TAKE A BEERCATION

SOUTHWEST | BREWERIES

Ultimate Beercation

Road trip to some of the region’s best breweries

By Kae Lani Palmisano

T

HE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST IS ideal for road trips. Travelers are drawn to the long stretches of highway that wind through landscapes that shift from prairies to desert. For beer lovers looking for a roadside libation, here are 10 of the region’s best breweries:

HUSS BREWING COMPANY Tempe, Ariz. With a wide range of styles on tap, Huss Brewing has a beer to suit any taste. But if you want to try the best that Huss has to offer, sample the Oktoberfest, a 2019 Great American Beer Festival silver medal winner in the Americanstyle amber lager category , and 2015 sweet stout bronze medalist Husstler Milk Stout. ▶ hussbrewing. com

HUSS BREWING COMPANY

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ELK VALLEY BREWING COMPANY Oklahoma City Owner John Elkins has been brewing for nearly 20 years and has dedicated himself to craft beer since opening Elk Valley in 2014 . Four “core brews” — Firefly Crew (witbier), Magic Juice (double IPA), Tenkiller Pilsner and Straight Razor Pale Ale — are joined by a rotating menu of specialty and seasonal releases. ▶ elkvalleybrew.com

LA CUMBRE BREWING COMPANY

LA CUMBRE BREWING COMPANY Albuquerque, N.M. La Cumbre means pinnacle, peak or summit, which speaks to this brewery’s aspirations. The results can be experienced in its Elevated IPA, a 2011 gold medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival, and the simply named La Cumbre Beer, which took gold for international-style lager at the 2016 World Beer Cup. ▶ lacumbrebrewing.com

BAD BEAT BREWING Henderson, Nev. Bad Beat is located just south of Las Vegas, and a visit is no gamble. The brewery has four beers available year-round and eight beers that rotate seasonally. A crowd-pleaser is The Ringer , a German-style pilsner that’s crisp and flavorful, yet balanced. ▶ badbeatbrewing.com

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REVISION BREWING COMPANY Sparks, Nev. In only its second year of operation, Revision Brewing’s Revision IPA took gold and its Doubled-Up IPA took silver at the 2018 World Beer Cup Awards . Last year, its barrel-aged Finite Madness stout won gold at the 2019 European Beer Star competition . ▶ revision brewing.com REVISION BREWING COMPANY ARMADILLO ALE WORKS Denton, Texas Between its year-round beers, spereleases, there’s always something

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ROUGHTAIL BREWING COMPANY Oklahoma City Hop lovers will enjoy the beers from Roughtail Brewing Company. The Hoptometrist IPA is a great starting point, but to see just how far this brewery can go with a strong-butbalanced hoppy beer, Everything Rhymes With Orange is a citrusy, hazy, unfiltered IPA that is flavorful, but not overpowering. ▶ roughtailbeer.com

WREN HOUSE BREWING COMPANY

WREN HOUSE BREWING COMPANY Phoenix There’s always something new at Wren House Brewing Company, and crowds often line up whenever new limited-release beers go of Wren House’s Arizona flair, try the Valley Beer, an American-style lager and silver medalist at the 2020 Best of Craft Beer Awards . ▶ wrenhousebrewing. com

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BOSQUE BREWING COMPANY Bernalillo, N.M. For a flavorful and adventurous beer trip, be sure to swing by Bosque Brewing Company. Its inventive beers are paired with creative pizza pies from sister restaurant Restoration Pizza . Try the Elephants on Parade, a fruited wheat ale. ▶ bosquebrewing.com

ARMADILLO ALE WORKS

cialty brews and super rare limited on sale. To get a taste

interesting at Armadillo Ale Works. If your craving runs to sweet and mild, 2018 World Beer Cup honey beer gold medalist Honey Please is sure to satisfy. ▶ armadilloaleworks.com

