Well this weeks tour review comes from Michael Selewach, who volunteers at the Saint Arnold Brewing Company. He wanted to suggest a great brewery in the Chicago area called Piece Brewery and Pizzeria.

Here is his review:

“Great beer and fantastic pizza. It’s very thin crust unlike Chicago’s deep dish style. The beer has won some awards. The co owner is the guitar player from Cheap Trick. Check out the pics on the website - Rachel Ray was there for a show.”

The site looks great. The tour looks like a great time and full of music and good times. I will have to check it out next time the wife and I are in the Chicago area.

Thanks for the suggestion Michael. If you have a favorite brewery/ winery tour, please drop me a line using my suggestion form and I will get it up as soon as I can.

Tags: Piece Brewery, Piece Brewery and Pizzeria, Piece Brewery Tour

So I got an email from a winery based in California. It is called the Fantesca Estate and Winery. The website is great. They have a lot of pictures and history about their wines. They even have a wine club that you can sign up for, which I did. Anyways the wife and I are going to try and make it out there for their Hands on Harvest.

“Hands on Harvest offers wine aficionados and budding vintners a chance to experience the magic of harvest for a day – without having to quit their day jobs!”

It looks like a great time to try my hand a being a vintner for a day. If you have the chance I would make plans to head on out to Cali for this cool event in October.

Tags: fanestca estate and winery, fantesca, fantesca estate, fantesca winery, hands on harvest california winery

Greeting everyone… today the wife and I went down to see some friends in the Houston, TX area. I ran across an ad on tv for the Saint Arnolds Brewing Company. I told the wife that we had to check it out. They have tours on saturdays, but that makes it well worth the wait.

If you did not know the patron saint of beer is Saint Arnold. I personally did not know this but this brewery certainly does live up to it religious heritage. The brewery was a very fun time. They make a great variety of brews to fit any pallet. They have a great tasting room at the end of the tour and you even get to keep a souvenir glass for the memories. So if you are ever in the Houston area make sure you stop by the Saint Arnold. Here is the tour webpage.

Tags: Houston Texas Brewery, Saint Arnold Brewery, Saint Arnold Brewery Tour, Saint Arnold Brewing Company

This week the wife and I drove down the line to the oldest brewery in the United States, the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, PA. The brewery was very old looking but fun. The tour was free, but make sure you call ahead to make sure they are running the tour. For those of you that have not had the opportunity to have a Yuengling beer you are missing out.

And this year they actually have the cave area open which is great time. They have a very nice gift shop and the tour guide was very knowledgeable. So if you are a fan of beer, then this tour is must before the big man upstairs says last call.

A video of the Yuengling brewery tour:

Tags: yuengling, yuengling beer, yuengling brewery tour, yuengling brwery, yuengling tour

This week we wanted to visit the home of our second favorite beer the Budweiser Brewery. When we got there the brewery was just massive. The tour is free and had a lot of history to learn about both the Brewery and St. Louis. There is a lot of walking so make sure you bring your walking shoes. I would recommend it though as a great place to stop on a cross country roadtrip.

Below is a nice video about the tour and there is even a website.

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Tags: Budweiser, Budweiser Brewery, Budweiser Brewery Tour, Budweiser Brewery Tours

This past weekend I had the great opportunity to visit a very nice Californian winery, Domaine Chandon. I would really recommend it to anyone that is in the Yountville, CA area. Below is a very nice video of the sites and sounds of the winery.

Tags: Domaine Chandon, Domaine Chandon Wine, Domaine Chandon Winery, Domaine Chandon Winery Tour, Yountville California

Last fall the wife and I went up to the finger lake region in New York state. If you have not been there then it is defiantly a must stop for any wine drinker. This Seneca Lake region has a very high concentration of wineries and is the major tourist attraction for the region. One of our favorite stops was the Hazlitt Vineyards.

The winery is set up on a great over look of the lake and has a great atmosphere for tasting.  They have some great wines and even have our personal favorite Red Cat. Here is the infamous red cat song:

The tour was only $3 and you even get a $3 off coupon to use in the gift shop and wine shop. I would recommend this winery to anyone that is looking for a true taste of the Seneca Lake region.

Tags: Hazlitt, Hazlitt Vineyard, Hazlitt Vineyard Tour, Hazlitt Vineyards, Hazlitt Winery, Hazlitt Winery Tour, Red Cat Wine

The Cricket Hill brewery is our next stop on the tour and is located in Fairfield, NJ. This brewery has a reputation that proceeds itself. I first heard about this brewery from watching this youtube video of one of there Friday Night Open Houses:

After watching that video, Rick Reed is my new idol and it just makes me want to join them for a beer. This brewery is very active in community relations and is involved in various events including many festivals. They actually held a dart contest at the brewery. Here is a video:

Their website has a list of events and even an online tour. So if you are looking for a great time after work on a Friday, stop by for a self proclaimed “greatest beer on planet Earth”!

Tags: Cricket Hill, Cricket Hill Brewery, Cricket Hill Brewery Tour

The first brewery that we wanted to visit is the the Coors brewery located in the historic town of Golden, CO. This tour is free and offers many tourist friendy benefits.

The first being a nice shuttle ride through the town of Golden, giving a nice journey into the history of Colorado and Denver/ Golden’s early years. The brewery tour itself is very informative and allows you to see the many stages that the beer goes through. The best part, of course, is the tasting room which they give give you 2-3 pilsners of your choice. The best time to go is during the fall, given the various holiday brews.

Below are some videos that I thought would give you a good feel of what the tour has to offer.

The Shuttle ride to the Coors Brewery:

The actual Brewery Tour:

Tags: coors, coors brewery, coors brewery tour