With its rolling hills, lush foliage and sparkling river views, New York’s Hudson Valley is certainly a tourist destination. Apple orchards, artists’ communities and even a culinary school dot the region. In the past few years, the area along the Hudson River south of Albany to the tip of Manhattan has become a cradle of... View Article
Maybe you’ve never thought of Temecula, California, as being a worthy beer destination. Heck, maybe you’ve never heard of Temecula. But you may know its first microbrewery, Blind Pig Brewing (1994-1997). Its famed brewer, Vinnie Cilurzo, now of Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, California, says, “Greg Koch from Stone was a customer. … Tomme... View Article
There are many theories for why a city as thoroughly marinated in booze as New Orleans has been slow to embrace the modern beer movement: Kafkaesque local zoning obstacles, inconsistent state regulations or just a hot-weather palate that appreciates a lighter style of beer. This party town loves a good time with its frozen daiquiris... View Article
WELLINGTON, NZ—As you step from the gate of the main terminal into the waiting area of the airport here, Gandalf soars overhead on a great eagle, his right arm outstretched, staff in hand. This is, after all, Middle Earth, and the direction the wizard points is squarely toward an adventure. In a very short time,... View Article
Frank Zappa famously said, “You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.” Luxembourg, ergo, qualifies as a real country. Then again, Luxembourgers refer to it... View Article
The Italian brewing industry has grown up. Ten years ago it was a boisterous infant, noisy and colorful in the beers it made, spices, herbs, fruit and vegetables chucked into the mix with willful abandonment. It was not all tantrums, though. Some of the beers, packaged in wine-sized bottles with prices to match, were calmer... View Article
For years, two giants have held a virtual duopoly over the beer market in Mexico. Grupo Modelo, which owns Corona, Modelo and Pacifico and was purchased by Anheuser-Busch InBev in June 2013, and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, which produces brands like Tecate and Dos Equis and is owned by Heineken, controlled about 98 percent of the... View Article
Although Portland has a reputation as a laid-back beatnik liberal paradise, much of Oregon is sparsely populated, Republican and rural. Pendleton, eastern Oregon’s commercial center, counts fewer than 17,000 residents. The brewers that start their businesses in what locals have begun to dub “Beervana East” are hardy souls, motivated by the same pioneer spirit that... View Article
The story of Japanese drinking culture is a tale of two countries, and a story of both night and day. The rising sun shines upon a diligent nation of survivalists holding cultural tradition in the highest regard. By day, the country’s citizens are fixated on projecting a proper outward image that communicates their hard-working, upstanding... View Article
