Beer-cations

If you head to Denver area, let us know over here. Quite a few things to do. And there's an old choo choo that runs through the mountains on 'beer tours'. Haven't been yet, but Ima gonna

 

Planning a trip to visit some family in Hastings, Michigan sometime in the Summer. I noticed that it is conveniently located in-between Founders, Bells and Dark Horse. All look to be less then an hour away. I hope to escape from the family to visit all three but I can settle for a day trip to Grand Rapids to visit Founders. Also, will be bringing an empty suitcase to pack to capacity for the return flight. Will stocking up on those plus: Goose Island, Great Lakes, Jolly Pumpkin, Kuhnhenn and Southern Tier.

 

Portland is so small, you don't need a planned route. Just drop into town and start drinking.

Portland (Oregon) is so small, you don't need a planned route. Just drop into town and start drinking.

 

Word. I think I can do that

 

Yea I am not a fan of this forum software myself. I prefer phpBB but its not my web site.

 

Is the a prize for being first that you might miss out on? This is common on all forums, especially longer threads. Some people just come to state their opinion and leave without reading every single post. Or, just maybe your original post wasn't specific enough or different in some way. Just because you mentioned MI first doesn't make it a moot point going forward.

 

Hello. No it's not about getting credit for something, it's more about following the conversation. Let me give you an example. Say there's 4 people at a table and the question is asked what their favorite sci-fi movie is. First guy answers "2001 is groundbreaking", second guy says "Empire Strikes Back has the right balance of special effects, fluff and drama", third guy says "Star Trek I is still near to my heart" and then the fourth guy pipes in by saying "Empire Strikes Back had all the elements of a good sci fi movie for me". Don't you think the other three guys would look at him and tell him that the second guy just said that? Was he not paying attention? Now if the fourth guy had said "I agree with you second guy, Empire Strikes Back is..." then the answer fits the flow of conversation. Otherwise it means the guy is either not paying attention, not understanding the other people's answers or ignoring them. In any case, it makes the flow of information very difficult to follow.

In the case with kdmcguire10 he basically said the exact same thing I said. And as I mentioned this has happened about three times in the last week, almost the exact same thing. I think people are still getting used to the new software and not reading all the posts as they go, like you mention.

 

This scenario is totally unrealistic. First of all, would four guys sitting around a table actually refer to each other as "second guy" etc.? Second of all, I think The Matrix would be included in the discussion.

Seriously though, I agree that nested conversations was a lot easier to follow. But the Bros have said this is the way it is now (old system was too resource-intensive or something like that) so the point is kind of moot now. Not everyone reads every post before posting themselves, especially as threads grow. They just get in and get out, sometimes never look back.

 

This was entirely common in the old system too, so I don't get the offense being taken about it. To be quite frank - who the fuck cares? Worst case the new guy chiming in looks like an idiot (which I still find unlikely). I understand the benefits of the nested conversations, but the flip side is that in this system is is sooooooooooooooo fucking easy to track who has replied to you and where you left off in a discussion upon your return. Really not that big of an issue to become bent out of shape over...

 

i did plan! because i went to rogue in newport which is a planning activity since its easiest to spend the night out there. but its very worth it. also, if you have a car go to multnomah falls! i just planned out someones entire portland trip that comes in to my bar, bm if you want some great eating/drinking spots i know about pretty much every fun place (at least i like to think so)

 

Surprised no has mentioned Vermont. Was there a couple of summers ago. Not a huge amount of breweries, but some great local brewpubs (Alchemist, Vermont brewing, Bobcat). We were there for a week and spent one day doing a beer tour. Plus, lots of outside activities and I can't imagine more perfect weather than VT in the summer.

 

I've been lucky enough to do many, many beer-cations. It depends what you're looking for, but (keeping it to the US):

San Diego, San Francisco, the Denver area and Alaska feature the best beer. They also are a bit harder to get around - if you want to hit all the worthwhile top beer destinations, you'd most likely need a car, and be prepared to deal with bad traffic and/or inclement weather. Obviously, if you want a great climate, SD is the winner.

Portland, OR and Asheville, NC are the most exceedingly pleasant cities, and craft beer is most ingrained into the culture there. For the most part, you can get around without a car and walk or take public transit to beer destinations. Beer is uniformly great, though perhaps less world-class, hyped wales, rare small-batch barrels, etc. if that's what you're after.

Michigan has aspects of both of the above. Solid, very ingrained beer culture, the people you'll meet are great, and top notch breweries and beer bars all around. Lots of ground to cover, however, and if you want to hit even just a portion of the worthwhile stops - Founders, Bells, Kuhnhenn, Livery, etc, - you have your work cut out for you in terms of mileage.

Chicago and NYC are worth consideration too. The cities, energizing as they are, overwhelm the beer to an extent, but you can find phenomenal beer bars and an emerging brewery scene in both. Here too you can hit a great deal of beer stops by foot or public transport.

 

If you're staying in Hastings, it's well worth it to hit Walldorf Brewpub. Tasty food, relaxed atmosphere and underrated beers - they make good use of local honey, and usually some nice small batch big beers on tap.

 

Road trip to Chicago!!! Plan it for Dark Lord Day!

 

My wife and I spent 2 weeks driving around Oregon visiting over 20 breweries. Camped on the beach, stayed in Portland, Eugene, camped in Bend. Great time, great beer!!

 

Over the past few years, I've done a few different beer-cations, balancing backpacking/camping with visiting breweries and bars. Here are roughly the three itineraries:

Seattle down to San diego, then through the mountain region, to the midwest, then Philly - Blog starts here: http://beersnbackpacks.blogspot.com/2009/06/second-beach-olympic-national-park.html

Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark - blog starts roughly here: http://beersnbackpacks.blogspot.com/2011/06/helsinki-olutravintola-pikkulintu.html

Then the northeast (Portsmouth, Portland, Lovell then VT) - guess we were tired of blogging by then, but we went last summer.

 

I agree. We actually have a Vermont beer vacation planned for April. Planning to hit HF, Alchemist, RockArt plus some of the bars in Burlington. We're going for three days with one day reserved for the other VT activities.

 

Take the great circle route around Lake Michigan. Starting from my place we got the SW corner of Michigan, then Northern Indiana, a couple of the Chicago breweries, some breweries in Wisconsin, a few breweries in Michigan's UP, and then you finish up with the great breweries in northern and western Michigan. AND there is a lot of nice scenery along the way - if you're interested in that kind of stuff. ;-)

 

throwing in for Alabama.

We have an explosively growing craft beer scene, 3 active breweries in Huntsville (one with a tap room), 2 active breweries in Birmingham with a 3rd about to open (both current breweries have taprooms), one brewery with taproom in Gadsden, and a beer restaurant in Birmingham (the J Clyde) that rivals the Brick Store in Atlanta. We also have all the regional breweries like Sweetwater, Terrapin, Yazoo, Lazy Magnolia, etc.

We also have great barbecue