There are over 2,100 breweries in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association, an uptick of more than 350 in the last year alone. Apparently, more than half as many are in the works, as the association reports that nearly 1,300 are in the planning stages. Thirty-four hundred breweries and brewpubs? Where are we going... View Article
Not surprisingly, the larger New Ulm Oktoberfest celebrations grab the attention. For more scaled-back festivities, attend the Holiday Inn’s party, which attracts about 4,000 folks for an old-fashioned fest with the local brew and festbiers from the fatherland. At the downtown event held simultaneously, show up the first weekend for German Heritage Weekend or the... View Article
The granddaddy of all American fests is Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, in downtown. More than half a million celebrators will down about an equal amount of liters of beer (no small feat considering many of the attendees are kids) to wash down more than 80,000 bratwursts. CMI’s Nascimento says that this free event includes the Gemuetlichkeit Games,... View Article
Firestone-Walker’s Oaktoberfest takes place in October at the Avila Beach Golf Resort (6450 Ana Bay Dr., AvilaBeachResort.com), a 45-minute drive from the brewery and near Pismo Beach. Note that it’s 21 and over only. Event Manager Tim Miller says that like all Oktoberfests, it includes great music, but expect the polka band to work in some... View Article
Can you believe it’s been 202 years since the marriage of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen? While you weren’t invited to the wedding, the anniversary is better known today as Oktoberfest. About 6 million people will fill the tents and bierhalles of Munich between Sept. 22 and Oct. 7. And to wash down... View Article
Not going to one of these featured destinations? Don’t cry in your beer for lack of fun accommodations. There are more than 100 more lodging-based breweries around the world. Roughly 23 are in the Czech Republic. In addition to visiting Prague, head out to the countryside and stay at Zámek Zábřeh (U Zámku 42/1, Ostrava),... View Article
Perhaps the biggest question when planning beer travel, after where to actually go, isn’t which breweries to tour or how many cases you can realistically cart home, but where to stay. Best case scenario would be to drink as many pints as you like in the brewery’s tap room and pass out on the spot,... View Article
Where is the most unexpected place you have enjoyed a cold one? All of us have experienced that moment when you could really use a beer, but you know the chances of finding a good beer—or even any beer at all—are slim to none. That’s when, if everything is right with the world, the Beer... View Article
Combining a family vacation with a beer-cation is sometimes a challenge. So let me suggest theme parks. Beercations are truly awesome, but from your kids’ point of view, hanging outside a bar isn’t how they want to spend their time. And while we’re fans of majestic beauty in natural settings, no childhood is complete without... View Article
