and I’m not surprised…
Portland and Bend are great beer towns. I put them up there with Bamberg for my favorites.
He mentions Berlin as a beervtown, well it has been a while since I was there, but it is not one of the greats. There are the new small places making US influenced hoppy beers, but it takes more than that.
Portland is amazing. My in-laws live in Washougal, Washington across the river. Its like a homecoming for any craft beer nut. I love going there every summer.
My vote is for Tampa/St. Pete ;D
Portland is pretty great. Lots of breweries, tons of bars, cheap pints, and every bar has food. Mmmmm, tot-chos. Oakland (and the greater Bay Area) is quickly rising.
How can you be so self-centered. Belgium is by far the best beer city in the world.
The lack of smileys makes me worry this is not irony.
Belgium does indeed have many wonderful beers but it is not a city.
If in fact I am, as usual, suffering from irony deficiency I apologize in advance.
Apology accepted. 
Sorry, I’m from Belgium myself and I kind of chuckled with the US-centered way the question about the best beer city in the world was answered. But I guess that’s what you get when you come to an American forum. 
It’s probably about as silly as the “Best Beer in America” polls every year. It’s subjective as to what you like - for lagers few would argue that Munich, Cologne, Bamberg ( per Jeff) would be the places to go. I find Belgian beers to be among the very best in the world, so I dream of Brussels and Brugge. But for (among many other good styles) hop forward beers, places like San Diego and Portland are destination cities. And having been there, Portland is one great beer town. Bend as well.
And Seattle. My goodness there are SO many small breweries around the Puget Sound area. The I-5 corridor from Eugene to the Canadian border has so many interesting breweries one could spend more than a month going every day to new breweries. And the good news is that most of them produce very good beer! Sure, exceptional beer is still just that, but wow, what a richness we have here in the Pacific Northwest!
I sure would love to see Yakima get on the beer-tourism map with 1 or 2 exceptional breweries! We have 4 breweries now. None are in the exceptional category, but Bale Breaker may end up there. I’m thinking 6, with two being in the exceptional category would be ideal. A perfect weekend beer destination.
Yeah, we have a sad tendency to assume that the best in 'Mericuh IS the best in the world. So, if you have to pin all of Belgium’s hopes on a single city as ‘best in the world’ which would it be?
Portland was great when I visited 5 years ago and I only scatched the surface. I hope to visit again this summer.
Santa Rosa, Ca. But I don’t speak for the whole of Belgium.
I do not know man. I think it is Eau Claire, WI. There is at least one good brewery.
My fervent hope is that the best beer in the world is no where near ANY city
Your dream has come true. The best beer in the world is served in a tiny pub in a tiny village in the tiny Belgian countryside and which has the tiniest opening hours in the whole world: two hours per week.
I hope so too Jim. Since I can easily drive to your place to get some.
Thanks but if its at my place, I didn’t brew it here. Not yet anyway. But I know a little farm house in the foothills of Mt Hood that has several World Cup golds
Well you did use the word hope. I hope you make the best beer in the world. Then I can brag that I know you. And drink some of it.