[which is actually fact-checked, unlike the version in Men’s Journal.]

1. PORTLAND, OR
Portland was, and continues to be, the breadbasket of the craft beer movement - the beerbasket, if you will. New and innovative breweries flock to the town, now adding a green and organic element to the great beer.

Where to Drink: Bailey’s Taproom (www.baileystaproom.com) is the classiest beer joint you’ll ever visit, with American beers as rare as you’ll find. And god dammit, how could Men’s Journal ignore McMenamins Kennedy School (www.mcmenamins.com), an old elementary school-turned-beer mecca?

Beer Culture: The North American Organic Beer Festival (naobf.org) shows just how deep the city’s earth-friendly roots are, but OBF (oregonbrewfest.com) is a massive waste of time for beer nerds and is barely attended by the brewers themselves.

Best Brews: I’ll give them the Hopworks Crosstown Pale Ale, but a pair up Laurelwood’s Sun Woo Kong Imperial IPA with their killer garlic fries and you’ll be satisfied, even if nobody wants to come within ten feet of you.

2. DENVER, CO
How this was left off the Men’s Journal list baffles me. Joel Klein called the Front Range of the Rockies “The Napa Valley of Beer.” From Fort Collins down to Denver, you can’t spit without hitting a great beer bar, brewpub, or full-blown brewery.

Where to Drink: If you’re downtown, stop by Wynkoop Brewing Company (www.wynkoop.com), which was founded by the Mayor of Denver. A bit out of the center of town is the Bull & Bush Pub (www.bullandbush.com), which in addition to brewing its own beer has the most incredible beer cellar you’ll ever find.

Beer Culture: This city is host to the Great American Beer Festival (www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com), the biggest gathering of craft brewers in the country. Sorry, you just missed it, but be sure to catch it next year. Also, let’s begrudgingly acknowledge that Coors Brewing Company has its roots in nearby Golden.

Best Brews: 45 minutes up the road in Boulder, Avery’s Ellie’s Brown Ale is the most drinkable brown ale you’ll find anywhere. If you can get it on draft, grab Breckenridge’s Small Batch 471 IPA.

3. SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Screw San Diego and its surfer boys. The real beer is up in NoCal. The list of brewpubs is incredible for such a small city geographically, and its craft beer cred has been re-upped this year with the east coast distribution of 21st Amendment and Speakeasy.

Where to Drink: Zeitgeist wasn’t the most checked-into bar on the now-defunct texting service Dodgeball for nothing. No place as divey could boast 25 taps and a lady in the backyard selling homemade tamales. In Height-Ashbury, Magnolia Pub (www.magnoliapub.com) has their house beers on tap and cask for your enjoyment. Just don’t trip on a hippie.

Beer Culture: San Francisco was the birthplace of the modern-day craft beer revolution, as many craft brewers credit the revival of Anchor Brewing (www.anchorbrewing.com) in the 1980s for turning the tide of uninspired, watered-down American beer.

Best Brews: The Anchor Porter has been perfected, and there’s no better time to drink it than on a brisk windy day in San Francisco. At the risk of being repetitive, 21st Amendment’s Double Trouble IPA is another big hop bomb that would’ve been highly illegal before the 21st Amendment was ratified.

4. BURLINGTON, VT
When you’re in a place that gets as cold and gray as Burlington does, there’s nothing better to do than drink. The state of Vermont has among the most breweries per capita in the country. You probably already know Magic Hat, and perhaps Long Trail, but Vermont’s beer roots run so much deeper, despite the short growing season.

Where to Drink: Burlington Hearth at American Flatbread (www.americanflatbread.com) is just four years old, but pumps out some truly refined brews that attract an upscale beer geek crowd (their pizza isn’t too shabby, either). If you want the true Vermont hippie experience, head to Three Needs, a friendly brewpub that caters to a more granola crowd.

Beer Culture: The Vermont Brewers Festival (www.vermontbrewers.com) in July is among the best beer festivals in the country and features nearly every brewery in the state, including Morrisville’s Rock Art, Waterbury’s The Alchemist, and Norwich’s Jasper Murdock’s Alehouse (which is literally a guy in his garage brewing beer for the neighboring inn).

Best Brews: Switchback Pale Ale is great little beer you can only find within an hour’s drive of Burlington. The Smoked Porter at the Vermont Pub & Brewery will help you add a layer of calories for when you step back out into sub-zero temperatures.

5. FORT COLLINS, CO
Not to beat the drum of Colorado beer any more, but the three breweries in this town make some of the best beer in the West. Fold in Left Hand Brewing in nearby Longmont and you’ve got a little town that boasts some big beer.

Where to Drink: If you’d like a pound of sopressata with your beer, Choice City Butcher and Deli (www.choicecitybutcher.com) serves up a full-service butcher shop with a nearly-infinite beer list. Nearby, Coopersmith’s (www.coopersmithspub.com) is an inventive brewpub that has beers brewed with green chile and chai.

Beer Culture: New Belgium (www.newbelgium.com) has nearly as much bike parking as car parking at their brewery. Their signature beer is called Fat Tire. Fort Collins boasts a huge biking culture, which makes you wonder: did the culture embrace beer, or did the beer embrace the culture?

Best Brews: New Belgium’s Abbey is a lauded Belgian Dubbel that you can sample for free at their brewery. Odell Brewing keeps their brews mostly local, and pours their 90 Schilling Scottish Ale at their on-site brewpub.

Not Quite Making the List: Portland, ME; Seattle, WA; San Diego, CA; Salt Lake City, UT*; New York, NY

* Yes, seriously. One day, I need to write about how against all odds and strict alcohol laws, there is good craft beer to be had in Utah.