Beer

Unbeknownst to coastal elites is the fact that the Rust Belt can be...trendy.  Take, for instance, the craft beer trend.  (I don't drink beer, but I read a lot about it...okay, that's not entirely true.)  While corporate brewing still dominates the American beer market, independent brewers working on a smaller (and more tasty) scale have entered the beer scene in a big way.  In fact, as of last year, craft had achieved an 11 percent volume share of the U.S. beer market.  How does Rochester fare in this regard?

• The city of Rochester has four breweries (three craft breweries), with a fifth planned.  
• Monroe County has somewhere along the lines of 10 breweries, not including breweries that utilize contract brewing.  
• As of May 2014, the Finger Lakes Beer Trail, which extends from Rochester through the Finger Lakes and ends in Syracuse, boasted 69 establishments.  
• Local beer stores take their job quite seriously.  Per Beer Advocate, Beers of the World is rated as Outstanding (91 out of 100), and AJ's Beer Warehouse is rated as World-Class (100 out of 100.)

Is Rochester like Denver, Portland, OR, or San Diego? No.  But it's surprisingly competent.