Farmington Brewing Company

Farmington Brewing Company started as a hobby between two friends, Jason Hendricks and Jason Schlaff, who met in 2009 and worked their way from a five-gallon homebrew kit and a failed first batch to a real downtown Farmington taproom. There’s no kitchen — it’s BYO food, or grab snacks from local vendors like Great Lakes Potato Chips and Sunflour Bakehaus — which keeps the focus squarely on the beer, including the Blood Orange Wheat that’s become the brewery’s most popular pour.

The space is family-friendly until 8 p.m. daily, then shifts to 21-and-up, and there’s a genuinely charming weekly ritual in the Growlers and Howlers run club — a free Tuesday-night 5K that loops through downtown Farmington and ends back at the brewery for pints, with 10% off beer for anyone who participated. It’s the kind of neighborhood brewery that built its identity slowly, from two guys’ friendship to a covered beer garden and a patio made for people-watching downtown.

On our radar for a genuine local taproom, or for anyone who wants their beer run to actually include a run.