There was a while where I had a 20 mile commute, 16 of it on the beltway. There were days when it would take me well over an hour, and there was no construction or accidents.
I was initially a little perplexed too, truth be told. A brewery in a strip mall does not automatically create the same first impression as a standalone brewery space. That said, if the brewing standards, draft system care, cleanliness, service, and taproom operations are all handled seriously, I think it can actually be a smart move. Lower overhead, easier access, parking, and a more practical footprint can all work in a brewery’s favor. At the end of the day, the beer still has to carry the room. In Gusto’s case, from what I remember, the beer and service did exactly that.
I agree that the quality of the beer is a priority. Having stated that going to a strip mall brewery is not something I look forward to. I suppose in other words I would choose to go to a brewery that has both high quality beer and an appealing, stand-alone location. Cheers!
I completely understand that. If all else is equal, I would probably choose the more appealing standalone brewery space too. The room, the setting, and the sense of place can absolutely add to the experience. For me, Gusto was one of those cases where the beer and service were strong enough that the strip mall setting faded into the background. Not always the ideal first impression, but when the fundamentals are handled well, I can get past it pretty quickly. Cheers!
I can’t spend a whole day drinking. I get too drowsy, sleepy. But we do manage to find brewpubs to check out most everyday.
The exception for me might be Belgium, where I could envision a trip to just visit breweries, esp; if they are historic monasteries or at least have a lot of history. I’m not sure I see any other places with enough interesting breweries and beer.
Ahh, but the Trappist breweries offer more than just beer, they are a cultural attraction without the beer.
For me it depends on the trip. A recent trip to Great Britain, beer was part of the itinerary every day. However, trips to the Amazon, Patagonia, Antarctica, China, Tibet, Egypt, etc.... not so much. Plenty of other things to do of course, but beer didn't really feature in anything that we did.
I happened upon Waygone Brewing just because it was located in a strip mall next to the only place around here that does a full Irish. I enjoyed the beers, but I enjoyed chatting with the bartender and the regulars more. My favorite local brewery, Final Gravity, is also located in a strip mall. Granted, it's a little bit of a different strip mall, as it also has a homebrew shop (sister company Original Gravity), an antique shop, collectable/hobby shop, and is next to the Lakeside farmers' market. I'm sure we all wish that every brewery could be in an absolutely stunning brick or stone building, or an old wooden farmhouse with an amazing view, but you have to meet people where they are, and do it within a budget. How do you feel about all the breweries located in industrial parks? They aren't in residential areas (unlike strip malls), and have even less of an aesthetic appeal. But there are a lot of them, and quite a few put out some really nice beer.
During my trip to Japan, beer stuff was more about checking out the bar culture at night than checking out breweries. It's awesome! Did manage to visit one brewpub, and also the Yamazaki distillery, though.
I purposely left Japan off my list. Went to several great places in Tokyo. My impression is that Japan has a very cool beer culture.
I am not a fan of industrial parks. I am presently at Von C Brewery which is located in a former (old) knitting factory but not located in an industrial park. This place works for me. my first beer was a Czech Dark Lager, now drinking a Czech Pale Lager.
