6. New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, Colo.

Started in 1989 with the founder delivering beers on his bike, New Belgium quickly turned into a microbrewery and then surpassed the microbrewery mark to become one of the most respected and loved full breweries in the country. They now offer free tours of their facility, which produces "Fat Tires," the very brew that was transported on bikes more than 20 years ago. While Fat Tire is the solid flagship beer of New Belgium, the brewery still takes risks with its seasonals. "New Belgium has a huge lineup of beers and [is] best known for their Fat Tire Amber Ale," says Dave Butler, Colorado beer blogger for Fermentedly Challenged. "In particular I love their Lips of Faith series of beers, and one of my favorites there is their La Folie Sour Brown Ale." New Belgium takes the Colorado lifestyle and transposes it to a larger audience, and many agree that the brewery doesn’t just make great craft beer — it makes a eco-friendly and community-friendly impact. "When it comes to the melding of craft beer, the arts, lifestyle, eco-consciousness, and community, this Fort Collins, Colo., brewery has few peers," says Tom Bobak of American Craft Beer. "I like what New Belgium 'does' almost as much as I enjoy what they brew."