It’s time to dust off that wanderlust bucket-list and start making your travel plans. While you’re making a list of must-see sites and restaurants, why not plan a “beercation” too? It’s our new favorite word and with brewery themed destinations on the rise in the coming year, Fayetteville, Arkansas is right up there with the big dogs.

Travelocity recently released its new Beer Tourism Index, and Fayetteville, Arkansas (and our friends in the surrounding Northwest Arkansas area), hopped up onto the top-20 list in the large-metro category.* With 10 breweries on the Fayetteville Ale Trail, a local cidery and new breweries popping up around town, the Northwest Arkansas beer scene has plenty of places to enjoy a well-brewed craft beer.

Pop-up shops, limited small batch brew nights, art shows and beer-centric events offer experiences that allow visitors to capture unique tastes and moments, the perfect setting for a weekend getaway. Our breweries are becoming a hub of creative entrepreneurship, pairing up with local coffee baristas, kombucha makers and culinary artists to create mashups of beer-infused foods, uniquely flavored brews and eclectic pairings of the two. The culture embraces the small town community feel with intimately sized tasting rooms to bring people together, making even the visitors feel like locals.

Each stop on the Ale Trail has its own taste and unique experience, and the only way to capture it all is by tasting it for yourself.

To learn more about the Fayetteville Ale Trail or to find a brewery in our area check out the Fayetteville Ale Trail website here: fayettevillealetrail.com.

To see Travelocity’s full list of top beer destinations, click here: travelocity.com/press/top-beer-destinations/

*When compiling the list, the index took into account things like: breweries per capita, rideshare availability, air destinations, and affordability of lodging.