxing. Others are loud and rollicking. Because beer is such a social beverage, our favorite places to sip a brew are often where our friends gather, or a pub where you can make new friends almost from the minute you arrive.
All About Beer Magazine has been chronicling great watering holes for nearly three decades. In the process our writers have come up with a few favorite places of their own.
Augustiner Keller, Munich, Germany
All About Beer Magazine has been chronicling great watering holes for nearly three decades. In the process our writers have come up with a few favorite places of their own. The following list is an attempt to bring together the 125 best places in the world to have a beer. The Growler List, if you will. With any list of this sort, we fully expect it will cause some debate and even a few arguments. More art than science went into constructing this list, but we can assure you that having a beer at any location on this list is a special experience.
We hope your favorite place is on the list. If its not, let us hear about it. After all, we are always in search of the next great place to have a pint.
1. Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO
2. Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium
3. U Fleku, Prague, Czech Republic
4. Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London, England
5. Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany
6. Augustiner Keller, Munich, Germany
7. Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval, Orval, Belgium
8. The Gravity Bar, Guinness St. James Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland
9. Monk’s Café, Philadelphia, PA
10. The Great Canadian Beer Festival, Vancouver, BC
11. Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany
12. The Brickskeller, Washington, DC
13. Rick’s Café, Negril, Jamaica
14. The Market Porter, Stoney Street, London, England
15. Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD
16. Seats on top of the Green Monster in Fenway Park, Boston, MA
17. Mondial de la Bière, Montreal, Quebec
18. Horizon’s Café, CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario
19. Clubhouse box seats at the Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, NY
20. Beer Club Popeye, Tokyo, Japan
Great list, however, how could you forget the place to drink arguably the greatest beer in the world.
Let me help you:
1a: Cafe In De Vrede: Only place you can drink Westvleteren 12, 8, and blonde (according to the monastic brewers wishes, anyway). 12 and 8 are consistently rated in the top 10 beers in the world. This is also called the beer mecca. So, I’m not sure how you missed this one. Place make a HASTY change!
Thanks for the great least though!
Just a quick note. The Great Canadian Beer Fest is in Victoria BC, not Vancouver.
A solid list overall, especially the top 10.
However, I take slight offense to the London pubs listed here. I lived in London for several years and this list is a TERRIBLE representation of the best beer pubs in the Smoke.
14. Market Porter – right next to Borough Market, a solid choice
30. The Olde Mitre Tavern – ehhh, old but nothing special
51. The White Horse Pub – fun before Fulham matches maybe
92. Belgo Central – ABSOLUTELY AWFUL, a terrible tourist trap.
my question: what about the millions of other BETTER pubs than these mentioned??
Princess Louise, The Bucket of Blood, Churchill Arms, The Harp, The Duke of Hamilton (sadly RIP), The Spaniards Inn, Edinburgh Castle, The Dog and Duck, etc etc etc
So many better choices.
I’d like to ad my 2 cents into this… My favorite bar in the world is Szimpla in Budapest. It’s an old squat that is 2 floors filled with hidden rooms decorated with old furniture found on the street.
Last time I was there they were showing “Empire Strikes Back” on a old reel to reel projector on a faded white wall.
Awesome place in a city full of amazing bars.
Two Comments. I believe the Brickskeller in Washington DC is gone. And I cannot believe the list didn’t include Stone Brewery in San Marcos (N. of San Diego) CA. A far better place than some that made the list, like Dogfish Head.