Where is Beertown, USA – claiming top honors

December 10, 8:40 AMBeer ExaminerCharlie Papazian

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Where is Beertown, USA 

According to the Brewers Association, the average American lives within 10 miles of a brewery.  Some Americans are luckier than others.  
     There are many great beer cities such as San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston.  You’ll even find incidences among beer enthusiasts in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington and Denver, Colorado often battling over bragging rights as “Top Beer City, USA.” They’re all out of contention for top honors when it comes to actually calculating the number of breweries per capita in America’s towns.  
     Denver isn’t even in the running when compared to Portland,  Oregon’s per capita rating.   And if you crank the numbers Portland, Maine actually beats out Portland, Oregon!
     Yes, San Diego has lots of breweries too, but there’s a lot of people living in these cities.   What city can claim to be Beertown, USA?  
 

     First of all, I’m going to make some rules in order to be in the running: 

• Rule #1 – “Brewery” means an actual brewing facility where beer is brewed and fermented.
• Rule #2 – In order to be considered as “Beertown, USA” the town or city must have at least 3 breweries.
• Rule #3 – 2007 U.S. Census estimates are used as population base
• Rule #4 – Brewers Association Beertown.org Brewery Locator is used to determine number of operating breweries in any given town by address listed in their database
• Rule #5 – Don’t slam me if I don’t get it right the first time around – I’m pretty well connected, but I can get it wrong the first time around.
• Rule #6 – Have a beer

As near as I can figure, here are the top 8 Beertowns in the USA - UPDATED DECEMBER 12, 2008 (twice)

#1 Hood River, Oregon  3 breweries in 6,736  1 brewery per 2,345

#2 Durango, Colorado 4 breweries in 16,007  1 brewery per 4,001

#3 Burlington, Vermont    4 breweries in 38,531   1 brewery per 9,633

#4 Boulder, Colorado 9 breweries in 93,552  1 brewery per 10,394

#5 Asheville, North Carolina 6 breweries in 73,875 1 brewery per 12,312

#6 Bend, Oregon   6 breweries in 74,563  1 brewery per 12,427

#7 Portland, Maine  4 breweries in 62,825  1 brewery per 15,706

#8 Portland, Oregon 30 breweries in 550,396  1 brewery in 18,346

Dividing the country west and east of the Mississippi River, the honors seem to go to:

Hood River, Oregon – Beertown, USA – west of the Mississippi

Burlington, Vermont - Beertown, USA – east of the Mississippi

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