POLICY KINGS BREWERY Cedar City, Utah Family-run Policy Kings opened in late 2018 and is leading the nascent brewing scene in southern Utah with high-quality craft beers, including a Kolsch and the Green Wood Porter . ▶ policykingsbrewery.com

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TEXAS | TOURISM

Urban Cowboys

Even the cities are bigger in Texas

EL PASO FORT DALLAS

WORTH TEXAS

AUSTIN HOUSTON

SAN ANTONIO By Sandy Smith UST AS TEXAS IS known for its regional charms — canyons in West

JTexas, the greenery of hill country and beaches along the Gulf Coast — it also has six of the country’s 20 largest cities . Each has a “different personality and flavor, offering up distinct experiences that make Texas the perfect destination for any traveler,” says Chelsea Hartnett , who as a communications specialist at Travel Texas knows these attributes well. Dallas-based travel blogger Jasmine Alley agrees. “They say everything is bigger in Texas, and there’s no exception when it comes to the cities in Texas. Each city also has its own culture, which draws people in.”

Sure, the stars are big and bright in the heart of Texas, but the city lights sparkle, too. Here’s a look at what makes them attractive destinations:

Austin’s Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve

AUSTIN CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

Austin is the state’s capital, home to the University of Texas and the selfproclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World.” But don’t ignore what Alley says is “arguably the prettiest (urban) nature in Texas.” Hartnett agrees, calling the nation’s 14th-largest city an “outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.”

Once normal scheduling resumes, live music is a must at spots like Antone’s , The Continental Club or Scoot Inn . And the annual South by Southwest Conference and Festivals brings the music and film industries to town each spring. austintexas.org

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Dallas, the ninth-largest city in the country, and No. 16 Fort Worth are separated by about 30 miles and are often collectively referred to as the DFW Metroplex.

Dallas is considered the more cosmopolitan of the pair. “It is known for its food and great shopping,” Alley says. Hartnett suggests the Bishop Arts District , which features 60 independent boutiques, galleries, restaurants, bars and coffee shops. And speaking of libations, Dallas lays a strong claim as the place where the margarita was first mixed and pays homage with the Margarita Mile , featuring some of the best places to enjoy the drink frozen or on the rocks. visitdallas.com

Fort Worth “has a rich cattle ranching background, and you’ll find Old West cowboy vibes throughout the city,” Alley says. A twice-daily cattle drive at the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District “brings the Old West to life right before your eyes,” Hartnett says. fortworth.com Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, is inextricably linked with spaceflight. NASA’s Space Center Houston , the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center and a Smithsonian affiliate , is a must-see attraction, Hartnett says. The center includes 400 space artifacts and special experiences like lunch with an astronaut.

But why settle for Tang when you can enjoy world-class dining and cocktails — including 14 semifinalists in the 2020 James Beard Awards. And reserve time in the spring for the massive Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo , which features cowboys, horses, barbecue and celebrities. visithoustontexas.com

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Dallas Arts District

JOSEPH HAUBERT Franklin Mountains State Park

TEXAS TOURISM

El Paso may be the 20th-largest city in the country, but it “is a big city with small-town vibes,” Alley says. Known as “Sun City” for its abundance of sunshine , it borders Mexico and New Mexico and captures the feeling of both, Hartnett says. It is a launching point for a tour of historic missions , the oldest dating back nearly 340 years. Franklin Mountains State Park and the sacred desert sanctuary Hueco Tanks State Park are each less than 50 miles from downtown and offer year-round hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing terrains.

Space Center Houston

SPACE CENTER HOUSTON

visitelpaso.com River Walk

VISITSANANTONIO.COM

San Antonio is ripe with history, Alley says. Who could forget The Alamo ? But other Spanish colonial missions are also worth exploring in the nation’s seventh-largest city. At the annual Fiesta San Antonio — held almost every spring since 1891 — parades are abundant, with Tejano, jazz and mariachi performances. While San Antonio’s famed River Walk is always worth a visit, Hartnett says it is more energetic than usual during the Fiesta. visitsanantonio.com

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