These photos were taken Friday, October 11, day 12 of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. The photos were taken at Crescent Brewery and 2C Family Brewing in Nampa, and Ram Restaurant and Brewery, in Meridian, Idaho.
As this was going to be my last day in Idaho, my friend Catherine and I decided to head out to the Nampa area. This is my second year in the Boise area, and I have always wanted to check out Mother Earth in Nampa, but they are only open three days a week and they don’t open until 4:00 PM. I figured there had to be something else there, and sure enough I found two; within a five minute walk of each other. Continue reading
These photos were taken Thursday, October 10, day 11 of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. The photos were taken at Edge Brewing and Woodland Empire in Boise, and Bella Brewing in Garden City, Idaho.
As I am spending three days in the Boise area, I wanted to split my time up evenly; and have new places to visit the next time I come here. Edge Brewing had been mentioned by a friend or two; and Woodland Empire was recommended by Charlie; the guy I had met at Square State Brewing; his recommendation of Western Collective was enough for me to trust his recommendation of Woodland Empire. Continue reading
The first few photos were taken Tuesday, October 8, on my drive from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Meridian, Idaho. As I was almost in a major accident, once I reached my destination in Meridian, I decided I was not going to press my luck and stayed in for the night. The beer photos were taken Wednesday, October 9, day 10 of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. Those photos were taken at Western Collective in Garden City, Idaho, and Cloud 9 Brewery in Boise, Idaho.
Tuesday I spent five hours driving a very scenic but tedious drive from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Meridian, Idaho. I followed my GPS which took my on what was probably a weird route, but it was scenic. I only passed one brewery but it was far too early for it to be open. About 100 miles from my end destination an oncoming car tried to pass a truck and didn’t notice me; or he was playing chicken. I don’t know, but by the time I reached my friend’s home in Meridian I was done for the day. Craft Beer Tour 2019 was going to have to resume on Wednesday. Continue reading
These photos were taken Monday, October 7, day eight of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. These photos were taken at Wind River Brewing in Pinedale Wyoming, followed by Roadhouse Brewing and Snake River Brewing in Jackson Wyoming.
If you have are a regular reader you might recall that I attempted to visit Jackson Hole last year but was denied due to a forest fire. As I backtracked to Rock Springs I came upon Wind River Brewing, but they were too busy and after a significant wait, I left. Someone from there did reach out to me later and explained that due to the fire they were extremely busy, so I decided I would give them another chance. Continue reading
These photos were taken Friday, day two of the Brewers Association Great American Beer Festival which is being held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
My day had a relatively early start as I joined a media tour of three relatively new Denver breweries with Visit Denver and about 40 other media types.
Our first stop was Dos Luces Brewery. All Dos Luces beers start with corn as the main ingredient, and they brew Chicha and Pulque styles which come from the major cultures of Pre-Columbian North and South America. Continue reading
These photos were taken Wednesday, October 2, day three of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. These photos were taken at Bristol Brewing Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
A couple weeks before leaving home I reached out to some old friends that I have not seen in over a decade, that happen to live in Colorado Springs. It was decided that I would pop into town on my way to Denver for a visit and a beer; however, they had something come up that prevented the meetup. Since I had already planned on stopping by Colorado Springs anyway I looked at the list of potential breweries and picked Bristol Brewing solely because they have been brewing in Colorado Springs since 1994; once again, my instincts did not fail me; they brew outstanding beer. Continue reading
These photos were taken Tuesday, October 1; day two of my Craft Beer Tour 2019. The photos were taken at La Cumbre Brewing and Canteen Brewhouse, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My GPS said it would take 4.5 hours, but I was losing an hour when I entered New Mexico. All I know is that was the longest four hour drive I have ever been on.
Anyway, when I left Flagstaff I set my GPS for La Cumbre Brewing Company. I wanted to go the last couple of times that I have visited Albuquerque, but things just didn’t work out; nothing was getting in my way this time. Continue reading
These photos were taken Monday, September 30, day one of my Craft Beer Tour 2019. Once again, I am on my way to GABF, courtesy of the Brewers Association. As I have done with my previous visits to Denver, I will use this as a craft beercation. I plan on returning to the Pacific Northwest, but Mother Nature may change that; we shall see what happens. My stops today were at Flagstaff Brewing Company, Historic Brewing’s Barrel and Bottle House, and the relatively new, Mother Road Brewing Company brewery.
The day started off well enough, I left the house around 8:30 and hit minimal traffic. As I approached Kingman I recalled that I found a brewery last year, but I read a 3 as a 5 on a sign and didn’t figure that out until I was past Kingman with no easy way to get back. To add insult to injury, I had to pay $.20 a gallon more for gas at the next stop. Continue reading
These photos were taken Friday, June 14, at Long Beach Beer Lab and Ten Mile Brewing; both of which are located on Willow Street in Long Beach and Signal Hill, and opened in late 2017. This was my first visit to Long Beach Beer Lab since they opened, and it was a return visit to Ten Mile Brewing.
I had an appointment of sorts in Long Beach at around 5:30, and traffic from the South Bay to Long beach just sucks at that hour, so I figured I could visit a few of the newer Long Beach craft breweries beforehand thus beating traffic. The main problem I had was the expectation that since it was a Friday, most of the breweries would be open around noon. It turned out that the only one in the neighborhood that did was Long Beach Beer Lab, so that is where I started. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday at Abigaile Restaurant and Brewery, where they held another in what is becoming their regular series of Brewtopia craft beer festivals. Saturday’s event featured unlimited tastings from Brewery Draconum, Common Space, Firestone Walker, Hand-Brewed Beer, Karl Strauss, King Harbor Brewing, MacLeod Ale, Pacific Plate Brewing, and The Brewery at Abigaile, as well as cider offerings from 101 Cider House. Attendees also had access to a complimentary buffet, and were automatically entered in raffles that included swag, a growler fill from Abigaile and a gift certificate to Abigaile as prizes.
People that attended Brewtopia in February, and there were several, were treated to a much better version on Saturday; I spoke with most of the people that attended both events and everyone agreed that it was like night and day. Saturday’s event had a wider selection of beers, free food, and definitely more attendees, so I guess their improved advertising made a huge difference; even if there was a last minute date change from Sunday to Saturday. Continue reading