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This Map Shows The Best (Craft) Beer Cities In The US

Curious about which cities in the US are the best for beer lovers? What about the worst cities?

by Devan McGuinness
Close of a map showing best beer cities and worst
Lawn Love

When it comes to beer, there are three categories of people: those who hate all beer, those who drink whatever is available, and those who take their beer very seriously. The serious beer people have probably tried all the different types of beer, including IPAs, lagers, sours and stouts. There are those with their favorite, hard-to-find craft beers, but they also like to try new things, and living in a beer-loving city makes a great home base or travel destination. Curious about which cities in the US are the best for beer lovers? What about the worst cities? Look no further: there’s a map for that.

Lawn Love wanted to find out which cities across the US were best for beer fans. So they looked at 180 of the largest cities and ranked them from most beer-friendly to least beer-friendly using a set of metrics. “We sought out cities with plenty of breweries, beer gardens, and pubs per square mile,” Lawn Love writes. They also sought “award-winning brews, affordable pints, beer-centered festivals, and a big beer-loving community.”

Using data from various sources, including Google Events, the Great American Beer Festival, the World Beer Awards, the North American Brewers Association, and more, Lawn Love used a weighted scale with five key metrics, including access, establishment quality, beer quality, affordability, and community.

What they found is that Seattle wins for the best city for beer lovers. It ranks highest in beer quality and access, scoring a total of 60.55 out of 100. The city that ranked the worst for beer lovers is Brownsville, ranking last for affordability, establishment quality, and access, with a total of 8.86 out of 100.

Lawn Love

Here’s how the rest of the cities ranked:

10 Best Cities for Beer Lovers

  1. Seattle, WA
  2. Denver, CO
  3. Portland, OR
  4. San Francisco, CA
  5. San Diego, CA
  6. Charlotte, NC
  7. Anaheim, CA
  8. Austin, TX
  9. New York, NY
  10. Huntington Beach, CA

10 Worst Cities for Beer Lovers

  1. Brownsville, TX
  2. Laredo, TX
  3. Bridgeport, CT
  4. Newark, NJ
  5. Jackson, MS
  6. Lancaster, CA
  7. Toledo, OH
  8. Thornton, CO
  9. San Bernardino, CA
  10. Modesto, CA

To read the full report, check out Lawn Love.