Taking time off to travel allows brewers to escape the comfort zone of their local brewing scene. Countless possibilities await those willing to expand their worldview for the sake of professional development, whether it’s a state or a continent away.
Currently, over half of the malted grain used by Montana breweries is grown in state and Montana now ranks second in the US in breweries per capita. Missoula, a university town of 69,000, offers a healthy sampling.
Boston has long been an old city with a newness problem. This adherence to tradition also applies to beer. But veer off the path—into Somerville, Charlestown, or Everett—and you’ll find a vibrant subculture of drinkers, brewers, and restaurateurs doing their own thing.
Palmetto Brewing, South Carolina’s first modern brewery, started in Charleston in 1993, but seven other production breweries have opened since 2007. Beyond that, a bevy of retail shops, bars, and tour companies have filled most corners of the city with at least one solid craft option.
For the last five years, in spite of high taxes and long shipping times, American beers have found their way into the hands of curious Brazilian drinkers and motivated Brazilian brewers.
Locally brewed beer returned to Syracuse in 1991 with the Syracuse Suds Factory. The arrival of Empire Brewing and Middle Ages Brewing helped to revitalize the industry and put Syracuse back on the map.
In The Big Easy, drinking is often paired with the debauchery of Bourbon Street, where cheap Hurricanes and “Big Ass Beers” have long been sold and spilled up and down the thoroughfare. But times change even if the party never stops, and New Orleans now has much more to offer the discerning beer drinker.
In 2005, when John Neal opened the Keg and Barrel bar in Hattiesburg, Miss., restrictive laws forbade homebrewing and capped the ABV of every beer brewed and sold in the state at 6.25 percent.
In a nation that is known for, and takes great pride in, its tradition and terroir, a new wave of brewers is creating a culture of “bieroir” that embraces locally sourced ingredients.
Italy, one of the world’s top wine producers, is experiencing a beer explosion. And after nearly 3,000 years, Rome has finally become a town for beer drinkers, too as enotecas reluctantly yield room to beer bars and bottle shops.
Three years ago, there wasn’t much of a beer scene in Hong Kong. Now it is one of the most exciting cities for craft beer in Asia, with a growing community of brewers, bar owners and independent importers doing their part to give local taste buds an alternative to fizzy light lagers.
While connoisseurs have long traveled to countries like Belgium to try monastic brews and farmhouse ales, the phenomenon of beer tourism in the United States is still relatively new.
The Netherlands is now home to upwards of 225 breweries; in 2013 alone some 60 new microbreweries launched, many of which are contract brewers. Amsterdam is certainly at the forefront of this Dutch renaissance.
As a beer destination, Las Vegas is still in its adolescence, but despite some growing pains, there’s genuine enthusiasm across the city that is worth straying from the world-famous Strip to sample.
Craft breweries in Ecuador can’t keep up with consumer demand and are expanding as quickly as their bank accounts will allow. Only two years old, Andes Brewing Company epitomizes this growth with its expansion from a 1/2-barrel to a 3-barrel system, making it a mid-sized craft brewer for Quito.
Craft exports currently represent about $73 million in yearly sales. And with newly announced trade partnerships in place, and more on the way in South America and Asia, the craft beer-export industry is poised for further growth.
It wasn’t long ago that the beer scene in Columbus was dominated by the local Anheuser-Busch brewery on the north side of the city. But while only two craft breweries in the city date back more than 20 years, Columbus is at the heart of the state’s current craft beer boom.
Boise’s growing beer scene seems like a natural lifestyle progression in a place teeming with outdoor recreation. Boiseans love rafting, hiking, mountain biking and camping, so canned beer is ubiquitous. Just remember, it’s pronounced “boy-see,” not “boy-zee.”
Until recently, locals knew South Bermondsey Station as the closest stop to The New Den, home of Millwall, the city’s most blue-collar soccer club, but times have changed. Saturday morning now sees a steady stream of punters disembark here, most of them looking for beer.
The beer scene is bolstered by Richmonders’ support of the strong creative culture, including a booming independent culinary scene, diverse arts events and museums, and tattoo studios.
Walk into Istanbul’s Bosphorus Brewing Company on any given night, and you’ll see a healthy crowd of people drinking founder Philip Hall’s craft brews. But the British expat is still facing an increasingly hostile Turkish government.
Revel in a craft beer scene that is by far the most advanced in Latin America. Today, you’ll find Black IPAs, Saisons, Imperial Stouts, and plenty of Brazilian-themed beers like açai Stouts and cassava Pilsners. Until recently though, finding craft beer in São Paulo was like looking for the source of the Amazon.
