Until recently, most tours followed that model: a view of the brewing system, a quick history of the place, a sample or two of whatever is on tap and a T-shirt at the gift counter. But today, it’s not just the small craft breweries taking a more hands-on approach.

Jim Koch, president of the Boston Beer Company, which produces the Samuel Adams line of beers, has for years been making an annual trip to Germany to select and harvest hops (you may have spotted one of those excursions in a Samuel Adams commercial). It occurred to him a few years ago that others would be interested in joining him on his trips  visiting the fields and centuries-old breweries, learning about beer in the place that perfected it.

So last summer, Boston Beer partnered with Abercrombie and Kent to create a weeklong excursion to Bavaria’s beer country. The itinerary included visits to various biergartens; the centuries-old Stanglmair Farm and Hops Field, just north of Munich; and the Weihenstephan Brewery, which dates back to the year 1040.

Mr. Koch said that there were no immediate plans to do another such trip, which cost about $3,000 a person, but that his company would focus its efforts closer to home, through a partnership with the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. In addition to a stay at the hotel, participants will get a private tour of the company’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood brewery, where one of the brewers  not the usual tour guide  will show off the facilities and lead a tasting in the barrel room, a space usually closed to the public. Samuel Adams merchandise and a beer dinner with a brewery expert are included.

“Just like baby boomers adopted wine, their kids are adopting beer, and the parallels are extraordinary and enormous,” Mr. Koch said. “People want a better experience with their beer.” Even Anheuser-Bush realized that visitors wanted more. Two years ago it began offering a $25 Beermaster tour that includes a visit to the floor of the bottling line, a beer sample directly from the tanks, and other experiences not included on the free tour, according to Mr. Pitts.

But the craft breweries still offer the most intimate experiences. The Woodstock Inn began offering weekend packages within a year after opening its brewery in 1995, both to capitalize on the growing popularity of craft beer and to drum up business during the off season, said the owner, Scott Rice.

Mr. Rice estimated that about 1,500 visitors had attended Woodstock’s brewery weekends. Guests can take part in every step of the brewing process  including the messy work of removing hundreds of pounds of processed grain from the “mash tun,” where grain and water are mixed. The early morning brewing leads into a hearty Saturday lunch (featuring bread made from the spent grain); later, there’s a five-course dinner and souvenirs. (Breakfast is included in the cost of the room.)