2013 Beercations

cratez · Post by **cratez** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 12:46 pm

Who has some epic beer/wine/food-focused vacations planned for 2013?

The lady and I are heading to Columbus for a long weekend later this month and are eyeing Vermont and the Twin Cities for longer getaways later in the year. All have well-established beer scenes, a few Food Network/Man vs. Food-featured restaurants, good tourist attractions, cheap Hotwire deals, and are within driving distance, which is basically our criteria list for picking affordable, worthwhile destinations. I'm particularly looking forward to trying fresh beers from Surly, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Hill Farmstead, and The Alchemist - breweries that I've read so much about but have mostly been out of reach for me.

So what does everyone else have in mind? Which beer cities are on your radar for 2013, and what are the main attractions taking you there (an event, a specific brewery/resto, a non-beer-related hobby)? Let's hear it!

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 1:32 pm

26-day road trip in February:

Denver - stop in at Crooked Stave and Great Divide breweries. Hit up the killer downtown pubs, restaurants and bottle shops.

Dallas - lots of new small breweries popping up in the area, some good bottle shops, pubs and restaurants.

Austin - Jester King for their epic Saturday afternoon brewery tours. Sample other local Austin brews in the awesome downtown area. And of course get some real, old school BBQ in the surrounding towns.

Phoenix - arriving just in time for the Arizona Strong Beer Festival, which is the kickoff event to Arizona Strong Beer Week.

Calgary - arriving just in time for the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers homebrew competition. I'll be judging for 2-3 days, and attending their always awesome Brewers Dinner.

Other than that, not much.

Kekumba · Post by **Kekumba** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 2:17 pm

Brussels in mid-March. So, Cantillon and plenty of other things once I get around to putting a list together.

Also eyeing Vermont, but would have to do it before April to make things work for me.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 3:07 pm

I have a bunch of beercations and vacatoins that always include a lot of beer.

- California (will include trips to FW, RR and more)
- Vermont
- Dark Lord Day (if I score tickets)
- KBS Day
- Minnesota (baseball trip that will include beer stops)

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 3:07 pm

In 2011 we did a Cascadian roadtrip, and although we really enjoyed it, by the time we got to the Oregon Coast we really just wanted to settle down and relax for a while.

So for this year, we've ordered a tent-trailer and already booked a site. It's just outside Newport, short drive to Rogue and a bit further to Pelican. I may still have to find a decent bottle shop though. I'm not sure I want to stop in Portland with the family & a trailer.

So it's not entirely beer-related, but that's family life.

cratez · Post by **cratez** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 3:49 pm

markaberrant wrote: Austin - Jester King for their epic Saturday afternoon brewery tours. Sample other local Austin brews in the awesome downtown area. And of course get some real, old school BBQ in the surrounding towns.

Sounds awesome. I just met some folks from Austin at Milos' Beer Emporium and they said Jester is hands down the best brewery in the area. Not sure if it's your thing but they also mentioned that the local food truck scene is exploding right now, with a big emphasis on authentic Mexican food (unsurprising given their proximity to the border).

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:00 pm

cratez wrote:Sounds awesome. I just met some folks from Austin at Milos' Beer Emporium and they said Jester is hands down the best brewery in the area. Not sure if it's your thing but they also mentioned that the local food truck scene is exploding right now, with a big emphasis on authentic Mexican food (unsurprising given their proximity to the border).

Austin rules if you love local music, beer, and food, and ALL OF IT with a unique twist. We were down there last year and fell in love with the place. Some older friends of ours even bought a house there, they like it so much. It's just a different vibe, and not in a douche-y hipster trendy sorta way.

And while Jester King makes some damn good beer, they don't make the best beer by any stretch, but again, it is the overall vibe and experience of their "brewery tours" that make them super awesome. I'm not the most outgoing guy when it comes to meeting new people, but within 5 minutes of arriving at JK, I was chatting with multiple staff members and customers like we were best friends.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:07 pm

I was just talking with a co-worker at lunch, who wanted to know about going to GABF.

Absolutely nothing wrong with GABF, but in my opinion, the best "craft beer moments" for me are the low key events, the small events, and the brewery tours/visits during off-peak times. So much more relaxed, and there is time to talk to people. I personally have no interest in GABF, but it sure is fun to go to Denver and pop into the breweries to see what's going on.

Same thing with bottle shops. Again, nothing wrong with the highly rated shops in large metro areas, but because they are popular, the good stuff goes fast. It's always worthwhile to get off the beaten path, and stop in at a smaller shop in a smaller town, I've usually had much better luck at finding limited release beers this way while travelling. It's a whole other story if you actually live in the area, and can hit up the stores everytime a shipment comes in. The best beer store I have ever been in was a freakin' gas station in Sioux Falls, SD, it was jam packed with rare seasonals, tons of sours and barrel aged beers that certainly don't go stale by sitting on the shelf for 3-6 months.

Anyways, just saying don't always go to the most obvious places. With the explosion of craft beer, there is a lot of it to be found just about anywhere these days if you look for it.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 6:40 pm

markaberrant wrote: Absolutely nothing wrong with GABF, but in my opinion, the best "craft beer moments" for me are the low key events, the small events, and the brewery tours/visits during off-peak times. So much more relaxed, and there is time to talk to people. I personally have no interest in GABF, but it sure is fun to go to Denver and pop into the breweries to see what's going on.

Couldn't agree more with this point...

Torontoblue · Post by **Torontoblue** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:03 pm

Seattle this coming June/July.

Then a 12 day trip to the wineries of the Barossa & Eden Valley's of Australia with a side trip across to Marlborough, Mew Zealand or maybe Margaret River, south of Perth; this will be all expenses paid!!

There might also be a trip to some wineries in Washington State that we've just started to rep in BC.

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:01 pm

Torontoblue wrote:Seattle this coming June/July.

We might be doing Seatle this summer too - if not, well, Nova Scotia it is...so...Maybe I'll score some fresh Garrison IPA, not sure what else is good beer-wise in Novia Scotia...

NRman · Post by **NRman** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:36 pm

JeffPorter wrote:
Torontoblue wrote:Seattle this coming June/July.

We might be doing Seatle this summer too - if not, well, Nova Scotia it is...so...Maybe I'll score some fresh Garrison IPA, not sure what else is good beer-wise in Novia Scotia...

Whatever and where ever Greg Nash is brewing in NS go there and drink it. The man is a legend. I think he is talked about in an old thread on here. I had his stuff at the Hart and Thistle a year ago. Amazing beers. Best black IPA i ever had.

Maxwells Plum in Halifax had Pumphouse IPA and it was great. As long as Pumphouse hasnt f'd up Nash's recipe it should still be great. IMO one of the most under rated Canadian IPAs there is.

Edit
Nash's blog.
Makes me want to fly to Halifax

http://hartandthistle.blogspot.ca

cattersley · Post by **cattersley** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 6:46 pm

I am trying to get to Rhode Island this summer. Beautiful beaches, lots of interesting sit seeing, the Publican House, and lots of seafood!

MattB · Post by **MattB** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 2:19 pm

London, UK ... thousands of pubs yet to visit ... and I want to add to my list of 511 (and counting) English cask ales.

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:34 pm

Perhaps a Hill Farmstead 3rd Anniversary party/Mondiale all-in-one week. Still working out the kinks.