I don’t actually drink much, but in my (admittedly limited) experience, good local brewpubs also tend to have pretty good food. As a rule of thumb, it’s a nice way to find good food when you travel. They also tend to have good, friendly service. During the week I spent in Los Angeles on business (years ago), the brewpub we found was the only place that had decent service. Everywhere else appeared to be staffed by “actors” who were simply waiting for their big break and hence too good to actually do any real work. The brewpub, by contrast, was fantastic. So after we discovered it (approximately midweek), we kept going back.
My home state has finally followed some of the national trends and significantly relaxed its laws on microbreweries and brewpubs. The laws are still significantly stricter than I think they ought to be, but they’ve relaxed them enough that we might actually see a few pop up in some parts of the state. Before the new changes it was almost impossible to even open one, much less turn a profit at it. After the changes the rules still make it tough but they’re no longer show stopping.
I think I’m going to celebrate in the only appropriate way: with a beer.
