I don’t like beer, really. Occasionally I have enjoyed an icy cold Corona with carne asada or an equally frosty Kirin with Japanese food but mostly I prefer to eat my calories.
So why am I writing about beer? Because I do enjoy doing the craft beer crawl, which consists of going from one brewery to the next enjoying the company of my sister and her husband and anyone else that we meet along the way.
I like the casual atmosphere of the places we go, sampling the appetizers we order and being able to relax and people watch. No one seems to mind if I drink water or tea!
It’s a very social activity which is not something that I have a lot of time or inclination for. I never was much of a bar hopper but whether it is because I am with my family or we mostly prowl during the day I find it strangely comfortable.
According to The Brewers Association as of 2017 there were 2,252 brewpubs, 3,812 microbreweries and 202 regional breweries in the USA. 190 or so of those are in San Diego county with about 22 being within a stone’s throw of where my sister lives. Breweries across the state contributed $7.3 billion dollars to the state economy in CA in 2016. That’s a lot of hops!
Craft Beer Statistics
Number of Breweries
I think you could plan a trip around the world by plotting your course via microbreweries and you would probably come back a more relaxed and possibly plumper person!
You could start your tour in San Diego with what Thrillist calls, “The 13 San Diego beers that everyone who professes a love of beer should try at least once before they die”. Cheers! https://www.thrillist.com/drink/san-diego/best-beers-in-san-diego
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