Amazing. I've been to a few distilleries here (Labrot and Graham by far the most scenic), but it completely blew all of them out of the water. As you enter, you walk past the spring they draw the water from. Every vessel is copper. They contort in every manner, all different sizes and angles. They let you walk amongst the casks freely in the barracks, and I found one as old as I am (there were several older, but that one was cool for me). Tour was super informative. We paid for the deluxe package, which ended with a guided tasting of Yamazaki from different barrels (sherry, bourbon, red wine, and mizuna) so that you could see what each brings to the Yamazaki 12. Then to the gift shop/tasting room, where you can order damn near every whiskey Suntory produces worldwide. The worldwide blend that consisted of a Scotch, Irish, Canadian, Bourbon, and Japanese whiskey was especially interesting. There were a few others had as well. Unfortunately, Yamazaki was not available for sale. Even in Japan it is precious. I remember when it cost about the same as a middle of the road single malt in the US, and that was only about 20 years ago. We hopped back on the train to Osaka, and my sister rode with my ex and I until we got to the stop that would be next to the shotengai where Beer Belly was located and double checked that I knew how to get back to her place. "Yeah transfer at whatever and then get off at the Tomato Curry station." She got angry that I had made mnemonic devises in English to remember names in her adopted culture. But my ex and I were off! Beer Belly is an excellent little tasting room, and where you can try all the Minoh beers. Dark, brick walled, loud music, it felt like my favorite type of bars here. The bartender may have been a repatriate; she spoke English without an accent. Asked what we had seen so far and seemed genuinely interested in our trip. Told her about our trip to Nara and dealing with the deer there, and she was taken aback by my comment that "We'd just eat them back home." They had a large selection of hand pumps, but they weren't the beers that piqued my interest that night. Had the stout, which was awesome, and I think was either silver or bronze at this year's WBC, and then the Sansho IPA which was eye opening. It was very much an old school east coast IPA, but the floral, spicy character of the sansho came through in a manner that made me think that I'd have to brew with it sometime at home. I ended up brewing a sansho saison, and a sansho wit in the following years, and they were great. Menu seemed awesome, but not what we were in the mood for at the moment. Back out onto the shotengai to experience the nightlife. There was a stall that did roast oysters that we stopped by. A dozen roast oysters with nama birru Sapporo hit the spot. Walked around some more and saw a taco stand? Shit, I want to see what tacos are like in Japan! The guy running the stall has bleach blond hair and is covered in tattoos. He apologizes that he doesn't have a menu in English, and I'm drunk enough that I'm thinking this is a taqueria in the Latin part of town here in America and ask for one in Spanish. No? Finally he just tells us what he has. Worst fucking tacos ever. It was just some grilled chicken with too much chili powder and salt. Ex orders a margarita, and it is also the worst ever. Just lime juice and tequila. Describe the situation to my brother in law the next day, and he says that it's either a yakuza front that they put a guy that's a dumbass but loyal in charge of, or the dumbass kid of a rich family that they set up to keep him busy. Whatever, it's still been a good day. We head back to the train station, make our transfer, get off at Tomato Curry station. I get a 150ml can of Asahi from a vending machine, and we make our way back to my sister's place. Manage to not wake the kids when we get in and head to bed.
Funky Buddha started in a strip mall. The first time I had Maple Bacon Coffee Porter was at an event in said strip mall location in Boca Raton. Also had a stage with live music.
I don't like the industrial park settings or the strip mall mentioned above, but just like yo, I also make an exception for the older building that's not in an industrial park. The same exception can be made for the brewery in a strip mall setting if it's in an old-fashioned strip mall, i.e. an old downtown storefront location with the typical pressed tin ceiling, checkered asphalt tile floor, and probably some old wooden trim on the walls or maybe even an old elaborate wooden bar and back bar.
More to the topic of this thread, I finished a 20-day trip to CA and OR three weeks ago, so I'll try to write a report soon. It was only 5 breweries and a few good eateries, but I'm not finished with writing the reviews yet, hence a delay. (I'm still playing catch-up with all the spring yardwork that I missed while gone, and now my desktop has crashed halfway thru the third review. ) I'm taking a 4-day trip to Ohio in a couple weeks and have 4 breweries planned for then, so another report will be forthcoming after that escapade.
I myself can be very tolerate of the setting but it is not my preferred if I had a choice. But most importantly is the quality of the beer.
Back in Asheville with a friend and while not a beer focused trip, since he doesn't drink a ton and isn't a big craft fan (but can appreciate it, he's been having me order for him and had a great time everywhere we went so far). We did a lot of outdoor related activities, tons of walking (in the rain) but the highlights have been Burial South Slope and especially Forestry Camp. Delicious food in an amazing location for a shockingly decent price and with good portions, alongside excellent beer and coffee. Their Fidens collaboration QIPA was immaculate, same with Seasoned Skillet 2026 (BBA coffee stout).
I’ve usually posted and looked for travel notes in the regional threads, but a dedicated travel thread could be cool. I was torn between those options and didn’t know I could vote twice (thanks, Joe Biden). Changed my vote/s accordingly! Of course, now I’m tempted to write “Your mom” in response to someone’s post above. They made it too easy! Didn’t you hear? BA image hosting is right around the corner.
