By Brian Yaeger
Published September 2013, Volume 34, Number 4
North Dakota
For Trekkies, space is the final frontier. For nerds of another flavor—beer geeks—there’s always somewhere new to explore, some vast area of beer to pioneer if only on a personal level. With a rapidly growing number of hubs that vie for the title of Beer Town, USA, what about places not yet steeped in suds? Imagine being the Lewis or Clark of a new ale trail, or swapping a growler for a coonskin cap as the Davy Crockett of the last remaining frontiers in American beer.
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By Brian Yaeger
Published July 2013, Volume 34, Number 3
There are conferences throughout the year that diehard beer fans would love to attend to rub elbows with those who have become celebrities in the industry. But the Craft Brewers Conference is reserved for industry members only. And the Great American Beer Festival is an awesome chance to sample the best beers from around the country and possibly get a quick howdy/thanks with the brewmasters as they spend a portion of the time pouring their own beers. But what about conventions for the hoi polloi? If you want to fraternize with like-minded beer geeks, there are three such conferences this summer around the country. And for what it’s worth, rock-star brewers will be in attendance and are just as happy speaking to the community that supports them, which of course is part of the reason the community is so supportive in the first place.
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By Brian Yaeger
Published May 2013, Volume 34, Number 2
Beer traveling is a new type of pilgrimage we make as adults, but the kid in us would love to go dinosaur hunting. Sure, time travel would be perfect, but failing that, visits to exciting paleontological sites and museums can be as exhilarating to the entire family as exploring a new brewery is to Mom and Dad. When it comes time to plan road trips this summer with the family, there are fortunately some locales that host both great beer culture and kid-friendly destinations where dinosaurs come to life.
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Where to Find Craft Beer in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Knoxville
By Brian Yaeger
Published March 2013, Volume 34, Number 1
The brewery population in Atlanta recently reached double digits.
Not terribly long ago, we explored the idea of confronting Jack Frost mano a mano and actually heading north in our wintry beer travels. Bold, but there’s a more comfortable way to soak up beer culture that puts hop bite ahead of frostbite. And with craft beer culture permeating every corner of the country, consider visiting existing and emerging hot spots in the American South.
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By Brian Yaeger
Published November 2012, Volume 33, Number 5
Editor’s Note: In the print version of this story, Great Divide Brewing Co. was inadvertently credited as being Denver’s largest brewery. Denver’s largest brewery, in fact, is Breckenridge Brewery. We apologize to our friends at Breckenridge for the error. And the Southerners on our staff at All About Beer Magazine highly recommend their BBQ with your beer on your next visit to the Breckenridge Brewery.
For beer lovers, attending the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver deserves to be at the tippy top of your bucket list, that check-list of things to do or places to see before you die. In 2012, there were more than 450 breweries pouring nearly 2,500 different beers (from all 84 recognized categories) all under one roof. Good luck getting to try that many beers in any other single location. And Godspeed trying to try all the beers you’d like to, or even just all the IPAs on the convention floor. Can’t be done.
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By Brian Yaeger
Published January 2013, Volume 33, Number 6
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 to put them all? Evidently, several are or will be clustered almost on top of one another in a handful of hot spots from sea to brewing sea. While we suppose you’ve been to one or two hubs of brewing activity—epicenters such as Portland, San Francisco, Denver, Asheville, etc., spring to mind—how about resolving to make the new year all about visiting new hotbeds?
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