Ever vacation just to try a beer?

Every beer i drink is a vacation.

 

Took the wife down to Charlottesville, VA this Valentines weekend. Highly recommend the Blue Mountain, Wild Wolf and Devils Backbone tour. All 3 breweries are on same state highway about 20 miles max from each other. Didn't make it out to Devils Backbone but had lunch at Blue Mountain and pitstopped in Wild Wolf. Certainly not the caliber of Vermont beer-mecca region but its a nice town to visit (Montecillo and UVA is there as well as the scenic Blue Ridge Highway just to the west) and a great beer weekend getaway in the mid-Atlantic region. Tons of vineyards in the surrounding area as well for the wine crowd.

 

For the past couple of years the Wife and I spend a weekend in Burlington for our birthdays (they're close enough together to lump 'em into a vacation weekend). The first year we went specifically to check out the beer mecca that is northern VT and it's brought us back every year since. Always a great time.

 

Hell yes, maybe not specific beers but for specific breweries. Flew to San Francisco, got off the plane, drove up to Lagunitas, then Russian River, next day went Stumptown brewery & Korbel (obviously not a brewery but had to stop!), next day Bear Republic then Anderson Valley, next day North Coast, next day back to Russian River, then back to San Fran, stopped by the Rogue on Union then Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery on Haight.....yes a beer filled vacation!

 

I didn't think that a roadtrip through the northeast would be good, but damn, I hit a few good brews. From PA we hit every state and I had a few good ones. Nothing, to bring home, but the moment I had them was awesome!

 

My wife gives me a few destinations to choose from, I do my beer homework and decide from there.

 

Went to NorCal in February for the Pliny the Younger release. Hit Lagunitas, Russian River, Bear Republic, and 3rd St, not to mention 8 wineries and a bunch of restaurants and bars. It was grand.

 

Usually it just turns into a beercation for vacations I was already going to go on for no reason. My sister got married in Vegas last year, I shipped myself $150 in bottles home I can't get in MI. I went to NYC in 2011 to help out a family friend, much bar visitation and a luggage full of beer ensued there too.

 

yes, went to vermont and i already knew i was gonna be spending lots of $ on phenomenal beer, and i plan on doing it again soon!

 

Every time I go on vacation, I try to try the beers from the areas. I usually try to find breweries too.

 

I find that interesting places and good breweries go hand in hand, for the most part. While I've never taken more than a short trip solely for a brewery visit, the opportunity seems to present itself often enough. I ski, and with good skiing comes good beer availability, almost always. It certainly doesn't hurt matters that I have a vacation condo available for my use that's 3 miles from Short's taproom, so my results might be skewed...

 

only every time I go to Tampa.

 

Holy moley, 445 in 10 days. How did you manage that? How many beers did you try from each state? Which states?

 

I'm sitting here right now in Mulkiteo WA at Diamond Knot brewpub just because I got to tag along from Maryland with someone who had a business trip here this week and I loved this place when I "discovered it" 5 years ago.

 

Last year, my wife tells me about a groupon deal for 2 day trip to Pacific City, Oregon... I am thinking... Pelican... and said yes.

 

445 beers in 10 days?! That isn't a typo right? If it isn't, then you my friend must have a liver of steel! Cheers to you! .......wait, were these full pours or tasters, out of plain curiosity

 

Agree - Opa Opa was a pretty average affair. The Warthog was an ok DIPA and the milk stout was an Ok offering also but the rest of the stuff pretty bland. It strikes me as the kind of place that cropped up in the late 90's/early 00's brewpub boom and hasn't progressed since. It serves adequate offerings to a local clientele who with the best will in the world are unlikely to have tried many top 50 beers by style etc and therefore will be none the wiser and happy with their lot - in summary it serves a purpose but I personally wouldn't look to go back there.

I've been to all the other venues you suggested multiple times. I have a friend who lives in Longmeadow so have covered most brewpubs in south Mass over the years.

Opa Opa was a new one for me hence the visit in a kind of you've tried the best, now try the rest sense.

I think the only BP reasonably near to my friends house I haven't been to now is Cambridge House in Granby, CT - ever been there ?

 

Lots of samples and bottle shares.

Rough breakdown would be something like:-

50 NY/NJ
50 MA
30 TX
175 OR
50 WA
30 CA

Then the rest made up from various states.

 

Hell No - not full pours, I'd have been dead by the end of day 1

Lots of samples/tasters at Brew pubs - it's real easy to rattle these off in OR, 8 to 12 samples per brewpub, 6 or 7 Brewpubs a day. You can also get 3oz pours at a few of the tap houses in PDX which helps.

There were some full pours and a fair scattering of half pours but not too many, also 3 bottle shares/tastings which always help drive up the numbers.

 

Being a CT transplant from Western MA I can say when you come back to visit your friend in Longmeadow you should definitely take a drive to Willimantic Brewing in CT, best brew pub in Western MA/CT bar none. Brewery trips to Treehouse not far from Longmeadow and NEBCO are worth the time. Some nice stops just north of NYC too, Captain Lawerence, Peekskill Brewing, Rushing Duck, etc.

Response to the OP, I've travelled to the Great Taste of the Midwest solely for trying a bunch of beers and added on a family visit with the fiancé. Only time I've taken an extended trip solely for beer. Many day trips for releases and the like.

Like so many have said if there is a vacation destination I do some research on here to find breweries and quality restaurants with good beer selections and hit the local area forums for suggestions. Couple that with some research about other interesting things to do in and around the area your visiting and you can surely have a great time anywhere you and your partners I'm travel go.