8 great airports for beer enthusiasts
Part of our series on acing the travel experience
Maybe you see traveling on business as an adventure. Or maybe you see it as an unwanted hassle. Either way, it's nice to find a minute of solace with a drink before a hectic next leg of the trip. But not all airport bars are created equal, especially if your drink of choice is beer.
If the airports you frequent didn't make this list, never fear. There's plenty of beer to go around. Try BeerMe, a crowd-sourced list of which airports sell what beer. You're bound to find something refreshing on tap.
1. Tampa International Airport: Cigar City Brewing, Terminal C
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Cigar City is a true gem of the Tampa Bay area, and its offerings at the airport — the place where it'd be easiest to skimp on quality — don't disappoint. It's the only brewery in the country that actually brews on site at an airport, so you're getting the real deal when you order a signature Jai Alai IPA or an exclusive Tony Jannus Pale Ale. Pick up a Tampa-style cubano while you're at it.
2. Portland International Airport: Rogue Ales Public House, Concourse D
No beer name has ever sounded less appealing than Rogue Dead Guy Ale, but few have tasted as good the German maibock. The Oregon brewery is known for fun, inventive flavors: Think Sriracha Hot Stout, a 2014 creation.
3. San Diego International Airport: Stone Brewing Co, Terminal 2
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It wouldn't be right if Southern California's largest brewery didn't greet visitors at the airport. You'll find particularly hoppy beers here. But watch it, because many of them have higher-than-average proofs. Take the edge off, but don't make a scene on the plane.
4. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport: Great Lakes Brewing Co., Concourse C
Ohio's first microbrewery is best known for its Dortmunder Gold, an amber beer. If that's not your thing, go for the porter, named for the legendary Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
5. Denver International Airport: New Belgium Hub, Terminal B
The clear choice is New Belgium Brewing Company's flagship Fat Tire, an amber ale. It's a light, familiar drink inspired, unsurprisingly, by a European bike tour. The brewery is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, but is soon opening another brewery in Ashville, North Carolina. Don't count on an airport location there, though — it's a tiny joint.
6. Chicago O'Hare International Airport: Goose Island Beer Company, Terminal 1
Owned by Anheuser-Busch, the Chicago staple sells beer in all 50 states. Chances are even if you're new to Chicago, you've had a taste of 312, the popular urban wheat ale. Just don't even think about pronouncing it "three-twelve" within earshot of Chicagoans.
7. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport: Schlafly Tap Room, Terminal 1
It's probably not easy sharing a home city with beer giant Anheuser-Busch, but Schlafly beers, made by Saint Louis Brewery, hold their own. They brew just six beers year-round, but they're good ones. The Schlafly Kölsch reigned supreme in the Washington Post's 2015 Beer Madness bracket.
8. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport: DuClaw Brewing Company, main concourse
DuClaw isn't hurting for personality in its flavors or naming convention. Sweet Baby Jesus! is a chocolate peanut butter porter, so you can safely justify it as breakfast before heading home and back to work.
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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