Rochester, NYBreweries

Strangebird made waves in the local beer world on opening, CITY Magazine writes, defined by odd barrel-fermented offerings from wood-aging auteur Eric Salazar and chef Nate Stahl's playful menu of pub classics. The Marshall Street taproom also pours a house hibiscus soda for anyone skipping the beer. Come for a flight of what is fresh on tap, and order the smoked maple Buffalo wings alongside it.

Three Heads Brewing broke into the Rochester craft scene in the early 2010s with its flagship The Kind, a bitter West Coast IPA, and CITY Magazine notes that the beers coming out of this Neighborhood of the Arts mainstay have kept changing since. The taproom runs a live-music stage alongside the bar. You can still get The Kind, or work through the sours and whatever else the tap list is pouring.

Swiftwater Brewing opened in the South Wedge in early 2015 and quickly became a Mount Hope Avenue staple, CITY Magazine's Chris Lindstrom writes, pouring flights of four four-ounce samples and serving more than standard brewery fare. His pick of the group was IPA 9, with grapefruit and tropical fruit on the nose and a smooth lingering bitterness. Order a flight, then a full pour of whatever the flight settled on.

One of the country's oldest breweries (1878) with a Brew House overlooking High Falls.