For the overpowering bulk of college students , the most amazing beer near campus is whatever you could get for a $ 3 room access charge at some dudes ’ house down the street . But some schoolhouse are also home to incredible breweries foster a new propagation of craft beer juicer . And yeah , they all taste pretty just in a carmine loving cup , too .
For our group discussion of 11 college - township breweries , we bring forth a little discriminating : the breweries had to be the original location ( sorry , glutton , but Jolly Pumpkin started in Dexter ) . And in the stake of sharing the love , we eliminated college towns that are also beer destinations ( Burlington , Missoula , Asheville , we still love you ) . These are our favorite breweries in unbent - up college towns .
University of Oregon
Ninkasi Brewing Co.
Back in 2006 , Ninkasi was just a trivial brewery in the shadows of UO ’s Duck dynasty , but my how a decade ’s changed things . It ’s now one of the biggest craft breweries in the country , thanks to a unshakable line of beer that range from the crazy - hoppy Tricerahops to the dear Total Domination – one of the estimable IPAs in a province that basically own the style – and the pitch shot - gross IRA Dawn of the Red . Those are the steady beers , but this is n’t a brewery afraid to experiment , either . Case in point : Ground Control , an imperial stout made with barm that was shot into space . These guys did n’t necessitate a degree in rocket science to commit it off , but if they did , they could have credibly recruited some educatee from UO to help .
University of Colorado Boulder
Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery
Students could walk to Mountain Sun after classes , but this is Boulder we ’re talking about , so they ’re definitely biking . Unlike some of the howling Boulder - based breweries like Avery , Mountain Sun has never had ambitions to be anything more than a top - mountain pass saloon and brewery with beer to bask on - situation . Its systematically packed dig have a emphatically hippie vibe ( remember art that would n’t be out of place at a meditation retreat ) , and locals enjoy pairing said vibration with beers like the record hop - filled Colorado Kind Ale , the Old School Irish Stout ( pro baksheesh : it ’s even well if it ’s on nitro ) , and the 9.5 % ABV Hop Vivant .
Indiana University
Upland Brewing Co.
Such is the Hoosiers ' ( both the IU community of interests and the state resident ) love for Upland ’s beer that what start as an kip brewpub in 1998 has grown into the state ’s secondly - heavy operation , with several satellite saloon and bar in the Indianapolis area and elsewhere in the country . But the original Bloomington brewpub is the undisputed mothership , play legion to live euphony and graphics consequence , and representing the birthplace of everything from its flagship Upland Wheat ( ubiquitous during scalding Indiana summers ) to its in demand limited - button sourness that take out beer geeks from all over the Midwest who delineate up hope to snag a match of bottleful .
Smith College
BLDG8 Brewing
metalworker business educatee , take government note : if you ’re gon na go into a crowded market , you ’d better make certain what you ’re doing is close to perfect . Take a lesson from BLDG8 , a brewery plant by veteran brewers that decided to ditch stout , porters , and the like and focalize stringently on IPAs . The ginmill has but one tap . It ’s an IPA . It ’s sell only within 25 miles of the barroom , which is great for beer lover in Northampton , and impart the type of cultish exclusivity that drinkers swish up . One batch a hebdomad . When it ’s move , it ’s gone . And you cerebrate Heady Topper was hard to find . That ’s how you build a cult around a beer : do it just right , and keep people wanting more . Class dismiss .
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
One of the well - kept mystery in Santa Cruz ( sorry , grad students working on thesis in the wickedness here ) , Santa Cruz Mountain ’s insert into a characterless commercial-grade complex a number off campus . But what is n’t nondescript is the unbelievable selection of stouts , IPAs , and seasonals pumping out of the all - constituent , seven - barrel system the owner have been rocking since 2005 . And while Santa Cruz ’s weather might bestow itself well to a crowler of the hoppy Amber ( which pair perfectly with the fish tacos ) , the standout is the Devout Stout , a dark , creamy portmanteau word of chocolate and deep brown flavors that , at 5.5 % , is great for belated nights chock up forth on that thesis that never seems to get done , probably because it ’s being written in a brewery .
University of Arkansas
Apple Blossom Brewing Co.
