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America’s Best Beer Gardens



The German biergarten originated as a way to cool beer cellars with the shade of broad-leaved chestnut trees, which created an atmosphere nearly impossible for beer drinkers to resist. While modern technology has endangered the traditional beer cellar, the convivial beer garden is alive and well, typically surrounded by greenery, brimming with communal tables, and often seasonal. Here are destination best beer gardens throughout the United States where you can share beers al fresco around Oktoberfest season and beyond.

TopWire Hop Project (Woodburn, Oregon)

Courtesy of TopWire Hop Project 


Beer is an agricultural product, which comes into focus when you sip it amid the verdant Willamette Valley fields where one of its most important ingredients is grown. At TopWire Hop Project, the beer garden from fifth-generation Crosby Hops, rows of hop bines tendriling as high as 18 feet and a distant Mt. Hood provide a backdrop for beers made with iconic and experimental hops by customers like pFriem Family Brewers.

Napa Yard (Napa, California)

Courtesy of Napa Yard / Peter Lyons Photo


Beer is a great palate cleanser in wine country, which is where Napa Yard comes in. Overlooking the Napa River, this charmer surrounded by towering trees also has an actual garden supplying ingredients for food and cocktails, many with house-distilled spirits. Of course, the wine list is as strong as the beer list, both leaning heavily on nearby producers such as Sonoma Springs Brewing Company.

Bale Breaker Brewing Company (Yakima, Washington)

Courtesy of Bale Breaker


Yakima Valley grows about 75% of U.S. hops, and Bale Breaker charts the shortest route from bine to beer, brewing its own directly on the family’s large, fourth-generation hop farm. Sit at a firepit among the greenery and sip a Field 41 — the name of the actual hop field as well as a piney, grapefruity pale ale — or, during harvest, a fresh-hop version of the flagship Topcutter IPA.

Jester King Brewery (Austin, Texas)

Courtesy of Jester King Brewery


Located on a 165-acre ranch on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, Jester King is acclaimed for its farmhouse and barrel-aged wild ales. Open daily, the brewery’s expansive beer garden offers 100 tables, wood-fired pizza, and a variety of goat-focused activities, from family-friendly guided goat walks to Doom Metal goat yoga led by Taylor Fox of the Weird Warrior Yoga Group.

Henmick Farm & Brewery (Delaware, Ohio)

Courtesy of Henmick Farm & Brewery


Henmick sits on eight acres of family-owned farmland dating back to 1916, with a taproom in a renovated 1860s barn. The family- and pet-friendly setting, often activated by live music and food trucks, is dotted with firepits, picnic tables, and open space to throw down a blanket. The property abuts federal land with access to nearby horse trails, making it a great stop for trail riders.

The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery & Biergarten (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Courtesy of Olde Mecklenburg Brewery


Olde Mecklenburg has several nice locations, but the pièce de résistance is Loso, which feels distinctly Bavarian. Massive oaks, pecans, and hickories set the scene for an equally enormous beer garden packed with picnic tables, leashed dogs, live music on weekends, and even a kid-focused section. German-inspired beers like Hornets Nest Hefeweizen and Mecktoberfest Märzen Lager are a perfect match for schnitzel, sauerkraut, and pretzels.

Dacha Navy Yard (Washington, D.C.)

Courtesy of Dacha


The bustling Dacha Navy Yard beer garden is newer and even bigger than Dacha’s original Shaw location, and it’s right across from Nationals Park on a bank of the Anacostia River. This is a gathering spot for Nats, Washington Spirit, and DC United fans, who take down chicken schnitzel sandwiches with European and American craft beers from Das Boot and order Chippuccinos from the Puppy Provisions menu for their canine pals.

Beer Garden at Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania)

Courtesy of Longwood Gardens / Meghan Newberry


This one puts the garden in beer garden — it’s only accessible for ticketholders to Longwood Gardens, whose 1,083 idyllic acres mix hiking trails and horticulture just outside of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. Admire showpieces like the orchid house and the fountain garden, where waterworks and lights pulse to music, then indulge in a beer supplied by local favorite Victory Brewing Co.

Dorchester Brewing Company (Dorchester, Massachusetts)

Courtesy of Dorchester Brewing Company


Featuring a greenhouse-style “Hopservatory” and roof deck beer garden, Dorchester Brewing Company in South Boston offers an opportunity to quaff a pint with a view of the Boston skyline. Pair beers like the Outer Limits New England IPA with flavorful dishes including ribs and dumpster fries from in-house restaurant M&M BBQ.

Estabrook Beer Garden (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

Courtesy of VISIT Milwaukee


The first public beer garden in the U.S. after Prohibition, Estabrook serves Hofbräu München beer imported from Germany within Estabrook Park, on a bluff over a waterfall on the Milwaukee River. The park is full of entertaining features, including hiking and biking trails, a disc golf course, a riverwalk, and playgrounds.

Bongo’s Botanical Beer Garden (Marathon, Florida)

Courtesy of Visit Florida Keys


Located at The Lagoon, an adventure park and resort in the Florida Keys, Bongo’s is surrounded by an organic food forest lush with tropical fruit trees and herb plants. Sway like the palm trees overhead in a hammock chair and pair one of dozens of beers with dishes like a Hawaiian-style barbecue chicken with pineapple salsa and local mahi fish tacos with a Thai chile sauce.

Schell’s Biergarten (New Ulm, Minnesota)

Minnesota’s first craft brewery and one of the oldest breweries in the U.S., Schell’s was built in 1860 by German immigrant and New Ulm cofounder August Schell on the Cottonwood River overlooking a forest. The biergarten is on the National Registry of Historic Sites, and visitors can explore the gardens surrounding the Schell mansion, an estate built to pay homage to Schell’s homeland. With communal tables and roving peacocks on property, it’s the perfect place to sip on a pre-Prohibition-style Deer Brand lager.





Adam H. Callaghan

2025-09-17 15:27:00