Time to raise a glass and celebrate the latest instance of the national media singing Central Oregon’s praises. The topic du jour: beer. The category: best towns in which to imbibe. The outfit: CNN Travel, which recently named the eight best beer towns in America (for the record, Bend was named #7).
Portland took top honors — in large part, no doubt, because Portland boasts more breweries (52) than any city in the world, according to CNN Travel.
The criteria? As CNN Travel explains, “Some cities have begun to take beer personally, innovating its craft and consumption and throwing festivals to honor the finest ales and lagers — creating a blueprint for the rest of the country to follow. Still others have been doing this all along. This is the story of those towns…”
Here’s a rundown of CNN’s top eight beer towns, in order:
- Portland
- San Francisco
- San Dieago
- Boston
- Denver
- Philadelphia
- Bend
- Asheville, N.C.
Finally, it seems only fitting that the article appeared just in time for our latest local beer celebration, Central Oregon Beer Week (which runs May 22-May 27).