Less than five years ago , Arkansas had a mere four brewery . Now , the state ’s in the centre of a boom , with brewery number in the 20s , and in the heart of that boom , the Razorbacks are ride pretty with one of the land ’s best breweries , Apple Blossom . A raucous college bar this erectile gastropub is n’t , but for those who do n’t demand their beer to be consumed in a parking deal , there are few finer pairing than a Hazy Morning coffee stout on nitro with a fade of bourbon / chocolate crisp / pecan pie . Or the malty Rover Red with a plate of runt and grit . Or … anything , really . Like we articulate , Arkansas is in a workmanship boom , and Apple Blossom is serve to steer the ship right away into the national public eye .
University of Georgia
Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
English bulldog are a favourable breed : the metropolis that gave us REM , it also contribute us the wonders of Creature Comforts , for our money thebest goddamn brewery in Georgia . The brewery opened only two years ago , but like some sort of sophomore savant , it ’s risen to the ranks of greatness by transmute a former car dealership into a harbor for everything from the oak - cured Reclaimed Rye to a modified series of limited - engagement runs that includes the Brettomatic pale and a maple - bourbon stout call See the Stars . Athens is also home to the fantastic Terrapin , but when it comes to observational beer gauged to transform Solo Cup - crazed students into genuine beer snobs , well , CC makes us shiny happy – UGH ! good-for-naught . No more composition while drink Tropicalia IPAs and listen to sometime REM sleep .
University of Alabama
Druid City Brewing
At a simple four years old , Druid City ’s Tuscaloosa ’s old craft brewery … which is to say , the scene ’s not just old . But now that the brewery ’s hold out a generation of students , we can safely say the tide is rolling in favor of trade beer , and Druid City ’s on point with upstanding go - tos like the simple-minded hop - forward Pale and the tropically inclined Lamplighter IPA , plus more in advance / strong offering like the 9.2 % Riverside Saison and a beefy 9.1 % Downtown North Porter . The place is squeamish and bare – it ’s a tiny taproom that await like it could double as a counter - service pizza shoes – but that homeyness is part of the charm here , a property where workmanship beer leaves behind its snootiness in party favor of great tang and cornhole on the patio .
Black Hills State University
Crow Peak Brewing
Students at Black Hills State have a lot to be thankful for , what with the often - overlooked grandeur of Lookout Mountain , Spearfish Canyon , and a close proximity to Devils Tower . They ’re also privy to Crow Peak , the best damned brewery in the entireness of the Black Hills , whose 11th Hour IPA could hold its own next to most of its West Coast Brother , but would n’t get too braggy because of its Midwest niceness . CP has broken into bar across South Dakota , but BHSU student get it straight from the source , from the gang - pleasing Canyon Cream Ale to harder - to - determine selection like the 7.7 % wobble Wheel Scotch ale and a chili ale that comes in ready to hand when cold atmosphere comes suck through the canyon … which is basically every five minutes or so in one of the country ’s most erratic atmospheric condition system .
Illinois State University
DESTIHL Brewery
You could be forgiven for not expect to recover a brewpub execute principal - turn sours in the midst of a shopping gist rock a Target . But that ’s exactly what Normal has in DESTIHL , which a former attorney - turned - homebrew obsessive found in 2007 . Since then it ’s add up another fix up the road in Champaign ( home to the University of Illinois ) , but the Bloomington - Normal expanse is indisputably home – in fact , there ’s a $ 14 million , 47,000sqft production facility and saloon design for 2017 to keep up with beer demand , especially for its popular WiLD SOUR serial publication . Anyone who graduated when DESTIHL was just catch trilled , take promissory note for your 10 - year reunion program .
Duke University
Ponysaurus Brewing
Screw a Blue Devil … if Duke ’s mascot were a Ponysaurus , maybe its basketball team would have a snapshot at the – oh , yeah . Never bear in mind . But hey , this is the land ’s most underrated brewery by a long shot , set up up brews like the fruity Fig Saison , the foul-smelling French farmhouse - inspired Biere de Garde , and the simple - yet - complex Single Hop Pale that would easily give the family in Asheville – one of the nation ’s finest beer cities – a running game for their money . incentive points for the beer garden , where you may hold your own grill to grill your own sum ( pre - prepped ) . It ’s like Korean BBQ . But outside , less confusing , and with way better beer . Matt LynchandLee Breslouerdrank beer in the name of this report .
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Creature Comforts Brewing
Crow Peak Brewing
