Blessed with an abundance of stunning natural beauty, incredible wildlife, plus frontier era history, Wyoming has a lot going for it. In fact, with so many things to do in Wyoming, visitors are spoilt for choice. Wyoming breweries are now beginning to steal the limelight for their award-winning local brews. Let’s explore this explosion of brewpubs and microbreweries with a pub crawl across the state, on our own Wyoming beer tour!
Benefiting from the region’s freshwater springs and glacier ice melt, Wyoming breweries are mastering this infusion to create some truly unique flavors. Trust us, if you’re not already a fan, it won’t take long before you become a fellow Wyoming beer enthusiast.
Join us as we embark on a trip across Wyoming to try out a range of beer-tasting taprooms and brewery tours available on a fantastic brewery trail.
Where better to start our Wyoming beer tour than in Cody, Wyoming – gateway to the Yellowstone National Park and ‘Old Faithful’ with a host of craft beer brewing companies to try out. Two Wyoming beer companies embracing the high-quality local ingredients available are Cody Craft Brewing and WYOld West Brewing Company.
Photo by Cody Craft Brewing.
Cody Craft Brewing uses the freshest ingredients to create their craft beer, ‘Cody style,’ with its local favorites, the Buffalo Bilsner, a Pilsner, and the Much Obliged, a Hazy IPA.
Photo by WYOld West Brewing Brewery and Tess Anderson
In contrast, WYOld West Brewing is an amazing brewer of ales and a fully-fledged restaurant. Here, two of their ales you must try are the Heart Mountain Hefeweizen, an American Wheat Ale, and the Outlaw Justice, a Pale Ale.
While you’re in Cody, Wyoming, enhance your Wyoming beer tour with a trip to see the world-famous Buffalo Bill Center of the West before retiring every evening for a great night’s sleep at the Best Western Sunset Inn.
Next, we head east to Gillette, Wyoming, on our Wyoming beer tour, which also happens to be home to the Gillette Thunder Speedway. As the second stop on our pub crawl across Wyoming, Gillette provides the tour with a range of specialist brewpubs offering a range of local beers and ales.
Photo by Big Lost Meadery.
We’ve taken the opportunity to showcase the Big Lost Meadery for when you’re in town. This exceptional local brewery specializes in a range of spectacular handcrafted honey meads. So, when you stop in, try their Sweet Dame, created using lemon mead with ginger, and Crazy Woman, made with hibiscus and honey.
Additionally, as one of the best things to do in Wyoming that encompasses the state’s beautiful surroundings, head to Keyhole State Park while you’re in the area. After a day of swimming, fishing, and hiking in the park, you can get a restful night’s sleep at the Best Western Tower West Lodge in Gillette, Wyoming.
Heading south now, our next stop sees us pulling into the local breweries of Casper, Wyoming. We’ve selected Casper not just because of its impressive historical past but for the variety of brewpubs and beer-tasting the venues have to offer.
Photo by Frontier Brewing Company.
Here’s two more excellent Casper breweries on our Wyoming beer tour, the first is the Frontier Brewing Company, popular with visitors and locals for its live entertainment and the variety of food trucks. When visiting the Frontier Brewing tap room, try their Midnight Sky, Dark Rye, and the Larknote Golden Ale.
Photo by Black Tooth Brewing Company
On an equal footing is the appealing Black Tooth Brewing Company, with their branded American Light Lager, 307, and Bomber Mountain, an Amber Ale – are both outstanding options.
Visitors to Casper, Wyoming, shouldn’t leave without visiting the Tate Geological Museum for a fascinating glance as some of Wyoming’s gigantic previous residents, too. Here, you can see the full skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and the largest woolly mammoth ever found before enjoying a delightful night’s sleep at the Best Western Downtown Casper Hotel.
Westward-bound on our Wyoming beer tour, we arrive next in Pinedale, near the state’s border with Idaho. Pinedale, Wyoming is surrounded by a breathtaking natural wilderness, teeming with diverse wildlife, which adds an extraordinary additional dimension to our Wyoming pub crawl.
Photo by Wind River Brewery.
The Pinedale leg of our brewery trail also takes in one of the region’s most popular beer festivals – the Wind River Brew Fest. The celebration, organized by the Wind River Brewing Company, brings together various local breweries to commemorate their shared passion for Wyoming beer-making. Here, they also showcase their own creations, including the Out of Order Porter, an English Porter, and the Ghost Town IPA, their American IPA.
If you miss the Wind River Brew Fest but still want to explore other things to do in Wyoming when you’re in Pinedale, you should get in a round of golf at the Rendezvous Meadows Golf Course. After 9-holes of golf and some first-class beer tasting, head back to the Best Western Pinedale Inn in the heart of Pinedale, WY, for a refreshing night’s sleep.
Celebrating our appreciation for Wyoming’s local beer and craft brewery operations, the final stop on our brewery trail finds us in the state capital of Cheyenne. Located in the south-eastern corner of Wyoming, Cheyenne has some of the best beer bars in the state.
Photo by Blue Raven Brewery.
With its remarkable live music lineups and superb beer garden, a Wyoming beer tour would not be complete unless you stopped in at the Blue Raven Brewery. A huge draw for sports fans due to its multiple indoor and outdoor televisions showing live sport, be sure to try their Corson, German Pilsner, and the Iron Badger, a Dry Irish Stout.
Photo by Accomplice Beer Company
Not to be outdone, a trip to another of Cheyenne’s top breweries, the Accomplice Beer Company, provides an opportunity to try their impressive craft beer taproom selections, including Sol-Dance a Belgian Witbier, and Lincoln Squared an Indian Pale Ale.
Before you leave the state, why not end your Wyoming beer tour with an authentic Wild West experience. When you’re in town, make sure you visit the Terry Bison Ranch, the second largest bison ranch in the US. Enjoy a bison train tour and some spectacular horseback riding before ending the trip on a high by staying at the Best Western Plus Frontier Inn in Cheyenne, Wyoming.