Beer Travel – Beer Trips – Beer Adventures
The first time I went beer hunting in the Phoenix area was 2005, when I discovered that good beer was woefully rare in the Valley of the Sun. I mean, it was like a vast beerless wasteland; a vacuous black hole of beerlessness. That was a long time ago and things have changed, especially in recent years. Hope springs eternal and dozens of new breweries have emerged in the past two or three years alone.
Looking for a beer-focused, springtime getaway? Idaho celebrates craft beer during the month of April — Idaho Craft Beer Month — making it a great time for beer lovers to visit. The official opening event, Pints Up Idaho, takes place on April 5th. The official closing event is the Idaho Craft Beer Month Festival in Boise on April 28th.
As a Seattleite, sometimes the low-hanging fruit is the most difficult to reach. I’d blame the traffic, but that’s a lame excuse. I was overdue for a visit to Kirkland, that’s all. Last weekend, Kim and I decided it was time to remedy the situation and actually make the trip across the lake to visit all three of Kirkland’s breweries.
Updated October 30th – Use this link to get a 10% discount on your tickets.
Looking for an excuse to escape to the San Juan Islands this fall? Here’s a very good one. On Saturday, November 11th the streets of Eastsound will be shut down for the first-ever Hops on the Rock Beer Festival. The residents of Orcas Island invite you to join them for a weekend of beer events, with the grand tasting taking place on Saturday afternoon from 11:00 – 5:00.
Seattle Beer Week kicked off last night and runs for the next ten days. Dozens of events across the city and in the surrounding area will celebrate our outstanding beer culture. Granted, Seattle Beer Week is not about Seattle-brewed beer, but it could be, and maybe it should be. That’s my opinion, anyway. It’s now a matter of fact, Seattle is the top city in the USA when it comes to breweries.
Beer lovers in America tend to reach for big, hoppy ales, but that doesn’t mean we are incapable of appreciating finely crafted European-style lagers. You know, the kind of beers they drink in romantic places like Vienna, Prague and Budapest. If you’re a beer connoisseur, you should put this cruise on your beer bucket list: the Danube Dreams River Cruise, a beer-themed adventure from Avalon Waterways.
You know that iconic medal plaza in Whistler, British Columbia where Olympic athletes picked up their winning hardware back in 2010? With those gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains? Now that outdoor amphitheater is home to one of our favorite beer festivals, the Whistler Village Beer Festival. This year it goes down on Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20.
Go paddling in the San Juan Islands with Oliver and Pamela Brulotte, owners of Icicle Brewing Company in Leavenworth – June 26 thru 28. Join them for pints and paddles, and more. They hosted this trip last year and by all reports it was a magnificent adventure. The days will be long and sun-filled, the evenings delicious and friendly, as you paddle your way through the San Juan Archipelagos.
