Do you take beer trips?
This week I wanted to talk about beer trips and how you look at them. When you go to a brewery that is more than an hour away or that you do not visit all the time do you look to see what they have on tap before you go? Do you check to see what beers they sell outside of the brewery?
A lot of breweries now days can or bottle beer for distribution. Most of the time they will can or bottle the best selling beers in the bar. The breweries still want you to visit their bar so they will not bottle everything they make.
Here is what I do when I’m going to visit a new brewery or one that I can't visit all the time:
I always look online or on an app to see what they have on tap.
2. I look to see what beers they bottle. This way when I’m at the bar I know not to drink the beers they bottle. If I can buy the beer at the store why buy it at the bar? When I go to a brewery I want to try beers that I can't get outside that brewery. Some beers to taste different outside the brewery, but from the ones that I have had the difference is not much.
What beers to taste? I always get a flight the breweries offer them and “test” each one. At Paw Paw Brewing in Paw Paw, Michigan, you can get as many “test” beers at you would like. The pricing they use is the same for all so I can get a flight of 9 if I wanted. Then, once I taste them all, I might order a 12 or 16 oz of one of them. If you can’t get a flight I would say go with the style you like.
Sometime breweries will have bottled beer that they only sell at the brewery so make sure you take a look at this also. You could take this home or just have a taster of it to see if you like it.
What do you do when you are going to a new brewery or one that you can’t visit all the time?
I hope you enjoyed this post. Stop by the store and check out the 31st Brewing shirt.
This pic is from my trip to Oddside Ales in Grand Haven, MI