All About Beer Magazine

How about museums that double as bars? Ye Ol’ Watering Hole (287 Pleasant St., Northampton, MA) has amassed over 4,000 specimens from cone-tops to pull-tabs. They don’t mind if you just want to take a stroll down beer can memory lane and not belly up. The same goes for Grumpy’s (860 Warm Springs Road, Ketchum, ID), a burger bar which lines its walls and ceiling with cans all donated by serious collectors that have visited Sun Valley. I went to a wedding here and the couple had their Sunday brunch at Grumpy’s (chalices of beer start at $5), thus adding a spot from a non-beercation onto the beer map. Just don’t expect a stellar selection of beers to drink at either bar.

As long as you’re in Idaho, cruise east about 150 miles to Idaho Falls. Idaho farmers plant more than half a million acres of barley and wheat a year. Most of this, naturally, goes to the large breweries and Idaho Falls has towering grain silos for both Anheuser-Busch and Grupo Modelo. A-B grows and malts so much barley (often in contract to companies such as Great Western Malting) that their grain bins, including 10 silos that hold some 200,000 bushels and are adorned with a mega-mural of their iconic Clydesdales, are a part of the landscape along Interstate 15.

A representative at Great Western Malting named Ruby told me that a great place to check out is the Aberdeen Research Center (1691 S. 2700 West, Aberdeen, ID), home to the National Small Grains Collection (NSGC), itself a part of the National Plant Germplasm System which is a subset of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ruby said the facility stores grains from around the world that date “back to when Jesus was born.” Tours of the Aberdeen Research Center and the NGSC, which began in 1897, are available weekdays for no charge if set up in advance by calling 208-397-4162. Afterward, drive an hour east to roll by fields of barley at the foot of the majestic Grand Teton.

To see, and especially smell, beer’s other beloved ingredient, cruise through Oregon’s Willamette Valley. An agricultural paradise, area hop growers provide some of the aromatic hops craft beer lovers jones for. Most hop farms are only open to brewers, so check in advance if you want to stroll among the hop bines. Goschie Farms (7365 Meridian Rd. NE, Silverton, OR) is a third-generation family business, started in 1885. Gayle Goschie began growing organic hops, which brewers love picking fresh for wet-hop beers. Harvest season runs late summer to early fall, generally mid August through mid September. That’s the time to call Gayle at 503-873-5638 and let her know you’d like to swing by for a few fragrant minutes.

Once you’ve felt the soil beneath your feet, the barley in your hands and smelled the hops in your nose, take your love of beer to an even deeper level and make the stuff. Few homebrewers ever go pro, and for those wanting to learn to brew at a professional level, one institute of brewing learning that offers extension classes available to the lay brewer is the University of California, Davis (1333 Research Dr., Davis, CA) near Sacramento. Log into extension.ucdavis.edu/unit/brewing/ to see their classes beginning with “Brewing Basics,” which is primarily for those looking to take the next step beyond extract brewing. “Intensive Brewing Science for Practical Brewing,” is a four-day course where students “build understanding of the technological and biochemical aspects of the brewing process, including raw materials, malting, brewing, fermentation and finishing” along with “engineering concepts, sanitation, sensory evaluation and quality control.”

As an added bonus, the course is co-instructed by Dr. Charles Bamforth, a renowned malting and brewing science professor and the first Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Brewing Science who, as an added bonus, is as humorous and entertaining as he is knowledgeable. My friend Jesse studied with Dr. Bamforth as an undergraduate and quotes him to this day.

Finally, so long as you’re in California, several attractions (though woefully not deemed official historical landmarks) in and around San Francisco make the Bay Area the birthplace of the craft beer revolution. Alas, the site of the New Albion Brewing Co.― America’s first microbrewery―in Sonoma does not even feature a historical marker. (I think it’s now a custom sign company.) But Anchor Brewing (1705 Mariposa St., San Francisco, CA) was revitalized as the first craft brewery when living legend Fritz Maytag rescued the 70-year-old brewery in 1965. They offer tours twice daily on weekdays―call 415-863-8350 for reservations, as the tours tend to fill up weeks in advance. The tour is free, educational and concludes with a session in the hospitality bar.

The city’s oldest brewpub, the San Francisco Brewing Co., just shuttered after 25 years, but Buffalo Bill’s (1082 B St., Hayward, CA) and Triple Rock nee Roaring Rock (1920 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA), opened in 1984 and 1986, respectively, still stand and offer great brews and grub. The original owners, brothers John and Reid Martin, still run Triple Rock. Brewmaster Rodger Davis has catapulted their beer menu beyond resting on their laurels as a pioneer to an industry-leading innovator specializing in West Coast-style hoppy pale ales as well as an expanding barrel-aging series. I’m told that management is working on a new location to showcase this last fact.

This summer, or next fall, winter or spring for that matter, when you fill up the gas tank, think about going somewhere to take in brewing history. Go experience beer culture you can’t find on a barstool. Go beyond the pint.