Posted By: Melissa Ward
I incorporate craft beer into my life regularly—a beer with dinner, a pint after work with friends at Happy Hour. But when it comes to vacation, craft beer isn’t just incorporated—it is the vacation.
Case in point: I just got back from 11 days in sunny Denver, where I not only attended the 29th Annual Great American Beer Festival, but I toured New Belgium Brewery (Best. 90. Minute. Tour. EVER) and road the slide, enjoyed two taster trays in Odell’s tap room, had a bourbon barrel stout while kicking my husband’s butt in Sorry! while on the patio of Golden City Brewing, visited Great Divide THREE times, sniffed the malty brewhouse air of Mountain Sun Pub after enjoying their Resinous Rye, hung out with my LadiesOCB at Freshcraft to save some boobies, and, well, you get the point.
Flight at Odell Brewing Company
This is not a phase. In May 2009 I took my then fiance/now husband on a roadtrip through Central and Western NY, showing him my college roots and sampling him on the likes of Ithaca Beer, Empire Brewing, Rohrbach Brewing, Flying Bison and Pearl Street. In November, after getting married at Stoudts Brewery, we hopped a plane for Denver and had a beer-drenched honeymoon. And prior to that we’ve made pilgrimages to the House that Sam built in Milton and Rehobeth Beach.
And it won’t stop there. Because craft beer has become such a central part of our lives, we want to embrace it wherever we go. That means hunting down a decent pub while on a business trip, doing preliminary research before visiting friends in different parts of the country (“Hey … I read about this amazing pub 5 miles from your apartment. Let’s go!”), or simply planning a full-on Beercation.
Trust me. It sure beats hanging around the family reunion with nothing to do (actually, in those instances we just bring the beer, craft or homebrewed, to them).
Sam’s Ride
Here are my top 5 suggestions for an awesome Beercation experience in the U.S.
1. Denver and its surrounding areas (duh.)
2. Upstate NY: Ommegang, Horseheads Brewing, Empire Brewing, Syracuse Suds Factory, Middle Ages Brewing, Rohrbach Brewing, Flying Bison, Ellicottville Brewing, Wagner Valley Brewing and so much more!
3. Delaware: You may not realize it, but this state is home to some of the powerhouses of beer—Dogfish Head, Iron Hill (Newark and Wilmington), Stewarts Brewing Co., Twin Lakes, Evolution Craft Brewing, etc.
4. Philly: Sure I may be biased, but the City of Brotherly Love has been named repeatedly as one of the best beer drinking cities. Ripe with breweries, brewpubs and beer bars, you can’t through a rock without hitting some craft beer (just don’t break the bottle). Check out Nodding Head Brewpub, Triumph, Eulogy Belgian Tavern, Tria Cafe, Yards Brewing, Sly Fox, Standard Tap, South Philly Tap Room … I could go on forever.
5. Portland, OR: Line up for Rogue, Deschutes, Full Sail, Hair of the Dog and explore another city hailed as a beer mecca.
Or take inspiration from my beer buddy Brian Yaeger, author of Red, White and Brew and a modern day Beer Ulysses. He roadtripped from Portland, ME to Portland, OR, making the ultimate beer run. If you’re not quite ready yet, just read his book. It’ll inspire you and then some.
BIG thanks to all who came out and supported the National Breast Cancer Foundation by attending our Beer for Boobs Brunch this year! Not only was the event a blast, but we raised a total of $2,409 to donate for breast cancer awareness. How awesome is that?! It’s all due to you- so again, thank you, for supporting women and craft beer.
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