These are the best cities in the US to take a 'beercation'

What is a 'beercation'?

Beer + vacation = beercation. It's pretty much as simple as that.

According to the Brewers Association, a trade organization that promotes craft brewers, more than 10 million people toured small and independent craft breweries in 2014. So with the rise of beer-focused tourism, social media users have coined the term beercation to refer to any trip where they tour a brewery, attend a beer festival, sample local beer or do nearly anything else beer-related.

But where is the best location for a beercation? The Brewers Association teamed up with Travelocity to answer that question for you by creating a Beer Tourism Index. This index factors in brewery locations across the United States, rideshare service availability, accessibility via air and the average cost of lodging. The list was then divided into two categories — large metro areas and small metro areas.

Here's a look at the top cities in each group. Spoiler alert: When it comes to the brewery aspect of the index, small markets just might have the advantage.

Large metro #6: Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA

Total score: 47.75

• Brewery score: 49.8
• Rideshare score: 100
• Air score: 7
• Lodging score: 22

Large metro #5: Colorado Springs, CO

Total score: 48.09

• Brewery score: 40.1
• Rideshare score: 100
• Air score: 12
• Lodging score: 88

Large metro #4: Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME

Total score: 50.11

• Brewery score: 51.3
• Rideshare score: 100
• Air score: 13
• Lodging score: 29

Large metro #3: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Total score: 50.57

• Brewery score: 43.4
• Rideshare score: 100
• Air score: 99
• Lodging score: 3

Large metro #2: Denver-Aurora, CO

Total score: 58.93

• Brewery score: 47.6
• Rideshare score: 100
• Air score: 100
• Lodging score: 56

Large metro #1. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA

Total score: 59.09

• Brewery score: 54.4
• Rideshare score: 100
• Air score: 76
• Lodging score: 34

Small metro #6: Burlington-South Burlington, VT

Total score: 65.21

• Brewery score: 79.3
• Rideshare score: 50
• Air score: 12
• Lodging score: 35

Small metro #5: Missoula, MT

Total score: 70.38

• Brewery score: 78.8
• Rideshare score: 50
• Air score: 12
• Lodging score: 90

Small metro #4: Corvallis, OR

Total score: 79.19

• Brewery score: 102.6
• Rideshare score: 0
• Air score: 0
• Lodging score: 74

Small metro #3: Fort Collins-Loveland, CO

Total score: 89.65

• Brewery score: 104.9
• Rideshare score: 100
• Air score: 1
• Lodging score: 61

Small metro #2: Boulder, CO

Total score: 101.67

• Brewery score: 125.2
• Rideshare score: 100
• Air score: 0
• Lodging score: 40

Small metro #1: Bend, OR

Total score: 119.13

• Brewery score: 159.8
• Rideshare score: 0
• Air score: 7
• Lodging score: 66