Results tagged “Beer” from Intelligent Travel Blog

During my recent visit to Alaska, one of my favorite places was the Kodiak Island Brewing Company, where I had the chance to chat with owner and master brewer Ben Millstein. Ben's an exceedingly friendly guy with a big bushy beard, and he was more than willing to pull us a few samples, which drain directly from the huge vats he keeps in the back.

A home-brewer-turned-businessman, Ben created a hub for local fishermen and off-duty Coast Guard officers who work nearby, and I watched as a steady stream of them came in for an afternoon brew (one had offered to work in exchange for his beer, and was tending to the tanks between visits to the tap). His mostly-organic selection of delicious beers comes with inventive names: Liquid Sunshine, Island Mist, Stab in the Dark, and of course, the beer that made him famous in these parts, the Sarah Pale Ale.

As a souvenir, I picked up a few of the posters they created for the brew--depicting the former governor as a winking St. Pauli Girl. The irresistible tagline: "You Betcha It's Good."

Kodiak Island Brewing Company 338 Sheilkoff Ave, Kodiak, Alaska +1 907 486-ALES.

Photo: Janelle Nanos. Image, Kodiak Island Brewing Company.

Here at Traveler we often say the hardest part about our job is being stuck in an office while we tirelessly research exotic and exciting destinations. Instead of overdrawing on vacation days, we have to find alternative remedies to cure our wanderlust. Last week, I quelled my travel bug, and a hungry stomach, without having to purchase a plane ticket.

It was Restaurant Week in D.C., and after perusing a long list of participating restaurants I chose Belga Café, a Belgian bistro in Eastern Market. Walking through the front doors I felt transported to a modern and lively European kitchen, and with one quick glance at the menu I learned there's much more to Belgian cuisine than waffles and beer (although I sampled plenty of the latter).

It worked for the Wright brothers, but what can wind do for beer? Sam Boykin shares the secret of the country's first wind-powered brewpub.

It was the Outer Banks' strong and steady winds that attracted Orville and Wilbur Wright to North Carolina's Kill Devil Hills. And while the Outer Banks Brewing Station may never measure up to the Wright brothers' landmark first flight, it too is using the wind to make history. When owners Aubrey Davis and Eric Reece erected a turbine above their laid-back little brewpub on Earth Day 2008, it became the first wind-powered brewery in the nation. And for folks traveling to the Outer Banks, a picturesque, 200-mile stretch of barrier islands along the East Coast, it's definitely worth a visit.

Davis and Reece first dreamed up the idea of starting a brewpub while volunteering for the Peace Corps in Thailand. Aubrey had spent many summers at his grandparents' place on the Outer Banks, and felt it was an ideal place to launch the business.

The pair, along with award-winning master brewer Scott Meyer, came up with a business plan for an environmentally-friendly restaurant that celebrated the uniqueness of the Outer Banks and its history. They eventually convinced nearly 30 friends and family members to invest in their dream, and in 2001 opened the Outer Banks Brewing Station in a two-story, 7,700-square-foot building inspired by turn-of-the-century lifesaving stations. Some of the custom design details include a boat-shaped bar and two pathways, made from local recycled bricks, which lead from the bar to the brewpub's big bay windows.

Next week is an auspicious event for beer lovers everywhere: American Craft Beer Week, which runs from May 11-17 and serves as a "national celebration highlighting the culture and contributions of craft beer." Freda Moon got a head start this past weekend, and offers up some other great places to snag a beer and celebrate.

An all-day downpour wasn't enough to keep a record crowd of 5,500 beer lovers from last Saturday's 13th Annual Legendary Boonville Beer Fest. Arriving en masse and in costume for the pirate-themed event, attendees paid $50 a person for four hours of all-you-can-drink access to over 100 beers from 43 craft breweries around the United States. Each was equipped with a five-ounce tasting glass and set loose to drink, dance and frolic in the mud at Mendocino County's fairgrounds in Boonville, Calif.

The festival, a fundraiser for local charities hosted by Anderson Valley Brewing Company, draws both connoisseurs and casual beer drinkers, people who come to taste and those that come to guzzle. Some arrived prepared for the festival's theme and Northern California's weather, wearing elaborate pirate garb or full-body rain gear. Many wore specialized glass holders around their necks to ensure they wouldn't break their irreplaceable, and therefore sacred, tasting glass. (The sound of one of these glasses breaking evokes a roaring, humiliating--if good-natured--howl from the beer fest crowd.) Others donned more eclectic ensembles, combinations of wigs, unicycles, kilts, star-shaped sunglasses and beer stickers on cheeks and foreheads. Because it was raining and the beer was flowing, a handful of participants paraded in nothing but mud and mud-covered skivvies.

It's the eternal question: What do you get for the beer-loving travel junkie that has everything? Turns out, a vehicle exists for exactly that target demographic - the motorized bar stool. Who needs to look for a seat at the bar when you arrive on your own guzzle-ready chariot?

But this otherwise brilliant invention gained notoriety yesterday when the AP reported that an Ohio man was picked up by the cops earlier this month for driving under the influence on his contraption. (We wish that was a joke, but we can't help but think that was kind of the point?) Apparently, it can move up to 38 mph.

Photo: AP

It doesn't completely surprise me when places like Philadelphia pop up on the map as being great places for brew pubs, but I was a bit taken aback by a recent New York Times article on Utah's brewery scene.

Utah hasn't always been pub-friendly. The state has strict laws against alcohol, mainly due to its large Mormon population. But in the 1986, Greg Schirf opened Park City's Wasatch Brewery, and until 1989 fought for the legality of brew pubs. Today the pub is a local hot spot, and its 1st Amendment Lager and Polygamy Porter join other award-winning ales.

Brew pubs are popping up all over Utah, and mostly in popular tourist areas (skiiers need a way to warm up, right?). There's the new (2005) Zion Canyon Brewing Company, Moab Brewery, Roosters Brewing Company in Ogden, and a host of others. Of course, when you try a Utah ale, don't expect to get the same kick as other beers worldwide. The alcohol limit in the state is 3.2 percent for beers on tap. Beers there are made with higher alcohol, but they are considered a liquor.

Image: Wasatch Brew Pub

We've talked a lot about Montreal lately: It has gorgeous architecture, is the second-largest French-speaking city after Paris, and was the first to sign our Center for Sustainable Destinations Geotourism Charter. That's all well and good. But the reason I really love Montreal is the beer.

The Quebec region is nationally famous for its beautifully crafted bières artisanales, but for some reason, few of them make it big in the U.S. As something of a beer lover, I have come to regard Montreal as my holy beer grail. In fact, it's host to the World Festival of Beer, "the most important international beer festival in North America," held annually in early June.

To make a good thing better, most of the city's brewpubs are within walking distance of each other near the city's vibrant Latin Quarter. On a recent weekend trip, I went microbrasserie-hopping, hitting up some old favorites and making new discoveries. I was not disappointed. Here are a few top finds:

Unibroue - This microbrewery is located in the town of Chambly, but the beer is available all over Quebec, including Montreal. This is the producer of my favorite beer ever - La Fin du Monde (which translates as The End of the World). One of the region's trademark breweries, Unibroue brews strictly according to centuries-old European traditions, which means that no artificial chemicals are used in its production. The beers are fermented right in the bottles, and because of their quality, they have an extremely long shelf life ("Flavour evolves to a port wine after ten years," says the website). With eight different year-round beers to choose from, Unibroue has something everyone can enjoy. Most of them are available in U.S. specialty beer stores.
Recommended beers: La Fin du Monde, La Raftman

Check out the complete list after the jump.