Pilsner occupies a rather unusual spot in the pantheon of beer styles. When people first get turned onto craft beer their instinct is to gravitate to something dark or hoppy or fruity. Lagers are generally none of those things, in fact they are almost the antithesis of what casual observers think craft beer is about,... Continue Reading →
Drinking Beer in Wine Country – The Breweries of Santa Barbara
The beginning of football season is a clear sign that the colors and crisp days of autumn are soon to be upon us. I spent the last official days of summer in a place where both football and the change in seasons are an afterthought—Santa Barbara, California. I was there for a workshop on oxide materials, but... Continue Reading →
Free beer on a Friday how cool(ship) is that – A visit to Allagash Brewing
I recently attended a conference at a small college in the middle of New Hampshire (Colby Sawyer College in New London). Looking to squeeze a little beer tourism into the trip I was faced with a difficult choice. On the one hand, I could head west into the wilds of Vermont and seek out the... Continue Reading →
Brewery Tour vs. Brewery Crawl
Let’s say you want to visit a several breweries on a single day. Maybe you are visiting town for the weekend or are looking for something fun to do for a birthday, bachelorette party or other special occasion. There are two options you can choose, an organized brewery tour run by a company who specializes... Continue Reading →
My Columbus Brew Adventure
A few months back I received an e-mail out of the blue from a gentleman named Jim Ellison who runs a company called Columbus Brew Adventures, inviting me to go on one of his Columbus Brewery tours. What could I say, one of his tours was on my list of the top gifts for the... Continue Reading →
Hitting the Asheville Ale Trail Part 4 – Highland Brewing
Founded in 1994 Highland is the oldest and biggest brewery in Asheville, possibly the largest in all of North Carolina. So it seemed obligatory to pay them a visit. Highland Brewing was initially located in downtown Asheville in the basement of Barleys Taproom and Pizzeria. In 2006 they moved out to their new, much larger... Continue Reading →
A Visit to Three Floyds Brewing – Another White Whale Bites the (Zombie) Dust
Following visits to Toppling Goliath and New Glarus we were able to squeeze in one more stop on our cross country trip—Three Floyds Brewing in Munster, Indiana. If you are reading a beer blog like this one chances are you already know about Three Floyds (FFF for short), but for those who don’t live in... Continue Reading →
A Visit to New Glarus Brewing
After visiting Topping Goliath the night before, we left Decorah on Wednesday morning and set out for our next destination—New Glarus Brewing in the small Wisconsin town of the same name. I’ve read a lot about New Glarus and their beers over the years, but since they only distribute within Wisconsin my exposure to their beer... Continue Reading →
A Visit to Toppling Goliath Brewing Co
Recently I had the “opportunity” to drive across a pretty wide swath of the country. I purchased a 2008 Pontiac Solstice from my father who lives in Pocatello, Idaho. To get it home I flew out to Idaho to pick up the car and drive it back to Columbus, Ohio. I was accompanied by my 19... Continue Reading →