Happy Brew Year, Beerknurds! 2014 was another epic year for craft beer. According to the Brewers Association, an average of 1.5 new breweries opened in the United States every day last year—and that number is certain to keep growing. That’s a lot of drinking to look forward to! Here are a few ideas for getting the most bang for your beer buck this year.
Make it the year of the festival!
For many craft beer drinkers, attending the annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver is something akin to a rite of passage. It’s considered the largest ticketed beer fest in the United States and features a public tasting event and a private competition. But where to start? With about 500 breweries participating last year, navigating the GABF demands a plan, says GABF Assistant Floor Captain Randy Dipner. Stick to one beer style at a time, for example, or sample beers by region. Start out tasting all the previous year’s medal winners, or begin by trying all new breweries. It’s also a good idea to prioritize breweries that don’t distribute in your area (you paid a lot of money to be here, after all). Most importantly, remember where you are. In the Mile-High City, all that alcohol will hit you sooner than you think. For easy planning, download the My GABF app, which maps out where every beer and every brewer is located.
Have more miles to spare? Hop across the pond for Munich’s legendary Oktoberfest, which kicks off September 19 and keeps the beer flowing through the first Sunday in October. Insiders suggest planning your trip for the second week of the fest, when it’s easier to book hotels. Reservations are recommended at some beer tents, especially on weekends or if you’re with a large group. Only beer that conforms to Reinheitsgebot—and is brewed in Munich—may be served. There’s no entry fee, which leaves you more to spend on pretzels and bier once you get inside. Prost!
Go on a brewcation.
If fests aren’t your thing, try a DIY beer road trip. The BreweryMap app conveniently plots all the watering holes between you and your destination so you won’t miss a sip. It’ll also show you what’s nearby next time you’re traveling for work, family reunion or just the hell of it—so you can be one of the first to explore up-and-comers such as Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery in Portland or Barrel of Monks in Boca Raton. Speaking of monks, check out Massachusetts’ Spencer Trappist, which opened last year as the first and only certified Trappist brewery in the United States.
Expand your craft beer horizons.
For all you hop heads, porter pickers and lager lovers out there, consider breaking up your routine by checking out a cidery or meadery. Though ciders have gotten a bad rap thanks to mass-produced-from-concentrate swill, craft cideries such as Virginia’s Foggy Ridge and Texas’ Bishop Cider Co. are changing the game. As for meads (aka “honey wine”), check out places such as Wild Blossom Meadery in Chicago, which uses honey collected from its own bees. Or make a pilgrimage to Michigan’s Kuhnhenn Meadery for March Meadness, when you can sample a different mead each day of the month. Even if you can’t go in March, the Bourbon Barrel French Toast Mead is worth the trek on its own.
So tell us, Beerknurds, what are your brew year’s resolutions?
